# Golisi i4 usb charger



## Stranger (23/3/22)

I have a Nitecore i2 and an i4 both of which have been serving me well ..... until

My dual 18650 battery mods were reporting that the batteries were discharging at different levels. One before the other. I thought that this was limited to my Puma, but no, my Manto and Manto max also looked the same. This led to a suspicion.

I loaded two used batteries into the i4, both were reading around 3.3 V and let them run the cycle. After the i4 reported full I measured again. One was at 4.05 and the other was at 4.18. OK there could be some internal resistances in play here, so let's do some other batteries.

I proceeded to load and charge my battery cache and get similar results across most of my married pairs.

This led me to another battery charger. Nitecore this time will not see my dough. I opted for the Golisi i4 usb smart charger . It has a 2Amp priority if needed otherwise the same 0.5 amp across all four bays the same as the Nitecore. I took the same batteries and as the Golisi has a digital display I can now see what is going on. Those same batteries that reported full on the Nitecore now showed that some were not at 100%.

I will mention that I did take readings from the contacts on both machines and every bay showed 4.99 volts supplied.

After feeding in another round of married batteries I found that the lesser charged ones were brought up to 100% and on measuring were much closer than when using the Nitecore. Those same two at 4.05 and 4.18 now both read 4.18.

Once again we are led to believe that a make is superior to another through the power of marketing. I am not complaining about my Nitecores but this real world experience shows that there is good product out there that does not have huge marketing hype and associated cost.

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## Intuthu Kagesi (23/3/22)

You've opened up a can of worms here ...
Lithium ion batteries are easy enough to charge, however charging safely and charging fully is a *LOT* more difficult!
The basic algorithm is to charge at constant current, (_0.2 C to 0.7 C depending on manufacturer ... 1C being the rating charge for 1 hour, aka the cells A/Hr rating_), until the battery reaches 4.2 V, and then hold the voltage at 4.2 volts until the charge current has dropped to 10% of the initial charge rate. The charge termination condition is the drop in charge current to 10%, to which the top charging voltage and the termination current varies with every manufacturer. 
Be that as it may ... a charge timer should be included for additional safety!

It is important to note that the charge cannot simply be terminated on a voltage, as once the voltage reaches 4.2 Volts, the cell is still only 40 to 70% of it's rated capacity! ... unless charged very slowly, and it is for this reason that you need to continue to charge until the current drops, and then to terminate on low current ... Also ... Trickle charging is not acceptable for lithium batteries, as Li-ion chemistry cannot accept an overcharge without causing damage to the cell, (_possibly even plating out lithium metal and becoming hazardous!_)

Bottom line ... either get a decent top quality charger, or better still ... a low current (250mA - 1A Max), charger along with an extra set of cells, and live with slow charging, but an enhanced charge AND extended life of your cells

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## Intuthu Kagesi (23/3/22)

For those technically savvy members .... get yourself a couple of these and make your own 1A Max slow(_ish_) charger, (_you'll be pleasantly surprised to find you end up with a better cell charge ... AND cell life to boot_);





MANTECH Electronics


Mantech Electronics is an Electronic Component, Test and Measurement, Tool and Power Product Importer, Supplier and Distributor. Products are available from any one of our branches and distributors in JHB, DBN and CPT. We are committed to helping you succeed.!



www.mantech.co.za




and the battery holder ...





BHC-18650-1A - BATTERY HOLDER FOR 1x18650 LITHIUM


Mantech Electronics is an Electronic Component, Test and Measurement, Tool and Power Product Importer, Supplier and Distributor. Products are available from any one of our branches and distributors in JHB, DBN and CPT. We are committed to helping you succeed.!



www.mantech.co.za

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## Stranger (23/3/22)

Some interesting comments here re the Nitecore i4



https://www.ecigssa.co.za/threads/is-my-charger-killing-my-batteries.73540/

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## Puff the Magic Dragon (24/3/22)

Intuthu Kagesi said:


> For those technically savvy members .... get yourself a couple of these and make your own 1A Max slow(_ish_) charger, (_you'll be pleasantly surprised to find you end up with a better cell charge ... AND cell life to boot_);
> 
> 
> 
> ...



These are a good charging solution. You can also get them with USB type C Like this :




Don't get one like the one below as it lacks the necessary protections (They are also listed as TP4056) :




My advice is to not attempt to make one if you are not tech savvy as @Intuthu Kagesi has already warned.

I am running a four bay 2A (per cell) DIY setup and it has revolutionised my charging regime. Unlike the 5V TP4056 version mine runs on another module at 12V. It has been running faultlessly for 6 months.

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## Puff the Magic Dragon (24/3/22)

If you want to make a TP4056 charger there are tons of Youtube videos on how to do it.

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## Intuthu Kagesi (24/3/22)

Puff the Magic Dragon said:


> These are a good charging solution. You can also get them with USB type C Like this :
> 
> View attachment 252531
> 
> ...


Hi @Puff the Magic Dragon .... Indeed there are plenty of circuits available for the 4056 charge controller IC, however I suggested the part # I did because it's costs the same as the 4056 IC alone, and it's already assembled, AND includes basic protection.
O .... and as already said ... what I suggested is also the cheapest option at Mantech ....
As to whether you'd use Type C or micro USB ... I don't believe that's an issue, as logically most people would use two, (_or more ... if you lowered the maximum charge current to 800mA / cell_), of these modules, connected to a common power supply, to which I note that 3.25Amp Micro USB PSU's are fairly commonplace nowadays, and typically sell for under R100

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## Puff the Magic Dragon (24/3/22)



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## Stranger (25/3/22)

How did we go from a comparison of two chargers to 

Kumbaya ... lets build our own.

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## Intuthu Kagesi (25/3/22)

Stranger said:


> How did we go from a comparison of two chargers to
> 
> Kumbaya ... lets build our own.


Engineering 101 ... Define a "Problem statement", and then create a solution 
The aforementioned, (_and linked to the aforementioned_), comparisons are more like a highlighting of the respective chargers inadequacies, aka "a problem statement", along with a definition of what is actually required from a Li ion charger, and ... solution(s) were tabled

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## DarthBranMuffin (25/3/22)

Stranger said:


> How did we go from a comparison of two chargers to
> 
> Kumbaya ... lets build our own.



It is Newton's law of Thread Derailment...

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## Intuthu Kagesi (25/3/22)



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## ivc_mixer (25/3/22)



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## Puff the Magic Dragon (25/3/22)



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## ivc_mixer (25/3/22)

Stranger said:


> I have a Nitecore i2 and an i4 both of which have been serving me well ..... until
> 
> My dual 18650 battery mods were reporting that the batteries were discharging at different levels. One before the other. I thought that this was limited to my Puma, but no, my Manto and Manto max also looked the same. This led to a suspicion.
> 
> ...


Back to the original post. I never really owned fancy chargers which tell me how much volts my batteries have charged at, etc. they usually just had red and green lights so my input on that part is futile. What I can say is that I have owned 3 Nitecore chargers, 2 of which have gone the way of the Dodo, one which only lasted just over a year and a month or so. Then I got a Golisi charger and it's lasted me the past 3 years now without an issue. I also have a 2 bay Efest charger which I bought when I started vaping 6+ years ago and is also still going strong. So yeah, no more Nitecore for me.

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