So I’ve been using protected 18650’s in lights for a couple months, and am comfortable with them (charging, care, etc) but now have an e-cig unit that requires an unprotected cell (innokin iTaste VTR )
I generally use the TR-006 for my 26650’s as well as my 18650’s, due to the higher current, and the TR-001 only for my 10440’s. With unprotected batteries, is there any reason I would want the slower current? Or is one charger inherently safer than the other?
Oh, and the batteries I’m concerned about charging:
I have red-jacketed “IMR 18650 3.7V 2200mAh(8.1WH)” that has an “AW” black and silver sticker above the lettering IMR, as well as barely visible lettering “13G16W” I purchased from a local B&M. It’s a button top, but fits in my ecig that wouldn’t take my protected Sanyo’s. It MAY be protected.
I have on order 2 of Samsung INR18650-20R purchased from e2fieldgear here
Also worth note, I’m not the best at removing my batteries soon as they are done….I know there have been and will be times where I”ll throw it in as I fall asleep, sometimes just for a 50% top off or something, and pull them off in the morning. Also, I do not have a DMM yet as I’ve been planning on buying that at the same time as my solder station, but have found sooo much info on different budget ones that it’s slightly overwhelming >_<
There are a slew of good chargers out there. I have a Nitcore I2, Miller ML102, and Xtar SP2 and they all work fine. If you’re going to fall asleep while charging batteries I’d at least plug the charger into a timer so that it shuts off after 2-3 hours.
xtar wp2 ii. I use this as my carry around charger when working. selectable charge rate (.5a and 1a) usb out on channel 1. terminates correctly.
I have a trustfire tr-008 that lives in the garage, it is permanently plugged in and used to charge anything from 18650 to 32650, again it works well, has a slightly higher charge rate at 1.3a/bay.
if you do get a wp2. order four extra charging spacers, I find three in each bay is perfect for 18350 cells, and if your vaping you’ll probably want some 18350 cells at some point.
personally I wouldn’t consider having a nitecore charger in my house after my personal experience with an i4. I’m not a fan of getting electric shocks through the negative post, or chargers that blow up after charging two cells, I’ll stick to li ion chargers for li ion and nimh chargers for nimh cells.
So much for nitecore. Is there a thread you posted on it around?
Thats why I prefer usb or 12v powered li-ion chargers. I have plenty of usb power sources. For AC devices I like major brands brought direct from major local retailers. Not that problems aren’t still possible but they have a lot more to lose & are within reach of local laws and safety regulations.
Hopefully it has better quality control & is slightly less likely to burn down my house.
Of course depends who you buy from. Walmart doesn’t seem to care about burning customers, lawsuits & bad press. Walmart Carries Lithium Thrower
Apple might care about bad press.
I posted about it in one or other threads, no idea where though sorry. there was a bad batch of “nitecore i4 chargers” no idea if mine was a real one or a fake tbh, it was returned and refunded.
the more I think about it now, the more pleased I am it failed so spectacularly, in this day and age of proper high capacity cells and decent high output chargers, the i4 is falling further and further behind.
it was the wp2 ii that replaced the i4 and I’d rather have two of them and a nimh charger than one i4.
it depends on personal needs. I wouldn’t charge anything less than a 700mah cell with the wp2, and you need to be aware about the charge current switch, if your unsure or forgetful, set it to .5a and leave it alone.
A nice little charger with 2 charging currents, I’m not interested in the USB-output though.
There may be one downside, if you would like to charge smaller cells like 16340 2 spacers are required per charging bay (that makes 4), but the Xtar usally just ships with 2 of these spacers.
This is not first hand experience by me, I’ve read that somewhere!
On the other hand, spacers are available and budget friendly priced.
thats what I was saying. you get two spacers, I actually find three PER BAY is ideal for 340 - 350 cells as your cell then sits in the middle of the spring tension and is held securely. I think I paid fourteen pounds for the charger and three pounds for the additional spacers locally.
Not that i own one, but, many people have problems with it, either charging nimh or liion(check forum). I suggest you to buy seperate chargers for liion and nimh. Why? Because for the price of lets say 4 batteries you get a quality charger, like xtar for liions and for ~40$ you get a maha mh c-9000 which is one of the best for your eneloops.
Remember this: I’m not so rich i can buy cheap!
I have the nitecore i2 (with 2 slot only) and it works perfectly.
Sometimes it doesn’t want to charge NiMH but when I check the voltage, it’s 0V. So I use an old NiMH charger (timer based that don’t check the battery condition) about one minute and it’s enough to have a minimum voltage for the nitecore i2.
For charging Li-ion, I think it’s quite safe, many complain that it stop charging too soon, 4.15V or 4.2V, while some battery can be charged to 4.35V.
And it’s charging slowly too. I had some 18650 that charged for more that 6 hours.
but low upper voltage limit and slow charging is quite safe.
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