Xtar VP4 Plus Dragon Charger For $55 Shipped ("Mini" Group Buy, Only Need 4 People) - CLOSED

freefly · 2018-03-25T05:24:06.000Z

Hi all,

I am in the market for a new charger and looking to pick up an Xtar Dragon VP4 Plus (their current flagship model). I found that IMRbatteries.com has them @ $75 + shipping.
However, if you buy 4, it drops down to $46 + shipping. So, if anyone else is looking to pick one up and wants to save some bucks (like almost $30), let me know!

I am not looking to orchestrate a massive GB on these, but I can handle 4. My plan would be to collect funds from members that commit to purchase (via PayPal), place the order, then ship each party’s charger out once received. Including shipping (fully insured USPS Priority Mail w/ tracking), I figure $55/ea. should cover it.
Or, if IMR will drop-ship them individually, that would be even better (would just need to confirm what they would charge).

So if you are interested, please post an “IN” here to get the ball rolling.
As soon as we get to 4 I’ll close it out, collect funds, and place the order.

To participate, please be in the US (or at least have a US shipping address) and be “PayPal ready”.

Thanks!

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ETA: Charger info/specs/reviews:

Xtar Product Info Page

Review by stephenk

Review by HKJ

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Interested Members:

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SKV89 · 2018-03-25T05:31:25.000Z

Wow that’s a good deal! Too bad I already bought mine over a month ago.

freefly · 2018-03-26T00:06:23.000Z

I thought so. Even the “normal” price of $75 seems better than many e-tailers out there. At $55/ea. it seems like a no-brainer. I guess we’ll see!

tatasal · 2018-03-26T00:17:29.000Z

Does this thing have fully-independent slots on all 4? Meaning, can I charge .5a in slot 1, 1A in slot 2, and/or use another mode in the remaining slots all at the same time? I reason why I am asking is sometimes I only charge 2 18650 cells, then to make use of the time, I top-up, discharge for capacity, etc. my other li-lo or nimh in the remaining slots.

freefly · 2018-03-26T00:28:28.000Z

tatasal:

Does this thing have fully-independent slots on all 4? Meaning, can I charge .5a in slot 1, 1A in slot 2, and/or use another mode in the remaining slots all at the same time? I reason why I am asking is sometimes I only charge 2 18650 cells, then to make use of the time, I top-up, discharge for capacity, etc. my other li-lo or nimh in the remaining slots.

No, it has a selectable charge rate from .5A to 2A, but not independent slots.
It’s not as capable as a high-end hobby charger like the SkyRC MC3000, but it’s also not as complicated to use (and would be about half the price if we get this group buy going).

I edited the OP to include product info and a couple reviews. :+1:

tatasal · 2018-03-26T00:33:57.000Z

Thanks!

Bort · 2018-03-26T01:21:27.000Z

This would not be my first choice of charger, that said the price is not bad.
Here are my impressions

Xtar Dragon Plus VP4 - Impressions Chargers

It came last week but i got the wrong plug, Xtar was very gracious and sent me a new north america plug which arrived today So plugged it in, it did nothing for a few seconds then sprang to life. I’m not sure if thats a first startup anomaly or thats normal, i’ll find out I put 4 batteries at various levels of discharge and it shows percent charge and mAh put in. It has 4 bays, and you switch between them with the center display button. The sound was turned off, and the manual d…

SKV89 · 2018-03-26T01:28:34.000Z

Bort:

This would not be my first choice of charger, that said the price is not bad.
Here are my impressions
Xtar Dragon Plus VP4 - Impressions

But the Xtar Dragon VP4 Plus is one of the very few chargers that earned a triple happy face from HKJ
https://lygte-info.dk/info/roundCellChargerIndex%20UK.html

I like mine but I don’t use it for anything but charging and checking capacity

Bort · 2018-03-26T03:40:51.000Z

SKV89:

Bort:

This would not be my first choice of charger, that said the price is not bad.
Here are my impressions
Xtar Dragon Plus VP4 - Impressions

But the Xtar Dragon VP4 Plus is one of the very few chargers that earned a triple happy face from HKJ
Round cell charger index

I like mine but I don’t use it for anything but charging and checking capacity

Thats interesting and i didn’t know there was a happy face system. That said i did not exaggerate any of my observations in the thread i linked. I still use mine but i do think improvements would be very welcome.

freefly · 2018-03-26T04:50:27.000Z

Bort:

This would not be my first choice of charger, that said the price is not bad.

Bort:

I still use mine but i do think improvements would be very welcome.

Appreciate the additional opinion/viewpoint, and I agree that there are certain features that would be nice.
That said, I don’t personally have the need for an over-complicated hobby charger with an even more complicated user interface.
For me (and hopefully a few others) the VP4 Plus seems like a pretty good compromise considering the cost, features, and quality.

I’ve been very happy with all of my previous and current Xtar products as well, which is something I can’t say for any other charger brand I’ve owned so far.
So, instead of a discussion thread (which the above review threads are great for), I am hoping to simply get some folks together who are on the same page and/or have already done their due-dillegence and are also seeking to pick one up…so we can all save a few bucks.

Bort · 2018-03-26T07:14:25.000Z

freefly:

Bort:

This would not be my first choice of charger, that said the price is not bad.

Bort:

I still use mine but i do think improvements would be very welcome.

Appreciate the additional opinion/viewpoint, and I agree that there are certain features that would be nice.
That said, I don’t personally have the need for an over-complicated hobby charger with an even more complicated user interface.
For me (and hopefully a few others) the VP4 Plus seems like a pretty good compromise considering the cost, features, and quality.

I’ve been very happy with all of my previous and current Xtar products as well, which is something I can’t say for any other charger brand I’ve owned so far.
So, instead of a discussion thread (which the above review threads are great for), I am hoping to simply get some folks together who are on the same page and/or have already done their due-dillegence and are also seeking to pick one up…so we can all save a few bucks.

Fair enough, though its always good to know more about something before deciding to buy it. If they fixed the temperature regulation and changed the percent to voltage it would make a much better charger for the money.
Except for the fact it gives internal resistance in regular units a Liitokala is superior in most respects and most are cheaper.

freefly · 2018-03-28T04:50:42.000Z

Bort:

Fair enough, though its always good to know more about something before deciding to buy it.

Hence my statement above regarding people who have already done their due-diligence on it.

Bort:

If they fixed the temperature regulation and changed the percent to voltage it would make a much better charger for the money.

FWIW, the only source I can find citing temperature regulation issues is your review here.
Regarding the percent vs. voltage display, that is pretty subjective IMO. Personally, I’d prefer both, but the percentage metric is useful on it’s own.
With voltage only, you have no way of knowing how long a battery has left to go to get to a full charge, once it hits 4.2v (or whatever the termination voltage is).

Bort:

Except for the fact it gives internal resistance in regular units a Liitokala is superior in most respects and most are cheaper.

What respects would those be? I actually looked at their comparable unit (Lii-500) when searching.
When comparing it to the VP4 Plus, the Liitokala seemed to be lacking in the following areas:

Narrower range of cell-length compatibility (no D cells/32650s).
Doesn’t show discharge capacity when doing battery tests.
Termination current is too high (especially at lower charge currents).
Inferior voltmeter (less accurate with a higher minimum reading).
Inferior internal resistance measurement performance/consistency.
Inferior NiMH charging (early termination).
Inferior battery-bank performance.
No top-off charge for NiMH.

Also, when comparing the many reviews that HKJ has done on different Xtar and Liitokala units, it seems that the latter is sort of in the “meh” category, comparatively. YMMV…

Bort · 2018-03-28T08:51:21.000Z

freefly:

Bort:

Fair enough, though its always good to know more about something before deciding to buy it.

Hence my statement above regarding people who have already done their due-diligence on it.

Indeed

Bort:

If they fixed the temperature regulation and changed the percent to voltage it would make a much better charger for the money.

FWIW, the only source I can find citing temperature regulation issues is your review here.
Regarding the percent vs. voltage display, that is pretty subjective IMO. Personally, I’d prefer both, but the percentage metric is useful on it’s own.
With voltage only, you have no way of knowing how long a battery has left to go to get to a full charge, once it hits 4.2v (or whatever the termination voltage is).

I would also like both but since the percent is wildly inaccurate voltage works best.
Either i got a dud or they are lying about it having temperature regulation.

Bort:

Except for the fact it gives internal resistance in regular units a Liitokala is superior in most respects and most are cheaper.

What respects would those be? I actually looked at their comparable unit (Lii-500) when searching.
When comparing it to the VP4 Plus, the Liitokala seemed to be lacking in the following areas:

Narrower range of cell-length compatibility (no D cells/32650s).

Doesn’t show discharge capacity when doing battery tests.

Termination current is too high (especially at lower charge currents).

Inferior voltmeter (less accurate with a higher minimum reading).

Inferior internal resistance measurement performance/consistency.

Inferior NiMH charging (early termination).

Inferior battery-bank performance.

No top-off charge for NiMH.

Also, when comparing the many reviews that HKJ has done on different Xtar and Liitokala units, it seems that the latter is sort of in the “meh” category, comparatively. YMMV…

I can’t attest to 32560 since i have none so have never looked for this.
It does show discharge capacity, you can’t measure capacity properly unless you discharge the battery which it does do
Termination current i’ll assume your correct
When your buying chinese chargers the voltmeter built in seems to vary by sample, my Liitokala is a hair over 4.2V at termination and the Dragon is 4.15V at termination. I’ve bought 3 other chargers and none reached 4.2V
My Liitokala is repeatable in IR measurement but it does use a non standard unit and maxes out at 125 units
I don’t recall charging NiMH on my Liitokala so i can’t say, but the Dragon does seem to charge less then my LaCrosse BC700
I don’t use any charger as a battery bank so i’ll assume your correct
I’ll assume your correct on no top off charge (trickle charge?) on the Liitokala while the Dragon does. I can say my BC700 does trickle charge which is likely not good for Eneloops, especially if left overnight or longer

I’m not at all saying the Dragon is a bad charger, what i am saying is it has deficiencies. I have yet to find the perfect charger, so far i’ve only got good enough.

freefly · 2018-03-30T05:23:59.000Z

Bort:

I have yet to find the perfect charger, so far i’ve only got good enough.

Yep, everything is a compromise.

I’ve seen these listed at $89 + shipping, so I figured if we can get them for $46 + shipping, it would be a pretty good value for the features you get.
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EDIT: Closing this out due to lack of interest.