NITECORE Power – The D4 and D2 Digi chargers and NITECORE's li-ion cells

[Rick NJ]

Hi folks,

I am considering the D2. My 18650 cells are a bit on the long side. From tip of the button to the base is 71.2 mm to 71.5mm.

I have looked up and down and I found inconsistent comments. One "buyer review" said 70mm, another said 68mm. Can anyone with a D2 measure what is the max cell length that I can squeeze in?

If max is 72mm, life is good. If it is 70mm, I could repack my savaged laptop cells possibly down to 70mm by removing one of the two 0.3mm insulation layer I put in. But I don't think I could get it down to 68mm.

Thanks!
Rick

 

[RI Chevy]

Welcome to the Forum! :welcome:

If fellow member HKJ did a review of this charger then read the top part of the review and he will let you know if the cells will fit or not. His reviews are extremely thorough and informative.

http://www.lygte-info.dk/info/indexBatteriesAndChargers UK.html

I do not want to take anything away from this review by subwoofer. This was also an excellent review. :thumbsup:

 

[Rick NJ]

Welcome to the Forum! :welcome:

If fellow member HKJ did a review of this charger then read the top part of the review and he will let you know if the cells will fit or not. His reviews are extremely thorough and informative.

http://www.lygte-info.dk/info/indexBatteriesAndChargers UK.html

I do not want to take anything away from this review by subwoofer. This was also an excellent review. :thumbsup:

Ah, I did not see see those posts! Thanks for pointing it out.

Too bad, HKJ's review has max battery length at 69.3mm long. Darn. That would mean I need to repack all my 18650 to use this charger!

All my 18650 is 71-72mm long. (extra insulation, thick wire...)

I have been using a cheap charger board and it works adequately well, but the web of gator clips to connect it up makes it "my use only". I was hoping this could be for my family's use so they can charge the 18650 themselves.

May be I will repack those old laptop batteries to make it just a bit shorter, but I really like the extra insulation I have... Darn, this would have been good had max be 72mm.

Thanks just the same RI Chevy! (and thanks HKJ for the review). While it is not the answer I like, but at least now I know.

Rick

 

[RI Chevy]

Read through some of his other reviews and see if there is a charger that may accept the 72mm length. There may be some other options out there for you.

 

[subwoofer]

Just to add to HKJ's excellent information, I've just measured both bays in my D2 and they were 69.6mm and 69.9mm.

 

[Rick NJ]

Just to add to HKJ's excellent information, I've just measured both bays in my D2 and they were 69.6mm and 69.9mm.

That is encouraging...

After reading RI Chevy's reply, I was about to give up, stick with my charger boards until I find another charger; or figure out a way to "package" my charger board with a good UI for family so they don't have to fiddle with gator clips.

My extra long 18650 is because I have been liberal with insulation.

I did some calculation, even if I repack my 18650, I still can't squeeze it down to 69.3mm, but 69.9mm is a possibility.
Top side: Flat top cover 1.5mm + insulation 0.3mm + wire 0.7mm = 2.5mm
Bottom side: protection board 1.7mm + insulation 0.3mm + wire 0.7mm = 2.7mm
Total = 5.2mm added, plus 65mm for the cell, that is 70.2mm.

That is just 0.3mm over the 69.9mm. I know I can strip the cell's factory shrink cover and get 0.3mm, but I prefer to leave that on. If I can somehow do the bottom side wiring within the protection board's vertical space, that would work. Going with minimal insulation really makes me nervous but it could work.

I already ordered some of the thin 1.5mm top-cover. I am going to repack one of my 18650 and see if I can indeed squeeze it to <=69.9mm, and also see if I feel comfortable with taking out my extra insulation.

Hey, THANKS RI Chevy & Subwoofer! Without your help, my only solution would be to cross my finger, order the darn thing and hope for the best; and sometimes, the best doesn't work out. So thanks for the trouble and info. Now I know what I am getting into.

With thanks,
Rick

 

[HKJ]

You could also get a charger that could handle long cells, some of them are:

http://lygte-info.dk/review/Review Charger Xtar VC4 UK.html
http://lygte-info.dk/review/Review Charger Opus BT-C1000 UK.html
http://lygte-info.dk/review/Review Charger Opus BT-C3100 V2.1 UK.html

 

[RI Chevy]

Thank you Henrik. :thumbsup:
Options. We always have options.
Much better than messing with all the cells. Just get a charger that fits your needs.

 

[Rick NJ]

You could also get a charger that could handle long cells, some of them are:

http://lygte-info.dk/review/Review Charger Xtar VC4 UK.html
http://lygte-info.dk/review/Review Charger Opus BT-C1000 UK.html
http://lygte-info.dk/review/Review Charger Opus BT-C3100 V2.1 UK.html

Thank you Henrik. :thumbsup:
Options. We always have options.
Much better than messing with all the cells. Just get a charger that fits your needs.

Indeed, HKJ! Much THANKS for those links and the hard work in doing the review. Very informative. I begun considering Nitecore because of its low cost - it is not much more than what I would need to spend on parts if I am to "repackage" my charger boards into something more user friendly for family to use. Some of this chargers are so feature rich it makes them very tempting even though they are 2x-3x the price of Nitecore D2.

I will look at the links reviews carefully and see if I want to spring for one of them - quick looks is, very attractive, but I will look closer.

Back to length for a moment:

I must not be alone with this problem with salvaged laptop batteries. I suppose most of the manufacturers are targeting non-fiddling consumers using manufactured batteries instead of salvaged batteries. However, this really puzzle me some. The 18650 users are different from users of AAA or AA batteries. I would guess (without any supporting data) that for the 18650 users including the e-cig folks, "salvagers" like myself could be a larger share of the the user base comparing to "manufactured-battery" users.

 

[Rick NJ]

Thanks for all your input, RI Chevy, Subwoofer, and in particular, HKJ for your detail reviews.

I've looked all HKJ's review pointed out by RI Chevy and some from web search. Right now, I am leaning towards the BT-C3400. From various sources, the BT-C3400 is the BT-C3100 with newer firmware. And thanks to HKJ's review, the BT-C3100 takes battery from 32mm to 72.5mm and has over-temperature shut down.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?389732-Test-Review-of-Charger-Opus-BT-C3100-V2-1

I am expecting the max length didn't get shortened when it was rebranded BT-C3400. I emailed the eBay seller and ask if he could check -- same seller whom I purchased my LaCross BC700 NiMH charger 1-2 years ago, and some of my Eneloop supply also came from this gentleman. I hope he can check and came back telling me 72mm battery is no problem.

The BT-C3100 will accomplish the "user-friendly" aspect for my family. They have been using the BC700 for the NiMH for over a year. It has almost the exact interface as the BT-C3400. The "REFRESH", "CHARGE-TEST"... options are familiar ones. Some minor differences in the way the options work, but by-and-large the same. I don't even have to "retrain" them or myself.

I am eagerly waiting the seller's reply. I see no reason why the max battery length would reduce from BTC3100 to BT-C3400. I probably wont order right the way but chew on it a bit to avoid buyer's remorse.

What do you think? Good choice?

With thanks,

Rick

 

[Rick NJ]

Thanks for all your input, RI Chevy, Subwoofer, and in particular, HKJ for your detail reviews.

...
The BT-C3100 will accomplish the "user-friendly" aspect for my family. They have been using the BC700 for the NiMH for over a year. It has almost the exact interface as the BT-C3400. The "REFRESH", "CHARGE-TEST"... options are familiar ones. Some minor differences in the way the options work, but by-and-large the same. I don't even have to "retrain" them or myself.

I am eagerly waiting the seller's reply. I see no reason why the max battery length would reduce from BTC3100 to BT-C3400. I probably wont order right the way but chew on it a bit to avoid buyer's remorse.
...
With thanks,

Rick

Oh, well... My impatience got the better of me. I was going to wait a bit to avoid buyer's remorse. The eBay seller RDANA replied to my question and he measured the BT C3400 max battery length at 71.4mm. 71+ is a green light for me. I got my LaCross BC700 from him a couple of years back, and some of my NiMH-LSD cells came from him, so he is a known quality and I feel comfortable.

The BT-C3400 has almost exactly the same user interface as the BC700. The UI was the deciding factor. Same supported modes, same names for the same function, etc. makes the transition easy.

With his reply at hand, my limited patience started chewing on my ears, I hear the voice from somewhere: "Hey, you are not that young any more, do you want your charger before your first pension cheque or what? Forget the battery's expiration date, look at your own expiration date!" So, in panic, I hurried over to eBay and ordered hoping that would not be the last thing I would ever do...

So now it is a done deal - Opus BT-C3400.

Joking aside... Thanks folks. You guys have been helpful and I feel I made a good decision with your help.

With thanks
Rick

 

[RI Chevy]

Glad you figured it out!

 

[subwoofer]

I hear the voice from somewhere: "Hey, you are not that young any more, do you want your charger before your first pension cheque or what? Forget the battery's expiration date, look at your own expiration date!"

Glad you have come to a decision.

However the thought that comes to mind is if you have had this revelation, why do you bother harvesting old laptop cells and building protection onto them? Buy new ones.

 

[LeafSamurai]

Glad you have come to a decision.

However the thought that comes to mind is if you have had this revelation, why do you bother harvesting old laptop cells and building protection onto them? Buy new ones.

Lol. Good advice subwoofer. We only live once. Why not enjoy the good things in life if we still can and if we can afford it? It doesn't just apply to flashlights of course

 

[Rick NJ]

Glad you have come to a decision.

However the thought that comes to mind is if you have had this revelation, why do you bother harvesting old laptop cells and building protection onto them? Buy new ones.

Lol. Good advice subwoofer. We only live once. Why not enjoy the good things in life if we still can and if we can afford it? It doesn't just apply to flashlights of course

That was how I got into 18650's to begin with. I salvaged them as an experiment and I ended up deploying them for very low power emergency lights during power outage. They supplement the Eneloops for low-power lights. For higher power, I already have SLA/old-car-battery driven 12V (LED 1-3Watt) RV lights for things like dinner, shower, etc. So the demand on the 18650's and Eneloops are for just a bit of light to avoid total darkness. So I am looking at about 100mA draw.

I am considering a bright flash light to look for our cats at night. Other than that, I can't think of anything I really need a 18650 for yet. With the "cat finder" light, I may consider a new 18650 - depending on how my old 18650 works out with the cheap flashlight I just ordered from FastTech.

Now that I can dump my home-brew chargers, the 18650's should be as easy to handle as the AA's. What do you suggest good application for a new/fresh 18650? I am itching to use it for something else, but don't really have anything in mind.

 

[CelticCross74]

I have used the d4 and i4 since they both came out. Both performed admirably well. Just got an Xtar VC4 though that I believe eats the D2 and 4 for breakfast. As to the above poster a great cat finding light in 18650 would be the new Nitecore MH20 which I believe Subwoofer just reviewed. Got one of those on order. Going the 4xAA route could be very wise as well for cat finding and for that you just cannot go wrong with a $50 Thrunite TN4A

 

[Rick NJ]

I have used the d4 and i4 since they both came out. Both performed admirably well. Just got an Xtar VC4 though that I believe eats the D2 and 4 for breakfast. As to the above poster a great cat finding light in 18650 would be the new Nitecore MH20 which I believe Subwoofer just reviewed. Got one of those on order. Going the 4xAA route could be very wise as well for cat finding and for that you just cannot go wrong with a $50 Thrunite TN4A

$50 for a cat-finder flash light is too much for me. I will let him get wet from the rain next time. May be he will eventually learn.

This cat has a funny habit. Normally, when you call him, he comes. But when we look for him frenetically, he actually enjoys watching. He would sit on or by the tree, and just watch us frenetically search for him before a storm.

After I tested out my new charger, I will check out the MH20 and do some flash light hunting.

 

[bykfixer]

Thanks for another great review.

I bought an i4 a while ago thinking I'd never use LifePo4 batteries, but recently discovered they are great for a project I'm doing.
D4 it is then. And it'll be nice to have the display as well.

It'll be a bonus to charge 1 cell at a time.

Few days later edit:
The bundle came with a pair of D cell adapters and a car cord.
It was a few days before I used it. I discovered a pair of C size IMEDIONS arrived completely discharged on the same evening a pair of Lion cells ran out of steam.
Side by side C cells was out. Slots are not far enough apart for that. So it was 18mm, c size, 18mm, c size. With each slot being indepenent I could've done the order differently unlike my i4 where it likes 1,3, and 2,4 for matching cell pairs.

Not a rapid charger for sure. The depleted batteries took about 3 hours for the 2600 mah and about 4-1/2 for the 5000mah cells, yet everything remained nice n cool. Charging 4 cells on my i4 caused concern due to all the heat.

Next evening I decided to top up some LifePo4's, which requires a manual switch to be used to tell the machine to shut down at a lower voltage. Easy enough. You activate the slot that contains that cell, push on the mode switch to get to LifePo, done. Stab in another to activate next slot and again switch the mode.
I'm a novice at all this modern day rechargeable stuff. But the NiteCore D4 simplicity and form of function made charging various battery sizes and chemistry a confident experience after biting my nails for the first 30 minutes of the first use.

As I type this a pair of new eneloops just completed a top up and some new 18650's are nearly done being topped up.

I use mainly primaries so this machine will not be used very often. However when the times comes to recharge a few rechargeables here n there I feel pretty good about using a NiteCore D4 for all the cells I own...even C size.

Again, thanks for the review Subwoofer.

 

[Milw light]

My D-2 lasted about 3 months & one of the slots failed to charge. This is not an uncommon problem as I've read on searches. Onward to the Opus 3400 & hopefully better luck.