Vapcell BL4 : new multi-chemistry 4-bay charger / analyzer, up to 26800, with USB-C

budgetlampenfan · October 23, 2024, 2:30pm

on the Vapcell homepage a new charger can be found … :

it’s the biggest 4-bay charger from Vapcell so far, suitable even for 26800 and for 32xxx batteries, so that includes D-size NiMH …

it’s an analyzing charger, that means it can discharge and do cap-tests as well … plus storage and repair mode …

suitable chemistries are “all that (really) matter” :

Li-Ion, LiFePO4, Li-Ion 4.35V, Li-Ion 1.5V, NiMH / NiCd …

power input is not the traditional DC power supply like at S4+ and SU2, but USB-C …

up to this point that all for many people presumably will sound like “the ideal charger” …

(except the highest category of MC3000 and Gyrfalcon S8000 / S4000 Pro , where the user can configure just anything … but of course with an according more complex UI …)

but there’s one restriction of the BL4 that maybe will surprise a little bit … :

the power input is specified with (just) : QC3.0 9V 2A

so that means 18W, whereas the S4+ has a 60W power supply …

that of course has it’s implications for the possible charging currents … :

max. 1 x 3A (in slot #1), 2 x 2A or 4 x 1A …

(at the moment in some photos there is “5000 mA” in the display or a text speaking of 5000 mA … but that would not really be possible with this power supply … so I think those “5000 mA” are just data and description from the SU2, that were used for this initial “1. batch” of advertising photos …)

personally I would assume, this power supply was chosen in order to not yet make the S4+ unnecessary …

which in fact would have been the case, if the BL4 could deliver charging currents similar to the S4+ …

so the S4+ keeps the merit of being able to charge with currents up to 4 x 3A …

at the moment a fantastic price is displayed there of just 30 $ … but I don’t know if that already is the real price … (I didn’t try a test order …)

Vapcell BL4 on Vapcell Homepage

JaydenB · October 24, 2024, 3:55am

They definitely aren’t restricting it because of the s4+ the better business decision is to make your old products obsolete, encouraging sales. Usb-PD is a bit complicated and sourcing quality power IC’s is probably proving difficult. I would guess it’s a temporary listing? Or incorrect. As 100w charging would necesarry for 4x 5a

L37 · October 24, 2024, 6:42am

Yep, exactly.

Aand suddenly it jumped to “meh, another one… not interested at all”. Sadly.

Honestly at this point what i’d want is simple no-nonsense charger which can do 3-4A/cell with USB-C power. If it has all the features like capacity testing it is obviously a good bonus. That has been the reason i did not buy S4+ and not going to buy it - i do not need another separate power supply to keep track of.

Horilka · October 28, 2024, 12:16am

They are already available at Vapcell store at Aliexpress.
This QC3.0 choice is indeed strange one, it seems that PD these days is more popular and promising? It might be a way to limit charger so it won’t compete with S4+. I guess it’s not a deal breaker for me. I want to replace my Opus BT-3100 because it has a dedicated power supply unit and because it doesn’t have 0V activation feature.
Currently looking at C4 Evo hoping they updated firmware for 1.5V Li-Ion, or, maybe this one.

P.S. 5A charging is a photo-editing way to render new charger pic, just inaccurate illustration. On another forum it was pointed out that picture is a compilation of elements of other Vapcell chargers.

runswithsnakes · October 28, 2024, 1:29am

One thing I have noticed on some chargers is that the sliders aren’t equally good across the full range of motion. Would I need a spacer for an 18350 because this can take some monster long battery?

TheIntruder · October 28, 2024, 5:50am

Putting it kindly, it’s questionable engineering, when considering that QC3 violates the Type-C spec.

Proprietary methods like QC3 are not permitted over Type-C..

In early stages, things of a Wild West nature might not be unexpected, and short cuts taken.

Recall the days when Type-C ports were being put into flashlights for token appearances, and to claim “USB-C charging!!!” for marketing purposes, but would only function with A2C cables because the proper resistors weren’t in place.

But now, we’re almost to the end of 2024, Type-C and PD are no longer in their infancy, and there is no excuse for things like this to be occurring.

Potentially one of types of poison being offered here – a non-compliant implementation of Type-C, or shipping a new product in 2024 with a Micro-USB port.

Desertcat · October 29, 2024, 1:03am

Good question. I have to use a 16x34 shorting (dummy) cell w/ 16340s to achieve (even relatively) reliable connections w/ my Opus BT-C3100 due to insufficient spring tension at that length. It’s a pain, and also adds unnecessary contact resistance to the measurement circuit. Bad design, but unlike some others, at least there’s a bit of a workaround for this one…(sad comment).

killeriq · November 14, 2024, 6:44pm

Hi,

I’m thinking about this Vapcell BL4 charger (have already S4 Plus) , but i recently found Li-Ion 1.5v AA/AAA batteries which should be better option to 1.2v NiMh and mostly to replace Alkaline batteries. For zigbee devices wanting 1.5v power

I’ve got this one Neue 1,2 3,7 wiederauf ladbare Batterie ladegerät kompatible Ladung wiederauf ladbar aa aaa V ni-mh V Lithium-Ionen-Batterien USB-Anschluss - AliExpress 44 also USB-C but is very basic and only 2x slot

There are none (or i havent found) 4x slot battery chargers for Li-Ion 1.5v, except BL4

So BL4 is my only option? or is there something else on the market. Thanks

killeriq · November 14, 2024, 6:46pm

example batteries Li-Ion 1.5v

mickey10632 · November 15, 2024, 4:21am

Xtar VX4 support Li-Ion 1.5v but the current adjustment apply to all slots and can’t adjust the current individually.

L37 · November 15, 2024, 4:28am

Do understand that this have downsides too. Mostly - significant parasitic drain/“self-discharge” from constantly running dc-dc converter and noise said converter generates. Try them first before buying a lot - they are only suitable for a limited number of applications and might not work for yours…

Also nearly 10Wh in AA/14500 (14430) is 100% fake. Do not buy. Maximum you can get before losses in dc-dc converter is ~3-4Wh, after losses - much less. In AAA/10440 it is even worse - ~1Wh at most is realistic.

raccoon · November 15, 2024, 4:32am

Yup, high quality LSD NiMH cells, like Eneloops, are still king for most AA/AAA 1.2V uses.

budgetlampenfan · November 15, 2024, 11:51am

there are two kinds of 1.5V Li-Ion :

charged by USB port at the battery
charged by chargers

every brand offers inexpensive dedicated little chargers, usually available in sets together with the batteries as well, for example Xtar L4 (or 8-bay L8), or another example : Hixon …

nowadays there are some newer universal chargers, that support 1.5V Li-Ion as well, like the Vapcell BL4 or 2-bay SU2, Gyrfalcon S8000 / S4000 Pro, Xtar VX4 or MX4, or an ISDT with an appropriate newer firmware version …

the first choice are the dedicated chargers of the same brand … the handling is easier, too, with these chargers specifically designed for AA and AAA batteries, compared with a charger like the BL4 with its much bigger slots and the slider construction …

Horilka · November 15, 2024, 4:37pm

By default it works in 9V QC 2.0
I think I was able to make it work in PD 12V. I am new to USB testers and not quite sure, it blinks displaying two protocols in turn - PD MTK and Apple

killeriq · November 16, 2024, 6:28pm

those inexpensive charger are usually without display, just some LED bulb and thats it…
I’m used already to have more info about charging (Vapecel S4 Plus).

I wanted to get all in one charger also for Button 2032,2040 etc batteries, but Vapecel dont have such device.

The one i’ve got (for 2x batteries pics above), doesnt show much data, also very basic, but it has also Button battery charging.

Thanks for the tip with Xtar MX4 - looks similar to Vapecel BL4 - So which one is better to get? (as is not 11.11 sales on ali need to decide until tomorrow)

Gyrfalcon - not available in EU seems like, nor on Aliexpress

Thanks

killeriq · November 16, 2024, 6:34pm

yes they are various quality and also had to search for them asi the AA/AAA with USB they are some here in EU available , but expensive like 5-6e / pc

Those from Ali i’ve ordered are somehow working, let’s see for how long.

Actually the “stronger” 12800mWh ones are lighter vs weaker ones 8800mWh

killeriq · November 16, 2024, 6:35pm

cant add more than 1x pics in the post

budgetlampenfan · November 17, 2024, 12:12pm

the dedicated little chargers for 1.5V Li-Ion batteries in fact are without an (informative) display, but a bigger universal charger will do not much better in that case, because 1.5V Li-Ion control the charging process by themselves … the charging electronics is within the batteries and does not show informations to the user …

for that kind of batteries the charger has not much more to do than to provide the typical USB voltage of 5V and about 450 - 500 mA current (AA) … it does not control the charging process …

to my opinion the dedicated chargers are the best choice, then there are much more options for a charger for the rest of the batteries …

Horilka · November 18, 2024, 3:18pm

So, after tinkering with BL4 my impressions are not great, not happy with charger.

Charger specs on its page imply that it is, and I quote “charger / analyzer up to 26800, 32700， 1.5V li-ion，LiFePO4 ,Ni-MH 1.2V batteries”, however it doesn’t “analyze” 1.5V Li-ion.
Either rushed production or pre-production, but the screen says “Storge” instead of “Storage”. Not something one expects from expensive charger
You can discharge LiIon only at 500 mA max, while NiMh can be discharged at 1A.
Analyze and Repair mode failed to process my old NiCd cells and gave Err after some attempts, while BT-C3100 correctly processed them showing their very low capacity.
I opened dispute with Vapcell store and so far they do not want to acknowledge the misrepresentation of the charger. [edited - dispute with seller was resolved]

budgetlampenfan · November 18, 2024, 7:00pm

I noticed that they took the title of this thread and added something to place it on their homepage …

so, “charger / analyzer, up to 26800, with USB-C” was my original formulation, and for other battery types than the 1.5V Li-Ion that should be correct …

in the sense of a “cap-test” program, consisting of charge, discharge with counting of mAh / mWh and at last charge again while keeping the measured mAh / mWh in the display, so far the only charger that I know that claims to be able to do that with 1.5V Li-Ion is the Xtar VX4 … (and maybe the Gyrfalcons S8000 / S4000 Pro can do that as well … ?)

but I personally really didn’t expect that function from the BL4, I have to say …

maybe a manual discharge works with that batteries to see the capacity / mAh ?

if necessary in NiMH mode ?