I’m trying to find out what’s the Best charger made.
I’d like to know which of 4 and 8 slot charger types,
that you have and are using , are best at doing this:
1—Gives most battery info-(volts,amps, mAh’s, etc.
2—Has the most functions—(does the most stuff)
3—Stands hard use-(no breakdown-battery drain, etc)
4—What personal use info , do you have on these 3 ?
The functions such as charge, discharge, tells me the
amps, volts, mAh’s , tells if a battery is chargeable,does
different battery chemistries, sizes , etc. I want to know
what’s out there that’s ready to plug & play, and will last
under strong use so to speak. Besides, I can not build or
modify any type of charger, so that is no good for me.
What you are looking for is a 4-bay multi-chemistry charger with charge/discharge functions and LCD screen, I’m afraid the only option in the market right now is the opus c3100, but if you’re willing to wait there is the MC3000 (still in development) this is basically a hobby charger with an integrated 4-bay battery holder.
I suposse it will cost around $100 when it’s released…
- batteries charged inside of charger (= more heat)
- only 4 slots (accucel 6 supports 6 (external tray) for Li-Ion, up to 15 for NiMH), limited size
- 3A max charge instead of 6
- pricier than the accucel or similars + a decent multimeter
Voltage range? Most likely not up to 20V
only real downside: needs a 12 V power supply (like you don’t have some old computer PSU lying around anyways) and a temp sensor (banggood has them) for reliable NiMH charging.
I’ll chime in as a wet blanket. Please note the stuff I bolded from your post. It sounds like you may be unaware of this, but none of these chargers do those things automatically for you! Not understanding whether a battery is “chargeable” is dangerous. Not knowing the chemistry of a battery is dangerous. Lots of us (myself included) own chargers which do multi-chemistry, multi-voltage, etc. It’s quite possible to damage your cells, equipment, home, self, etc by setting these things incorrectly. Same goes for charge rate. More options is generally going to give you more chances to make a mistake.
Here is an incomplete list of the things a charger will not tell you automatically:
“the amps” a battery can give
the appropriate charge rate for a battery (in amps)
whether a battery is chargeable
Li-* chemistry
Also, you mentioned “no breakdown-battery drain, etc” - AFAIK all chargers have a fairly significant battery drain. You can’t just leave cells in an unplugged charger. For my part I don’t think I’ll ever be able to plan on storing cells in a charger.
As far as the “best charger” - it’s the one that won’t burn your house down, IMO.
All that said, I have personal use experience with the Xtar XP4C and the Opus BT-C3100 v2.0. The Nitecore D4 looks like a lame duck to me, but I haven’t used one.
I possess an OG Xtar WP2 Xtar WP2 II, hobby charger, and an Opus BT-C3100 v2.0. I briefly had the Xtar WP4c before passing it along to it’s owner. I’m onboard with everyone else who feels that Xtar goes the extra mile with their chargers. I really liked the WP4c and I’d recommend it. With the Opus I often find that out after the fact that I’ve done something unintentional. I need to do a writeup with more specific examples of what I feel the shortcomings of that charger are. I’m not sorry that I have it, but at the same time I don’t really recommend it. Tempo’s suggestion of a pair of Xtar VP2s is probably a good one. Or maybe just a single VP4? I haven’t used any of those, but HKJ has reviewed the VP2.
EDIT: I don’t own an OG WP2, but rather an Xtar WP2 II. Oops! Corrected.
Totally agreed, sometimes it is not worth the all the hassle to setup a charge. I mean li-ion is a very common tech now, not like 10 years ago when special treatment was required to handle them.
I have a DIY 6-bay 18650 holder to use with my icharger 106b+ and I rarely use it because it takes about 30 seconds to setup the charge EVERYTIME. The Xtar VP2 is my favorite charger and most used one, plug and play and voltage display, you can tell the health of your batteries by the termination voltage and the temperature towards the end of the charge.
Kidding aside. Ever since I got the Opus BT-C3100, I used it 90% of the time. I only use my Nitecore I4 & I2 or my TrustFire TR-003P4 when I need to charge more batteries at the same time.
The slots on the opus BT-C3100 are much much smoother than the nitecore i4 plus you can select the charge current. Only time I ever use the i4 is when I charge batteries in my car on a trip.
I haven’t used any of the xtar chargers but for me the opus is the best solution.
battery chargers , which of the 2 is the best for hard
everyday use and does the most :quest:
P.S.,
I got answers on the OPUS 2.0 version, but I’m
asking about the 2.1 version. Has the 2.1 solved
some of the complaints against the 2.0 ? Does any
one know ?
