So it’s that time of year and I’m being asked what I would like for Christmas. Most things torch related I don’t ask for as I don’t want someone to over pay for what I know I can get it for, or simply get the wrong thing. But, I am in the market for a analysing charger. I have many different chargers, but none that can do the job of the four that are on my short list. So I’ve been looking at one of the following:
Vapcell S4+
Opus BT-C3100 V2.2
Xtar VC4 Plus
SkyRC MC3000
I really can’t decide. The first three seem very similar, but I can’t find much information at all on the Xtar VC4 Plus. The last one is 3 times the price of the rest, but is it worth it? The thing putting me off is how complicated it is, and the fact you can’t just put a battery in and start charging. Any pros and cons for any of the above, or even a different suggestion would be greatly appreciated!
I got 2 of the VC4 Plus and love it. HKJ has a good review of it. I’ve bought my first one 2 years ago but only until the last month have I plugged the probes in and started using this unit as it should. For a long time it was just insert battery and charge.
Have not use the others but have heard good things about them also.
I like the Vapcell S4 Plus so much that I bought four of them. I can charge four 26650 and not suffer from insufficient amps. It is long enough for extra extra long protected usb chargeable 21700.
I also have two Xtar VC8 chargers, for charging eight 18650 at the same time, not too quickly.
I had more than a few Xtar VC4 and VP4 chargers. I gave some of my 4 bay Xtar chargers to friends, and then when extra extra long protected usb chargeable 21700 Imalent and Nitecore cells came out, I made gifts of almost all of the rest of my VC4 and VP4 chargers.
If you don’t mind me dropping in, I would like some help too.
I use a Trustfire TR-003P4 charger that’s obviously not the best choice but it does the job.
Since I ordered a flashlight with 21 700 batteries that could but may not fit, I was thinking about getting a charger too. I would also like to be able to charge Ni-Mh batteries since my Eneloop/Panasonic Basic charger is quite slow.
I would like to have the discharge function and a screen so I can see the real capacity.
Should I get a XTAR VP4 Plus since it is what you recommend?
I’ve seen reports saying that it’s inaccurate in terms of measuring the capacity.
i also bought several Miboxer Blitz sales, great stuff but ..
XTAR has too many similar chargers wait for their 4 new or updated models to be released in 2022.
actually for months i just use only 2 program memory settings on skyrc, 1 for 18650 1 for 16340. it has memory for 8 custom programs, perfect for lazy me . interesting that no other company
Vapcell S4 Plus is work horse charger. Its only issue is that over discharged NiMH need to be jump started in another chsrger. The XTAR VP4 Plus Dragon is good but struggles to accept 21700s. The new VC4SL is good for consumers but cut down in features compared to the Vapcell.
It’s the XTAR VC4 Plus that I was interested in. But I can’t find any reviews, or much information at all on it really, other than the Amazon listing - Here
Anyway, I’ve gone for the Vapcell S4+. The 4x 3A charging is an appealing feature and it seems to offer everything I’m after. The only thing it’s lacking is a charging/discharging to storage voltage feature.
After “collecting” various chargers, like the Opus, plus an XTAR, almighty Miboxer, Zanflare, Nitecore, etc., I like them all, but I keep coming back to the Ope.
Most others have quirks here and there (eg, can only analyse in bay #4, don’t handle some chemistries, etc.), whereas the Ope is pretty much orthogonal, with no need to memorise quirks.
Damned fan buzzes like an angry bumblebee, and it can get heat-stroke if you dump too much total current at once, but all in all it’s my go-to charger.
Based on the product picture and description, this "Xtar VC4 Plus" would appear to be the now-named-as "Xtar VC4SL":
Basically it's almost the same charger as the previous Xtar VC4S (which is more different than the VC4 / VC4L).
So the VC4SL would have similar features, like charging, storage, grading (capacity test).
The additional changes of the VC4SL vs the previous VC4S would appear to be:
- VC4SL now uses a USB type C port, whereas the VC4S uses a micro-USB port (however, both models can use 5v/2A or QuickCharge 2 (9v) for faster charging)
- VC4SL has longer slots, and now fit protected 21700 batteries in length ; the VC4S may fit the shorter unprotected 21700 batteries
- VC4SL now allows manually changing the charging current ; whereas VC4S only uses automatic charging current (based on internal resistance check, and limited by the USB power supply, faster charging possible when using QC2 USB port)
At least those are the main differences I've noticed.
HKJ has a review of the VC4S. (I can't be sure if they tweaked the charging/discharging algorithms from VC4S to VC4SL, but maybe not?)
I have the MC3000. I like having the ability to control every parameter of charging and discharging. If you understand how charging of different battery chemistries works, it’s not too difficult to set up. It took me about 30 minutes to glance at the manual and set up a few different charging profiles when I first got the charger. Once you’ve initially set up the profiles, it’s as simple as inserting the cell and selecting a profile.
Its two biggest downsides that I can see are a) price and b) inability to fit larger (>70mm) cells.
I’m looking for my fist charger, any idea about Nitecore UMS4?
Can I understand with it if my batteries are original or fake?
Seems like it can show batteries internal resistance. Will it be enough to figure out if my Samsung 40T and 30Q is original?
Hehe, thanks. I think having individual discharge function is much better. It only exists inside capacity test for most chargers. And 700mA discharge current is much better compared to 250-300 mA discharge current of Xtar.
Xtar vc4 plus or xtar vc4sl does but don’t buy it. Quick charger implementation is problematic and terminates early. If you use usual 5v adapter without qc it works fine for me. However another forum member tells he also had problems with usual 5v adapter without qc.
If you can somehow disable qc and trick the charger think it utilizes qc, it will probably work fine. I don’t know how to do it.
