I have an old Nitecore i4 intelligent charger that has generally worked for me. My beef with it is the cheapness… don’t like how the spring contacts work. They easily bind. And I don’t like how exposed they are. I bought it 5 years ago, so now I see the game has changed significantly. So many offerings.
Generally, I’m looking for a modest capacity charger… like 2 or 4 cells. Solid build, good battery protection, and large enough to handle a 21700 cell in one slot. It would be nice to have some indicators for progress. I’d checked out the Vapcell U2 2A Smart Charger , which might fit the bill… but there’s little mentioned about it and $11 seems like it’ll be cheap construction.
I’d like to keep cost below $25, but will pay more if it has compelling features that are worth having. Thanks!
The “hot” item is the MiBoxer C4-12A (4x3 Amps) at FastTech for $37 and this version (C4 +) on Amazon.com (4x2.5 Amps) for $30.
Both can handle 21700 and LiFePO4 (for those muggles).
A sleuth of features including %, charge rate (auto or user selectable), IR, temperature sensor, and of course capacity. They don’t have discharging function nor serve as a power bank. They are discontinuing some of the previous models and to add to the confusion, have same name and nomenclature. The second one (from Amazon - C4 PLUS) is no longer made but is a valid unit. The newer C4-12A is available at $46 Amazon.com .
I reverse calculate the total capacity (ballpark) by taking the pumped capacity divided by the percent charged.
Example: a Panasonic US18650GA cell when initially inserted at 3.51 Volts gives 14% (charge remaining) and when terminated 2862 mAh fully charged.
2862 ÷ (1 - 0.14) = 3328 mAh total capacity – Mfg value of 3400, close enough.
Edit: I’m using LiFePO4 cells as a workaround for 2 celled lights (alkalines) and using a dummy in series. They are close to the 3 volt (3.2 v) and have a relatively flat discharge curve. Some existing lights have a nice ‘feel’ and I want to upgrade to Lithium. NiMH are also an alternative but don’t have the boost (2.4 volts).
You can buy the Miboxer C8 for around $40 on eBay, it is a great value. Having 8 slots is awesome! I know you may not want that many slots or pay that much, but the internal resistance measurements are fairly accurate and the quality of the springs are pretty good.