Can the Ultrafire WF-138 3.6v charger charge my Tenergy 3V 900ma R123 ?
- Thread starter gtwace
- Start date
greenpea76
Newly Enlightened
I have both of those items. I was able to charge them properly when the charger was switched to 3.0 volts, but I don't like trying to reach for the tiny recessed switch. I still use my tenergy charger that came with the tenergy batteries though. I use the WF-138 for all my other 3.7 cells.
I tried charging using 3v mode but the battery measures only 3.9v after the charge and i think the charging is terminated permaturely. I am using 3.6v mode to charge the batteries and the reading after charge is 4.04v. So charging the 3v Tenergy with 3.6v mode is ok right ?
45/70
Flashlight Enthusiast
You can charge the Tenergy 900mAh cells on the higher voltage setting (3.6V), but the cells will not fully charge. These are 4.2 Volt LiCo cells with diodes added to reduce the voltage when under load to ~3 Volts. To properly charge them, you need a charger with a charging voltage that is higher (4.4-4.5 Volts) than a normal LiCo cell charger. This is to overcome the effect of the diodes which are incorporated into the cell.
The LiFePO4 Tenergy 750mAh cells can be properly charged with the WF-138, at the lower 3 Volt setting, as due to their different chemistry, these cells require a lower charging voltage. I have have both types of cells, although not from Tenergy, and again, neither of these cells can be properly charged with a "normal" 4.2 (3.6 V setting on the WF-138) Volt LiCo charger.
Dave
Ok, thanks. I will use the wf-138 at 3.6v mode to charge then, cos the original Steripen charger that comes with the Tenergy cells does a worest job charging them, I measure only 3.96v from the batteries with the Steripen charger. At least with the wf-138, i can get 4.04v off the batteries.
