Looking For Suggestions on 14500s/Charger and Other Q's

[abladeafficionado]

I currently own a Quark AA and have been using Eneloops for the past 8 months. I bought two of the Costco packs with the twin bay charger, not a smart charger. I've labeled all my batts in pairs and only charge/discharge them in their pairs because I don't own a smart charger yet and want to take the best care of the cells as I can. I have two pairs set aside for my light and I use them until they drop to medium mode (batts effectively dead at that point) and when a pair have both been discharged to that, I recharge them in that pair.
Is this method overkill or is it the best I can do for my cells without a smart charger? I don't want to ruin them as they're pricey to replace.

I've recently decided I want to go the li-ion route and it's all alien to me so I'm looking for input on what exactly to buy. I'm looking to power my Quark AA with 14500s but I'd like a charger than can charge some 18650 or the 2xCr123A li-ion (17670 I think) replacement size in the future if I ever want to. Right now I want a charger that will be a low maintenance charger and not a cheap one that's bad for cells. I've done a bunch of reading through the links in the FAQ thread and it seems that a cheap charger isn't the best solution. I'd like one I can pop the cells in and come back a couple hours lately to cells ready to be used without any worries of overcharged cells or anything. I'm assuming AW's cells are my best bet since they're highly regarded on this forum. I'm looking to buy 4 14500 protected cells for now and a quality charger to get me started but I'd like to be able to charge 18650s and the 2xCR123A sized li-ion (17670 I think) in the future also.
Sorry if I didn't the FAQs enough but I tried and it seems like AW cells and the Pila IBC are my best bet but if there's better things for the price I'd be happy to hear about them.*

Thanks in advance and I'm in no hurry to buy so if there's a new product on the horizon feel free to suggest it.

 

[SmurfTacular]

Re: Looking For Suggestions on 14550s/Charger and Other Q's

Sorry if I didn't the FAQs enough but I tried and it seems like AW cells and the Pila IBC are my best bet but if there's better things for the price I'd be happy to hear about them.*

AW cells are unanimously the best lithium Ion cells.

And the Pila seems to be the best charger.

So it seems as though you are on the right track. The only downside to these high quality batteries/charger is the price If you want something more affordable I would suggest these and this universal Li-Ion charger.

 

[abladeafficionado]

Re: Looking For Suggestions on 14550s/Charger and Other Q's

I took a look in AW's for sale thread and he has that charger for sale in his thread. Is it safe to assume that if he's willing to sell it alongside his cells that it's perfectly fine and safe?
That price is much more appealing and at that price, assuming the product is quality, I'll order them today.

 

[45/70]

Re: Looking For Suggestions on 14550s/Charger and Other Q's

AW cells and a Pila IBC charger are the way to go. If I had to do it all over again, that's the route I would take.

You can try to get away with cheaper solutions, but this increases the "if" factor. It doesn't sound like you want to go that way. Alternatives like Smurf suggested will work, but you never know what you're going to get. The cells may or may not perform well, and likely will not match well for use in series applications. The WF-139 is in the same class. Some at best, will work, and others are so off spec that they really shouldn't be used.

The WF-139 is in it's third known version, and even if it turns out to be a "good one", it uses a CC/voltage check charging algorithm, which is not recommended by any Li-Ion cell manufacturer (note that UltraFire is not a cell manufacturer, but merely a distributor). This will work, but cells likely won't last as long, as this type of charger will charge cells to ~4.20 volts regardless of their condition, and advance the decay of well used, or previously damaged cells. There is also somewhat of a safety risk involved when cells are charged in this manner. I might add that most of the less expensive Li-Ion chargers have similar shortcomings to the WF-139.

The cost of a good AA NiMh cell is 2-3 USD. The cost of a Good NiMh charger is 30-50 USD.

The cost of a good Li-Ion cell is 5-15 USD. The cost of a good Li-Ion charger is ~50 USD. It never seizes to amaze me why people seek out $10-$15 chargers to charge their Li-Ion cells. :shrug:

Sounds like you're on the right track though.

Edit:

......Is it safe to assume that if he's willing to sell it alongside his cells that it's perfectly fine and safe?

IMO, no.

Dave

 

[abladeafficionado]

Re: Looking For Suggestions on 14550s/Charger and Other Q's

Thanks for the suggestions and I appreciate them. I think I'll wait it out and buy the Pila IBC and some AW cells. They'll cost more but I'm willing to wait to get quality cells.
It's tough to swallow $12 a cell and a $50 charger but I'm sure I'll appreciate them once I have them.

 

[jasonck08]

Re: Looking For Suggestions on 14550s/Charger and Other Q's

I would recommend going against the Pila, and instead go with the Turnigy Accucell-6 which can be had for the same price or less.

It has a lot more features, has an LCD screen, can charge Ni-Mh, Ni-Cd, Lead Acid, Li-ion, Li-po, and Lifepo4 batteries.

It can also discharge cells and display their capacity while charging.

 

[abladeafficionado]

Re: Looking For Suggestions on 14550s/Charger and Other Q's

I would recommend going against the Pila, and instead go with the Turnigy Accucell-6 which can be had for the same price or less.

It has a lot more features, has an LCD screen, can charge Ni-Mh, Ni-Cd, Lead Acid, Li-ion, Li-po, and Lifepo4 batteries.

It can also discharge cells and display their capacity while charging.

I like the idea of that. How exactly do you charge the batts? I'm assuming alligator clips and terminals or something but I'd like to know.
That looks like it'll save a lot of money offering an all in one smart charger.
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=7028

 

[SmurfTacular]

Re: Looking For Suggestions on 14550s/Charger and Other Q's

I would recommend going against the Pila, and instead go with the Turnigy Accucell-6 which can be had for the same price or less.

It has a lot more features, has an LCD screen, can charge Ni-Mh, Ni-Cd, Lead Acid, Li-ion, Li-po, and Lifepo4 batteries.

It can also discharge cells and display their capacity while charging.

I saw this and realized you'd have to make your own battery holders.

 

[45/70]

Re: Looking For Suggestions on 14550s/Charger and Other Q's

I like the idea of that. How exactly do you charge the batts? I'm assuming alligator clips and terminals or something but I'd like to know.
That looks like it'll save a lot of money offering an all in one smart charger.

As Jason suggested, a hobby charger is an alternative to a Pila. You do have to come up with a means to hold the cell(s) to charge them, as Smurf pointed out. Using a hobby charger does require considerably more involvement when charging batteries, or cells though.

Hobby chargers are really designed to charge battery packs, not individual cells, although this can be done. In the case of NiMH, or NiCd cells however, with the exception of the really expensive hobby chargers, which have two channels, they only have one channel so only one cell at a time can be charged, unless the cells are charged in series. NiMH and NiCd cells cannot be parallel charged. Series charging NiMH or NiCd cells negates any useful advantage when trying to diagnose individual cell behavior, as opposed to a "consumer type" NiMH charger such as a Maha C9000, that has individual channels, for example.

Li-Ion cells can be charged either in parallel (without individual cell information), or in series with a balancing harness (which you will have to purchase, or make one up). With a hobby charger however, overall......

Right now I want a charger that will be a low maintenance charger and not a cheap one that's bad for cells.......I'd like one I can pop the cells in and come back a couple hours lately to cells ready to be used without any worries of overcharged cells or anything.

it doesn't sound like this type of charger is really what you are looking for.

That said, I primarily use a hobby charger similar to the Accucell myself for charging Li-Ion cells and NiMH/NiCd packs, and am quite pleased with it. It is by no means a charger that you can just drop some cells in and wait a couple hours and pull them out though. Hobby chargers require more knowledge to use safely, and different cells and packs will require reprogramming the charger for each type, size etc. Still, they are a viable alternative, at the expense of being more complex and requiring more involvement.

I've recently decided I want to go the li-ion route and it's all alien to me so I'm looking for input......

If you haven't already, I would suggest you look over the relevant threads in the "Threads of Interest" sticky at the top of this Forum, as well as the "Smoke and Fire" sub forum also at the top of this Forum, if you are new to Li-Ion cells. Also, you may want to try either the search function at the bottom of the page, or the "Google Search" at the top, to research using a hobby charger, if you want to go that way.

Dave

EDIT: Smurf, your picture is hotlinked, which is against CPF rules.