Have you upgraded internals too? PB2S efficiency was quite low…
No, they’re the exact same
I plugged my PB2S into my laptop and it let the smoke out, so I ended up buying a PB2SL. I have not tested plugging that into my laptop as I’m concerned that one or the other would be damaged.
I don’t like the removable spacer; it’s yet another small piece to get lost. I do like the rotating bracket. What I’d really like is:
- Slider contacts like other chargers have, supporting anything from 16340 to protected 21700. Of course nobody sane would run a powerbank from 16340s outside of an emergency, but the ability to charge a wider variety of cells would make for the ultimate travel charger.
- A locking lid. The magnets are fine most of the time, but not secure enough in a large bag with other items. It’s pretty dangerous for Li-ion cells to fall out in a bag.
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Agreed. The lid needs some kind of way to positively secure it. I’ve always carried it with an elastic band or hairtie around it because it just doesn’t feel secure enough to me.
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Second these points. These are my main painpoints with mine, too.
Additionally, I would want to be able to lower the charging current if needed (e.g. for 14500s).
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I have a PB2SL charger as well. Two comments:
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I use an elastic band around the device to give additional security to the cover staying closed. In fact I use a hair tie as they are longer lived and slide more easily. (I use these often for such purposes)
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My charger indicates 4.2 V when charging is completed by my meter says it’s really 4.15 V. This may increase the lifetime cycles but some may be disappointed at less than a 100% charge.
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Most of my chargers stop at 4.2 volts. But a few minutes later the cells will read less. 4.14 to 4.17 is typical. I use that “resting” voltage as a rough guide to cell health. This is the reason I like chargers that show the cells actual voltage after termination rather than the voltage where the charger stopped charging.
The hair tie is a good idea.
That’s good information thank you. I also have a Nitecore UMS4 and I will take some readings with that as well.
What chargers show the actual voltage after termination?
Well, there is only one that I can think of off hand. It is the SkyRC MC3000. It is, quite literally, my daily driver. I have a bunch of chargers and I can’t recall any others. But my memory is not all that great these days. Hopefully someone else can add to the list.
Unless I read your question the wrong way: my Opus BT-C3100 and Vapcell S4Plus show voltage after termination when you toggle through the menu.
Interesting, pretty sure mine shows the “frozen” termination voltage, I do think more chargers should show live voltage readings, the majority just read 4.20V forever.
I don’t know what you mean by frozen. My charger does not always terminate at 4.20V. It can also be 4.19V (with 18350) or something else. And while charging, toggling the “DISPLAY” button shows me the voltage at that moment.
During charging, the voltage is updated, I was talking about once the cell is finished charging the voltage displayed is the termination voltage, and if the cell voltage drops, this isn’t displayed.
Of course, I’m only going from memory, I’d have to check, but I don’t have my charger to hand. It would be a pleasant surprise to find out the voltage is updated post-charging.
I am not following you With my S4+ it will show 4.20 volts on the selected charging display at and after termination regardless of what the actual current measured voltage of the cell is. What are you doing differently to see the real voltage of a cell that has been sitting for a while?
Try this. Fully charge a cell. Wait an hour. Disconnect the cell and reconnect it. Every time I do this the displayed voltage drops to the actual cell voltage. So once the charger terminates the 4.20 V reading stays that way until you disconnect the cell and reconnect it. It does not show the real time voltage without intervention. I verified this on a few different cells using all four slots.
My charger is the S4+ V2.