Noob Testing a DX 6105 Charger.

[JStraus]

That noob would be me.

I have the "Digital Li-Ion 18650 Battery Charger" (sku.6105) from DX and the black and red and yellow Trustfire 18650 lithiums.

I ordered a multimeter to be able to monitor batteries and charge states. That much seems clear enough, but is current something I should pay attention to for that charger or while that charger is charging?

Probing the battery while in charger (currently) is measuring 3.85v and the open bay measures 4.19v. I assume that's ok.

Is it of any use to me to measure current and if so, exactly how should I do that? Probes at both ends while charging, or do I need to measure with meter as part of the circuit? (probes bridging between battery and charger terminal). Or measure current open bay terminals. I don't know too much about this.

I've searched and can't find much that helps me.

The charger seems to run fine, and doesn't warm up, but I want to make sure that it's working correctly.

Thanks!

J

 

[fishx65]

I've been using this exact same setup for about 1 1/2 years and been very happy with it. I try to unplug it when the indicators turn green but have left it on all night a couple times without issue. Charge always terminates at 4.19. The 2400 Trustfire Flames are known to be pretty good batteries around here.

 

[old4570]

Series for measuring current ...

Put the neg end of the battery on the neg tab/spring on the charger ..
Then the neg probe [ MM ] to the + end of the batt ...

Then complete the circuit by placing the + probe on the + tab of the charger .

Now you can measure charge current .. [ I would use the 10amp setting on the MM for this ] .

Measure battery voltage , then charge current at different voltage levels for the battery so you can see the charge curve ..

Example :

Battery @ 3.6v = Charge current may be 400mA
BAttery @ 3.8v = Charge current may be 350mA

And so forth .

 

[JStraus]

Perfect, thanks!

It does appear that the charger rolls off and stops at 4.19v on the batteries.

 

[malow]

i used this charge for a while, it's great. some users tested, its a great CC/CV charger.

the internal parts get a little hot, but not melting hot. judging by the heat on transformer, its easy to notice its CC/CV, cause if the battery is empty, it warms up. in the end of charge, its cold

there's a user that bought 100 units, and one came defective. all others works fine. so, its "reliable"

the only downside is charging current, most users measured about 800mah, instead of 1A as specified.

also, it never finish charging. current is reduced to a minimun, but keeps pushing the battery.

my recommendation, its to remove the battery 1 hour after led become green. if left on charger after a day or so, the battery may go to 4.24v

 

[mdocod]

Unfortunately, the 6105 does not terminate the charge. Open circuit voltage varies from unit to unit. The open circuit voltage of the unit is the voltage that it will float a cell to and hold there if left alone with the cell long enough (the green light pretty much just means that you should remove the cell, doesn't mean that it has terminated).

Li-Ion cell manufactures specify that during the CV stage of the charging, the charger monitor the current flowing, when the charge rate specified drops to a certain level (usually somewhere around 0.05-0.2C rate, or around 50mA), the charger is to completely cut off all charging and leave the cell to rest and settle to the state of charge that the cell can tolerate based on age and wear and tear.

Also, I wouldn't call this a CC/CV charger. In order to be considered a CC/CV charger, the current must hold at a steady rate until the "goal" voltage is reached, at which point, the charger switches over to holding that voltage and allowing the current to drop off naturally. The 6105 ramps down the current flowing to the cell long before the charging voltage ever reaches 4.20V.

As mentioned, it's rated 1A, everyone seems to be measuring closer to 0.8A, that's not a big deal as long as we know what we are getting, however, in my testing, because it ramps down the charge rate long before achieving the target "CV" level, the effective charge rate is actually much slower. The 600mA charge rate of the Pila IBC will charge a cell faster than the 6105.

If you use this charger, please be advised that cells should be removed promptly after the light turns green whenever possible. Brand new cells will tolerate the constant voltage charge better than aged cells, so the human involvement to use the charger safely becomes more critical as the cells get older, which unfortunately, is when the user is more apt to become complacent.

Be safe and regards,

Eric