Is there a battery cradle for hobby charger users yet? I'd rather buy something I can plug in without having to build, at least for my first cradle, so there's less chance of me creating a point of failure.
I started looking at hobby chargers, but I didn’t see anything that was good out of the box for charging multiple 18650s. I mostly want one so I can measure capacity to tell good cells from turkeys. I was looking at this Thunder Power AC680 http://www.amazon.com/Thunder-AC680-Professional-Dual-Power-Discharger/dp/8499000037 because it has temp monitor and monitoring with a USB cable to a PC. But then I can’t find any of the optional PC or temperature cables. On top of that having to build my own cradle makes it seem painful. What I really want is something like my Lacrosse BC700 http://www.amazon.com/La-Crosse-Technology-Battery-Charger/dp/B000RSOV50 that I use on AA/AAA. It shows voltage and capacity. It has refresh and test modes. It has cell overheating protection built in. Isn’t there anything like that for 18650 cells? [EDIT] Wait a minute. Is the Dream Charger thing what I want? Review: Opus BT-C3100 ("dreamcharger!")
- Joe
The Opus charger doesn't balance charge. It provides plenty of useful information though.
I actually had a tab open for the AC680. The picture and video indicates that it comes with the usb temp sensor, usb computer data cable, and a balance board too. Balance cables would have to be purchased separately if you want to balance charge cells. You could use magnets, but I'd rather use a cradle that eliminates the possibility of the wires coming off and shorting.
The AC680 is a great value if it continues to work, although I've seen a couple unfavorable reviews. That makes it important to get it through a good vendor that will make warranty claims less painful. I'm considering that or a nice iCharger. I'm just not so sure I want to build a bunch of cradles, so an expensive iCharger may end up collecting dust while I use much more convenient smart chargers.
Late weekend bump. I intend to get something early in the work week.