My XTAR WP2 just broke. I had just put two 18650s in it and started charging when I heard a "clang" sound from it. I pulled the plug immediately as it sounded like the spring had snapped and I didn't want to risk a short.
I opened it and saw that the spring was intact and that it was the plastic "plug" to which the spring was attached that had snapped. Upon closer examination I also noticed a crack in the plastic beside the slider and discovered that the crack was worse than expected. The part that holds the negative end of the slider had broken off as can be seen from the picture below.
Could the the release of the spring tension when the plug snapped have been enough to cause this? I have no idea if the crack was there when I got the charger because when I keep the broken part in place you really have to look for the crack before you see it.
I'm gonna see if the warranty covers this and I can get a new charger. Hopefully it won't break after only being used approximately 15 times .
That is odd. There's not much force acting on that end because it only acts as a rail. Much of the force are actually axial forces on the battery that is being charged. Where did you get it from?
I've had the same kind of failure - the spring post snapping, but not the rail slot cracking - occur in a 4Sevens cradle charger.
Only makes sense really - the longer the cell, the more tension you will be putting on the spring. If the fixing post is weak, then it's going to break. It is the Achilles heal of this form of charger.
It would be nice if manufacturers beefed up the attachment point for the spring accordingly. I love the convenience of a charger with wide ranging slider adjustment, allowing the charging of 16340 to 18700 without any spacers, but the spring attachment point needs to be strong enough to cope with the tension that creates when charging an 18700.
I bought the charger locally and the seller offered a one year warranty. The charger has been in use for 3 months (~15 times) so I'm hoping to get a replacement.
.