FOLOMOV A4 New Version:NOT Recommended-Big Disappointment.

Batteries and Chargers Chargers
1

So, I am looking for a reasonably priced Liion charger that can fit 4 X 26650 and 4 X 21700 UP and be able to charge them a minimum of 2 amps.

I know I saw this somewhere, maybe a few can do this but I can not remember which ones they were.I remember one could charge 3amps in each slot but I do not think it could fit 4 X 26650 in those slots?

I believe the UPGRADED Folomov A4 can.
From Illumn-UPDATED A4: Expanded to fit 21700 and 20700 (UNPROTECTED). All four bays now fit up to 26650.

Still waiting for answer from Illumn which seems to be the only USA supplier that carries these now. Lost popularity or not making them anymore because Illumn has them marked down.My older[?] version of Fomolov A4 can not fit 4 X 26650.Struggles to fit 4 X P42A[UP] Especially in bay #4.

Thanks

2

The Miboxer C4-12 seems to be able to fit 4 26650, 4x3A : Review of Charger Miboxer C4-12

The Skyrc MC3000 too, but it’s quite expensive : Review of Charger SkyRC MC3000

3

Thanks. That is the one I could not remember.Finding in USA is another thing. I will not order from overseas anymore.A piece meal post! I do see it on Amazon.

I see the Vapcell S4 PLUS can charge 4 X 3 amp also but does not look like it can do it with 4 X 26650.

4

One of The features I love about my Opus BT-C3100.2 and Folomov A4 are that ALL 4 bays show you the information at once. You just need to click one button and all 4 bays will display the information[Voltage/time elapsed/charge rate etc.] at once.

This Mi boxer,Vapcell S4 and others do not do that. Too many pressing of buttons with only one, maybe Two bays of info. at once.

5

The Vapcell S4 can do 26650s on slots 1 and 4, 21700s on all, simultaneously.

6

Thanks but That is Not what I am looking for. I have several chargers that can do that. 2 amps minimum and 4 X 26650 is a requirement mentioned in OP.

7

It appears that the UPGRADED Folomov A4 can meet my requirements. I just need Illumns to verify becuase the photo they have is the same sized A4 I have which can not do 4 X 26650. Probably an old photo?

UPDATED A4: Expanded to fit 21700 and 20700 (UNPROTECTED). All four bays now fit up to 26650.

What do you guys think?

8

I would be too wide for a charger to handle all 4 bays with 26650s, and shipping costs on that one will entail as much as 30% or more alone, becoming a niche product.

One alternative is to get two smaller chargers that can handle 2 x 26650s (my old XTAR SV2 Rocket can handle even 32650s)… this way you can have complete display on ALL four bays at once, and can achieve a much higher charging rate, much needed for large capacity 26650 cells nowadays.

Edit: Your expanded A4 looks like it can the do the job you are looking for, but low charging rates when loaded on all four.

9

[quote=tatasal]

No. The charge rate is not low. It can do 4 X 2Amps and 2 X 3 amps in slot 1 and 4. That is stated right in the beginning of the features from the link I provided.

10

Verified by Craig that it can do 4 x 26650[up to 2 amps] and 4 X 21700 up to 2 amps.

This is a simple charger for charging batteries quickly. This NEW Updated version will be even better.

$30 is a good price so I picked up Two of them :+1: , now I will have Three total and just use my Opus for capacity tests.

The Fenix ARE-C2 and the Efest LUC V4 will go into storage.the LUC v4 has been there all but a few weeks of its 3 plus year existence!

11

Miboxer C4 looks good as a charger, but it would be great to find a tester to be able to handle 4*3A discharge.
I think cooling is quite manageable if there’s a good design done.

12

Vapcell S4 Plus can only accommodate 2x 26650 on the 2 outer slots, and 2x protected 21700 on the 2 inner slots. (4x 3A max charge current)

Miboxer C4-12 v2 can accommodate 4x 26650 batteries or 4x protected 21700. (4x 3A max charge current)

SkyRC MC3000 can also fit 4x 26650 or 4x unprotected 21700.
21700-size batteries are a bit tight (just about exactly the length limit for the MC3000) (4x 3A max charge current)

Xtar Dragon VP4 Plus is one of the widest chargers — it can actually fit 4x “D”-size (4x 32650) cells at the same time (also fits 4x unprotected 21700)
(however only 2x 2A or 4x 1A max charge current)

13

:+1: :beer:

14

Thanks everyone for the input.

I have lots of options now when I will have 3 x FOLOMOV A4.

I can charge 8 X P26A,VTC6 ECT. at 2 AMPS for my TN42 CFT90/X65vn mini.I have Two carriers for those lights to swap out.

For the other charger I could charge 4 X 26650 at 2 AMPS OR 4 X P42A at 2 Amps.

When I am using another 26650 light with PLB INR26650-55A[Orbtronic/Vapcell/Shockli] I can charge them at 2 X 3 amps in one of the chargers.

My trusted and consistent Opus will be used mostly for capacity tests.

Finally my preference is to be able to see ALL Four bays info. at once. The Opus and the Folomov can do that. That is the primary[besides cost] reason I stayed away from all the chargers that d_t_a mentioned. I am not into pressing all the buttons with some of those chargers displaying information for one bay at a time.

15

Great to hear that the Folomov A4 (which I have not been able to check out yet) fits your requirements.

Would you be able to do a side-by-side comparison of the old Folomov A4 and new Folomov A4 chargers (in particular, I’d like to know how much longer are the slots of the new A4? In HKJ’s review, the (old) A4 fits up to 69.9mm batteries, and you mentioned the P42A 21700 fits (in my limited experience, the P42A is one of the shortest 21700 batteries — it’s the only 21700 battery that fits the Lii-100 charger, no other 21700 batteries I’ve handled at this time fit in the Lii-100 charger slot). Was wondering if the new A4 added how many “mm” length to their new A4?

16

I can tell you the charger is not any WIDER. What they did was take about 1/4” of space from bays One and Four, then added to two and Three and now All Four bays are the same width[about 1” now] and can accomodate 4 X 26650

As far as length you should be able to notice the difference. Those are Two re-wrapped Aspire 26650 4300 batteries. Third[smallest] picture seems to show it the best.Definitely shows a bit more room for 21700. I do not have a micrometer.

NEW one on LEFT.

NEW one on bottom.

You can see the difference in the size by focusing on the ridges separating the bays.New one is spaced even. Old one has noticeable size difference in width for bay One and Four making Two and Three too narrow for 4 X 26650.

17

Greased All Eight rails on my 2 X FOLOMOV A4 with my favorite stuff. NO-OX-ID. It is as if I have been using the charger For Three years. :+1:

It use to be such a pain in the a to get the batteries out of the older version. Now that it is a bit wider they come out easy. I think Fenix ARE-C2 is the best design. The have indents at the positive pole for our index finger. They come out with ease.

18

Information with just having charger 24 hours.Both NEW A4’S Act in the ways described below.

ONLY advantage the new one has over original is it can charge 4 X 26650/21700.That is a good advantage but you have to be aware when to remove the battery because with a majority of batteries it will not stop charging or at least terminate.

Waited over an hour a few times Stuck at 99%/4.20V and never got to 100%/4.20v]. That is when animation STOPS. What I have found early on is after about 25/30 minutes of being stuck on 99%, pull out battery and it is usually done.

I like the Original A4 version better for these reasons:

-Does not overcharge batteries.

-Terminates voltage in a timely fashion[100%/4.20v display]. Does not get stuck on 99%/4.20v display for 40 minutes to over an hour!

-Charges faster or at least you know when they are done.

- Display is about 30 to 40% brighter
_

New One OVER CHARGE results: Voltages taken immediately off of charger.

Molicel P42A-5 Weeks old-4.24V

Vapcell 26650 5500mAh-14 months old-4.24V-Did not terminate SEE TEST BELOW

Aspire 26650 4300mAh- 8 months old-4.23V

Did not over charge

Acebeam 18650 3100[VTC6 Re wraps] 2 months old.–4.19v

Keeeppower[sanyo cell] 18500 1700mAh-5 years old-4.18v

Molicel P26A - 20 months old-4.18v
_

Not overly concerned about it over charging. My FENIX ARE-C2 did the same with about the same results and I had many of those batteries 3 or 4 years. The difference is the Fenix would terminate, this one does not unless maybe I should wait 70,80 minutes which I am not because that defeats the purpose of them charging faster.

I have to watch them now and stop charging after 30 minutes or so of 99%/4.20 display. That is a pain in the ass for several of the batteries that I tested so far.

Here is a test I just did.

Used the EXACT battery. Vapcell 26650 5500mAh-14 months old.Starting voltage was 3.82v. CHARGED AT 3 Amps.

New-took 1H 26 min. [terminated because stuck on 99% for 35 plus minutes]- 4.24V when removed/aborted before 100%/4.20V when animation STOPS.

Old Folomov A4-[Original]-Took 1 hour 0 minutes, terminated on its own-4.20V when done.

One thing I am going to do is wait no matter how long [been 65 minutes for longest wait] it takes for animation to STOP and display shows 100%/4020V. :person_facepalming:

Bottom line is I just have to pay attention more when using the NEW ones. Not what I was expecting but it will all work out. :sunglasses:

19

My opinion of these NEW Folomov A4 is that they are Junk.

Brand new VTC6. Animation stops[100%/4.20V]. I am thinking, great was only in the 99%/4.20V phase for 35 minutes. Take it out and it is only 4.08V! A minute later bay 4 stops animation. Take it out and it is 4.13V. Put those in my Opus and done in 10 minutes.

So far this charger Overcharges at least half the batteries I put in, charges some correctly and Now is Terminating charge before it is full with brand NEW batteries.

Inconsistent time consuming pieces of junk.

20

Final Thoughts.

This applies to all Li. Ion batteries, Old and New.

I would NOT recommend this NEW version unless you are looking for this.

1.Inconsistent

2.Over charges-4.24/4.25V

3.Under charges- 4.08V to 4.13V

4. Struggles to terminate charge. Some batteries are stuck on 99%/4.20V for One hour plus. The longest I waited was 1 hour 40 min. Indeed they were Over Charged.

I am sending One back and keep the one that is slightly more manageable.Not into baby sitting a charger, checking every 15 minutes or so to see if the charge terminated.

It is obvious that they changed[probably cheaper parts] some of the electronics. The old version does not have those issues.

HKJ told me manufacturers sometimes swap different and cheaper parts from one version of a charger to the next. Quite apparent with the results attained from this New A4.