Mini review of the Liitokala Lii-500 Analyzing Charger

Just how much went into each cell. Wouldn’t really need to do a full test unless I saw something unusual or they cells were getting old. It’s convenient to see all the cells at the same time, that’s all.

try doing it in 300ma it will give you more time to catch it i tried it at 1amp and missed it a few times

the reason i went through such a test is i sourced these Sanyo NCR18650BF from Ali Express
and then they CO$T me $4.30 each (in a 12pack) almost 1/2 the of BG i hope to see BG LOWER their prices as i really like them
i will be testing all of my cells new and used like this at least once so i know what to keep and what give away

well the 1st round of testing is in and for this test
i had 2x new Sanyo NCR18650BF and 1 Panasonic NCR18650B with 3 cycles

all started at 2.82v
Sanyo #1…… 3217mAh 4.22v 3:34 1amp (SLOT #1)
Sanyo #2…… 3220mAh 4.22v 6:50 500ma (SLOT #3)
Panasonic #1 3275mAh 4.22v 5:06 700ma (SLOT #2)

Thanks for starting this thread, Poster!

I’m sort of up in the air about which analyzing charge to get, the Opus or this one, and this thread is a big help to me.

I don’t really care for the Pulse charging of the Opus, and this one uses Constant Current, is that correct?

If this thing is as good as it seems to be, I would really like to see this little company get a bit more exposure.

I’d bet if you ask the average guy on the BLF street what they thought about it, you’d get a: Huh?

Would really like to see some more posts of experiences with this.

Thanks again!
-Chuck

Me again Poster,

May I make a suggestion that you change the name of your review to something like:

Mini review of the Liitokala Lii-500 18650 Analyzing Charger ?

I'm afraid that people are just skimming over it and thinking not to click on it because it is nothing that they recognize and haven't a clue as to what it is.

I have a Nitecore D4 right now and while it is a good charger, it tells me little about whether or not a cell may be Fake. - Lots of Fakes going around, ya know:-(

Just an Idea - Thanks again for posting your review!

-Chuck

well i think some of you on the side lines should wait for the main even here from HKJ it should be what everyone is waiting for in the meantime i will report my findings

i have seen it tossed around before and i can totally say that mR AKA IR (internal resistance) matters in terms of the time to charge clearly on my laptop pulls (good ones) the lower the mR the faster the charge even at the same rate

2nd week in and i have only nice thing to say about it at ~$24 compared to to others its a bargain (never tried the OPUS just a little rich for my taste) and the Nitecore i4 V2 is now way to slow with only 500mAh MAX per cell and with quality cells like we have today even laptop pulls i have no problem charging at 1amp (let in be known i use a laptop cooling pad on ALL my chargers imo the Lii-500 runs cooler at 1 amp then the Nitecore does at 500mAh need more cycles)

BTW can i upload pictures here or only links to some other image host

Poster said: “…the lower the mR the faster the charge”

This really makes sense to me.

Say the charger is running at 1A - It could put 1A into the battery at Zero resistance…Anything over zero resistance makes Heat.

So perhaps (just for illustration) 90% in and 10% “resistance” that makes Heat. - Cells with higher resistance take longer to charge And get hotter.

I’m retired and have already blew the Flashlight budget for this month. - I get ‘paid’ on the 26th and will at that time be ordering a 500.

I’d like to see this charger become more widely known. - Seems like a great value to me!

Thanks,
-Chuck

Nice info to know on the charger, I’ve been deciding on the opus and this LL500 for a minute now. $24 for it seems like a crazy good deal and I may have to jump on it before full reviews come out. Would you care to give out the link of the AliExpress vendor? Thanks.

Things I like about this (not perfect) charger.

  1. it does not have a fan to make noise or go bad!!!
  2. it does have an mR function (admittedly) technically not an iR function but for me it does seem to give useful info.
  3. if I prop it up (cable up in the air a bit) it does run cooler.
  4. true it does not give info on multiple cells concurrently, all you have to do is push one button for the cell of intrest and all the info is there, (not a big deal in my book)
  5. low cost

agreed the fire cells are typically 1.5 –2 x the mR of my used good laptop pulls, and about 5x more then my new good cells.

I think you might be right, at higher amp settings the volts due jump up faster.

Hi all,

I ‘spoke’ with HKJ today in another thread (off topic to boot), on another forum… you know the one; the one that’s in an alternate universe? :ghost:

Anyhow, this is what was said:

.

ME: “Sorry, OT but I have to ask: Do you have a review planned for the new Liitokala Lii-500 charger? - I think that I’m going to have to get one.”

HKJ: “Yes, it has been on the test bench for two weeks now, but it needs a week more before the test is finished.”

.

So there you have the latest:-)

Stay tuned!
-Chuck

1st of all Ali E. is not for everyone but i am old pro been with then for 5 years and had ups & downs but for the most part (~80% perfect)

btw i have NO connection to this seller or any other seller on Ali E.
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2015-New-Liitokala-lii500-LCD-Charger-for-3-7V-18650-26650-18500-Cylindrical-Lithium-Batteries-1/32363869902.html

i paid $0.20 more from another seller

as an old pro i can tell you that if you are looking for the LOWE$T price you need to look for the Lii500 and not the Lii-500 you can save $0.21 Ali E. is funny like that

enjoy poster

I was thinking about paying a little bit more and having the extra protection of eBay. - I don’t like the idea that Ali doesn’t take PayPal, and am hesitant to send my card number to them.

So I found one on eBay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/261902676303?\_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

These guys don’t understand English, so no telling what is meant by the word “Seconds” in their header. - I asked them on eBay questions, but no answer from them yet. - It is the weekend, so no big deal.

In another of their ads for the 300 they claim to actually be the Factory:

“Is the charger factory, we need to email agent or wholesale customers can contact us: liitokala@126.com.”

Any thoughts on this, or where the Safest place to buy one might be, even though I might have to pay a bit more?

Thanks in advance!
-Chuck

i can save you $0.50 www.ebay.com/itm/261989111142

chuckhov, I asked your question over at the LK-260 review thread with a pointer to your question here:

.

.

I think that would be a really good thing!

Anyone here willing to give it a shot?

Thank you,
-Chuck

Does anyone have a pdf or link to the manual for this charger? Mine arrived without one from an eBay seller and all I can get out of it when I turn it on is the usb sign. Appears to be a bad AC adapter. Works great in my truck with the DC adapter.

Also, how does a charger maintain 1 amp per slot on 4 slots with an AC adapter that has a max output of 2A?

Do not look at the current, look at the power (Converters can change both voltage and current, with only a small power loss):

Input 12V * 2A -> 24W

Output 4.2V * 1A * 4 -> 16.8W

There is some spare power.

Thanks hkj. Now to wait on the sellers response on what to do about this adapter.