New Nitecore Superb Charger - SC2

[lonelyboy]

Any comment on this one?

http://charger.nitecore.com/product/sc2

It seems the spec is very attractive to me. I am also looking forward to seeing a SC4 coming up!

 

[stephenk]

What, no voltage readout?

 

[Connor]

3A is nice, of course, but that "display" surely is not.

 

[vadimax]

What, no voltage readout?

They are in a trend

You look at this indication and... WTF?!

 

[Capolini]

no thanks! I WILL STICK W/ MY K'Power L2, EFEST LUC4 and my 2 x FENIX ARE-C2!:twothumbs


+1 ......You look at this indication and... WTF?!

 

[ven]

It says it selects the charge rate on the cells mah, an example being 3000mah in 1.5hrs. I do wonder as you can select the rate yourself, people using the 3a setting on cells they should not............just to charge it quick!. 3a imo is fine for some IMR 26650 cells, but for 18650's its quite a high rate. Although manufacturers may state that the max charge rate is 4a, it will surely shorten the life of the cell!!!

On my IMR or INR cells, 1.5a is the highest i will use , a balance of still a relatively quick charge and to no real detriment to the cell.

It is a bit of a concern that "vapers" can just throw their tired INR etc cell on and bang 3a of rate into it! Also if the charger is going off the actual mah to determine the rate, not quite sure how it can do this before actually charging it and knowing how much mah it actually has. So if i put a 2100mah vtc4 in, will i get a lower rate than say a 3400 pany B cell.......where as it is actually the other way around, the vtc4 is higher rated!

I see potentially some ultracrapfire cells getting charged at 3a here............

Shame on the display, not quite sure what they were thinking, needs a digital voltage read out !

 

[CuriousOne]

A lot of modern and not so modern 18650 cells support high current charge, up to 4A, LG HE2 is one example.

 

[ven]

Yes i know, i have pretty much most of these cells, but 4a or 3a as this charger can do, will surely shorten the cells life(cycle wise). Sure they will get quite warm too............

 

[CuriousOne]

I'm regularily charging my HE2 cells with 4A, using self made balance cradle, connected to Turnigy Accucell 6-80. No major heating or other issues so far.

 

[ven]

I'm regularily charging my HE2 cells with 4A, using self made balance cradle, connected to Turnigy Accucell 6-80. No major heating or other issues so far.

Right, have you done that many cycles or anything to compare with over the same kind of time scale. Most i use is 1.5a but always have lots of cells to just swap out and good to go again. I cant do more than 2a on my bt c3100, could on one of my hobby chargers though............. Ones now in use have had a good few cycles through them as most of this batch are around 6-12m old. I have always saved the 2a rate for 26650's(that could do with a higher rate!).

Cheers

 

[CuriousOne]

So far, I've done about 40 cycles, noticed no decrease in performance. I'm using them for powering dewalt drill, via the modified original battery case. These 6 cells are connected in 3S2P configuration, with lipo low battery alarm circuit connected to them, so when it starts to beep, I know, it is time to balance charge.

 

[ven]

Cool! So I am presuming your putting the 4a through though pack of 6 cells and not each individual cell.

 

[el soluna]

It locks the 3A option for small batteries like 18490, said its manual

It says it selects the charge rate on the cells mah, an example being 3000mah in 1.5hrs. I do wonder as you can select the rate yourself, people using the 3a setting on cells they should not............just to charge it quick!. 3a imo is fine for some IMR 26650 cells, but for 18650's its quite a high rate. Although manufacturers may state that the max charge rate is 4a, it will surely shorten the life of the cell!!!On my IMR or INR cells, 1.5a is the highest i will use , a balance of still a relatively quick charge and to no real detriment to the cell.It is a bit of a concern that "vapers" can just throw their tired INR etc cell on and bang 3a of rate into it! Also if the charger is going off the actual mah to determine the rate, not quite sure how it can do this before actually charging it and knowing how much mah it actually has. So if i put a 2100mah vtc4 in, will i get a lower rate than say a 3400 pany B cell.......where as it is actually the other way around, the vtc4 is higher rated! I see potentially some ultracrapfire cells getting charged at 3a here............Shame on the display, not quite sure what they were thinking, needs a digital voltage read out !

 

[david57strat]

I have a pair of D4s, and an older i4 V2 charger of theirs; but I seem to be using mostly XTAR chargers, for a majority of my charging needs. The Nitecores get used the least (The main thing I seem to use the D4s, is for charging Duraloops, or my LiFePO4 CR123s.

The most heavily used chargers I use, these days, are the newer XTAR SV2s, and the VC2 Plus units.



Top Row (Left to right)

1. LaCrosse BC-700
2. Nitecore i4 V2
3. Nitecore D4 (2)

Middle Row (Left to right)

1. XTAR VC4 (2)
2. XTAR VP2 (2)
3. XTAR VZ2 - This is the newest addition
   
   . Just picked up a second one (not pictured).

Bottom Row (Left to right)

1. XTAR VC2 Plus (4)

Right Hand Side (Top to Bottom)

1. Pelican 1010 Case with 14500 batteries
2. Pelican 1010 Case with 16340 and CR123 batteries (No...I did not buy those. They came with some flashlight purchases. I stopped buying CR123 batteries about four years ago.
3. Pelican 1010 Case with 26650 batteries
4. Pelican 1010 Case with 18650 batteries - still my favorite battery type
   

I may have to pick up an SC2, to try it out. You can never have too many chargers

 

[vadimax]

Why preference is given to XTAR chargers?

 

[vestureofblood]

It says it selects the charge rate on the cells mah, an example being 3000mah in 1.5hrs. I do wonder as you can select the rate yourself, people using the 3a setting on cells they should not...........

I see potentially some ultracrapfire cells getting charged at 3a here............

I love the idea of having a charger that can actually output a respectable current.:twothumbs I have to say I too am anticipating plenty of for the uninformed though.

 

[david57strat]

Why preference is given to XTAR chargers?

I prefer the brighter readouts of the XTAR chargers. I also think they terminate more accurately, and are better constructed. I really like that some of them are USB-power-able. That's a real plus. It doesn't hurt that there's an XTAR store just five minutes away from where I live, either . Those are just a few reasons, off the top of my head.

I love the idea of having a charger that can actually output a respectable current.:twothumbs I have to say I too am anticipating plenty of for the uninformed though.

Agreed. I'm going to be using the SC2 charger (mainly) to charge up my 10000 mAh Tenergy D NiMhs, which I use in some of my old (but LED-upgraded) Maglites. If I like this charger enough, I'll pick up another one...or two!

Can't say I'm crazy about the idea of no voltage readouts on the SC2; but I like all the other features it offers, and am okay with just taking my batteries, and testing the termination voltage with my multimeter.

I don't think the uninformed should be using high current chargers, or even using lithium ion batteries, at all (other than for their typical smart devices, like tablets, cell phones, etc.). Those who want to use a high performance battery, for a flashlight, should study, thoroughly, how to properly maintain one, to avoid the many risks associated with careless maintenance of these types of batteries - or the purchase of inferior batteries that are inherently dangerous to use, in the first place.

 

[ven]

That's part of the problem, the uninformed won't read up or join places like CPF or BLF. They will see "3a charge, that's better than 1a, my ultrasuperdooperfire cells will be charged up in a jiffy!"

Then and potentially more fodder for the anti- li ion press to come.

 

[saturnine23]

That's part of the problem, the uninformed won't read up or join places like CPF or BLF. They will see "3a charge, that's better than 1a, my ultrasuperdooperfire cells will be charged up in a jiffy!"

Then and potentially more fodder for the anti- li ion press to come.

As someone who's relatively new to all this, how would you summarize responsible Li Ion care & feeding? I just wrote the product listing for the SC2 here at Battery Junction, and as I worked on it, several employees expressed similar concerns about putting that much raw power in the hands of the uninformed. That same bad press you mentioned is a real problem for us, too, and I want to be able to pass good information along to help with responsible use.

 

[markr6]

3A? Jesus. They went from snail-rate charging which everyone complained about (500mA if you were lucky) to 3A max.

Just make a solid 1A charger with a voltage readout. (Xtar, hint hint)