I own several chargers at the moment, the newest is the Zanfare C4 which I really do like a lot other than it seems a bit on the slow side but that really isn’t that big of a deal most of the time. That being said I have been noticing the Nitecore SC4 lately and have been wondering, given the price point which I consider on the high side at least for me, does it offer enough of an improvement in function/speed to consider spending the money on it?
Just looking for opinions, thanks.
Check out HKJ's review https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/47546
Thanks, I had read that as well as the one for the C4 and while they are great reviews, I was hoping for some direct comparisons from anyone how has both charges. HKJ’s reviews have a great deal of info and are well put togeather but are a bit over my head in some areas.
Really hoping for a few direct comparisons that will easily sink into my feeble brain.
I have the Zanflare C4, but not the SC4.
With the C4, you get 4 fully independent slots - you can select 300, 500, 700, or 1000 mA charge rates on each slot, and they all charge simultaneously. The default charge rate is 500 mA, which should be fine for 14500s and above - meaning it’s not a big deal if you forget to change it. The display shows the charge progress and one extra piece of information (voltage, internal resistance, mAh supplied, time on charger, charge rate, etc.) for each cell - you can view the voltage of all 4 cells simultaneously, or you can view the voltage of one slot and the internal resistance of another. But if you want all of the information for one slot, you have to cycle through all of the readouts one at a time. This contrasts with the Liitokala Lii 500, a very similar charger, which displays all of the information for one slot, but then you have to cycle through every slot if you want to know the voltages or charge rates of every slot. IMO, the Lii 500’s method is better if you are mostly charging one or two batteries at a time, but the C4’s is better if you are using all 4 slots.
I almost got the SC4, but backed out because of some of the weirdness with the indicated vs actual charge rates. It can charge 2 batteries at 3 amps, or 4 batteries at1.5 amps. Charging 2 batteries, it behaves as expected, but if you are using all 4 slots, the actual charge rate per slot is only half the indicated value. So if you want 4 at1.5 amps, you need to select a 3 amp charge rate, and if you select 1000 mA, it is actually only charging each slot at 500 mA. And those charge rates when all four slots are used are achieved by time-sharing - for an effective rate of 1.5 Amps, it will charge 2 batteries for ~10 seconds at 3 Amps, then switch and charge the other 2 for ~10 seconds at 3 Amps. Basically, when all four slots are used, it charges each battery at the indicated charge rate, but for only 50% of the time, resulting in an average charge rate that is half of what is indicated.
So if you want to charge, say 4 batteries at 1000 mAh, it is actually charging them at 2000 mAh, but only doing so for 50% of the time. I don’t know if this higher, but intermittent, charging current will have an adverse effect on battery life, but I figured it would be less-than-ideal for things like 14500s or NiMH AAs. Also, the default charge rate appears to be based on length (i.e. the default for an 18350 will be less than an 18650) but the 2 A default for 18650s may be rather high depending on which cells you use. If you use mostly 18650GAs or Samsung 30Qs, it should be fine.
Thanks a lot, all very good info