best 18650 battery and charger

Orion said:

would the cheaper Ultrafire WF-188 charger be okay, or is it still better to spend more for the Pila? $23 vs. $47

Click to expand...

i paid $16 for the WF-188 charger from some Hongkong site and am very happy with it. it was tested here:
http://lygte-info.dk/review/Review Charger UltraFire WF-188 UK.html

and also discussed on CPF somewhere. Cant report any problems with it!!

Re: What is currently the best 18650 and charger setup?

How does the new jet beam i4 intellicharger rank?

http://www.jet-beam.com/links/accessories/i4.aspx

Re: What is currently the best 18650 and charger setup?

Hello.

I will do the search for you if you didnt have time for it:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/search.php?searchid=83972

Re: What is currently the best 18650 and charger setup?

Your link goes to a search with 0 entries found.

I did search jet beam i4 intellicharger & nothing relevant pops up & I'm not gonna spend all day reading every battery thread when I get the results.

Re: What is currently the best 18650 and charger setup?

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?320968-JETBeam-Intellicharge-i4&highlight=ETBeam+Intellicharge+i4

[url]http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?324544-Review-of-Measurement-on-SysMax-i4-charger
[/URL]

Re: What is currently the best 18650 and charger setup?

DisrupTer911 said:

How does the new jet beam i4 intellicharger rank?

http://www.jet-beam.com/links/accessories/i4.aspx

Click to expand...

That charger should not be on a list of best of anything, to give you the short answer

Re: What is currently the best 18650 and charger setup?

I was using the Pila with Eagletac cells. Then one day, after a very short while of charging, the charger had a serious melt down. I was told by a certain company to return the charger to them. After they got it, they told me I needed to have proof that I was using Pila batteries in it at the time it went kaboom.

Then, when I asked if I was just out of luck, they ceased speaking with me period. I was never rude, cussing, etc. Bad service from the importer, bad luck with the charger, bad information from the seller. Not sure a Pila will be the replacement for my Pila as much as I liked it when it was working properly.

Re: What is currently the best 18650 and charger setup?

I don't know Bird. I had a friend that bought a new BMW 328i. He ended up having so many problems with it he had to "return" it, I believe under the "Lemon Law". That doesn't mean that BMW's are not good cars.

I'm not saying that the Pila charger is anywhere near the quality of a BMW, in fact, I'm sure it's not. It's just a good Chinese charger, compared to most of the rest of them anyway, and has for the most part an excellent reputation here on CPF.

There can be problems with any device. I've never owned a Pila, or a BMW, for that matter. From what I know from other's experiences though, I think both are quality products. I might very well own either of them in the future, however my "foreign" cars, have always been British.

Dave

Re: What is currently the best 18650 and charger setup?

Hello BirdofPrey,

Pila customer "non-" service has always been an issue. It is fortunate that their charger has enough quality that problems with them are not common. Their seemingly combative stance on customer service and their premium price stand as offsets to their quality product.

Still, if my Pila charger ever dies, I would pick up another. Quality components and attention to detail translate to a safety margin when charging Li-Ion cells. That margin of safety gives me peace of mind when my wife goes to charge a cell.

Tom

The best 18650 battery that I know about is the AW 18650 LiCo battery of 3100 mAh capacity. You can buy it at Lighthound. One of them will keep a Romisen RC-T601 flashlight on the medium setting (initially ~650 lumens output) burning for about four hours, as the voltage goes from 4.23V to 2.73V.

I've found most Ultrafire batteries to be inferior, and some of them are generic cells of very low capacity (about half what is claimed on the false label), repackaged by dishonest Chinese merchants. However, I have found a spectacular exception to the rule.

One of my probably "fake" Ultrafire 18650 batteries, allegedly only 3000 mAh, has proved itself capable of keeping my Romisen RC-T601 flashlight going on the medium setting for 6h 30m, which suggests its capacity might be somewhere around 4500 to 5000 mAh. I'd had no idea that kind of performance was even possible, and I don't even know whether the Chinese manufacturer even knows how to replicate this level of quality. I've never had another 18650 battery that comes close to this kind of capacity.

If i was buying protected 18650s right now i would be going with either AW 3100s or Callie's Kustoms 3100s and charging them on a Pila IBC. I already have a pila ibc and have already in the past bought a couple of AW 2900s, so i won't be upgrading until these cells stop working.

RediLast 3100 cells were the ones I settled on for my power needs and the Pila IBC charger.

Not an expert, my 18650 ranging from Hi-Max 2600mAh, AW's 2900mAh & UN-protected Panasonic 3100mAh, charged up with Xtar WP2 II or WP6 II charger

Sorry to bring up a dead thread, but I have one flashlight which uses a 18650 battery, most of the rest are CR123A and normal alkalines (AA, AAA, C, D, etc). But I don't have a charger. I don't want to spend $50 on a charger for one battery (and I don't see myself getting more lights which use this battery). Can anyone recommend a decent charger that I can use? I don't mind putting it outside or on a non-flammable surface, if that is a problem. How long do these chargers usually take to charge an average-capacity battery?

Thanks

photon1c said:

Sorry to bring up a dead thread, but I have one flashlight which uses a 18650 battery, most of the rest are CR123A and normal alkalines (AA, AAA, C, D, etc). But I don't have a charger. I don't want to spend $50 on a charger for one battery (and I don't see myself getting more lights which use this battery). Can anyone recommend a decent charger that I can use? I don't mind putting it outside or on a non-flammable surface, if that is a problem. How long do these chargers usually take to charge an average-capacity battery?

Thanks

Click to expand...

Get a ML-102 from intl-outdoor, it is a cheap and good USB charger (i.e. you must supply a USB power supply). It uses about 5 hours to fully charge a 2600mAh battery.
Next step up is a Xtar WP2 II or maybe a Nitecore i4 V2 (This charger can also charge NiMH).

The current white wrapper EagleTac 3100mAh. are the best I have ever used and they fit all my 'lights!

http://compare.ebay.com/like/390315497951?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar

No, seriously, get this:
[h=3]2 PCS Panasonic NCR18650A 3100mAh Protected Battery[/h]
and this: SYSMAX/Nitecore Intellicharge i4 Li-Ion Ni-Cd Ni-MH 4-Channel ...

HighlanderNorth said:

and this: SYSMAX/Nitecore Intellicharge i4 Li-Ion Ni-Cd Ni-MH 4-Channel ...

Click to expand...

Erm no, unless he needs NiMH support, that's a bad choice. Xtar's both WP2 II and SP2 are much better.

Shadowww said:

Erm no, unless he needs NiMH support, that's a bad choice. Xtar's both WP2 II and SP2 are much better.

Click to expand...

I've had an I4 for months, and I've recharged countless NiMh and LiIon batts with it with zero problems. HKJ just recommended it as well.

HighlanderNorth said:

I've had an I4 for months, and I've recharged countless NiMh and LiIon batts with it with zero problems. HKJ just recommended it as well.

Click to expand...

Just because you had zero problems with it doesn't means it's best (& best value) for his needs.