Opus BT-C3100 2.2-Comparison-New and Exchanged.

[Nev]

:wave: and :welcome:Nev

For my UK stuff(mainly cells) i use a great guy called Norb, he runs ecoluxshopdirect.co.uk, or ecoluxshop on the bay of e. If its not listed contact him, mention on here (cpf/ven).

Link inbound via pm,

Thank you very much , I had a quick look on that site but couldn't see the opus , I'll contact him and ask.

 

[Nev]

Sorry I got back late last night and Capolini had PMed me about your post.

I got my LaCrosse BC-700 over 5 years ago when I revamped everything and started over. Not a bad charger, but mine heats up and thermally shuts down until the batteries cool back down. This happens on the 700mA charging rate and even on 500mA and it happens often enough that it's not a fluke--new batteries and old, it doesn't matter.

I prefer my Maha C9000 which I got at the same time and frankly, I wish I'd have just gotten two of the Mahas, as the price was comparable at that time.

The LaCrosse chargers only do NiMH, so no lithium there. I also bought an Opus 3400 so I could play around with analyzing lithium ion cells and it's a very good charger IME. Not too expensive, gives me some peace of mind, it can fast charge the bigger cells and take care of the smaller 10440s/16340s with its 200mA and 300mA rates.

I think that the Opus chargers, either the 3100 v. 2.2/3.1, or the similar 3400 v. 2.2/3.1, are preferable to any of the LaCrosse chargers, but that's just me with a sample size of one.

Chris

Thanks Chris , I've been very happy with the bc 700 mine has never paused to cool down as far as I know ( I'm allways checking it from time to time) it looks like I'm gonna be as happy with the opus , is the 2.2 the latest version or should I be looking for 3.1 ? & is the 3100 the same as 3400 or is the 3400 the latest?.
i just like to say I'm impressed with this forum & it's helpful members.

 

[Capolini]

Thank you very much , I had a quick look on that site but couldn't see the opus , I'll contact him and ask.

He does not sell it,,,under chargers he has several Efest,KP[1], Some XTARS and a Gyrfalcon.

 

[Capolini]

You know what is funny..........Ven is from UK. Reverse his username and you get Nev also from the UK!

Now that you have 5 posts I believe you can PM another member. I think prior to that you could only receive them. It may even be after 4 posts.can not remember!

 

[Capolini]

Thanks Chris , I've been very happy with the bc 700 mine has never paused to cool down as far as I know ( I'm allways checking it from time to time) it looks like I'm gonna be as happy with the opus , is the 2.2 the latest version or should I be looking for 3.1 ? & is the 3100 the same as 3400 or is the 3400 the latest?.
i just like to say I'm impressed with this forum & it's helpful members.

According to my dealer the 3100 and 3400 are the exact same.


This is the Opus BT-C3100 v2.2. This is identical to the BT-C3400 that some other vendors are selling.


I believe the 3.1 version is the newest, I am not sure if it is out yet?

 

[ven]

The 3400 came about basically to stop confusion after the versions. The earlier models had a few gremlins, so there was a v2.2. Iirc it is a specific seller, confusion was not quashed :laughing:

The latest version has changed on the discharge voltage, increased to over 3v. Previous on v2.2 is 2.7 or 2.8v, which caused some protected cells to trip....apparently .

 

[ChrisGarrett]

According to my dealer the 3100 and 3400 are the exact same.


This is the Opus BT-C3100 v2.2. This is identical to the BT-C3400 that some other vendors are selling.


I believe the 3.1 version is the newest, I am not sure if it is out yet?

The v. 3.1 is the latest iteration, but I believe that it was originally for the BT-3400, however, I could be wrong on that.

No, the BT-3400 v. 2.2 wasn't exactly the same as the BT-3100 v. 2.2. The 3400 was requested by Robert Dana who sells on Ebay under 'rdana' and Amazon under 'DC workshop', to kind of distinguish his model from all the rest. Robert, going back to 1/12, was a big seller of Maha, LaCrosse and AccuPower chargers when I bought my C9000 and BC-700 from him back then.

The 3400 v. 2.2 differs (differed) from the 3100 v. 2.2 by having an upgraded fan, which plagued the early BT-3100 chargers and the ability to keep the display turned on, by holding down the 'display' button for a few seconds, toggling it to be constantly on, or back to intermittent.

I don't know if the BT-3100 v. 3.1 has addressed either of the above, going forward.

Chris

 

[Capolini]

I think the newer version[3.1] may be better for the batteries, especially protected ones.This is based what I have experienced and noticed after several discharges to 2.8V With some of my batteries.I know what the specs say,but Opus may have another reason for moving up the discharge to 3.0/3.1v besides that they were tripping protected batteries?

I discharged my 3 year old Soshines and 2 year old K'power 3400 protected cells a few times. IMO they seemed to have weakened a bit as I notice there resting voltages have dropped 0.03v.

The same seems to be the case for my VTC6 X 2. I checked them after several days and they were both @ 4.12V,,,,They are only 6 months old and had a usual resting voltage of 4.17/18.

I am charging them now and will see what their resting voltages are in a few days.

I am hesitant of testing my 30Q BT that I just ordered from Mt. Elec.

 

[Gauss163]

I think the newer version[3.1] may be better for the batteries, especially protected ones. This is based what I have experienced and noticed after several discharges to 2.8V With some of my batteries.I know what the specs say, but Opus may have another reason for moving up the discharge to 3.0/3.1v besides that they were tripping protected batteries? [...]

It is unlikely that there is any reason other than to avoid PWM discharging from falsely tripping UVP = UnderVoltage Protection. The change will have infinitesimal impact on health, since a cell spends very little time between 3.1-2.8V at the current levels accessible in Opus discharge (except if you are discharging very low capacity (or very unhealthy cells) at currents so high that they deliver nontrivial capacity below 3.1V, e.g. as in the lowest curve here)

Below is rdana's answer in his Amazon store.

What does the newest version v3.1 offer over the older v2.2?

It is basically a change in the discharge for Li-ion cells. You will see the discharge for Li-ion cells terminate at 3.1V instead of 2.8V. This brings the charger in line with industry best practice for discharge. Most Li-ion cell data sheets specify 2.8V as minimum voltage for discharge. Best practice is to terminate discharge at 3.0V Because of the way this charger uses PWM for the discharge current it is better to use 3.1V.

In the past some low quality cells would trip the internal protect circuit, especially at high discharge currents. That was not so much a charger problem as it is a cell quality problem but the charger gets blamed. That situation is much improved now. The discharge and capacity measurement are now closer to industry best practice instead of just general Li-ion cell data sheet specifications. In fact the change has little affect in the measurements. The protocols for NiMH/NiCd cells are not changed

 

[Capolini]

I just report my experiences. Makes no difference what rdana says and what should or what should not happen.

NO PWM coming out of these torches.

 

[Gauss163]

I just report my experiences. Makes no difference what rdana says and what should or what should not happen.

What did you experience with 3.1V vs. 2.8V discharge termination that made the cells appear better?

 

[Offgridled]

Personally I just charge my batteries put them in my light and off I go to light up the moon. Yupp that's me lighting the moon...


how to take screenshots

 

[Capolini]

Personally I just charge my batteries put them in my light and off I go to light up the moon. Yupp that's me lighting the moon...


how to take screenshots

+1......and a Vinh light to boot!:naughty::twothumbs

 

[Capolini]

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing OVER and OVER again and expecting different results!

Knowing is NOT enough, we must apply. willing is NOT enough, we must do.

Time to take action again! ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,IB to the rescue.

This is is going past the moon,,,,,,,,going to Pluto,,Fresh off my Fenix charger,,,,,,,charged it to 4.27v for extra juice!!!!

 

[Offgridled]

+1......and a Vinh light to boot!:naughty::twothumbs

Absolutely could not be accomplished without Vinh and my freshly charged batteries. ( I think they were freshly charged ) lol

 

[Nev]

I've got some AW 14500 protected cells that cuts out at 3 volts , would the opus damage them if it discharges them to 2.8 volts?

 

[Capolini]

I've got some AW 14500 protected cells that cuts out at 3 volts , would the opus damage them if it discharges them to 2.8 volts?

I am not sure if it would damage them.Probably not.

Most likely it would trip the protection circuit and the message "nuLL" will come up in the display. It happened to me a few times with the One I returned[not returned for that reason] when I was using KP 18500 1700mAh[Sanyo cell] Protected cells which are rated at 2.5V discharge.

It did not damage them. I put them back on the charger after they would not register on DMM and they came back to life! With that said I am NOT discharging them anymore!

 

[Capolini]

I've got some AW 14500 protected cells that cuts out at 3 volts , would the opus damage them if it discharges them to 2.8 volts?

Another thing you could do is get the BT-C3400 V3.1. Its discharge terminates @ 3.1v instead of 2.8V like my BT-C3100 2.2.

The only place I see it is on Fleabay! $9 more than what I paid for mine.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BT-C3400-V3...-ion-AA-AAA-NiMH-18650-BT-C3100-/331325504524

 

[Capolini]

For those that may be confused,,,someone posted this:

"What did you experience with 3.1V vs. 2.8V discharge termination that made the cells appear better?"

I am not sure what he is talking about!! BOTH Opus chargers I had, the one now and the one I returned, are BT-C3100 2.2 and they BOTH discharge @ 2.8v.

 

[Capolini]

Poor Mr. Fenix ARE-C2 is a bit depressed! This thread started off talking about him,,then basically changed when I got the Opus.


This is kind of cool,,,,,it actually keeps the charger/batteries cooler! The Fenix charger can get hot w/ 4 X 18650 in them.Over 20 years ago a machinist friend of mine gave me a slab of steel to help hold down the broken lid of a portable CD player!

I got an idea a few weeks ago to use that rectangular slab of steel[6" x 2" x 1.5"] as a heat sink for my Fenix charger. Let me tell you that it works great! I put the charger on top of it and it draws the heat away very well. The charger no longer gets hot!:twothumbs