Anyone having problems with their Sysmax/Nitecore/Jetbeam i4 Intellicharger V2?

Just curious if anyone on this forum who owns the Sysmax/Nitecore/Jetbeam i4 Intellicharger V2 has had any build quality issues? I have two of these and like the design, ease of use, and cc/cv charging but one unit that was only two months old failed due to the AC line cord contacts on the back of the unit coming loose and receeding into the charger making it impossible to mate with the AC cord, thus rendering it inoperable. I exchanged it for a new unit thinking this was just a rare bad charger.

My second charger was only a week old and while charging two AA Ni-MH Eneloops in bays #1 and #3 as recommended, all charge indicator light "segments" started flashing randomly after 10min or so, continuing even after removing the batteries?! It had previously only charged a few 16430, and 18650 Li-ion's and functioned fine with those. I am currently awaiting an exchange for a new unit with this one as well.

Thus far, unless I missed it, I haven't seen anyone else on this forum complaining of any issues with this product. Maybe I've just been very unlucky with these units? Guess I'll keep using the one in my possession (it's only a week old and doing fine so far) and the new one I'm exchanging when it arrives, and monitor their performance. If these units fail however I will certainly return them for refunds and look into other alternatives.

The odds of me getting the only two chargers with problems though seems extremely unlikely.

I had been watching threads on the I4 charger. One of the ones available on eBay to Canada. None but the C9000 is sold locally and is quite expensive. Amazon.ca should be sued for extortion at the prices they charge for the same item in the USA site can be only 1/3 of the Canadian price. Robbery in it highest level.

I am looking for a cost effective charger for AAA & AA Eneloops that does cells individually if it exists. The I4 seems ok but the review I read was inconclusive and focused on Li-ion a lot which is fine but good NiMH capability is a prime requirement. I only just yesterday read here about protected and unprotected Li-ion cells. Wow I did not know there was a difference nor that the lengths can be different. I have not seen the length mentioned in cell that are sold or packaged with light solutions either. That opens a whole new can or worms as to how and whether it works reliably. Still learning. My son who has been on this forum a lot longer said there are instances where the 18650 or 16430's have exploded like shotgun shells. Nearly blinding one person with chemical burns and respiratory issues as well.

Anyway, I guess I'll see what is posted. Maybe they need a V3 of the I4 now.

Worthy alternative to consider:

XTAR XP4
4-bay / Li-ion and Ni-MH / 0.25 - 0.50 - 1.00A selectable charge rate:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...-Chargers-of-XTAR-XP4-and-WP2s&highlight=xtar


Still unproven (expected July 2013 release), but well worth waiting for, pending HKJ's forthcoming review....

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...R-XP1-Hummingbird-charger-Li-Ion-Ni-MH-Ni-Cad

Cheers,

__philippe

No problems with my Sysmax I4, but I don't use it for eneloops, and I keep the AC lead permanently in.

__philippe said:

Worthy alternative to consider:

XTAR XP4
4-bay / Li-ion and Ni-MH / 0.25 - 0.50 - 1.00A selectable charge rate:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...-Chargers-of-XTAR-XP4-and-WP2s&highlight=xtar


Still unproven (expected July 2013 release), but well worth waiting for, pending HKJ's forthcoming review....

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...R-XP1-Hummingbird-charger-Li-Ion-Ni-MH-Ni-Cad

Cheers,

__philippe

Click to expand...

I don't see this on eBay at the moment and not sure if its available anywhere else in Canada.

Thanks for the info.

My Nitecore i4 jas been flawless. I use it heavily fpr Eneloops and Energizer NiMh rechargables, protected 18650s and some newly aquired AW17670s.

No problems with the AC plug or any quality issues.

Possible you have a counterfeit?

Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2

I use my Nitecore i4 exclusively for 18650's and 14500's, both Panasonic and Ultrafire, with no issues so far. I use a La Crosse BC-500 for NiMH, namely AA and AAA, including eneloop. I like my i4 so much I just ordered a Nitecore i2 a couple of days ago to give as a B-day gift to my brother, who now has the same obsession with flashlights as myself.

Surprised I'm getting replies on my original post exactly 1 year from when I first made the query, but FWIW my two V2 replacements have performed flawlessly on every Li-ion and NiMH AA combo imaginable over the last year. Maybe I was just unlucky on the first two examples? Also, the XTAR XP-4 looks really interesting, and like how they have adopted the Intellicharger's sliding contact system...far easier to use IMO than the various spacers on so many chargers...will be awaiting a review after its released.

I have a I4 and two I2, I never had any problems.
I regularly use with 18650 and often with Eneloops.
Recently I've been using for a Sanyo Eneloop MQR06 but I'm thinking of buying a Maha.

(Translated with Google Translate)

I have two Nitecore i4 V2 chargers. I use them mainly for 14500, 16340, and 18650 lithium ion batteries, but I also occasionally charge my Eneloops and Energizer Recharge batteries in them, as well, with no problems (I usually use a La Crosse VC-700 for the NiMH batteries). They seem to work very well, and I've had them for about a year, now. The spring-loaded connectors have always been fairly stiff, but I've always been afraid to try and put any kind of lubricant, for smoother travel. That's about the only complaint I have about them. Other than that, they charge my batteries flawlessly and effectively.

david57strat said:

The spring-loaded connectors have always been fairly stiff, but I've always been afraid to try and put any kind of lubricant, for smoother travel. That's about the only complaint I have about them.

Click to expand...

Nitecore I2 and I4 all have the same problem of spring hard, I used a bit of NyoGel 760 and now move smoothly.
Niogel is the same professional grease that is used for the threads of the torches.

I bought a Sysmax/Jetbeam/Nitecore Intellicharger I4 V2 a little over a year ago, and use it on average 2 times a week mostly for charging 18650's for my e-cig, but also for AA and AAA batteries. Some times for 14500's too. Its been running for several hours today charging AAA, AA and 18650's on separate channels of course. Its never given me any problems, so its been a very good, inexpensive but flexible charger. Its my only charger in fact.

I use my Nite core Intellicharger i4 V2 regularly to charge my 18650s, RCRs and Eneloops without any problems. AC plug working fine.

My NiteCore i4 has been great charging 18650's and eneloops (2000mah). Sometimes it seems to get a bit hot and sometimes it stays cool :shrug: but has always produced good results. I used a quick spray of silicon lube on the channel connectors and now they slide up and down silky-smoothe.

I also have had no issues. Have two I4 v2, and no problems. I do charge more 18650s than anything else, but these are the only two chargers I have, so it does get used for AA NiMHs and 14500s also, just not as often.

Yes, it seems you had some bad luck. But it was going to happen to somebody. The odds of an individual charger having problems could be quite low, and of course the likelihood of one person having two issues is even lower. But if they sell thousands of them, someone is bound to get unlucky. Like flipping a coin - the odds of flipping heads 7 times in a row (or tails) is .3 percent, give or take. But if you flip a coin 100 times, that chance is actually quite high...in fact, if you didn't have a run of 7 heads (or tails) you might be mildly surprised.

For more on probability, and human's irritating ability to misinterpret chance events, try reading this: http://propterhoc.wordpress.com/2007/03/30/flipping-our-coin/ It goes way beyond just coin flipping...

thedoc007 said:

For more on probability, and human's irritating ability to misinterpret chance events, try reading this: http://propterhoc.wordpress.com/2007/03/30/flipping-our-coin/ It goes way beyond just coin flipping...

Click to expand...

Great link, thank you for posting.

Thanks Dubois, I hesitated to even make the link, just because the page gets into issues that really aren't pertinent to this topic. But I felt it explained my point very well, and hopefully everyone will take it as intended, merely an illustration of the pitfalls of probability rather than any ideological agenda. It makes you think...

Can you post some photos of the innards? There are a few EE's on here who can give their opinion.

MODS: You may want to close this necro thread since the problems have long been solved as I posted (#8)...Just not sure this is really helping anyone.

NiteCore i4 Innards -