LiitoKala lii-500S - New HIT or ...?

[RapidLux]

@briankdk

so what should i buy ? the 500 or the 500S there is sooooo much information in this thread for experts that non experts dosent understand or should i choose another charger ?

I would choose 500S as it has temperature sensors to prevent overheating and supports charging 21700 cells. These cells will become much more common than today. No doubt you will need a 21700 charger. Other chargers can be Miboxer C4-12 and BLF UC4 Also Liitokala Lii-402 will in not long time be upgraded to fit 21700s.

[leftdisconnected]

I would not recommend the BLF charger to non-experts as it will have too many options requiring some technical knowledge, but I intended to mention that the 500S accepts most 21700 cells, which will almost certainly be more and more relevant in the future. Thanks to RapidLux for pointing this out.

Unless something weird happens, 21700’s are likely to become the standard cell for medium to large lights and they won’t fit in the 500. I have a Sofirn 21700 and do fit it into my Lii-500, but it barely fits and cramming it in there tends to bend the battery sliders. Don’t try this at home .

[Rayoui]

I have the 500S and Samsung 40T and 50E both fit with room to spare. I don’t think it would fit protected cells though. My Nitecore UMS2 can fit protected 21700 cells.

[briankdk]

thank you all for the very nice answers - i allready have the 500, but 4 days ago when i needed to use it for the 9-10 time since i bought it 14 months ago, it almost cought fire (smoke started to come out of it), so i imediately disconected it from the powergrid……

so i have to order a new one, but judging from your guys answers, it should be the new 500s that i buy, instead of the 500

@RapidLux

@briankdk

so what should i buy ? the 500 or the 500S there is sooooo much information in this thread for experts that non experts dosent understand or should i choose another charger ?

I would choose 500S as it has temperature sensors to prevent overheating and supports charging 21700 cells. These cells will become much more common than today. No doubt you will need a 21700 charger. Other chargers can be Miboxer C4-12 and BLF UC4 Also Liitokala Lii-402 will in not long time be upgraded to fit 21700s.

@leftdisconnected

@briankdk

so what should i buy ? the 500 or the 500S there is sooooo much information in this thread for experts that non experts dosent understand or should i choose another charger ?

If you don’t need to test cell capacities then there are many simpler chargers available, including some from Liitokala. However, if you do want to measure capacity then either the 500 or 500S will work just fine and are probably the least expensive analyzing chargers you will find.

Both chargers have similar functionality, but the 500S will also discharge a cell and stop, which was a feature that I really needed, but am unable to do with my Lii-500 . I missed the newer model by just 3 months or so.

If you don’t need to discharge batteries (most people don’t), then the 500 is great and is slightly less expensive (ignoring coupon codes). If you want a fast 2-amp charge rate and a Discharge mode, then the 500S is a better choice. I don’t like the “inverse” display or the touch buttons on the 500S, but I would still choose it over the 500 if the price were right.

Non-experts might prefer a charger that doesn’t offer a selectable charge rate, however, since some batteries should not be charged at 2 amps. If that sentence is gibberish to you, then I recommend getting a simple charger that has no user settings and has only colored LED’s to indicate either “charging” or “finished”. Lithium-ion charging circuits are ubiquitous in Chinese manufacturing today and thus even some of the least expensive chargers available will work just fine and operate safely.

@Nisei

Depends what you need.
If you don’t need discharge and test modes and are just looking for a decent charger then you might as well buy a more simple charger.
But for $21.90 including shipping the 500S is a great deal.
I’m very happy with it.

[RapidLux]

Are you guys happy with the new Lii-500S? Is it a good replacement for the old Lii-500 or would you go for another charger? Does it take protected 21700 batteries? When will there be a real review of this charger?

[Rayoui]

I picked up this charger a few months ago because there was a sale going on and it was cheap. I used it a couple times to successfully charge some 21700 and 18650 cells. When a cell completes charging the indicator for that bank turns green and the charger beeps. A couple of weeks ago I was using this charger to top up a 30Q and I felt like it was taking an unreasonable amount of time. I checked on the charger and the light was still red and the screen indicated that it was still charging, but the voltage reading was 4.20. I took the cell off the charger and measured it with a multimeter at 4.27v.

I thought it might have been a weird quirk but didn’t use the charger again for a couple of weeks because I didn’t really trust it. I decided to try it again today and put a Sanyo GA in the charger. I watched it closely and when it reached 4.20v it did not chime and the light remained red. I waited another 10 minutes and took the cell off the charger. When I measured it with a multimeter it was at 4.23v. I decided I didn’t want to keep a charger around that I can’t trust not to overcharge my cells if I don’t babysit it. I unplugged it and tossed it directly in the bin.

[Jerommel]

The 500S can’t do LiFePo anymore, can it?

[Rayoui]

No, the manual specifically states it is incompatible with LiFePO4. That was the first thing I checked.

[Barkuti]

@Jerommel

The 500S can’t do LiFePo anymore, can it?

Can't do LiFePO anymore? As far as I know the 500 can't do LiFePO either, at least not without a mod. ;-)

[Jerommel]

Oh, i didn’t even know that…
Are you sure?

[leftdisconnected]

@Jerommel

Oh, i didn’t even know that…
Are you sure?

Yes. The Lii-500 amd Lii-500S support only li-ion (4.2V) and NiMH (1.48V).

[Jerommel]

Well, so be it then.
I have 4 of those big 32650 / 32700 LiFePo cells coming my way, and i was hoping to be able to test the capacity with my lii-500.
I’ll have to think of another way to do that then.

[leftdisconnected]

@Rayoui

I … put a Sanyo GA in the charger. I watched it closely and when it reached 4.20v it did not chime and the light remained red. I waited another 10 minutes and took the cell off the charger. When I measured it with a multimeter it was at 4.23v. I decided I didn’t want to keep a charger around that I can’t trust not to overcharge my cells if I don’t babysit it. I unplugged it and tossed it directly in the bin.

Thanks for the report. I don’t know what’s wrong with your charger, but I agree that it’s utterly useless if it won’t shut off properly, as even $0.21 TP4056 modules will properly terminate.

[Forever]

Sounds like a bad unit, I’m not seeing this behavior with mine.

[Barkuti]

@Jerommel

…

I have 4 of those big 32650 / 32700 LiFePo cells coming my way, and i was hoping to be able to test the capacity with my lii-500.

I’ll have to think of another way to do that then.

Get a proper testing device, there's an affordable electronic load / battery tester which can be had for little money:

• https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32856429623.html ZKE Tech EBD-M05.
• https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32664964301.html ZKE Tech four wire holder.

Features PC software which plots discharge graphs. I have one right here still untested, waiting for my holder.

More information here: ZKE Tech EBD-M05 help

[Rayoui]

@Forever

Sounds like a bad unit, I’m not seeing this behavior with mine.

Indeed, my unit was defective. Strange that it worked fine a couple of times before it started acting up.

Failing to terminate charging is a pretty dangerous failure mode. It’s certainly something to watch out for if you use this charger.

[leftdisconnected]

@Barkuti

Get a proper testing device, there’s an affordable electronic load / battery tester which can be had for little money:

• https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32856429623.html ZKE Tech EBD-M05.

• https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32664964301.html ZKE Tech four wire holder.

Ah, I remember coming across that before and thinking that someone should let the store know that their name has a rather unfortunate connotation in the U.S. I didn’t .

[LTC]

@Rayoui

I picked up this charger a few months ago because there was a sale going on and it was cheap. I used it a couple times to successfully charge some 21700 and 18650 cells. When a cell completes charging the indicator for that bank turns green and the charger beeps. A couple of weeks ago I was using this charger to top up a 30Q and I felt like it was taking an unreasonable amount of time. I checked on the charger and the light was still red and the screen indicated that it was still charging, but the voltage reading was 4.20. I took the cell off the charger and measured it with a multimeter at 4.27v.

I thought it might have been a weird quirk but didn’t use the charger again for a couple of weeks because I didn’t really trust it. I decided to try it again today and put a Sanyo GA in the charger. I watched it closely and when it reached 4.20v it did not chime and the light remained red. I waited another 10 minutes and took the cell off the charger. When I measured it with a multimeter it was at 4.23v. I decided I didn’t want to keep a charger around that I can’t trust not to overcharge my cells if I don’t babysit it. I unplugged it and tossed it directly in the bin.

Oh no… That’s sh*tty to hear that. Will be receiving mine in a day or 2. :person_facepalming:

[Barkuti]

This charger lacks any trustful review worth reading yet. Additionally, two out of the latest three LiitoKala chargers reviewed by HKJ (Lii-S2 and Lii-S1) have been found using nonsensical, harmful trickle charge on lithium ion cells. Now, without being explicitly judgmental with LiitoKala here, just tell me what you think, please. I'll judge from there on, just don't want to binge. O:)

[Vendeur]

Guys… I think some workers and their bosses in LiitoKala are really braindeads…

http://www.liitokala.com.cn/productView.asp?id=484

and look at this picture…:

Are they really puting a microSD card into USB slot…