Review of Xp4 from Xtarlight

Thanks for the review.

There was some discussion about the charger (and NIMH batteries) warming up when using 0.25 amp setting here also:

So now, I only use 0.5 amp or greater when charging NIMH in my XP4…

Also, I should mention that other, previous chargers do multi-chemistry, e.g., Jetbeam i4 pro.

I haven’t measured the dimensions, but having now taken a bunch of 18650s through several cycles, it feels like the spacing between the bays in the XP4 is smaller than (for example) the i4. I have a hard time removing an 18650 from it with the 3 rightmost bays populated (then again, could be due to fat fingers :laughing:.

When I went to one of our local distributors here, he warned me several times against getting the i4 pro saying that already more than one of his clients have had their batteries melting in the charger, so coming from no background what so ever, I decided to take his word for it.

In 0.25A I found that it charged indefinitely as it was going back and forth between charging and terminating.

The “i4” that I have is the Jetbeam i4 pro in white. I think that there’re several versions, mine is the one with the mis-spelled “Intellicharger” name, and I’ve had it for awhile now, and have put a lot of batteries, mostly Li-ion from laptop pulls, but with some Eneloop and Duraloop, through it, no problems. Up until I got the XP4 a couple of weeks ago, it was the one I used mainly.

So what do you use mainly now for your charging … I did end up buying an intellicharger i2 based on HKJ’s recommendation.

Was your question directed at me?

If so, for now, I’m trying to use the XP4, since I have it, both with Li-ions and NIMH.

I also have the Jetbeam i4 pro, and old Trustfire 4-bay, an Accucel, and a bunch of 1 bay chargers and the chargers that came with the Eneloop packs from Costco, and a new WP6, but I’m spending time with the XP4 to see how that works, and what I mentioned were my impressions of the XP4 thus far.

The spacing difference is kind of annoyiing, but I also miss the 3-LED indicators from the i4 :), but really would like a display. I had debated getting the XP4 vs. the Thrunite MCC-4, but opted for the XP4 because of the XP4 current selection capability.

Still waiting for a non-hobby, 4-bay multi-chemistry charger with display of both voltage and capacity (kreisler and/or dinoboy, are you listening) :)!!

I am also toying around with the idea of maintaining two main cream of the crop chargers mainly C-9000 maha and Xtar VP1. It would seem currently there are no multi chemistry chargers that are cream of the crop yet and mostly are just at their infancy.

This blog entry might be more interesting if you had commented on the charger’s ability to charge li-ion cells.

Edit>> Woops, just noticed- you don’t have any. :slight_smile:

For the sake of the review I bought some but then it being my first set of Li-ion cells I did not feel qualified enough to comment. They just charged fine.

Did you try charging at 0.25 amps?

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??

I say your review is done well. It sparks my interests in the XP4.

Excellent review, lowks! 8)

:p

Thanks! I got some other chargers review coming soon.

Yeah I know that’s why I predicate it by saying it’s not really as indepth as probably HKJ’s one because I don’t really have the kind of setup he has so I mostly just report on what was the feeling like using the device plus what functionality could make the user experience better. Thanks for taking the time to read anyway.

While HKJ covers the more technical side of things it’s all great to have someone explain their observations in laymans terms, you’ve done that really well and look forward to reading your future reviews.
Don’t be discouraged that your reviews aren’t as in depth as HKJ’s, sometimes people prefer less technical reviews like your own, personally I’m happy to read both.

It is definitely good to get different types of reviews, but the risk with very simple reviews is that they miss important details. Just charging two batteries on the charger is to simple a test.

Completely 100% agree

Thanks for the comments HKJ. Indeed my setup is minimal compared to yours :). I am learning… just over the moon I even got an evaluation set to review from the nice folks at Xtarlight. One thing for sure … my reviews will improve with time as my setup is getting beefier all the time.

It is not necessary to have a lot of equipment to do a good review.

Some simple details to check:

  • How long time does the charger use to charger, does it match with the current rating (i.e. a 2000mAh NiMH with 1A charge is supposed to take around 2 hours).
  • Is the charge time the same for 1 and for 4 batteries?
  • Does the charger get warm/hot when working with a full set of batteries at highest charge current.
  • This charger can cycle batteries, how long time does it take to cycle a cell and how many can it do at a time (Can I do a four pack in less than 24 hours)?
  • Does the usb output work, will it charge my phone and does the phone charge at full speed or slow?

Ah, HKJ those I do know… I will update my review. Thanks for the pointers :slight_smile: