Need BETTER adjustable charger than the Ultrafire 139

[guiri]

Mine broke off a tab on one of the spring loaded thingies almost immediately so I'm not sure why people even like this. I think it's a piece of beetle doo doo.

I've got a 14500 battery coming and nowhere to charge it.

Does no one make a good charger ADJUSTABLE for different length batteries?

I still think there's room for improvement for chargers. One that does it ALL.

Big ol' 8 bay charger that'll do all sizes AND all chemistries. Just set it up right. Naturally the guts would have to have all the different electronics to do it and not just one type of charger inside.

Hell, I may have some money coming soon. Can someone make one if I pay the costs? Seriously? If so, PM me.

I also PLAN to commission a head lamp and possibly a modular flashlight system. Note, the word PLAN is the keyword.

Anyone interested, let me know as I'll need people to build and help, give advice and specs.

George

 

[amigafan2003]

Pila IBC - comes with screw in adaptors to charge batteries of different sizes.

It's pretty much the best consumer li-ion charger before you step up to hobby chargers.

 

[mfm]

Pila IBC - comes with screw in adaptors to charge batteries of different sizes.

It's pretty much the best consumer li-ion charger before you step up to hobby chargers.

It's not a universal nor adjustable li-ion charger, it's a charger for "Pila Li-ion batteries only".

Now it should work with all li-ion batteries that have a real capacity of atleast 600 mAh (which disqualifies all 14500 and RCR123 cells from DX/KD), don't use it with cells that have less capacity than that. Charging higher capacity (600+ mAh actual capacity) 14500 and RCR123 cells with Pila will still shorten their life compared to when charging with the WF-138.

 

[lingpau]

The easiest way to solve your problem is to just have several chargers. You will find that some batteries do better in different chargers than others. Most chargers are fairly cheap when you calculate what they save you in cost over non-rechargable batteries in just a year or two. Beware of chargers that claim they can charge any type of battery and any voltage. IMO, the charger, would have to be very expensive or do a poor job charging most of them. Dx will give you credit or replace your defective charger if you open up a claim and request it. Also, DX does make a decent rechargable Lithium 14500 battery over 600mAh- DX #03435 batteries-Ultra Fire 14500 3.6V 900mAh 2Pack I have several of them and they work excellent so far.

 

[amigafan2003]

It's not a universal nor adjustable li-ion charger, it's a charger for "Pila Li-ion batteries only".

Absolute rubbish - that last statement is no different than Ford saying only use thier oil in thier engines!

You can use the Pila charger for any li-ion battery that will physically fit - and screw in terminals plus spacers (which you need with a WF-139 as well) let most batteries fit.

You are correct about the 600ma thing but I'm unsure why you'd be charging DX/KD cells with a Pila anyway? Surely if you've gone to the expense of getting a good charger you'd buy good cells?

And the WF-138 will shorten the life of batteries far more than say charging a cell @ 600mah with a real capacity of 550mah due to the WF-138/9 putting in massive voltage spikes whilst charging (upto 4.4v) - see http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=205036

More info on the excellent Pila charger can be found here:-

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=201323

For the record, I have a Pila, WF-139 and HXY digital charger. The WF-139 barely gets used anymore.

 

[mfm]

Absolute rubbish - that last statement is no different than Ford saying only use thier oil in thier engines!

You can use the Pila charger for any li-ion battery that will physically fit - and screw in terminals plus spacers (which you need with a WF-139 as well) let most batteries fit.

It's relevant that the Pila IBC isn't ment to be a universal charger and that the usage of it for other batteries than the Pila 18650 cells is not supported nor endorsed by the manufacturer. It's also relevant that the spacers aren't from the manufacturer but a third party.

If you don't mention this then the OP might get the wrong impression that the charger was designed for charging any 14500 or RCR123. I'm not saying it's not a fine charger for any 18650 cells.

I agree with lingpau that several chargers would be better (and cheaper, especially for us outside the US). I use the XXC digital charger (Euro version of the HXY) and it seems to be excellent from my testing so far (4.20v open voltage, both cells terminate at 4.17v). If I used smaller cells then I would get the "Universal Smart Quick Charger" for $5.

You have to supervise the charging process even with a Pila IBC and when you have to use a too high charge current, third party spacers and you will have no warranty from the manufacturer, what do you really gain?

 

[Black Rose]

Removed inaccurate info.

 

[45/70]

guiri, I and others here have one of these. Yes, it's a "cheap" charger, but seems well made. It is not very fast for larger size cells, but it actually seems to work quite well on Li-Ion and NiMH cells. As with any charger, when used to charge Li-Ion cells, I would pull the cell out when charge is complete, even though the "trickle" charge of this charger is minimal, trickle charging Li-Ion cells is a bad idea.

I'm planning to get at least another one for ........:thinking:, well, I just think they're kinda neat. They would, I suppose make a reasonable charger for traveling, and for less than 12 bucks, you can have a two bay. :naughty:

Dave

 

[mfm]

guiri, I and others here have one of these.

Yep, thats the multi changer I mentioned above. But you don't want to charge 18650 cells with this one (17 hours of charging that should be supervised!) so get the also mentioned Digital li-ion charger if you need 18650.

 

[guiri]

Well, I hope the Szhenzen people ship quickly 'cause I just ordered three of them. Thanks.

With shipping being more than what one charger costs, I figured might as well get 3 and I can have a spare or give away or or two.

As for having several chargers, that's what I want to avoid. I am so tired of having all the crap in my house. Hell, I have something like 8 eneloop chargers and that's just the eneloops.

Hey, does that chinese charger do 9 volt batteries as well? I have two rechargeable 9v but they are Nimh..

Thanks

George

 

[45/70]

Hey, does that chinese charger do 9 volt batteries as well? I have two rechargeable 9v but they are Nimh..

Yes, it does, however I've never tried it with NiMH, or NiCd 9 volts. It may, or may not work so well, as there are 7.2, 8.4, and 9.6 Volt versions of these cells. Maybe it can figure out that too!

Keep in mind that this is a cheapo charger, but as others have pointed out and in my own experience, it seems to actually be a pretty good charger. The only thing I could complain about, is that it's really slow to charge the larger cells. Also the Li-Ion charge algorithm isn't perfect, but it seems to be better than any of the other chargers in it's class. This is one of only two cheapo chargers that I would recommend. The other is the, now apparently discontinued, YOHO-122.

Dave

 

[guiri]

Well, hell, it's prolly smarter than I am so I'm sure it'll work. As for the 9v cells, they're probably messed up 'cause they're pretty old and my 18650's are several years old too so for now, I'm sure it'll do the trick considering what it has to work with.

In the future when I get some money and can afford some new cells, maybe I can set a charging regimen like the folks here do. That's the plan anyway...plans fail though

 

[light1up]

GUIRI: I totally feel your sentiment with this post. Im new and wanted to pick a few lights, I like a couple lights with the 123s, and I like the idea of the 18650, I already have lights with 2/3 X 4 cells. 1 charger that you could slap any old battery in and come back and get it when convenient, fully charged would be heavenly, and in this technologically advanced world, it would seem do-able. My final decision is to go all 123 or 18650, and AA if I need something smaller since I have those anyways for household stuff. Im not buying 2 or 3 chargers. already got 2 dont need 5. You know those ones with the cranks are pretty cool..........good luck in making your ultimate compromise...

 

[guiri]

Thanks bro but I'm sick and tired of compromises. My whole friggin' life is a long damn compromise.

We send people to the moon but we can't make a charge that will do it all