I bet that switcher input capacitor was faulty or even lower voltage than it should be or simply bad quality or overrated. Charger works for a brief time, just enough to pass QC (if there was any at all) Perhaps you can open one and take some pictures...
I'm allergic to low quality chinese capacitors and I always replace them with reliable hi-quality parts, especially if device is AC operated.
I know this would be highly impractical in your case but as I don't trust chinese QC (or lack of it) I always open device to make sure it won't electrocute someone or burn down the house.
On the other hand, price for this charger is way to low to expect even basic QC or even half decent product that would be safe to give to others without opening and checking them out.
For example xtar mp-1 is much simpler product (no AC section, much lower parts count, less material...) and it still has a higher price than this one.
I hope that Manafont will sort this out properly (refund / replace them)
Bad news with that deal. But I also would suggest buying better chargers to give to non flashoholics as they will tend to forget and leave batteries on the charger for too long. I even do it myself and I know better.
I assume 10's of thousands of these guys have been sold they are the same charger given with the 5,69 $ 502B battery and charger combo from dino direct ..if the charger is bad it's easier to take if you get a free light ,drop in and blue battery :P
Sorry to hear about run around on junk ...cpf has one thing correct ....Lifes to short
Bad luck mate, that's a rotten result. And as Langcjl says, it's bad all round as Manafont have always seemed one of the more reliable sellers. If they can't be trusted..
For what my 2p is worth, I'd advise biting the bullet (not easy, I know) and play it by the book, i.e. do what they ask within reason and keep cool. If they refuse to budge on this, and insist on a video, send it if possible. Sure, you shouldn't have to, but at least this way Paypal can't fault anything on your part. I've read of many cases where, if all else fails, they (Paypal) have stepped in and judged in a purchaser's favour with a full refund.
And/or, what about offering to ship the chargers back to Manafont on the understanding that you'll get full shipping refund once they've seen for themselves? Hopefully, of course, Jim will do the right thing and none of this will be necessary. Fingers crossed for you.
Video requested by manafont clearly shows chargers burnout within 60 seconds of turning them on. All batteries in the test were between 3.7 and 3.9V when placed in the cradles.
I watched the video and it is very obvious that the chargers are faulty. The first one doesnt even seem to work at all and the other 2 just crackle and pop then a stream of smoke follows.
I hope it gets solved now proving it on a video to Manafont.
I work on an after sales department, and I have to understand both positions, I don't give money back just from a pair of emails or a phone call, I need to be sure about it ,as everyday I am asked for faulty materials and missing materials that are the customers fault, but 99% of them try to tell it is not their own fault..
And regarding Manafont checking each item they receive, beleive me it is not a chineese problem almost nobody does on a finished product, just people who assemble normally.
Just received my charger today (double 18650 version I mentioned earlier, ordered exactly 3 weeks ago) and threw in a battery for about 45 minutes and counting with no problems so far. I'll edit this post if anything happens, but it looks like I got a good one.
I was notified today that Manafont was shipping 100% replacement for the bad chargers after reviewing what I had sent them.
Took a couple of weeks to get it all sorted out, but they did come through and I feel that I should post that as loudly as I posted the failure to check them in the first place.
Wish it hadn't happened, but they did live up to their commitment and fixed the problem when it did in a reasonable length of time and with minimal hassles.
I'll certainly order from them again. (Just maybe a different model).
Great news, and top marks to Manafont. Wish I could be sure of CS like that even here at home in the UK. I expect they needed video evidence etc to claim from their own supplier. Glad it's turned out right for you.
