4+ Bay LiIon Charger like the Pila IBC

[Ginseng]

Hi Guys,
With more devices requiring 3 or more 18650 cells, it's become a bit of a bottleneck to be limited to charging 2 at a time. So my question is this: Is there a charger that performs well, offers CC/CV like the Pila IBC, and requires no adapters other than spacers to charge also 18350 and 18500 cells?
Wilkey

 

[old4570]

Hmmm , Trustfire makes a 4 bay charger ... recently used mine two days straight recharging all my 18650 (there is a lot of them) , for the money its a decent charger

 

[Ginseng]

I'll look for it. I did find this Sysmax unit I've never heard of before. I'm a bit leery of the fact that it only costs $25.

Wilkey

 

[old4570]

Thats a good price ! ..

Ive been holding off , as there were issues early on .. Havent really seen anyone endorse it .

 

[mvyrmnd]

I've got 3 of them, charging both eneloops and Li-ion. They've not once done anything wrong.

The only issues were from running them on 110V, and, of course, if something doesn't work in America then it can't possibly be any good...

 

[Bozzlite]

The XTAR WP6 II is a pretty good charger. It actually has six charging bays. You will need 4 spacers per battery to charge 18350 size. I think SuperT Manufacturing sells them for around $35. And the additional spacers are about 50 cents each.

Don't know where you are located, but they only ship the WP6 to USA.

I have the TrustFire 4 bay charger and it doesn't require spacers for the 18350 batteries. But it does consistently over charge all batteries. Doesn't mean they all do, but mine does.

 

[Ginseng]

Hmm, the XTAR does look decent. I see that there is the odd-slots constraint. Does this mean that the channels are not truly independent? What happens if I need to charge 4 cells?
Wilkey

 

[chewy78]

what would happen if you charged up 3 cells in that sysmax i4 charger?

 

[madecov]

I have XTar WP-6. I have been pleased. When charging less than 6 cells I skip every other slot as it charges faster. I have charged 6 - 16340 cells at once and they all charged up within a few minutes of each other. The batteries remained cool to touch. It does seem to be a bit slower than my Pila, but I can charge 6 batteries in less time than it takes to charge 4 in the Pila. Xtar also has a dual bay charger yhat has decent reviews here in the forum. I was considering the Sysmax, but the pdf manual states not to charge 4 Li-Ion cells in it. Really defeats the purpose.

 

[45/70]

I'll look for it. I did find this Sysmax unit I've never heard of before. I'm a bit leery of the fact that it only costs $25.

This is a genuine concern. So far, the two best "consumer type" Li-Ion cradle chargers, that actually use a CC/CV charging algorithm, the 4Seven's single bay, and the Pila IBC, run about $25 a charging channel, and these don't charge NiCd/NiMh cells, as well!

The XTAR for example, utilizes a synthesized "pulsed" CC/CV algorithm with voltage checking, and is not actually CC/CV. This may work, but I have my doubts as to whether this method treats cells as gently, as a true CC/CV algorithm.

In either event, both the Sysmax and XTAR chargers have apparently undergone some extreme shortcuts in the manufacture of these chargers, to offer them at such a low price. One has to be skeptical, as to how this might affect the quality of such a device. No doubt they work, but so do the WF-139 and DSD......:shrug:

Dave

 

[Ginseng]

Right on, 0.64286. I'd gladly pay $80-100 for a true CC/CV 4-channel LiIon charger that's convenient to use. If only Pila made such an extension of the IBC.

Wilkey

 

[iron potato]

I have XTar WP-6. I have been pleased. When charging less than 6 cells I skip every other slot as it charges faster. I have charged 6 - 16340 cells at once and they all charged up within a few minutes of each other. The batteries remained cool to touch. It does seem to be a bit slower than my Pila, but I can charge 6 batteries in less time than it takes to charge 4 in the Pila. Xtar also has a dual bay charger yhat has decent reviews here in the forum. I was considering the Sysmax, but the pdf manual states not to charge 4 Li-Ion cells in it. Really defeats the purpose.

+1

Ease of mind using it, I also have their MP1S & WP2 II which also an USB power source :thumbsup:

 

[45/70]

Right on, 0.64286.

Actually it's a .45 caliber bullet over (/) 70 grains of gunpowder, which comes to 2000-4000 ft.lbs, depending on the powder used, and the materials used in the manufacture of the rifle, but anyway......

Really for charging Li-Ion cells for use in series, you're going to have problems with the cells being matched. This would even apply if Pila did make a 4 channel charger, as there are going to be slight differences in SOC when using any multi channel charger.

The solution I came to some time ago, is to charge cells used in series with a hobby charger. The simplest way is to charge them in parallel. This results in perfectly matched sets of cells, provided the cells are known to be close in performance beforehand.

The other option with a hobby charger is to charge them in series with balance leads, utilizing the balancing feature. This also results in matched sets and gives you the charging status of each cell while charging (or discharging), which is unavailable when parallel charging. The only drawback is you have to rig up the balancing harness, in addition to the main charging leads.

These chargers use a proper CC/CV charging algorithm, have many selectable charge rates, as well as other additional features, such as a discharge function, allowing you to check the capacity of cells under various discharge rates. Also, these chargers can be picked up for well under $50. Remember though, that a suitable charging cradle with associated wiring harness will be necessary, as these chargers are meant for charging prefabricated packs with included proper connectors, not "loose" cells.

Dave

 

[Ginseng]

Got it. Makes sense. I've got an ElectriFly Triton hobby charger and while eminently capable, not "drop in" convenient.

Wilkey

 

[45/70]

Yeah. If you rig up an old "dumb" 4 bay NiCd/NiMh charger, as I did, for parallel charging though, you're all set for charging 1-4 cells (or 6, or 8, or how ever many bays the charger has that you wire in parallel). It's true, you still have more "components" than a consumer type charger, but it'll work. Not too great for traveling and such, but you actually end up with a better charger than any of those mentioned.

If you do go this route, make sure to use ample sized wire and bypass the springs on the sliders ala M@g tail spring, as these in addition to adding substantial resistance, won't handle more than a 1A rate, or so.

Also, when parallel charging, remember your charge rate is actually divided by however many cells you are charging. This limits charge rate somewhat. Still, with only 3 cells, it should work out OK, eg. a 5A charger, 5/3 = 1666mA/cell.

Dave

 

[GJW]

I'll look for it. I did find this Sysmax unit I've never heard of before. I'm a bit leery of the fact that it only costs $25.

Wilkey

The manual from the Jet-Beam (Sysmax) website is a bit different than the one that BatteryJunction links to:
http://www.jet-beam.com/download/OperationManual/Intellichargei4_OperationManual.pdf
Not sure which one's correct but the JetBeam one has some interesting precautions.
1. When used at 110V, do not charge four Li-ion rechargeable
batteries simultaneously.

3. Please do not use the i4 to charge different types of
batteries (Ni-MH/Ni-Cd or Li-ion) simultaneously.

:shrug:

 

[madecov]

The manual from the Jet-Beam (Sysmax) website is a bit different than the one that BatteryJunction links to:
http://www.jet-beam.com/download/OperationManual/Intellichargei4_OperationManual.pdf
Not sure which one's correct but the JetBeam one has some interesting precautions.
1. When used at 110V, do not charge four Li-ion rechargeable
batteries simultaneously.

3. Please do not use the i4 to charge different types of
batteries (Ni-MH/Ni-Cd or Li-ion) simultaneously.

:shrug:

This is what concerned me and why I decided to get Xtar WP6 II
Really no point in having a four bay charger that does not allow charging of four cells, especially Li-Ion cells. There are numerous very good Ni-Mh 4-8-16 bay chargers (Maha) available.

Having a dedicated charger for my cell types isn't that big a deal. Having dedicated chargers also reduces mistakes and accidents

 

[HKJ]

The manual from the Jet-Beam (Sysmax) website is a bit different than the one that BatteryJunction links to:
http://www.jet-beam.com/download/OperationManual/Intellichargei4_OperationManual.pdf
Not sure which one's correct but the JetBeam one has some interesting precautions.
1. When used at 110V, do not charge four Li-ion rechargeable
batteries simultaneously.

3. Please do not use the i4 to charge different types of
batteries (Ni-MH/Ni-Cd or Li-ion) simultaneously.

:shrug:

I serious doubt that these problems are present in the new version of the charger. I have seen a prototype of it and there the problems where fixed.
When I get the released model I am, of course, going to check it again.

 

[GJW]

I serious doubt that these problems are present in the new version of the charger. I have seen a prototype of it and there the problems where fixed.
When I get the released model I am, of course, going to check it again.

I already have the new version of the charger and fixed or not, when the precautions tell you not to do exactly what the features tell you that you should be able to do.... that's a concern.


EDIT:
My charger came with no instrucions at all but others who did receive them are saying that those precautions do not appear in the updated manual.
I guess the PDF on Jet-Beam's website needs to be updated.

 

[fonzerelli]

One could always buy two of the Pila IBC chargers, like I'm doing. It would be nice to have a 4 in 1, but this should work fine.