KLARUS Lithium Ion Dual Bay Battery CHARGER

Klarus Li-ion Battery Chargers

A couple of weeks ago I was buying a flashlight online - how strange you might think - and needed a couple of 18650 batteries.
Normally I get either the Fenix 2600 mAh or the EagleTac 3400 mAh but the online store didn't have either in stock and I didn't want to pay shipping charges from another store just for the batteries.
They had a decent deal on 2 Klarus 18650 2900 mAh (Panasonic cell) together the Klarus Dual Bay Li-ion Battery Charger so I got it. I already have the Nitecore Intellicharge I2 and the Fenix chargers but by now I have so many li-ion batteries that sometimes I need to charge more than 4 at a time so I thought it would be handy to have an extra charger.


Klarus Battery Charger

The charger user manual consists of a yellow information sticker on the box:

- Input: AC100V-200 50HZ
- Output: DC5V. Current 500 mAh x 2
- Applicable Range: Accepts any type of columniform 3.7 lithium-ion battery
- Charge cut-off voltage: 4.2V. Max charge current 3.5A

Cautions
- Do not charge Lithium-ion batteries for a long time. A charge cannot exceeed 8 hrs at a time.
- When battery has fully charged, the LED indicator light will switch from red to green. Remove the battery when the green light is illuminated.*
- Nicke-hydrogen batteries must not be used with this charger.
- Do not put the charger in hot damp places.
- Do not open the charger. By opening the charger you risk harm to yourself and damage to the charger.
- Use the compatible charger. DO not leave the battery in the charger for over 24hrs.
Certifications: CE UL
*In reality when the charger starts flashing green when the battery is close to being fully charged and lights green permanently when fully charged.

The information that comes with the charger is very limited and it would remain to be seen whether the charger actually does what it says on the box. Hopefully the charger is better than the translations on the sticker!
Now the surprisingly nice thing about this charger is that it's extremely compact and light: not sure it's a good sign but it's nearly half the size of the Nitecore Intellicharge I2!

I'm thinking to use it as my Li-ion travel charger but don't want to risk coming out of an hotel shower to see the room full of smoke and firemen axing through the door!!!
I've been looking around CPF and the Internet for reviews or feedback but could find absolutely nothing! I even tried to search the UL database and could not find it.

Has anybody been using this charger for some time? Any feedback you could share?

Something seems odd: first it states OUTPUT: Current: 500mAx2 and then it states Max Charge Current: 3.5A. That last number seems high, as the Xtar SP-1 allows a 2A charge rate, which is fine for the higher capacity 18650s. 3.5A would be slightly over 1C for the 3400s and that's a lot!

Chris

Thanks, that's a good point - I was wondering too if it made any sense when I read that.
I even double-checked and 3.5A it's exactly what it says!

Klarus have put two new battery chargers on their website, the CH4 and the CH2.

The CH4 is basically a Thrunite MCC4 or a Fenix ARE-C2 charger with a Klarus sticker.
http://www.klaruslight.com/plist_show.php?id=148&lge=en

The CH2 looka identical to a no-name charger I've seen many times sold in bundles with batteries and lights.
http://www.klaruslight.com/plist_show.php?id=149&lge=en

The CH4 specs say: Output voltage: 4.2V/1.5V 1000mAx4/500mAx4

Is this for Li-Ion, NiMH, or both?

IIRC the Thrunite MCC4 and Fenix ARE-C2 chargers select either 1000 or 500 mA depending on how far you extend the slider. So if you are charging a 18650 or similarly sized cell it will select 1000 mA. If you are charging smaller batteries, you need to make sure you don't extend the slider fully when you insert them or it will select 1000 mA - unless that's what you want to do. Check the existing review of the MCC4, I bet is identical to the CH4.

After the CH1, CH2, CH4, and CH4s Klarus have now released another 3 battery chargers:
C2: http://www.klaruslight.com/plist_show.php?id=195&lge=en
C4: http://www.klaruslight.com/plist_show.php?id=197&lge=en
C8: http://www.klaruslight.com/plist_show.php?id=198&lge=en

I just recently ordered the C2 as its supposed to have the ability to charge a USB device (phone, ipod, etc.) and it will also charge NIMh batteries (got a few of these in a battery pack i tore apart and wanted to tinker with them). Its supposed to be a smart charger according to Battery Junction.