My v5 is a disappointment. I can’t fit any of the protected cells that I own in it. No thanks.
I think rounding the corner of the CC/CV curve is good because less peak heating is generated.
Why I really think rounding the curve is good is that there is nothing about a battery that could make its optimal charging curve have an angle in it. Diffusive equations have smooth solutions. Constant current constant voltage is obviously an approximation to a smooth optimal curve.
I have a few things that I wanted to charge but my older minty boost and a duracell booster battery pack would not charge some of them. The ml102 seems to charge them all. So far:
- samsung gt-S5830 phone.
- older sansa 240 mp3
- sansa clip
- sony ereader
- kobo (glow?) ereader
My protected 2600 aw 18650 won’t fit (at least I’m not about to force them in) but the unprotected 2900 panasonic’s I bought with it work fine. I just received it and the batteries from fasttech in the last week.
Neadless to say I’m quite happy with this.
John.
I’m waiting for the V3 to come back into stock. It has a spring terminal and can fit protected cells.
Based on this excellent review, I will be getting one of these as soon as I can locate a V3 model. As always, another great review from HKJ. Thanks!
I purchased the V5 model from fasttech, it won’t charge King Kong flat top 26650s, the positive terminal is too short to reach the battery (and the negative doesn’t make great contact). Also it won’t take 67mm or larger, i suspect 66mm may not even fit
But it isnt designed for 26650 cells.
I use mine (older V3 model?) to charge King Kong raised top 26650s. Tight but works.
-Garry
Maybe with some modification to the casing it could accomodate larger cells like these?
i tried taking off the casing, it didn’t help much but i determined its not the positive terminal that won’t make contact, its the negative, i added a small piece of aluminum foil and it will now charge
Can anyone recommend somewhere else to get these charger instead of FastTech?
I dont know if this is a good price or not.
http://intl-outdoor.com/ml102-v30-usb-charger-for-18650-26650-battery-p-243.html?zenid=fn4op0poakq696m11c7btdd2j6
Thank you! That is cheaper than Efest and Simon/Convoy lights.
Int'l Outdoor also gives you the USB cable for charging (although it's very short). I'm not sure if FastTech provides any cables. I purchased two of these chargers from Int'l Outdoor a little over a year ago and they've been great.
-Garry
I just realized from pictures (spring on negative) that I have a white version 3 body from Fasttech, so that is probably why I am able to get protected cells into it. It was supposed to be a version 5 per the order sheet, also has the V5 SKU sticker on the bottom of it. Maybe the mfgr mixed in some older V3 bodies? The V5 is now a buck cheaper than last Dec so maybe there are more than one V5?
Or maybe it was another case of sending out old stock? I’ll have to look for a way to measure output …
EDIT: Nope, I just keep losing in the FastTech inventory lottery. It’s a version 2.01 with a red PCB inside.
My v5 arrived so I took some pics. You can see why the negative terminal is so stiff even for unprotected Sanyo 18650, it is using two springs together in my sample:
PCB:
Is 4.14V too low a termination voltage for new Sanyo 2600s? I am using an external Creative USB power supply which supplies 900mA so it is not charging at the higher current.
If I unplug the charger for a minute and charge again it might charge for a couple of mins and raise the cell voltage by 0.01V. I did this with a cell that terminated at 4.11V.
Do I have to do some “breaking in” to get it to terminate higher? Or maybe something simple I can change on the PCB?
Miller ML-102 ver 5
As expected, out of the box protected Panasonic can not fit under any sauce.
It was decided to immediately proceed with the modernization.
Require such things:
Crosshead Screwdriver.
Duct tape.
A small sharp knife.
Scissors.
Plastic bottle. (for extra insulation)
The result depicted in the photo.
(google translate)
Nice mod.
Welcome to BLF. :bigsmile: