New Nitecore Superb Charger - SC4

[archimedes]

Mine are by Wiha ... about ~ $30

( I have Mitutoyo's, too, but those are metal )

 

[tripplec]

I guess a merge between SC4 and Xtar SV4 (hypothetical) would be an ideal charger. SC4 is too noisy and "relaxed" on termination voltage. Sometimes it finishes at 4.16V, sometimes at 4.13V...

Could you clarify? Noisy

 

[terjee]

I guess a merge between SC4 and Xtar SV4 (hypothetical) would be an ideal charger. SC4 is too noisy and "relaxed" on termination voltage. Sometimes it finishes at 4.16V, sometimes at 4.13V...

Finish at those voltages? Or drop to them after charging terminates?

It's a faster charger, so I'd expect the post-charging voltage drop to be much more pronounced than with a slower charger like the Nitecore D4 for example.

 

[tripplec]

Ok, as per a much earlier question. My protected batteries are 70.4mm as per my digital calipers and are NCR18650B Li-ion

I moved the calipers more open to 71.0mm and that isn't a lot of wiggle room. HJK as I recall in his review spec's the slots at 70mm. If that is a constant in manufacturing it isn't going to work for Protected cells as mine are not especially long. Why are oem's making them so short when they're intended for diverse set of batteries. I have and I4 Nitecore charger as well and never had cell fit issues but its slow for more than two Li-ion at once.

PS: I just took the cell to the I4 which was in a drawer. Yep it goes in, but no wiggle room as its in very snug going in and not more than 70.4mm
Maybe a revision on this will come out by the end of the year. SC4 could use some improvements from post comments.

 

[HKJ]

Ok, as per a much earlier question. My protected batteries are 70.4mm as per my digital calipers and are NCR18650B Li-ion

Your protected batteries are some of the longest, the shortest are around 68mm.

 

[vadimax]

Could you clarify? Noisy

With power supplied, but without any load (empty slots or all batteries full) it emits an audible hiss. Most likely a high frequency transformer resonates.

 

[vadimax]

Finish at those voltages? Or drop to them after charging terminates?

It's a faster charger, so I'd expect the post-charging voltage drop to be much more pronounced than with a slower charger like the Nitecore D4 for example.

As NKJ noted with other Nitecore chargers they suffer high termination current issue (~250mA):

At the same time Xtar high current charger terminates at nice 75mA:

As a result its fully charged batteries come out with 4.18-4.19V.

 

[tripplec]

Your protected batteries are some of the longest, the shortest are around 68mm.

Hmm, when I was looking for high capacity & current 18650 for almost a year off and on. I did look at cell length from the sources I was considering in their options. Only flat top and/or non protected were below 70mm. I however were focusing on Protected Cells only and saw the others when the type was vague, then realized they were not protected as was the case many times for the 18650GA I came across. The major problem was finding a source that was not selling a extortion rates to Canada. I settled on the next best solution for my light as 4 of these 18650B max'd out would pump enough current to drive the 11 Cree chubby light. (They do...having used it now)

It took at least 4 months for the cells to arrive and they are quite common on many selling batter sites If there are other shorter I'd expect they would have to use an extremely thin protected cap of fake one to achieve a length near 69mm or less. I have been changing these and my other Sanyo 18650's in my SH4 charger almost exclusively since I got it which does a good job pushing 1A to each cell whether 2 or 4 in it.

Hence my next charge would need to support these 18650 with detailed display and 1A min on all 4 slots (non pulsing current, just stops for voltage sampling and on again). The SC4 does appear to have some refining to be done in its charging termination phase in the least. Fit is key and not likely that it will be changed. I am sure many others are using these cells as well.

 

[terjee]

Take a look at the picture I posted higher up. Those are Keeppower and Eagletac cells, both protected, but quality, both are shorter. Also available through NKON, which ships almost world-wide.

 

[HKJ]

I measure length on all cells I test/review, but sadly there have not been many protected recently. My general impression is that only a few batteries are longer than 70mm.

The SC4 would benefit from a couple of fixes/updates.
In this table you can see how long batteries the different chargers support: http://lygte-info.dk/info/roundCellChargerIndex UK.html

 

[tripplec]

Take a look at the picture I posted higher up. Those are Keeppower and Eagletac cells, both protected, but quality, both are shorter. Also available through NKON, which ships almost world-wide.

Sorry, I did see that but did not mention. My search was for 3400mAh cells and this was what I have. I have twice as many as I really need since it was do difficult to get I went beyond my requirements.

As for other source I have to consider the landed cost. What they charge to ship and dollar conversion. Knowhere in North America were they competitive. Most would floor you at their prices with shipping.

Thanks for all replies. I am not in a rush for a charger and will keep abreast of what become available and viable in a Universal charger. Cheers and thanks again.

PS: FYI I have 4 of these NCR18650B in use as well as 3 other different 18650's all in lights. With that I have 8 of these new ones as spares!!! Clearly now I need a fit for these as I am not looking for any more 18650's now.

 

[david57strat]

My digital calipers have a zero button to ensure its reading zero when closed and are not metal. They should not be hard to find but depends on your area. Not specified in the post.

I got mine from Princess Auto or Auto parts places should carry something.

I'm in Southern California (Land of smog and Traffic). Everything should be easy to find, here, except for clean air lol.

 

[Doko]

I have the SC4 and to be honest, it is absolutely fantastic !! So far i have been charging AA Eneloop Pros 3HCD, 18650 and 26650 on it and this thing is a monster at 2Amp charging for the Li-ion ! I've charged my Keeppower 5200's in about ~3 hrs since i got them from about 3.6v when they came in. I love the charger ! Not sure how HKJ would review it but the thing is damn fast at charging ! :thumbsup:

 

[david57strat]

I just used two of my SC4s to charge up some newly-acquired IKEA LADDA LSD 2450 NiMh batteries that received positive comments; both, here, and on Flashlight Subreddit. They're supposed to be comparable to Eneloop Pros, but at a far more competitive price. As an added bonus, IKEA is only maybe ten minutes away from me; so - no waiting time, or shipping charges

Here is a review on the batteries, by HKJ:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...w-of-Ikea-Ladda-AA-2450mAh-(White)-703-038-76

 

[david57strat]

I have the SC4 and to be honest, it is absolutely fantastic !! So far i have been charging AA Eneloop Pros 3HCD, 18650 and 26650 on it and this thing is a monster at 2Amp charging for the Li-ion ! I've charged my Keeppower 5200's in about ~3 hrs since i got them from about 3.6v when they came in. I love the charger ! Not sure how HKJ would review it but the thing is damn fast at charging ! :thumbsup:

Agreed. These are the fastest chargers I own, and are feature rich, reasonably priced (got a deal on them), for the features offered, and with the nicest back lit displays I've ever seen before on a Nitecore charger. I had two of their i4 V2s, then a pair of their D4s. But this new model really stepped things up, for them.

Enjoy your new purchase

 

[david57strat]

I've got one. Sure -- the buzz on idle. And UI is not even close to intuitive. Starting at 2A is an issue as well: in case of wall socket voltage drop you may find your 16350 in a very dangerous condition. Or does it manage to reidentify a cell?

The charger does not start at a 2 Amp setting, initially, unless you stick a higher capacity (great than 1200 mAh, per the manual) battery. Batteries with less than 1200 mAh capacity default at a charge rate of 500 mA.

I grabbed a partially depleted EagleTac 16340 750 mAh battery, then I threw it in one of my SC4 chargers, re-programmed the charge rate to 300 mA. Then, leaving the battery in the slot, I powered off the charger, then powered it back on.

As expected, the charger reset itself to the 500 mA default rate for a low capacity battery.

I personally prefer to run my smaller batteries at that 500 mA rate, so that's not a deal breaker for me. The 16340 is the smallest battery I have to charge, anyway.

I hope this clarifies things

 

[tripplec]

Just the curiosity, I did a search for the SC4 on eBay and ouch. Around $69 CND plus shipping and higher for this charger. Not in my lifetime, not way would I pay that. I sorted for the best price & shipping and the price go a lot higher as well. My I4 was well under $30 when I bought it and the Soshine SH4 I used the most was around $30 (a real guess now). Its got bugs needing fixing in a revision I am sure will come out but at the moment they're overpriced.

Fortunately I don't really need one to charge my cells but it would have been nice to have one more informative and a bit faster.

 

[terjee]

At this point, it seems the main reason to consider an SC4 would be to get a medium-priced fast charger. If that's not your thing, there are plenty of better choices.

Personally I've gotten two SC4 chargers, because the faults are compatible with my use cases. I'm fine with early termination for example (would prefer it even), and just wanted them to dump charge into cells fast.

 

[david57strat]

Just the curiosity, I did a search for the SC4 on eBay and ouch. Around $69 CND plus shipping and higher for this charger. Not in my lifetime, not way would I pay that. I sorted for the best price & shipping and the price go a lot higher as well. My I4 was well under $30 when I bought it and the Soshine SH4 I used the most was around $30 (a real guess now). Its got bugs needing fixing in a revision I am sure will come out but at the moment they're overpriced.

Fortunately I don't really need one to charge my cells but it would have been nice to have one more informative and a bit faster.

I hear you. There is no way, on Earth, I would have paid full retail on even just one of these, no matter how many wonderful features it has. But, I also would not trust eBay as a source for lithium ion batteries, or battery chargers.

There are way too many sellers, selling fake Nitecore chargers, and charging the same price for them. Same holds true with re-wrapped used batteries that have come from laptop pulls, and the customer is none the wiser, until they test the batteries (at which point, it's too late), and find that they have far lower capacity than what was advertised.

It's just not advisable, buying these types of items through eBay, unless it's from a trusted vendor and authorized seller of the product.

At this point, it seems the main reason to consider an SC4 would be to get a medium-priced fast charger. If that's not your thing, there are plenty of better choices.

Personally I've gotten two SC4 chargers, because the faults are compatible with my use cases. I'm fine with early termination for example (would prefer it even), and just wanted them to dump charge into cells fast.

Agreed. I got my four because the price was right (through a Group Buy on Budget Light Forums - which made the price not that much higher than I paid for my D4s), the features vs. price was acceptable (the feature set of this charger is remarkable, for that price), Nitecore had made vast improvements in the charger (or I would never have even considered buying one, let alone, four, no matter what the price), and I wanted to phase out the use of my dog slow D4s, that I had been using for the past three years - even for use as just AA NiMh chargers.

 

[david57strat]

They just keep multiplying, like rabbits