New charger

[franshorn]

So I have a feeling my Nitecore D2 is busy dying on me. Either that or my batteries. But doesn't look like its charging my batteries properly. I have cells ranging from a year old and the latest set is under 3 months old.

Anyways, what charger do I get?

Nitecore:
New I2?
UM20

Golisi:
i20?

Any other suggestions? Don't really want to spend more than R300.

 

[Gimli]

So I have a feeling my Nitecore D2 is busy dying on me. Either that or my batteries. But doesn't look like its charging my batteries properly. I have cells ranging from a year old and the latest set is under 3 months old.

Anyways, what charger do I get?

Nitecore:
New I2?
UM20

Golisi:
i20?

Any other suggestions? Don't really want to spend more than R300.

I Have the New i2, and it has been working great, fits my 20700 batteries easily and charges fairly quick

 

[GerharddP]

So I have a feeling my Nitecore D2 is busy dying on me. Either that or my batteries. But doesn't look like its charging my batteries properly. I have cells ranging from a year old and the latest set is under 3 months old.

Anyways, what charger do I get?

Nitecore:
New I2?
UM20

Golisi:
i20?

Any other suggestions? Don't really want to spend more than R300.

I have that golisi. It works like a charm and it has a very accurate chip set. It has a no power discharge rate of less than 1mAh per hour so if you get loadshedding etc it wont discharge and damage your batteries quickly. It has excellent over charge protection and takes lg chocs from 50% to 100% in an hour. Also it takes 21700 batteries as well

 

[Martin Narainsamy]

So I have a feeling my Nitecore D2 is busy dying on me. Either that or my batteries. But doesn't look like its charging my batteries properly. I have cells ranging from a year old and the latest set is under 3 months old.

Anyways, what charger do I get?

Nitecore:
New I2?
UM20

Golisi:
i20?

Any other suggestions? Don't really want to spend more than R300.

You want a good charger... than the Q2 or Q4 from Nitecore... Have been using mine for just under a year and is one of the most advanced chargers without a led screen out there. Its made for vapers and has all the protections and more and takes all the vape battery sizes.
I have put a link below. take a look
Nitecore Q4 : https://charger.nitecore.com/product/q4
Nitecore Q2 : https://charger.nitecore.com/product/q2
I got mine for under R400 a while back though...but I never looked at getting another charger

 

[franshorn]

You want a good charger... than the Q2 or Q4 from Nitecore... Have been using mine for just under a year and is one of the most advanced chargers without a led screen out there. Its made for vapers and has all the protections and more and takes all the vape battery sizes.
I have put a link below. take a look
Nitecore Q4 : https://charger.nitecore.com/product/q4
Nitecore Q2 : https://charger.nitecore.com/product/q2
I got mine for under R400 a while back though...but I never looked at getting another charger

I actually prefer some type of readout, other than just a flashing LED light.
Which is why I liked the D2 i currently have.

 

[Martin Narainsamy]

I actually prefer some type of readout, other than just a flashing LED light.
Which is why I liked the D2 i currently have.

AS far as I know you would not need one with this because of all the protections. But have a look at this other link
Nitecore sc4: https://charger.nitecore.com/product/sc4

 

[RainstormZA]

I Have the New i2, and it has been working great, fits my 20700 batteries easily and charges fairly quick

Ditto. I have the same and the charging panels are adjustable. Charges very well, usually two hours for flat batteries.

 

[ddk1979]

I have a Nitecore i2 and a XTAR.
The Nitecore can get quite hot and then tends to heat up the charging batteries as well (not good), while the XTAR and the batteries inside it remains very cool (great).
So from my experience, I wouldn't go for the nitecore.

.

 

[Martin Narainsamy]

I have a Nitecore i2 and a XTAR.
The Nitecore can get quite hot and then tends to heat up the charging batteries as well (not good), while the XTAR and the batteries inside it remains very cool (great).
So from my experience, I wouldn't go for the nitecore.

.

Maybe its the charger because I have left my batts on charge for about 48 hours( on Trickle) and it was as cold as ice. 2amp charge limit btw
Using the Nitecore Q4.. but since you did mention that, I am going to continually check as hot batteries in a charger is dangerous...

 

[ddk1979]

Maybe its the charger because I have left my batts on charge for about 48 hours( on Trickle) and it was as cold as ice. 2amp charge limit btw
Using the Nitecore Q4.. but since you did mention that, I am going to continually check as hot batteries in a charger is dangerous...

@Martin Narainsamy , on trickle charge it does remain cool, but during the main charging cycle, the batteries become quite warm in the nitecore.
I've spoken to two different vendors about this issue and according to them this is "normal" for most chargers - not sure how true that is, but what I do know is that the cooler the batteries, the better.

.

 

[Raindance]

@Martin Narainsamy , on trickle charge it does remain cool, but during the main charging cycle, the batteries become quite warm in the nitecore.
I've spoken to two different vendors about this issue and according to them this is "normal" for most chargers - not sure how true that is, but what I do know is that the cooler the batteries, the better.

.

Chargers running of a USB port do not contain a transformer converting mains 240V AC to 12V DC. It is this transformer which generates heat in the direct to mains chargers.

Regards

 

[BubiSparks]

Trickle charging does not apply to Li-Ion cells. When they are charged to 4.2V the charger stops charging altogether. It should be designed to start charging again once the voltage drops down to around 4V. This 0.2V drop typically takes at least a day or two . If it discharges relatively quickly, your cells are knackered.

Trickle charging is used in older chemistries such as lead acid and NiCd cells. These cells are charged to their nominal voltage with a high current. When the cell reaches it's nominal charge voltage the charger will continue charging at a very low current to keep the cells "topped up". This phase is called a trickle charge and the cells can remain in this phase indefinitely.

 

[Martin Narainsamy]

Trickle charging does not apply to Li-Ion cells. When they are charged to 4.2V the charger stops charging altogether. It should be designed to start charging again once the voltage drops down to around 4V. This 0.2V drop typically takes at least a day or two . If it discharges relatively quickly, your cells are knackered.

Trickle charging is used in older chemistries such as lead acid and NiCd cells. These cells are charged to their nominal voltage with a high current. When the cell reaches it's nominal charge voltage the charger will continue charging at a very low current to keep the cells "topped up". This phase is called a trickle charge and the cells can remain in this phase indefinitely.

A day or 2 if they are not been used?

 

[BubiSparks]

@Martin Narainsamy - Yes if you leave them in the charger they may drop that much especially older cells. This happens because many cheap chargers have some impedance (similar to resistance) at their output causing the cells to discharge back into the charger's electronics over time.

If you measure the voltage of a fully charged cell as soon as you take it off charge you will also notice a slight voltage drop of maybe .05V or so. If you measure them after a few days you can expect a drop of maybe 0.1V or more.

At the end of the day, these are all variables that change as the cycle count and age of your cells goes up.

 

[Silver]

@Martin Narainsamy , on trickle charge it does remain cool, but during the main charging cycle, the batteries become quite warm in the nitecore.
I've spoken to two different vendors about this issue and according to them this is "normal" for most chargers - not sure how true that is, but what I do know is that the cooler the batteries, the better.

.

Hi @ddk1979 and @franshorn

I am still using an old Nitecore i4 - just with the led lights. Got it in 2014 thanks to a recommendation by @Andre - this was before they were readily available at vape shops. Well, there went many vape shops anyway.

Nevertheless, my Nitecore i4 has been going strong for 4 years. Not a single problem.
It doesnt charge very fast but i prefer that because its better for the batts to charge slower
Better to have a few extra batteries freshly charged than charge batts too quick - in my view.
Doesnt get hot at all when i charge. Remains cool. Both the batts and the charger.

 

[Pixstar]

Hi @ddk1979 and @franshorn

I am still using an old Nitecore i4 - just with the led lights. Got it in 2014 thanks to a recommendation by @Andre - this was before they were readily available at vape shops. Well, there went many vape shops anyway.

Nevertheless, my Nitecore i4 has been going strong for 4 years. Not a single problem.
It doesnt charge very fast but i prefer that because its better for the batts to charge slower
Better to have a few extra batteries freshly charged than charge batts too quick - in my view.
Doesnt get hot at all when i charge. Remains cool. Both the batts and the charger.

Have to agree with you regarding charging slower is better, in my experience.
I have a Nitecor UM20 (almost 3 years old) and a Nitecor D2 (2,5 years). Both have been used every single day since purchase, no issues.
Both charge at maximum 0,5A, yeah that’s slow but I have 18650 batteries that are almost 3 years old, still in daily rotation.
I also have a new Xtar VC2 Plus Master that can charge at 1A but I always use the 0,5A charge option.
I prefer to have more spare batteries than to have fast charging.

 

[Martin Narainsamy]

@Martin Narainsamy - Yes if you leave them in the charger they may drop that much especially older cells. This happens because many cheap chargers have some impedance (similar to resistance) at their output causing the cells to discharge back into the charger's electronics over time.

If you measure the voltage of a fully charged cell as soon as you take it off charge you will also notice a slight voltage drop of maybe .05V or so. If you measure them after a few days you can expect a drop of maybe 0.1V or more.

At the end of the day, these are all variables that change as the cycle count and age of your cells goes up.

I really did not know that. Appreciate the fact that you took some time to explain that to me.
Thanks. Thats why I love this forum