Just looking for recommendations for a small cheap analysing charger for laptop pulls and the like.
So I get a few cells, throw ’em into a charger, they top off, push a couple of amps through a light, seem to hold a charge overnight, etc., and by all indications look usable.
But I just want something to do simple diagnostics on it, like overall capacity. I probably don’t need to get into internal resistance, maximum current, etc., anything esoteric like that (unless it’s a good/necessary indicator of cell-health!), just enough info to make sure it doesn’t turn a light into an unintended road-flare.
Single-cell is fine, don’t need to match cells for putting any in series, nothing fancy like that. I’m hip-deep in small semi-dumb (and really dumb) chargers, so would rather stay simple/small/cheap.
Lii-500 is probably the cheapest, but if you are willing to spend $30 instead of $20, you can get a model (is Opus BT-C3100 still popular?) that has discrete info for each charger bay. Which I really wish I had, these days. The ability to charge 4 cells at 1A each is something that not all chargers can do, so keep charge rate in mind if that matters to you.
The Lii-500 screen that only displays info for one cell at a time is at best is a mild inconvenience when you constantly have to push buttons to view the info for each cell, or worse is a burden when you are doing lots of cells, or worst is when you think the data is for one cell, but it is actually for a different one because you misread it (just weren’t paying close enough attention) and have to re-run the test because you didn’t get the right info before pulling it out. Ask me how I know these things.
Honestly, I was hoping for fewer slots than 4, because of the size, but at this point I may not have a choice. I kept the C4 in the back of my mind, and between the LKs, Zanflares, and Opuses/Opi, they all seem to be 4 slots wide.
It’s cheap, does the job, I get capacity, resistance, (numbers not sure validity), test functions, discharge.
It is finicky with one of my Xtar’s 14500 cells, it will not charge unless the cell is completely drained.
oh yeah I am able to use it as a power bank, I re-charged my android phone last night. The I-phone might not work.
I hear ya, but I already got an i4 that’s never seen more’n one cell at a time. More bulk means more likelihood that I’ll not even want to use it unless I have to, and that it’d likely just get buried somewhere (so that I won’t be able to find it even if I do need it ).
But, but, the bigger it is, the easier it should be to spot.
BTW, I also have the one-bay Lii 100B on the way. When you travel, small size does matter, although I guess I could just recharge my 18650 cells inside one of my flashlights… I guess I could not resist the $1.99 price. But the 1 month+ free shipping time is going to kill me now.
That’s kinda my problem, that I need to put it away somewhere “safe” so I won’t lose it, only it’s so safe that I can’t find it when I do need it, and usually have to get another one. I’m like a squirrel who can’t find his friggin’ acorns after burying ’em.
Hence, small chargers that I can stick in various places so that I’m likely to find at least one when I need it.
I got a couple 202s and soon a 100B, thought LK only used the “bargraph” display.
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