Opus BT-C3100 vs LiitoKala Lii-500

[bella-headlight]

“go for the Opus, its voltage are spot on, on my 2 DMMs my Liitokala 500 overcharges to 4.22V”.
Accepted charging voltage for 4.2v cells is +/- .05v so 4.22v is absolutely fine.
Immediately off the Lii 500 my DMM (Amprobe) shows cells at 4.19v.
“3100 has a more precise Voltmeter in my opinion and chargin is always Spot on I always found batteries at about 4.17-4.19V even after 30min pulled out of the charger”
Surely for the voltage to be up to 4.19v 30 minutes after charging dosen”t that show that the Opus is also charging over 4.20v ?
Not arguing just curious ?
At the end of the day I have both chargers & they are both fine chargers IMO I just prefer the Liitokala.

[freeme (youtube.com/@1thedeals)]

I own both chargers. OPUS is much “friendlier” for day to day usage.

[bella-headlight]

@freeme

I own both chargers. OPUS is much “friendlier” for day to day usage.

Curious in what way ?
If you mean friendlier to the cells then the D4 is even friendlier as it only charges to about 4.18v in my experience.

[gyzmo2002]

@tatasal

@gyzmo2002

In my post above wherein I quoted a 2.5v cut-out voltage, it was done with the iCharger, not the Opus, and the cell used was a Panasonic NCR18650PF. as shown in the link.

I demonstrated that Opus provides a higher measure regarding the capacity because you affirmed the opposite in your first post and this is not the first time. All I ask you is not to make this statement anymore because it is false and this will induce member wrong.

If you need some help with the MC3000, you have my mail. An advice, don’t bother you with the dummy mode, go straight in advanced mode and you will learn a lot about parameters to charge batteries.

[tatasal]

@gyzmo2002

@tatasal

@gyzmo2002

@tatasal

@gyzmo2002

@tatasal

@will34

The opus is a very capable charger, but both of my units had faults, it also reads higher capacity than actual. Haven’t tried the lii500 yet as I upgraded to the MC3000 instead and am very happy with it.

Well, I have/had 2 Opus 2.0, also 2 Opus 2.1 and the 2.2 versions. Somewhere in BLF I have posted a result of my 2.1 having a discharge capacity difference of only 8 mah compared to the result I got from iCharger 106B+ hobby charger. In all my tests with the Panasonic NCR18650PF/PD cells I run it through with, there was not much difference among them the Opuses AND the iCharger (and in every discharge session made, the test cell was charged by my Xtar VP2, btw).

I also have the MC3000 but have not tested it yet because of my disappointment of it not friendly to flat-top cells (and I don’t want to use magnets), I still have not tried it yet until now.

As to your observation that Opus reads a higher capacity, well, it’s either all my Opuses and iCharger (which is highly unlikely to my mind) all read too high or the MC3000 reads too low.

The Opus read a higher capacity than the cells rating. The MC3000 is target. I did the test on CPF.

I never had my any of Opus read higher than the cell’s capacity. I only did get one reading higher than the cell’s rated capacity in my iCharger when I set the discharge cut-off down to 2.5volts.

Discharge Capacity Tests on Soshine 18650 2900mAh Protected, cells courtesy of Louis Huang of T-mart. NCR-PF/Soshine graph added (cells were discharged at 1, 3 and 5 amps down to 2.5v)

A18650B 3400mah has a max capacity of 3350 if my memory is correct. All my results were around 3500mah.
If your results are the same with your Opus, your charger is really special.

Yes, your memory is correct that the NCR3400B has around 3350mah of capacity, that’s the usual ballpark figure I get too in my Opuses and iCharger when discharged to 2.8v.

Perhaps you just have a bad Opus!

I just check the ncr18650B capacity: min 3250-3350mah at 25celsius.

Lol…read my edit ….If you could prove me that your Opus BT3100 doesn’t read high, I will say in this thread that you were right.

You say that you have 3350mah when you discharge at 2.80v. The cells spec says that you have 3350mah max(I give you a chance) from 4.20 to 2.50…. just with that, you see that it is not accurate. Where is the capacity between 2.80 and 2.50? To be fair with you, there is not a lot but there is a little, around 50-100mah probably… I will check it later. We will go with 50mah…+3350 you have…3400. Your higher at this state.

If I do the test with the MC3000 from 4.22-2.80 like the opus, the results are between 3125-3200mah with brand new B cells. With the Opus with the same cells, 3540-3610mah.

Mc3000 from 4.20-2.50 with a 10 cycle B that I removed the pcb, 3252mah and 3502 with the Opus. Don’t forget the cell capacity should be between 3250-3350mah according to the specs.

Here are the results of Discharge Capacities of my Opus BT-C3100 v2.1 and v2.2:
Cells used: Brand-new Samsung 30Q flat-top, brand-new Sanyo UR14500P 840mah and a slightly-used Panasonic NCR18650B 3400mah
Charger used to charge the Sanyo 14500 is the Opus itself.
18650 cells were charge at 1A, 14500 was charge at 700ma. Straight discharge mode was used in the two Opus chargers.

The photos below will show that the Opus does not read high as you believe it does, and is just as accurate as the MC3000, discharge-capacity wise:
The O ma pic just shows that discharging has stopped:
!!

You said you got 3252mah on your MC3000, well I got 3254mah from my Opus v2.2 (not bad at 2mah difference huh)

!!

!!

!!

!!

I can’t seem to straighten up the pics, can somebody please do it for me? Thanks

[gyzmo2002]

@tatasal

@gyzmo2002

@tatasal

@gyzmo2002

@tatasal

@gyzmo2002

@tatasal

@will34

The opus is a very capable charger, but both of my units had faults, it also reads higher capacity than actual. Haven’t tried the lii500 yet as I upgraded to the MC3000 instead and am very happy with it.

Well, I have/had 2 Opus 2.0, also 2 Opus 2.1 and the 2.2 versions. Somewhere in BLF I have posted a result of my 2.1 having a discharge capacity difference of only 8 mah compared to the result I got from iCharger 106B+ hobby charger. In all my tests with the Panasonic NCR18650PF/PD cells I run it through with, there was not much difference among them the Opuses AND the iCharger (and in every discharge session made, the test cell was charged by my Xtar VP2, btw).

I also have the MC3000 but have not tested it yet because of my disappointment of it not friendly to flat-top cells (and I don’t want to use magnets), I still have not tried it yet until now.

As to your observation that Opus reads a higher capacity, well, it’s either all my Opuses and iCharger (which is highly unlikely to my mind) all read too high or the MC3000 reads too low.

The Opus read a higher capacity than the cells rating. The MC3000 is target. I did the test on CPF.

I never had my any of Opus read higher than the cell’s capacity. I only did get one reading higher than the cell’s rated capacity in my iCharger when I set the discharge cut-off down to 2.5volts.

Discharge Capacity Tests on Soshine 18650 2900mAh Protected, cells courtesy of Louis Huang of T-mart. NCR-PF/Soshine graph added (cells were discharged at 1, 3 and 5 amps down to 2.5v)

A18650B 3400mah has a max capacity of 3350 if my memory is correct. All my results were around 3500mah.
If your results are the same with your Opus, your charger is really special.

Yes, your memory is correct that the NCR3400B has around 3350mah of capacity, that’s the usual ballpark figure I get too in my Opuses and iCharger when discharged to 2.8v.

Perhaps you just have a bad Opus!

I just check the ncr18650B capacity: min 3250-3350mah at 25celsius.

Lol…read my edit ….If you could prove me that your Opus BT3100 doesn’t read high, I will say in this thread that you were right.

You say that you have 3350mah when you discharge at 2.80v. The cells spec says that you have 3350mah max(I give you a chance) from 4.20 to 2.50…. just with that, you see that it is not accurate. Where is the capacity between 2.80 and 2.50? To be fair with you, there is not a lot but there is a little, around 50-100mah probably… I will check it later. We will go with 50mah…+3350 you have…3400. Your higher at this state.

If I do the test with the MC3000 from 4.22-2.80 like the opus, the results are between 3125-3200mah with brand new B cells. With the Opus with the same cells, 3540-3610mah.

Mc3000 from 4.20-2.50 with a 10 cycle B that I removed the pcb, 3252mah and 3502 with the Opus. Don’t forget the cell capacity should be between 3250-3350mah according to the specs.

Here are the results of Discharge Capacities of my Opus BT-C3100 v2.1 and v2.2:
Cells used: Brand-new Samsung 30Q flat-top, brand-new Sanyo UR14500P 840mah and a slightly-used Panasonic NCR18650B 3400mah
Charger used to charge the Sanyo 14500 is the Opus itself.
18650 cells were charge at 1A, 14500 was charge at 700ma. Straight discharge mode was used in the two Opus chargers.

The photos below will show that the Opus does not read high as you believe it does, and is just as accurate as the MC3000, discharge-capacity wise:
The O ma pic just shows that discharging has stopped:
!!

You said you got 3252mah on your MC3000, well I got 3254mah from my Opus v2.2 (not bad at 2mah difference huh)

!!

!!

!!

!!

Do a charge test. Nothing prove me with your test that your battery was full at the beginning. I could take one at 4.10 and do a discharge to have an accurate result as the one you are. On a charge test, the charger will charge to full, discharge to 2.80 and charge again.

Edit: At the end, I need to see charge test on your display.

[tatasal]

@gyzmo2002

I have nothing to gain if I purposely ‘undercharge’ as you maliciously suspect it to be. The cells were charged full, I’ll be crazy not to and just ‘approximate’ it to get the discharge capacities?

It’s now just past midnight…goodnight!

[gyzmo2002]

@tatasal

@gyzmo2002

I have nothing to gain if I purposely ‘undercharge’ as you maliciously suspect it to be. The cells were charged full, I’ll be crazy not to and just ‘approximate’ it to get the discharge capacities?

It’s now just past midnight…goodnight!

It is the only way for me to see that your batterie were full at the beginning.

Goodnight, we are 11:50am in Montreal.

[gyzmo2002]

@Tatassal

I have think to that again. All my tests were done on a charge test. (C>D>C) and yours on a discharge only. I think there is a possibility of another “flaw” with the Opus.

I never did a test only with a discharge only to 2.80v to test it. What I think with your results is they could be different between these two test. An accurate charger must give the same results like the MC3000 does.

Could you try a discharge test as I asked before with the same cell you did it? I am 99.9% sure that your results will be higher than the discharge only you did above.

I can’t do this test for now, only in the next weekend.

@members

For the others testers who have the Opus BT3100 v2.2 or the Liitokala and want to try it, it would be useful to see your results. The Liitokala could be more accurate than the Opus to measure cells capacity.

[tatasal]

@gyzmo2002

@Tatassal

I have think to that again. All my tests were done on a charge test. (C>D>C) and yours on a discharge only. I think there is a possibility of another “flaw” with the Opus.

I never did a test only with a discharge only to 2.80v to test it. What I think with your results is they could be different between these two test.

I don’t do the ‘test’ mode since it takes a very long time to finish it without a break, and, call it a flaw or whatever, but the Opus, and I remember it now as I have not used the ‘test’ mode’ because of it, I get confused with the figures shown. IIRC, the numbers shown after the Discharge portion are actually the Charge numbers (that is why you are seeing a higher reading), and I think you have to wait for the last numbers to show to know the discharge numbers, and that is after the second Charge portion.

I have pointed this out the to this charger’s designer. I have made an example of the simplicity of my Maha C9000 that clearly shows ‘available capacity’ after a Test session.

This is the reason why I use the ‘Discharge’ mode only to get the capacity for I will be certain the numbers shown are surely the discharge capacity, and I can take a break between modes, or give the cell a longer break, etc.

If you have time, take the Discharge test and compare it to your MC3000, and I’m sure you will see a much closer result.

[will34]

At 1A rate, my opus showed 3,450mAh after discharging a set of Sanyo GA down to 2.7V, and the same set of batteries in the MC3000 with discharge current reduction (similar to CC/CV but for discharge) of 50mA and down to 2.5V I only got 3,350mAh. But the numbers from the MC3000 were actually closer to various results from members with sophisticated testing equipment.

Maybe this doesn’t happen with every unit, But at less than 5% variation I don’t think it is an issue at all, if one isn’t looking for the ultimate accuracy.

The opus is actually much friendlier to use for basic tasks, doesn’t require too many button presses to get it working.

[tatasal]

@will34

The opus is actually much friendlier to use for basic tasks, doesn’t require too many button presses to get it working.

Yes.

[gyzmo2002]

@tatasal

@gyzmo2002

@Tatassal

I have think to that again. All my tests were done on a charge test. (C>D>C) and yours on a discharge only. I think there is a possibility of another “flaw” with the Opus.

I never did a test only with a discharge only to 2.80v to test it. What I think with your results is they could be different between these two test.

I don’t do the ‘test’ mode since it takes a very long time to finish it without a break, and, call it a flaw or whatever, but the Opus, and I remember it now as I have not used the ‘test’ mode’ because of it, I get confused with the figures shown. IIRC, the numbers shown after the Discharge portion are actually the Charge numbers (that is why you are seeing a higher reading), and I think you have to wait for the last numbers to show to know the discharge numbers, and that is after the second Charge portion.

I have pointed this out the to this charger’s designer. I have made an example of the simplicity of my Maha C9000 that clearly shows ‘available capacity’ after a Test session.

This is the reason why I use the ‘Discharge’ mode only to get the capacity for I will be certain the numbers shown are surely the discharge capacity, and I can take a break between modes, or give the cell a longer break, etc.

If you have time, take the Discharge test and compare it to your MC3000, and I’m sure you will see a much closer result.

I just try it with the same discharge >D you did on my 18650b. My result is 3520mah at 2.80v. The charge test C>D>C I did before with this cell was 3502mah.(posted on cpf). On the charge test C>D>C at the end, you always have the discharge capacity because when it charges, the number doesn’t change. On the MC3000 v1.02, at the end of the C>D>C, you have the discharge at the end but you can see the capacity during the charge. At the last second, the display switch to the discharge capacity. To have the charge capacity, you must use the application for ios that shows only the charge capacity. This flaw in corrected in FW1.04. We will have the charge abd disccharge capacity at the end. We all waiting to update our mc3000.

I have near the same result in the Opus, on a C>D>C or a discharge >D only. 3520vs3502.
These results are too high as I said before.

I will try to post the photo of my >D test I just did.

We are at the same point as 12 hours ago.

The discharge >D I just did
http://s19.postimg.org/jy65m6283/image.jpg

The discharge test C>D>C I did 2 months ago
http://s19.postimg.org/63rdz3poj/image.jpg

[gyzmo2002]

@tatasal

@gyzmo2002

@Tatassal

I have think to that again. All my tests were done on a charge test. (C>D>C) and yours on a discharge only. I think there is a possibility of another “flaw” with the Opus.

I never did a test only with a discharge only to 2.80v to test it. What I think with your results is they could be different between these two test.

I don’t do the ‘test’ mode since it takes a very long time to finish it without a break, and, call it a flaw or whatever, but the Opus, and I remember it now as I have not used the ‘test’ mode’ because of it, I get confused with the figures shown. IIRC, the numbers shown after the Discharge portion are actually the Charge numbers (that is why you are seeing a higher reading), and I think you have to wait for the last numbers to show to know the discharge numbers, and that is after the second Charge portion.

I have pointed this out the to this charger’s designer. I have made an example of the simplicity of my Maha C9000 that clearly shows ‘available capacity’ after a Test session.

This is the reason why I use the ‘Discharge’ mode only to get the capacity for I will be certain the numbers shown are surely the discharge capacity, and I can take a break between modes, or give the cell a longer break, etc.

If you have time, take the Discharge test and compare it to your MC3000, and I’m sure you will see a much closer result.

IIRC, the numbers shown after the Discharge portion are actually the Charge numbers (that is why you are seeing a higher reading), and I think you have to wait for the last numbers to show to know the discharge numbers, and that is after the second Charge portion.

No your wrong. After the discharge, you are at 2.80. The capacity displayed is the discharge capacity.

Now, I will charge this cell with the charge and will see what we have at the end. I will take 3:20.

Edit: I try to have an accurate result but I can’t with the Opus.

On the MC3000, discharge, charge, CDC…all the results are the same and lower than the Opus ( discharge or a CDC) and on the specs of the cell.

[tatasal]

@gyzmo2002

@tatasal

@gyzmo2002

@Tatassal

I have think to that again. All my tests were done on a charge test. (C>D>C) and yours on a discharge only. I think there is a possibility of another “flaw” with the Opus.

I never did a test only with a discharge only to 2.80v to test it. What I think with your results is they could be different between these two test.

I don’t do the ‘test’ mode since it takes a very long time to finish it without a break, and, call it a flaw or whatever, but the Opus, and I remember it now as I have not used the ‘test’ mode’ because of it, I get confused with the figures shown. IIRC, the numbers shown after the Discharge portion are actually the Charge numbers (that is why you are seeing a higher reading), and I think you have to wait for the last numbers to show to know the discharge numbers, and that is after the second Charge portion.

I have pointed this out the to this charger’s designer. I have made an example of the simplicity of my Maha C9000 that clearly shows ‘available capacity’ after a Test session.

This is the reason why I use the ‘Discharge’ mode only to get the capacity for I will be certain the numbers shown are surely the discharge capacity, and I can take a break between modes, or give the cell a longer break, etc.

If you have time, take the Discharge test and compare it to your MC3000, and I’m sure you will see a much closer result.

I just try it with the same discharge >D you did on my 18650b. My result is 3520mah at 2.80v. The charge test C>D>C I did before with this cell was 3502mah.(posted on cpf). On the charge test C>D>C at the end, you always have the discharge capacity because when it charges, the number doesn’t change. On the MC3000 v1.02, at the end of the C>D>C, you have the discharge at the end but you can see the capacity during the charge. At the last second, the display switch to the discharge capacity. To have the charge capacity, you must use the application for ios that shows only the charge capacity. This flaw in corrected in FW1.04. We will have the charge abd disccharge capacity at the end. We all waiting to update our mc3000.

I have near the same result in the Opus, on a C>D>C or a discharge >D only. 3520vs3502.
These results are too high as I said before.

I will try to post the photo of my >D test I just did.

We are at the same point as 12 hours ago.

The discharge >D I just did
http://s19.postimg.org/jy65m6283/image.jpg

The discharge test C>D>C I did 2 months ago
http://s19.postimg.org/63rdz3poj/image.jpg

Does it read high in all your cells, or only in that NCR-B so far?

Perhaps your specific Opus does read high indeed, as I have owned and used 5 (2 x v2.0, 2 x v2.1 and the v2.2) of them and never had a problem like yours.

I hope other members could chime in their experiences. The Opus has been already around with us for at least 2 years already and so far no complaints here in BLF on abnormally high discharge capacity reading.

[gyzmo2002]

@tatasal

@gyzmo2002

@tatasal

@gyzmo2002

@Tatassal

I have think to that again. All my tests were done on a charge test. (C>D>C) and yours on a discharge only. I think there is a possibility of another “flaw” with the Opus.

I never did a test only with a discharge only to 2.80v to test it. What I think with your results is they could be different between these two test.

I don’t do the ‘test’ mode since it takes a very long time to finish it without a break, and, call it a flaw or whatever, but the Opus, and I remember it now as I have not used the ‘test’ mode’ because of it, I get confused with the figures shown. IIRC, the numbers shown after the Discharge portion are actually the Charge numbers (that is why you are seeing a higher reading), and I think you have to wait for the last numbers to show to know the discharge numbers, and that is after the second Charge portion.

I have pointed this out the to this charger’s designer. I have made an example of the simplicity of my Maha C9000 that clearly shows ‘available capacity’ after a Test session.

This is the reason why I use the ‘Discharge’ mode only to get the capacity for I will be certain the numbers shown are surely the discharge capacity, and I can take a break between modes, or give the cell a longer break, etc.

If you have time, take the Discharge test and compare it to your MC3000, and I’m sure you will see a much closer result.

I just try it with the same discharge >D you did on my 18650b. My result is 3520mah at 2.80v. The charge test C>D>C I did before with this cell was 3502mah.(posted on cpf). On the charge test C>D>C at the end, you always have the discharge capacity because when it charges, the number doesn’t change. On the MC3000 v1.02, at the end of the C>D>C, you have the discharge at the end but you can see the capacity during the charge. At the last second, the display switch to the discharge capacity. To have the charge capacity, you must use the application for ios that shows only the charge capacity. This flaw in corrected in FW1.04. We will have the charge abd disccharge capacity at the end. We all waiting to update our mc3000.

I have near the same result in the Opus, on a C>D>C or a discharge >D only. 3520vs3502.
These results are too high as I said before.

I will try to post the photo of my >D test I just did.

We are at the same point as 12 hours ago.

The discharge >D I just did
http://s19.postimg.org/jy65m6283/image.jpg

The discharge test C>D>C I did 2 months ago
http://s19.postimg.org/63rdz3poj/image.jpg

Does it read high in all your cells, or only in that NCR-B so far?

Perhaps your specific Opus does read high indeed, as I have owned and used 5 (2 x v2.0, 2 x v2.1 and the v2.2) of them and never had a problem like yours.

I hope other members could chime in their experiences. The Opus has been already around with us for at least 2 years already and so far no complaints here in BLF on abnormally high discharge capacity reading.

All the cells tested, 18650GA, B, LG MJ1, HG2, Eneloop Pro, Eneloop regular….are too high with the Opus.

The B above is on charge now. I am sur that the result will be too high again.

As I said above, I saw many results with the Opus when people post their result with pictures in the feedback on AliExpress. All that tests started when Sledgestone asked why the results of his Opus always read too high.

[flydiver]

These kind of questions and comparisons are almost as useless as “What’s the best charger for the money?” that we see all the time.
I have a bunch of chargers, and after reading through all of this I’m as confused as before and I’ve been doing this for a long time.
What the hell is a newbie trying to decide supposed to do?

Newbie answer - Both are ‘OK’. Both have problems. CHOOSE ONE AND LIVE WITH IT.
There is no correct answer.

[tatasal]

@flydiver

These kind of questions and comparisons are almost as useless as “What’s the best charger for the money?” that we see all the time.
I have a bunch of chargers, and after reading through all of this I’m as confused as before and I’ve been doing this for a long time.
What the hell is a newbie trying to decide supposed to do?

Newbie answer - Both are ‘OK’. Both have problems. CHOOSE ONE AND LIVE WITH IT.
There is no correct answer.

Yes, and this the irony from it…once a cell is in my flashlight, I can’t even tell the difference in performance between the cell charged from a $4 charger compared to one charged by a charger that cost me more than a $100!

[gyzmo2002]

@will34

At 1A rate, my opus showed 3,450mAh after discharging a set of Sanyo GA down to 2.7V, and the same set of batteries in the MC3000 with discharge current reduction (similar to CC/CV but for discharge) of 50mA and down to 2.5V I only got 3,350mAh. But the numbers from the MC3000 were actually closer to various results from members with sophisticated testing equipment.

Maybe this doesn’t happen with every unit, But at less than 5% variation I don’t think it is an issue at all, if one isn’t looking for the ultimate accuracy.

The opus is actually much friendlier to use for basic tasks, doesn’t require too many button presses to get it working.

The spec for the Ga are at 25Celsius 3350min-3450max. at a currant of 670ma, no specified terminaison but terminaison cut off specified but for the B it is 65ma. You are target with your MC3000.

The results of your Opus is higher according to these specs but lower than mine with brand new Evva 3500 (GA), 3550mah, tested 2 months ago.

[gyzmo2002]

@tatasal

@flydiver

These kind of questions and comparisons are almost as useless as “What’s the best charger for the money?” that we see all the time.
I have a bunch of chargers, and after reading through all of this I’m as confused as before and I’ve been doing this for a long time.
What the hell is a newbie trying to decide supposed to do?

Newbie answer - Both are ‘OK’. Both have problems. CHOOSE ONE AND LIVE WITH IT.
There is no correct answer.

Yes, and this the irony from it…once a cell is in my flashlight, I can’t even tell the difference in performance between the cell charged from a $4 charger compared to one charged by a charger that cost me more than a $100!

A charge is a charge. Playing with flashlights and cells is a hobby. The MC3000 is a good charger if you want to learn. All the parameters are configurable. It is easy to understand and the Advanced mode is the funniest.

If they could find a way to update ours now….

Edit: Start to play with yours, you will learn a lot in only some days.