, I do not know it it is easier to solder, but it is easier to see the resistor.
Why not? The in- is connected to the usb gnd power.
What insulation material do you suggest to go between the back of the board and the alluminium heat sink ? … Presumeably it would have to transfer the heat through to the alluminium.
Would it be better to glue (somehow) a small (finned) heatsink directly to the top of the chip instead ? … This would not need any insulation material.
Thanks again HKJ for your very valuable help.
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I've heard kapton tape works well. It is extremely thin but it will not conduct electricity.
Is the Kapton tape thermally conductive and double sided sticky ?
Just wondering whether to use Arctic Silver ceramic thermal paste (non-conductive) to glue a heatsink to the back of the board.
These heatsinks are 15mm X 15mm X6mm and are finned … £1-46 for five including postage.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Silver-Tone-Aluminium-15x15x6mm-Heatsink-Cooling-Cooler-Fin-5pcs-/140851163319?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Supplies_ET&hash=item20cb6230b7
On the other hand , copper shims might glue on the back of the board OK.
Or maybe just leave the charger boards as they are , without heatsinks … I have not had any trouble so far … If they do get too hot , the chip will apparently automatically reduce the current as necessary … It’s only for the first part of the charge that the chip heats up anyway and mine were less than 65C at worst … Even holding my finger on the chip for a while reduced the temperature according to my infra-red thermometer.
Perhaps I’m worrying too much.
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For me it looks like usb gnd and in- are in parallel, so usb gnd would bypass the resistor. I could be wrong of course.
And yes, you are wrong
I have decided to add a heatsink to my boards.
Heat sinks. 15mm X 15mm X 6mm Aluminium.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140868269228?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&\_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
Sekisui 5760 double sided tape.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/230868705181?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&\_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
I will use the double-sided tape to hold the aluminium heatsinks to the underside of the charger board … I hope this will give some reduction in chip temperature during the first part of the charge cycle … It certainly can’t do any harm.
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It will definitely reduce temperature.
Thanks HKJ … For £3-45 I can do all my four charger boards and still have one heatsink spare.
It’s just a matter of waiting for the heatsinks to come from the Far East to the UK.
Thanks again.
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Thanks very much! Frontpage’d and Sticky’d.
Ordered three of these for 1.60 each inc shipping on eBay. I already have 18650 sockets but they don’t give much space for protected cells. I guess I can make my own emergency packs with these.
Still, for standalone chargers, does anybody know a place for strong 18650 holders those can accept even an XTAR 18700 cell?
I found that the normally available battery holders won’t accept protected 18650’s (which are actually 18700’s) … The easiest way is to use short leads (4”) fitted with croc-clips … The croc-clips will easily clip onto magnets … The magnets will “stick” to the battery … Easy !
There are photos of this somewhere on BLF.
Good Luck.
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Found and bought even better size and cheaper heatsinks! 
That’s the way I’m using my hobby charger. Magnets don’t stick to copper PCB’s at the bottom of protected batteries, I’m afraid. But still, you’re right. Attaching crocodiles to the output seems to be the best option for now. You can even charge cell phone batteries this way, through a clipper, a pin or another mating socket.
Hmm, I must order a few Nice find.
They also have different sizes of copper plates. These can be good to fill in holes in some pills, or to modify the distance of a star to reflector.
I’d like to connect a small digital voltmeter to this TP4056 module to monitor charging.
Can I do it by connecting input of voltmeter (http://www.ebay.com/itm/330702194021) in parallel to the output of the charger?
Verge: yup it should work, decent price too…
According to Cottonpickers, he is using the Linear Technology LTC4054 integrated circuit in his charger.
I googled the websites of the two companies Linear Technology (LTC4054) and TP Micro (TP4056),
LTC4054-4.2 Datasheet and Product Info | Analog Devices and http://www.tpmicro.com/goods.php?id=47 respectively.
The general description stated by the two companies are almost the same except for this part that was stated on Linear Technology’s description;
“When the input supply (wall adapter or USB supply) is removed, the LTC4054 automatically enters a low current state, dropping the battery drain current to less than 2µA. The LTC4054 can be put into shutdown mode, reducing the supply current to 25µA.”
TP Micro’s description states;
“When the input supply (wall adapter or USB supply) is removed, the TP4056 automatically enters a low current state, dropping the battery drain current to less than 2μA. The TP4056 can be put into shutdown mode, reducing the supply current to 55μA. ”
The only difference is the 25µA stated by Linear Technology, and 55µA stated by TP Micro.
My question is, will there be significant difference, if ever, in performance with regards to the two chips?
would it be possible to mod this board to charge 4.30v li-ions?