Charger that can measure real battery capacity?

[Hegner]

Hello everyone,

I'm looking for a charger that can also tells if a battery really "has" the mA it claims for. I'm not in the search of precise measures just a charger that says if battery is really 3800Mah, for instance.
Thanking in advance.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

First off you need to decide what battery type/chemistry you wish to charge/check. If the battery you are talking about (3800mah) is an 18650 then the claim is bogus as there is none above 3500mah or in that format I've heard the max is supposedly 3550 but typically 3400mah is the norm for common max capacity of that format.

 

[1996alnl2]

I have a XStar V2 for awhile now. Don't remember what I paid for it but I know it wasn't expensive. Works great, tells me the charging rate and the mah on the battery with the voltage.

 

[idleprocess]

Just keep in mind that any charger measuring Ah can only measure current delivery at its terminals. With some current lost to heat, net Ah realized on discharge will invariably be less.

 

[Hegner]

First off you need to decide what battery type/chemistry you wish to charge/check. If the battery you are talking about (3800mah) is an 18650 then the claim is bogus as there is none above 3500mah or in that format I've heard the max is supposedly 3550 but typically 3400mah is the norm for common max capacity of that format.

I'd like to check li-ion 18650 and 14500.
Yeah, I know there's no 3800mah but if I get something close to 3500 it's ok.
I'm considering the Liitokala Lii500-S charger...

 

[Hegner]

I have a XStar V2 for awhile now. Don't remember what I paid for it but I know it wasn't expensive. Works great, tells me the charging rate and the mah on the battery with the voltage.

Thank you! I'm considering one too.

 

[Hegner]

Just keep in mind that any charger measuring Ah can only measure current delivery at its terminals. With some current lost to heat, net Ah realized on discharge will invariably be less.

Thank you for the information.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

I'd like to check li-ion 18650 and 14500.
Yeah, I know there's no 3800mah but if I get something close to 3500 it's ok.
I'm considering the Liitokala Lii500-S charger...

Looks like a decent charger according to reviews. I have a (slightly modded) Opus BTC-100 single cell charger that works fine and for me it is a good all around charger due to it has the option to be powered via micro USB 5VDC input or 12VDC input and also work as a power bank if using lithium ions (which I think the Lii500s can also do).
For now I rarely need to charge more than 1 battery a day and a many 18650 devices have built in charging.
I think in the future I will consider a 4 cell charger as I've gravitated to 18650 format as my primary battery type and have worked on replacing my commonly used lights with 18650 variants over the last few years.

My advice is when you get a new charger don't just slap a battery in it and abandon it and come back half a day later, keep an eye on it till you get through a few charge cycles so you know that the charger isn't defective. I almost never leave a lithium ion charger on if I am going to be gone from the house for over half an hour just a safety precaution.

 

[WalkIntoTheLight]

Be aware that you need a charger that will measure discharge current. A lot of chargers will measure total charging mAh, but that's not an accurate measurement of the battery capacity. You need to measure discharge mAh (from full). A cheap charger that will do that is the Liitokala Li-500.

 

[Hegner]

Thank you all for the informations! Much appreciated!

 

[Hegner]

I have a XStar V2 for awhile now. Don't remember what I paid for it but I know it wasn't expensive. Works great, tells me the charging rate and the mah on the battery with the voltage.

BTW, do you know if this charger is compatible with RCR123 batteries?

 

[Lynx_Arc]

BTW, do you know if this charger is compatible with RCR123 batteries?

I thin Xtar has a website that you should be able to check out their line of chargers. I'm not familiar with the brand myself but think they have several models that cover all sorts of battery types/chemistry/sizes.
I currently use an Opus BTC-100 single cell charger that can "do it all" and they make a 4 cell charger. There are a lot other brands and models of chargers out there and a lot of charger threads in the forum. Do a search for lithium ion chargers either here or on a search engine and start reading and see what suits you.