14500 Li-ion battery charger recommendation

[MWAG68]

In case you didn't see my other post, I plan on buying my first real flashlight. A Quark AA R 5 Tactical. I wanted to get a couple 14500 Li-ion batteries and a charger to go with it. Any recommendations for the newbie? I live in Pittsburgh PA, so if there's a local chain store you could recommend I'm open to suggestions.

 

[mrartillery]

Ultrafire Wf-139 here; http://www.lighthound.com/Ultrafire...3-37-volt-Lithium-Battery-Charger_p_2279.html

 

[matrixshaman]

I seriously doubt you will find any local brick and mortar stores carrying a charger made for a 14500. Lighthound as mentioned above is great to deal with. There are other places a little less $ but a lot longer wait and not always good service like Lighthound.

 

[MWAG68]

I seriously doubt you will find any local brick and mortar stores carrying a charger made for a 14500.

Why is that? I'd be interested in any links that would help me learn what I need to know regarding these type of batteries. Once again I'm sorry for all the newbie questions but I dont venture out in to unknown waters without talking to the experts.

 

[mrartillery]

Why is that? I'd be interested in any links that would help me learn what I need to know regarding these type of batteries. Once again I'm sorry for all the newbie questions but I dont venture out in to unknown waters without talking to the experts.

Because honestly, most average people have no idea what a 14500 battery is:thinking:, therefore we rely on great dealers like lighthound to hook us up with great quality products.

 

[Gazerbeam]

Why is that? I'd be interested in any links that would help me learn what I need to know regarding these type of batteries. Once again I'm sorry for all the newbie questions but I dont venture out in to unknown waters without talking to the experts.

Here's a link. + 1 on the Ultrafire Wf-139.

 

[Brian321]

Because honestly, most average people have no idea what a 14500 battery is:thinking:, therefore we rely on great dealers like lighthound to hook us up with great quality products.

+1...When i first started useing 18650 batteries i went to a place where i live called batteries plus,they advertise "we sell everything from AAA to Z", Yea right, I went in and asked if they sold 18650 batteries and the guy looked at me like i was crazy. He had no idea what i was talking about.

 

[mrartillery]

+1...When i first started useing 18650 batteries i went to a place where i live called batteries plus,they advertise "we sell everything from AAA to Z", Yea right, I went in and asked if they sold 18650 batteries and the guy looked at me like i was crazy. He had no idea what i was talking about.

Thats very common. Example; I couldn't tell you how many times people have looked at my surefires and said "what kind of batteries are those?' "I bet those are to find"

Thats just society as a whole, they're all use to AA, AAA or C and D, any thing different and they think its "foreign" or really expensive and hard to find.

 

[mrartillery]

*double post* please delete!

 

[ToNIX]

Get the Quark AA, the WF-139 charger and the batteries from 4sevens! He has great prices and free shipping (plus cpf dicsount).

I got my Quark AA Tactical from his last week, what a great light! I'll order the charger and the 14500 batteries from him pretty soon

 

[TooManyGizmos]

+1 on LightHound 14500 charger

 

[mfm]

1) Get a digital multimeter to be able to check voltages on your cells. If you aren't willing to check them then you should stay away from Li-ion cells, it is not for everyone.

2) The WF-139 isn't very good, see numerous threads in the battery forum section. It will probably cause shorter lifetimes for your cells (because it charges with a bad algorithm and with too high voltage) and it also breaks down easily. Maybe the new Cytac charger sold by 4sevens is better (but we don't know that yet).

 

[DM51]

Moving this to the Batteries section where it belongs, in the hope that someone there will recommend a brand other than Ultrafire :green: ...

 

[bandersnatch]

I use my Pila IBC to charge both 14500s and 18650s. It came with spacers that make switching between them simple. On CPF it seems to be the most highly regarded li-ion charger on this side of hobby chargers. That said, it's more expensive than the ultrafire (around $50 shipped from flashlightz.com, where I got mine).

As for batteries, get AW's 14500s--I've been using them in my Quark for a bit now and they're great. See his sales thread for more info.

And it's great a see a fellow Pittsburgher on the boards =) :welcome:

 

[how2]

hi

You can get good trusrfire 14500 batteries from popbiyng for $5.30.

Also a trusfire TR002 charger for $7.99

or

the ultrafire wf 139 from bestofferbuy

http://www.bestofferbuy.com/index.p...result&search_in_description=1&keyword=wf+139

There is more that one version of the ultrfire about 5 i think

 

[TooManyGizmos]

Moving this to the Batteries section where it belongs, in the hope that someone there will recommend a brand other than Ultrafire :green: ...

DM51 ... do you have a preference on a 14500 charger ... that you would share with us ?

Other than my Pila IBC @ 600 mA x2 for about $55.oo .... I can't think of many.

Some users want a charger that will do 14500's and also 10440's ... but the Pila can't do the lower mA 10440's .

What do you think of the UltraFire WF-138 ... which will do both ? Many flashaholics are using the smaller batteries now , below RCR123 size , and need appropriate low mA charger recommendations.

The do-it-all hobby chargers are considered too expensive by most on here .

Please tell us what is used in Area DM51 testing grounds for 14500s and below.
.

 

[DM51]

I use a Pila IBC with the spacers that come with it to fit 18500 cells (same length as 14500).

I appreciate the IBC is pricey compared to some, but the charging algorithm is the correct one, so it's kinder on the cells and you should get better life out of them.

That's just my personal opinion, though.

 

[McAllan]

If one don't mind a little DIY then I'd use a good quality universal LiIon camera charger and make a charging rig for the battery. Could be as simple as two small wires with "crocodile clips" and a holder for 1 AA cell which is readily available.

One I specifically has in mind is the Ansmann Digi Charger PLUS or the GP "Universal Digital Camera Charger" equivalent (I have the GP equivalent).
A great thing about those two is that they don't care which way you connect the battery - they find out themselves and correct polarity accordingly. Very difficult to do something wrong. More expensive than you average DX/KD stuff yes but much better quality and quite a cost wise margin to a semipro charger (for which you also need some holder for the cell).

 

[mfm]

For 10440 and 14500 use this: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.14885

for 18650 use: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.13820 or http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.6105

Unlike the UltraFire/TrustFire chargers, the above use the correct CC/CV algorithm for charging.

Also, hobby chargers are unsuitable (dangerous) for beginners. And get that DMM too.

 

[TooManyGizmos]

$5.oo chargers don't instill a lot of confidence ..... IMO


(reminds me of bargain-basement cheap eye surgery.... you'll see .................maybe* )