# Suggestions for a new charger



## Viper_SA (7/11/21)

So, I'm posting this here in the battery section, hoping it will get the right amount of exposure and the right advice on charging at the same time. 

I have come to a point where I have MORE than enough juice to survive an apocolypse and I don't NEED any mods or attys (not to say I don't WANT any, lol).

No it's time to focus on dialing in the right coils for me, and of course, keeping the power plants running. With loadshedding being what it is, I have more and more limited time for charging batteries. So I'm looking for something that can charge more batteries simultaneously. Like say maybe an 8 bay charger. I definitely don't want to charge batteries halfway, then have loadshedding, and continue charging. Also don't want batteries in the charger when the power comes back on because it does sometimes cause spikes in the voltage and I don't trust the chargers to cope with that scenario all that well.

At the moment I have a first generation Nitecore D4 and an old eFest Soda dual bay charger. Both still work great, but I'm thinking of taking one to work where I can charge without loadshedding if needed. 

My requirements are for 18650's, 20700's, 21700's and the odd 26650 (the 26650 is a big issue at the moment as I can only charge one at a time in the D4, simply can't get two to make contact at the same time, no matter how hard I try)

I have seen some 8 bay chargers at certain vendors, but these seem to be USB powered devices that requires a 3rd party cellphone charger or similar. That I DON'T want. I also don't want something that charges at 2 or 3A. My eFest can adjust between 0.5 and 1A and is set to 0.5A always. The D4 starts out at 750mA and then tapers down as the battery nears fully charged.

So my needs are for something that can handle all sizes, don't require some external part to work, like a cellphone charger etc. and the input amps can be adjusted, or is setup in a way to preserve batteries to begin with (like the D4 currently does).

Hit me with you suggestions

Reactions: Like 3


----------



## DarthBranMuffin (7/11/21)

Been using my 4bay (not 8 bays) Nitecore New i4 for almost 2 years now without fail. Handles all the size batteries you are looking to charge. Auto adapts on Amps when charging based on how many batteries you have in (and you can adjust it). Also has the "recovery" function for "dead" batteries. It is however only a 4-bay, but if you have 2 sets of batteries for every setup, it is more than enough to get you through a week without running out of batteries. Oh, and its AC charge (with a DC option). If anything ever happens to this one due to old age, I will replace it with exactly the same model.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 3 | Winner 1


----------



## Dela Rey Steyn (7/11/21)

I have a Efest Blu6 and an Xstar Queen Ant, both bought off the forum that are treating me very well. If I had to get a new one. It would probably be another Xstar, like this one:
https://alldayvapes.co.za/product/xtar-vc8-charger/

Reactions: Like 3 | Winner 5 | Thanks 1


----------



## Teunh (8/11/21)

Gyrfalcon all-88. I love this charger.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Viper_SA (8/11/21)

Dela Rey Steyn said:


> I have a Efest Blu6 and an Xstar Queen Ant, both bought off the forum that are treating me very well. If I had to get a new one. It would probably be another Xstar, like this one:
> https://alldayvapes.co.za/product/xtar-vc8-charger/
> View attachment 243482



Thanks, I'll watch some reviews on this one. Was looking at it earlier this week.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Paul33 (8/11/21)

2 of the bays of my battery charger died over the weekend so my wife and i are sharing 2 battery bays at the moment. Not ideal. 

watching this thread

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Viper_SA (8/11/21)

Dela Rey Steyn said:


> I have a Efest Blu6 and an Xstar Queen Ant, both bought off the forum that are treating me very well. If I had to get a new one. It would probably be another Xstar, like this one:
> https://alldayvapes.co.za/product/xtar-vc8-charger/
> View attachment 243482



Just watched 3 seperste reviews Nd I'm not sold on this. I only have an old tablet charger which is 5V and 2A and it seems like that will not really be optimal. Also, depends on the version of USB 3 your pc has when charging from there, but I won't be charging from my laptop so for optimal performance I'd need to by a seperste cellphone type charger, which makes this quite expensive if you add that cost. The search continues it seems...


----------



## Dela Rey Steyn (8/11/21)

https://www.takealot.com/18w-fast-charger-qualcomm-3-with-3-additional-charging-ports/PLID72144711

Reactions: Like 1 | Thanks 1


----------



## Viper_SA (8/11/21)

Dela Rey Steyn said:


> https://www.takealot.com/18w-fast-charger-qualcomm-3-with-3-additional-charging-ports/PLID72144711



Thanks, will have to watch a review again to see how it works. Sounds a tad confusing on the description. This would of course also mean paying for a courier twice to get two different products from two places. Now I'm just sounding full of shyte though, lol. Will check out the official Nitecore site as well. I love the one I have, it just needs more bays and be able to handle more sizes.


----------



## Dela Rey Steyn (8/11/21)

A good charging setup does get pricey, but well looked after batteries are worth their weight in gold. Not just for performance and longevity, but also peace of mind. Most cell phone shops should stock decent fast chargers, you could buy one on your way from collecting your charger.

Reactions: Like 1 | Thanks 1


----------



## GSM500 (8/11/21)

Viper_SA said:


> Just watched 3 seperste reviews Nd I'm not sold on this. I only have an old tablet charger which is 5V and 2A and it seems like that will not really be optimal. Also, depends on the version of USB 3 your pc has when charging from there, but I won't be charging from my laptop so for optimal performance I'd need to by a seperste cellphone type charger, which makes this quite expensive if you add that cost. The search continues it seems...


I bought the Xstar VC4S from All Day Vapes. Wasn't over the moon that it required a USB type adaptor to work. My older Xstar X4 was mains driven and still works very well. I bought a USB adaptor from Value Co (Same place I bought that desk light, that you also got today) that had the QC 3.0 output and it works really well. I can charge a single 18650 at 3A if I wish. It cost me R90

For most people QC stand for Quick Charge but it actually stands for Qualcom. It works in a different way to the 5V 2A (10W) Quick Charge. QC 2.0 was 15W and I believe QC3.0 is 25W. There is some Intelligence in the adaptors and the devices receiving the power. The voltage is instructed to go up to reduce the amount of current the cable and connectors have to handle, The conversion to lower voltage and higher amps is done by the circuit of the charger in this case.

I wasn't a fan of needing an adaptor to run the Xstar charger but turns out it's not so bad.

Reactions: Thanks 1


----------



## OnePowerfulCorsa (9/11/21)

GSM500 said:


> I bought the Xstar VC4S from All Day Vapes. Wasn't over the moon that it required a USB type adaptor to work. My older Xstar X4 was mains driven and still works very well. I bought a USB adaptor from Value Co (Same place I bought that desk light, that you also got today) that had the QC 3.0 output and it works really well. I can charge a single 18650 at 3A if I wish. It cost me R90
> 
> For most people QC stand for Quick Charge but it actually stands for Qualcom. It works in a different way to the 5V 2A (10W) Quick Charge. QC 2.0 was 15W and I believe QC3.0 is 25W. There is some Intelligence in the adaptors and the devices receiving the power. The voltage is instructed to go up to reduce the amount of current the cable and connectors have to handle, The conversion to lower voltage and higher amps is done by the circuit of the charger in this case.
> 
> I wasn't a fan of needing an adaptor to run the Xstar charger but turns out it's not so bad.


Would you mind sharing a link to the specific one you bought? I bought the VC8 and was also not chuffed that it didn't have an adapter in the box for the price.

I am using a Huawei 40w fast charger but if I put more than 4 batteries in it defaults to 250mah and even if I up it to 500 it refuses to go higher. It takes ages to charge. 

Sent from my LYA-L09 using Tapatalk


----------



## GSM500 (9/11/21)

OnePowerfulCorsa said:


> Would you mind sharing a link to the specific one you bought? I bought the VC8 and was also not chuffed that it didn't have an adapter in the box for the price.
> 
> I am using a Huawei 40w fast charger but if I put more than 4 batteries in it defaults to 250mah and even if I up it to 500 it refuses to go higher. It takes ages to charge.
> 
> Sent from my LYA-L09 using Tapatalk


Not finding the link to the adapter that I bought but here are some pics

Reactions: Like 2 | Informative 1


----------



## OnePowerfulCorsa (9/11/21)

GSM500 said:


> Not finding the link to the adapter that I bought but here are some pics
> View attachment 243568
> View attachment 243567


Thank you. Looks like I will need a 9v adapter to get the best out of this charger or else it will go in the bin. 

Sent from my LYA-L09 using Tapatalk


----------



## Puff the Magic Dragon (9/11/21)

The TP 5100 is your solution. This module is way better than the old TP4956 but does require higher voltage input.

All that is required is a bit of DIY and you have a great charger with however many charging bays your power supply will support.







Input Voltage: 5 - 18V
Charge Status: Red and green LED charge status indicator
Charge Current: 1A - 2A
Size: 25 x 17 x 5mm



TP5100 is a double switch buck 8.4V, single cell 4. 2V lithium battery charge management chip. Its ultra-compact QFN16 package and simple external circuit, making TP5100 ideal for portable equipment so large current charging management applications. Meanwhile, TP5100 built-in input overcurrent, under-voltage protection, over-temperature protection, short circuit protection, battery temperature monitoring, reverse battery protection.

- Double 8.4v / 4.2v lithium rechargeable single
- Chip temperature protection, overcurrent protection, under-voltage protection
- Battery temperature protection, reverse battery shutdown, short circuit protection
- Switching frequency 400Khz, usable inductance 20uH and more
- PWR_ON Power battery for switching control

Reactions: Informative 2


----------



## Viper_SA (17/11/21)

Still searching for a charger. Considering getting another Nitecore D4 to keep at work for when loadshedding happens at home. 
Perhaps better than putting all my eggs in one basket, so to speak. Unless someone has any other suggestion?

Reactions: Funny 1


----------



## Morix (27/11/21)

DarthBranMuffin said:


> Been using my 4bay (not 8 bays) Nitecore New i4 for almost 2 years now without fail. Handles all the size batteries you are looking to charge. Auto adapts on Amps when charging based on how many batteries you have in (and you can adjust it). Also has the "recovery" function for "dead" batteries. It is however only a 4-bay, but if you have 2 sets of batteries for every setup, it is more than enough to get you through a week without running out of batteries. Oh, and its AC charge (with a DC option). If anything ever happens to this one due to old age, I will replace it with exactly the same model.


Nitecore series with the lcd screen that indicates voltages, are they accurate? Been rocking the 2 bay plain with the normal green lights. Feel the need to upgrade. Lost my bleri multimeter.


----------



## DarthBranMuffin (27/11/21)

Morix said:


> Nitecore series with the lcd screen that indicates voltages, are they accurate? Been rocking the 2 bay plain with the normal green lights. Feel the need to upgrade. Lost my bleri multimeter.



Have not used the LCD Screen one yet, still on the one with the 3 green lights (not the single light older version). Does the job for me.

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## ddk1979 (27/11/21)

My only concern with Nitecore charges is that the unit gets hot and this heat is transferred to the batteries whilst charging.
My Xtar remains cool because the charging adapter plugs into the mains, the unit is cool and so are the batteries..

.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## DarthBranMuffin (27/11/21)

ddk1979 said:


> My only concern with Nitecore charges is that the unit gets hot and this heat is transferred to the batteries whilst charging.
> My Xtar remains cool because the charging adapter plugs into the mains, the unit is cool and so are the batteries..
> 
> .



My Nitecore New i4 also plugs into the mains, yes the unit gets hot, but batteries are not.


----------



## Morix (27/11/21)

ddk1979 said:


> My only concern with Nitecore charges is that the unit gets hot and this heat is transferred to the batteries whilst charging.
> My Xtar remains cool because the charging adapter plugs into the mains, the unit is cool and so are the batteries..
> 
> .


Does it have auto cut off when fully charged.


----------



## ddk1979 (27/11/21)

DarthBranMuffin said:


> My Nitecore New i4 also plugs into the mains, yes the unit gets hot, but batteries are not.




I have 2 Nitecores - i4 and d4.
The batteries in slots 3 and 4 get quite warm, especially the ones in slot 4.

.

Reactions: Informative 1


----------



## ddk1979 (27/11/21)

Morix said:


> Does it have auto cut off when fully charged.




Yes.
During the final stages of charging, the unit pushes less mA into the batteries and they and the unit start to cool down.

.

Reactions: Like 1 | Informative 1


----------

