Xtar wp2- good for beginner?

Hi all,

I know someone selling a WP2, not sure if it is a v1 or v2. Is it worth picking up? I want to pick up a cheap 18650 torch to see what the fuss is about!

Thanks

I have the Xtar WP2 II. It is a good charger that I bought based on many recommendations here and and CPF. I trust it much more than the cheapo 2 bay dumb chargers so prevalent on budget light sites. Batteries consistently come off the charger between 4.15 to 4.2v. Not sure if the regular WP2 is as good.

Absolutely, great charger. There have been some problems with the V2, some of them have been overcharging, others terminated the charge early. I think most that have reported a problem have had there chargers changed, I know I did and know it works perfect.

Just make sure you measure your batteries before use (full charge: 4.15-4.20V), especially if you use 2 bats in series. But that goes for every charger out there...

If it's cheap enough go for it. I just got a new WP2 II. Less than 20 shipped from Jason at sbflashlights.com So base your decision on that.

The v2 from Jason at Sbflashlights.com HAS THE NEW CHIP INSTALLED as there were problems with v1 AND early issued v2's.

http://www.sbflashlights.com/Batteries-Chargers/Xtar-WP2-II-Li-Ion-Charger-p136.html

Just charged up a pair of 18650's, my first too!

My Wp2 II charges 26650s easily. Loved it.

I love my first gen WP2 (I have 2) BUT it has a major flaw. It won't reset a tripped protection circuit in a protected cell.

+1

That is my only regret. I keep a MP1 at hand for the occasional need.

I have a Tenergy 18650 charger for the same purpose

+2

And I have a cheapo $4.99 China special that I keep for just that purpose.

LOL. How often do any of you need to reset a battery? (a friend with a TK-35 occasionally come to unlock one overlydischarged battery, never happened to me personally.)

The last Li/ion charger I bought is a WP2 II. I'm not sure I trust the charger. On one side the battery comes off the charger at 4.17-4.18 and the other side the battery comes off at 4.23-4.25. I've only charged with it 3 times but it was the same each time. I have a cheap $4.99 charger from China that I use the most. It stops both cells at 4.18 every time. I'm wondering if I need to send the Xstar back.

it's happened to me a few times with my TK35. I also got 2 out of 4 brand new Trustfire 14500's that were tripped as well!

Chidwack, you might have one with the bad chip. Check with vendor that sold it to you. I got mine from SBFlashlights.com

It's happened to me 4 times in the last 6 months. Three times when I was doing a battery burn time test in a two cell light and once while using a single cell light.

No trippings here... OTOH, got other chargers to pop´em open :)

About WP2:

I wish this had been on market when I was about to get my first charger.

It´s not the cheapest but it is IMO worth every penny and "does it all" with those spacers and car adapter and two stage output.

I threw much more pennies out getting: RCR123, 14500 and 18650 cheapo-chargers one by one. Now I have pretty much thrown THEM out...

Hm, strange :| After my C7 has shut down, I've checked the cell with my DMM and it showed 0 :| So I've put it in the charger for about 5 sec. Then I rechecked it and the cell had ~3V. I put it again et voila :) Normally it (charger) turns off @ 4.15V. (@4.18-19 would be awesome :P )

You are lucky I guess. I left my tripped cells in the charger for at least 5 minutes to see if if would eventually reset the protection, no luck. And that's with both of mine. (Version 1)

Hm, I have V1 as well :~ Question: could it depend on the cell? (I mean brand/protection circuit). Worked with 14500 TF black.

I have the Xtar WP2 mark 2 and it performs very well. Terminates charging at 4.16-4.18V. Independent channels with a choice of 500ma or 1000ma charging.

I am new to 18650 cells, so can you please explain why 4.18 is so much better than 4.15v? It seems insignificant.

Thanks, Marc.