Recomend a Li-Ion charger?

[PocketBeam]

I am looking for a good charger for rechargeable 123's, 10440, 14500, and maybe a few more types as I grow...

Something safe and not too expensive. So what do people recommend? And BTW are there any that will also charge Nimh as I am tight on space.

 

[mudman cj]

To get one that charges Li-ion and Nimh forces the cost up. There are quite a few good chargers in this class, but most of them cost upwards of $100, with the less expensive ones like a Triton Jr. still coming in at $80. And these chargers typically require 12V input, so you could use a car battery or buy a power supply that can supply enough current.

The alternative is to buy separate chargers for different battery chemistries, or to even build your own charger, which is again usually designed to charge a particular chemistry for simplicity of design. State your price and the suggestions will come rolling in...

 

[DM51]

Different Li-Ion cell sizes require different charging rates.

You use the figure for the battery capacity in mAh to calculate the correct charging rate in mA. For example, if a R123 cell has a capacity of 750mAh, its correct charging rate is 375mA – 750mA (0.5-1.0 times the figure for capacity - usually referred to as 0.5C-1.0C). The correct rate for an 18650 cell with a capacity of 2,200mAh would be 1,100-2,200mA.

The figure for C varies from cell to cell according to their capacity, but the correct charging rate is always 0.5C-1.0C, with the upper 1C figure being the important one, which should never be exceeded.

If you look at the specs of the simpler Li-Ion chargers, you will see that they have a set output figure. None of them will therefore be suitable for all sizes of cell. The best of these for medium to large size cells is the Pila IBC charger, which has an output of 600mA per bay. These can be used to charge R123s, 14500s and larger up to 18650s. For 18650s the output is low at <0.3C, but acceptable from a safety standpoint (if you don't mind waiting >3hrs for the cell to charge).

However you must not use this charger for small-size cells such as RCR2 (350mAh), 10440 (320mAh), etc. The Pila charger would be pumping ~2C into these cells. They would overheat and be damaged by the high current, and they might blow up on the charger. For these small sizes a nano-charger is a good solution. The 10440 (AAA-size) version has an output of 200mA, which is good for these cells.

At the other (large) end of the scale there are the 'C' and 'D' Li-Ion cells, for which the Pila IBC's output is too low.

So it all rather depends on how many different sizes of cell you are going to use. If you are going to go slightly crazy (like the rest of us!) and acquire a really serious amount of gear, you will almost certainly end up looking at a Triton or maybe a Schulze for your needs, but in the meantime I would suggest the Pila IBC charger for your 14500 (and larger) Li-Ions, and the AAA-size nano-charger for smaller Li-Ion cells.

Last word of caution: always use the correct charger for the type of cell. Do NOT mix up cell chemistries on the same charger. NEVER try to charge a Li-Ion cell on a charger not specifically designed for Li-Ions.

 

[PocketBeam]

Thanks Mudman and DM51. Both posts were educational. OK, so seperate chargers for nimh and Li-ion. Currently I only have 123, AA, and AAA sized li-ion batteries. I have used a really slow charger (100ma?) that wasn't always making good connection and after days may not charge a R123.

Thanks for telling me abotu the Triton and the Schulze. I looked at them and glad I know about them now. I do think they are over kill for me for now. I plan to stick to just the AA, AAA, and 123 sized cells for now. Sounds like the AA and 123 are no problem and you gave me a very good low cost solution for the AAA li-ions.

So do you think the Pila is better then the UltraFire?

(Oh, and I have already had a li-ion blow up on me as it burned the charger, and landed ten feet away, and burned a small hole in my kitchen floor. So I don't want that to happen again. I blame the charger since it was generic and although rated for li-ion it never told me the charge rate. It looked like the Ultrafire, but did not say Ultrafire.)

 

[mudman cj]

I would get the Pila over the Ultrafire. The Pila can deliver 600mA per channel, so it will charge larger cells much more quickly, and it uses better charge termination sensing (as opposed to the Ultrafire that is known to overcharge unprotected cells).

As for use with RCR123 and 14500 (AA), the Pila charges them near the maximum recommended rate (about 0.92C and the recommended charging rate is 0.7-1.0C), so it is considered borderline but permissible. Do not try to charge cells with less than 600mAh capacity on the Pila.

 

[Fallingwater]

Sick and tired of having multiple chargers for many cell types, I finally bit the bullet and got a Hyperion 5i AC/DC universal charger.
It's on my way here in the mail, should get here tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

It's not cheap - it cost me €112 - but it will charge absolutely everything, including LiFePO4. I also won't have to worry about my cheap charger overcharging my LiIons, or the NiMH one cooking my cells to death. I should be set as far as charging is concerned for as long as this charger lasts.

I can't yet recommend it because I still have to use it, but my advice is to go for a universal charger. There are many more that cost less if you don't need the LiFePO4 charging capacity (also good for charging "3v" regulated RCR123 and RCR2 cells, I think).

 

[PocketBeam]

The Hyperion has some good reviews - http://www.one18th.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48860

But i was looking for something simpler, i.e. has built in ports to drop a battery into. I don't see that on the hyperion. I guess I could add them somehow but that would make a mess of cables. I do like the extra features though. But most of the time I want easy to use.

Looks like I am leaning towards the Pila.

 

[Pyzon]

My sons and I are into the electric plane hobby and I've enjoyed the Triton hobby charger for years.

One thing I would like to find is a good convenient 12V charger for both 7.4 and 11.1V thinking I would try to install a charging jack on my Mags.

Any suggestions ? Thanks.

 

[LuxLuthor]

Oh, and I have already had a li-ion blow up on me as it burned the charger, and landed ten feet away, and burned a small hole in my kitchen floor. So I don't want that to happen again. I blame the charger since it was generic and although rated for li-ion it never told me the charge rate. It looked like the Ultrafire, but did not say Ultrafire.

Pocketbeam, you now add to our list of people who have had Lithium Ion's explode on them. I'm glad you and your house/family are ok from that event. Do you remember what the Li-Ion cell was?

The Pila is really worth the extra cost, as it terminates the charge when Li-Ion cells are full, and the other "cheaper ones" you mentioned (and some you didn't mention) do not.

Unfortunately, there is just no easy "universal" charger even that will just hold all the Lithium Ion cells....let alone that also includes slots and charging functions for NiMH as well.

I also bit the bullet about a year ago and got the Hyperion 1210i with a 12V transformer that I got from cheapbatterypacks.com and absolutely love it...and highly recommend it to others.

 

[PocketBeam]

The cell that blew on me was a Blue cell, a 123 sized cell. I thought I was very careful about getting plus and minus correct, so not sure why it blew. I wasn't in the kitchen when it blew. Just heard the "pop". I suppose it could have been a explosive venting. But the battery was black, and mostly in one piece. The charger was burnt. The kitchen and charger and battery smelled awful and up to a few weeks ago I had a small hole in my kitchen floor ten feet from the charger location. (we just put in wood floor, so no more hole) This was a couple years ago. It scared my wife enough that I have stayed away from li-ion since then. So sorry if I can't remember more details about where I got the cell or who makes it.

Pila sounds like a safer way to go. Little pricey for just two cells type I will use and still will need one for the 10440.

 

[crislight01]

The Pila is really worth the extra cost, as it terminates the charge when Li-Ion cells are full, and the other "cheaper ones" you mentioned (and some you didn't mention) do not.

People who build those charger are completely insane, there should be a thread on CPF : prohibited and dangerous chargers.

 

[PocketBeam]

That doesn't sound half bad. I know there is a thread on exploding batteries that is similar though. I certainly wish that I had never bought the li-ion charger I had. The wife still talks about that one...

 

[cy]

glad no one was hurt and your house didn't burn down!
was this a protected R123 cell? any pictures?

greatest danger of using li-ion cells occurs during re-charging.
what's it worth to not burn down your home?

problem is... most folks don't know to factor that in during li-ion charger buying decision time. this coupled with the fact that chinese li-ion mfg have little to zero liability for selling potentially dangerous li-ion chargers.

The cell that blew on me was a Blue cell, a 123 sized cell. I thought I was very careful about getting plus and minus correct, so not sure why it blew. I wasn't in the kitchen when it blew. Just heard the "pop". I suppose it could have been a explosive venting. But the battery was black, and mostly in one piece. The charger was burnt. The kitchen and charger and battery smelled awful and up to a few weeks ago I had a small hole in my kitchen floor ten feet from the charger location. (we just put in wood floor, so no more hole) This was a couple years ago. It scared my wife enough that I have stayed away from li-ion since then. So sorry if I can't remember more details about where I got the cell or who makes it.

Pila sounds like a safer way to go. Little pricey for just two cells type I will use and still will need one for the 10440.

 

[PocketBeam]

No pictures as this happened some two or three years ago. I learned a lesson, but it seems that there are no guarantees it won't happen again. But at least I can do research and reduce those chances to almost nill.

 

[Barbarin]

We are developing right now a quality charger for 18650, 17650, 17500, 18500. I think prototypes will arrive this week so I will post plenty of pictures and information.
There is some additional infor on CPFMP

Javier

 

[LuxLuthor]

No pictures as this happened some two or three years ago. I learned a lesson, but it seems that there are no guarantees it won't happen again. But at least I can do research and reduce those chances to almost nill.

I think the most important thing is to just keep making people aware of the POTENTIAL dangers of charging Lithium batteries (Li-Ion, LiPo), and the downside of cheaper battery & charger manufacturers. You can dramatically improve your outcome once you know what can go wrong, and why some products are not designed properly, or have no QC.

 

[Bushman5]

are those little Nano chargers that charge those purple RCR123's safe? i have 5 of them and 14 of the light purple rechargeable CR123's :huh:

lighthound sells them....