Money be damned… 
treat yourself to the ultimate, nay, to the Rolls-Royce of 2-channel Li-ion chargers.
…Ladies and Gentlemen, a roll of drums, please….introducing the only game in town:
(…frantic applause…)…the Xtar VP2 !
You know where to get one, don’t you ?..
Cheers,
__philippe
Nice review, thanks! Hope a VP2 is on deck, it’d be interesting to see how it handles 4.35V cells.
The voltage is controlled with a 3 position switch and will start at the last selected value.
The current will start at 0.5A
I do not know, but would expect it to be production tolerances.
http://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/LG%2018650%20D1%203000mAh%20(Pink)%20UK.html
That seems awesome but then you put this comment above…
“Before using the charger for a 4.30 volt cell I will strongly advice to check the charge voltage with a DMM: Connect a DMM parallel to the battery and check that the voltage stays below 4.35 volt all the time while charging”
Any risks?
The charger is rated for 4.35 volt cell that can be charged with up to 4.40 volt.
If you wish to charge 4.30 volt cells, than can be charged with up to 4.35 volt, it is a good idea to check that the charger is below 4.35 volt.
If you overcharge a LiIon battery slightly you will reduce its lifetime significantly, but as long as you uses good cells there is not any risk.
Discounted Xtar MC0 back in stock again…for how long ?
http://eu.nkon.nl/xtar-mc0-mini-li-ion-battery-charger.html
Cheers,
__philippe
The charger might be good, fit my needs but two things.
That was quick :-) thanks, just ordered one.
@hkj
I already have seen the review of the LGcell, but I asked if you will also test the one in your picture which is a newer version. I wonder if they have changed something internally too or just the shrink wrap…
New:
Old:
The battery I tested with is more than a year old and I will not test it.
It also looks like they have the same type number LGABD11865
Am I correct in assuming this will not work with Eneloop or Nimh batteries?
You are correct. This is a Li-ion charger.
If you want the ability to charge NiMH as well you might be interested in the XP1
I'm a bit late to the party but I just ordered one from Mountain Electronics. It looks like the perfect travel charger with very decent features. I should have it on Monday
I’ve been using one for a few months now, mostly for charging 26650’s.I think you are going to like it.
Thanks :) I have 4 other Xtar chargers (WP2, MP2, and 2 VP1's) they've all been great. I like that it's small and does 4.35 volt cells which I have, and the USB output will sure come in handy every once in a while.
Edit: It came today! Testing it now :)
I will be receiving an XTAR SP-1 that I won for $16.00 from a dealer with few reviews on Ebay, and half of those for clothes (or scarfs), called xtarshop, do I have to worry about fakes?
If so, what should I look for?
This seller has 100% positive feedback so less worry about fake!
I know that this is an old thread. But I recently got an SP1, and decided to give USB charging with LiFePO4 a try. With a fully charged A123 Systems 26650 (2300mAH version), I was able to charge my iPhone from 10% to 80% charge before low voltage protection kicked in. And this was while using the phone a decent amount in the process. So I might be able to get a complete charge if I leave the phone alone while charging. I should also mention that the battery gauge basically doesn’t work while charging with LiFePO4. Due to the lower (but more stable) voltage of LiFePO4, the battery indicator flashed red pretty much the whole time you are charging. This indicates less than 25% charge, but is showing this because the charger is really designed for USB charging from 3.7V batteries. However, the charger WILL work with LiFePO4 as a USB charger, even if it can’t use the full capacity of a LiFePO4 cell.
I ordered one too. Although it is an old thread, thanks for the review HKJ.
Just picked up one of these from RMM to charge a couple 4.35V LG cells I have and to see how it would deal with recharging my busy box(iPad mini). With the cell starting at 4.3V it brought the charge state up to 40% before the led turned red. I pulled the cell and measured it at 3.7V so it would not have added much more. Seems like a nice charger and should be for the price and nice that with the 3 different charge rates it also charges shorter cells. I don’t think I will use it for 10440 or 16340 even though they would fit but great for 18350-26650 and 3.2-4.2V. I’ll edit this post when I try it out in my iPhone 5C.