I have the Miboxer C4-12 that I like but I THINK in the bottom right corner where it has the mAh constantly showing, it is showing how much mAh has been put into a cell to get a complete charge correct? I put a 26650 in there that was at 53% charge 3.6V according to my cheap digital multimeter from home depot AND the C4-12. At 100% charge it said the cell was “1256 mAh”.
Remember, capacity is rated with two things in mind. Starting voltage and ending voltage & at a specific current draw.
For example a Samsung 30Q is rated from 4.2V down to 2.5V. If your tester cut off is 2.8V so you go from 4.2-2.8 you will have an inaccurate view of the world.
Another point is that capacity is also rated at a specific current. The 30Q is rated at 3000mah @ .6A and 2700mah @ 10A
So should I just forget about it and stick with my C4-12? I don’t have a tester yet
Don’t know much about them, but would like to learn :person_facepalming:
I have the opus 3100 2.2 I’ve had it going a year and half 24 hours a day literally, can discharge 4 cells at a amp or 2 cells at 1.5-2 amps with 200,500,700,1000,1500,2000 charge choices.
Cut off is 2.8 never had a fan issue. Can be a little noisy but not bad. I’ve tested hundreds of cell pulls on it. The other popular one is the liitokala li 500 only 500mah discharge and 1 amp charging on 4 slots. Those two are the more common capacity chargers. They can be had for around 30 dollars or so. The lii 500 under 20 if you have your own power supply
I also have the OPUS BT C3100 v2 and use it to charge Liion and NiMH batteries of different sizes. It will give you about 100 mah higher capacity reading than actual capacity but just deduct that because it ok. The internal resistance readings will vary depending on the connection on the charging posts, you get a ball park reading so I will run the test several times and wiggle the battery to get a better connection each time and use the lowest reading and subtract 30milohm according to the manual because the charger has that much resistance built into it. Do some review searching before buying, because new chargers come out often. Just don’t buy one too cheap or it will be cheap and a waste of money. If you do get an expensive one, be careful of copy cats from China, do some research.
And yes it will do 26650, 26500, 18650, 18500, 16340, 14500, 10440, NiCD, NiMH, AAA, AA, C, D.
The correct way to measure capacity is during a discharge cycle. C4-12 does not do this.
I’ve been generally happy with my Lii-500 for capacity testing. It gives slightly conservative values, but that’s most likely because it does not discharge all the way down to 2.5V. I believe it will fit two 26650 cells just fine, but I don’t own any, so I can’t say for sure. Max discharge current is 500 mA, so if you are looking for something faster, look elsewhere. Just keep in mind, the higher the discharge current, the lower the tested capacity will be.
Thank you CNCman. I’ve been also looking at the Xtar Dragon charger/analyzer and I will definitely read plenty of reviews. Compare pros and cons.
Oh and one of my bad habits is to not get cheap stuff lol. Well most times. I read on Amazon for pretty much all Xtar chargers they say that about China knockoffs. How do I know what’s genuine and what’s not?
Pete thank you. I’ve seen a lot of good reviews about that charger and have been really considering purchasing it. But wanted to see what else was out there.
C4-12 just tells you how much is put into the cells correct?
Also where should I purchase the Lii-500? Amazon or banggood etc
.?
I wouldn’t pay $39.99 for it. It was just on flash sale on Banggood for $21.99. I guess that sale is over. Wait for a new sale/coupon code. Otherwise, $27 from Amazon is a decent price if it includes free 2-day shipping.
I’m more concerned about what gets the job done best and safest. I was looking at the Lii 500. Also the Opus 3400.