Review of SysMax/NiteCore Intellicharger i4 V2 Charger

[NiOOH]

Looking at the charging curves for NiMH cells on the V2 charger, it appears that it terminates on maximum voltage @ 1.53 V or something. This is indeed not a proper termination method for Ni-based cells, but works most of the time, with slight undercharging. One should be careful with new HSD cells, that hasn't been properly formed. It happens, especially at lower currents that such cells peak at lower voltages (around and even lower than 1.50 V), that may lead to dangerous overcharging.

 

[VBAjedi]

I'm new here and I'm pretty much a flashlight greenhorn. I hope it's not bad forum etiquette to ask for a quick recommendation in the comments of a review thread...

I'm looking for a good value (i.e. don't need top of the line) in a travellable (110-240VAC and 12VDC) "all-in-one" charger that can do a better job of maintaining my little collection of 20 Eneloops (all I have now is the standard 2-cells-at-a-time Eneloop charger) AND charge a couple of 14500 lithium cells (not purchased yet, gotta do some searching here in the forum to see what's recommended) for my new Trustfire R5-A3 light.

Would this Intellicharger i4 V2charger be a good option for that, or are there others I should be considering? I know chargers like the Maha C9000 have more features to offer for my Eneloops, but anything's a step up from the Eneloop charger I currently use and I want the simplicity of an "all-in-one" charger.

Thanks!

 

[Changchung]

I'm new here and I'm pretty much a flashlight greenhorn. I hope it's not bad forum etiquette to ask for a quick recommendation in the comments of a review thread...

I'm looking for a good value (i.e. don't need top of the line) in a travellable (110-240VAC and 12VDC) "all-in-one" charger that can do a better job of maintaining my little collection of 20 Eneloops (all I have now is the standard 2-cells-at-a-time Eneloop charger) AND charge a couple of 14500 lithium cells (not purchased yet, gotta do some searching here in the forum to see what's recommended) for my new Trustfire R5-A3 light.

Would this Intellicharger i4 V2charger be a good option for that, or are there others I should be considering? I know chargers like the Maha C9000 have more features to offer for my Eneloops, but anything's a step up from the Eneloop charger I currently use and I want the simplicity of an "all-in-one" charger.

Thanks!

I am pretty sure that this charger can do a good job, for both chemistry, 110/220volts and 12volts DC as well...

Has anyone tested the reverse polarity protection on this charger? I tried putting an eneloop in backwards, but it started to flash like it was charging - one bar flashing, not all 3 bars flashing rapidly like the manual states. I didn't have the guts to leave it in there for very long, maybe 15 seconds...

Same happen to me last night with a AA sony the three lights go on flashing when I see that I take a look to battery and I say WHAAAATTTT take the battery off and put it back in the right position and charge just fine...

Sent from my phone with camera with flash and internet on it...

 

[redorblack]

If you check the first post in this thread (The review), you will see a test with four 3100 mAh batteries, it took 650 minutes to charge them (i.e. just below 11 hours).

Ok, I just got 3 Zebralight 3100mah 18650 cells and have a Pila IBC 2 bay charger. With my old Trustfire flame 2400mah cells it only takes a few hours, with my fresh cells I was wondering because the cells got warm on the first charge and it took about 5-6 hours to turn the lights green. As I have a bunch of old 2400mah cells, and am used to swapping one or two our a day at work, I'm not so sure with my new flashlight that takes 3 3100mah cells how long I'd be down doing 2 then 1 in the Pila vs. all 3 in the Intellicharger. Anyone have a clue what the difference in charge rates is?

 

[PCC]

I got my i4 the other day and so far have charged three 18650s. I live the convenience of this compared to using my old hobby charger.

I just threw in a pair of NiMH Sub-C cells and a pair of half A cells with spacers and they're charging away as I type this. The Sub-C cells cannot be loaded four across as they don't quite sit right and the cells sitting next to each other causes one to sit over and up preventing another from sitting in the next available slot. A third one can be placed in the fourth slot, though. I just filled the two empty slots with half A cells.

 

[UrbanLegend]

Thanks for all the helpful info and test data!

Based on reviews here, I ordered a Jetbeam Intellicharger on Amazon, under the product heading, "JETBeam IntelliCharger i4 Charger - 2nd Generation - for charging 18650, 16340(RCR123), 14500, etc."

It arrived after a little over three weeks, much later than several other items ordered the same day. It finally arrived yesterday.

Anxious to try it out, I opened the package, only to find it has a European style wall plug, which of course does not work where I live in the USA. The product description did not specify a plug type on the charger cord.

I did discover that the charger cord on my Nikon battery charger seems to work. Several other battery charger cords that I had, including single and two-bay 18650 chargers, did not work. I am ordering a generic charger cord from Amazon under the heading, "Standard Replacement AC Cord for Most Battery Chargers" from Nikon.

I plan to use the charger for 3400mAh Orbtronics 18650 batteries for my TK75 and other smaller lights using 18650 batteries.

Disappointing service from this company, but pleased that no one else seems to have had the same issue. Hoping the charger cord I will buy delivers correct power to the charger.

Thanks again for all the reviews and tests!

Update: I contacted the seller through Amazon (it was actually East Face Sci & Tech). They responded, on a weekend, within a couple of hours and have already shipped a replacement USA compatible charger cord. Very quick, friendly response and I am now a happy camper. Meanwhile I am using the charger with a cord from a Nikon charger and it works beautifully! Have charged about 16 18650 batteries and could not be more pleased with the result. BTW in doing follow-up research I noticed one seller of the I4 refer to it as "Ver. 3", as opposed to "Ver. 2". They indicated in the ad that v. 3 replaces the plastic spring slides with metal ones, eliminating the one common complaint with this charger. My charger was advertised as V. 2 b ut does have the metal slides, which are solid and smooth.

 

[skytop]

Really excellent review of the new i4 charger. Know I know the facts about the new version of which I just received to replace my original version original intellicharger. BTW, the old model served me wonderfully and I expect this new one to continue top trouble free service.

Thanks for the wonderful review!

 

[ash7503]

Hi, has the "JETBeam IntelliCharger i4 PRO Charger V3 - 3rd Generation - 2013 Enhanced Version" been tested for eneloop yet?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BC4J5O0/?tag=cpf0b6-20

 

[Changchung]

Hi, has the "JETBeam IntelliCharger i4 PRO Charger V3 - 3rd Generation - 2013 Enhanced Version" been tested for eneloop yet?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BC4J5O0/?tag=cpf0b6-20

Checking the reviews look like this one is worst than the second version...

 

[Elwin]

Yeah, I'm late to the party, but thanks for the review.
It helped me decide to buy one.

 

[tbenedict]

So I've been reading about this model, and I'm still not sure. I mainly use Eneloops and occasionally charge a few 18650, 14500, and such. Both my BC-700 and cheap li-ion chargers are crapping out on me. I'm mainly concerned about the nimh performance since that is where most of the use is.

 

[HKJ]

I have added thermal images to review.

 

[boki]

Sorry to dig this thread up but my Intellicharger i4 v2 just crapped out a bit - I was trying to revive some over discharged laptop cells and after it started charging them slot 4 went completely dark and now it won't charge any battery and slot 3 starts charging but then gets only bottom led lit steady and nothing happens. Slots 1 and 2 still work. Did I damage my charger? Thanks.

 

[oKtosiTe]

Sorry to dig this thread up but my Intellicharger i4 v2 just crapped out a bit - I was trying to revive some over discharged laptop cells and after it started charging them slot 4 went completely dark and now it won't charge any battery and slot 3 starts charging but then gets only bottom led lit steady and nothing happens. Slots 1 and 2 still work. Did I damage my charger? Thanks.

Did you unplug and replug it?

 

[Goredoth]

So this is a good charger, does that mean I should save some money and grab it over the Pila or does the Pila still have benefits over this. I don't mind paying more if it will be better for my batteries but if it's just because Pila didn't design theirs to be manufactured affordable like someone suggested in this thread then perhaps this is better if I handle it delicately?

Thanks for the review HKJ.

 

[HKJ]

So this is a good charger, does that mean I should save some money and grab it over the Pila or does the Pila still have benefits over this. I don't mind paying more if it will be better for my batteries but if it's just because Pila didn't design theirs to be manufactured affordable like someone suggested in this thread then perhaps this is better if I handle it delicately?

It is a good universal charger, i.e. one that can both charge LiIon and NiMH, but it is not perfect for either.

The Pila works and looks like a very solid construction, but it is very limited in functionality.
Xtar does charge the correct way for LiIon and with multiple current settings (And now also voltage settings), they are very good LiIon chargers.
Some Xtars to check (VP2), VP1, WP2s, SP1. This is not all the Xtar charges, but the best ones I have tested (Except VP2, that I have not tested yet).

 

[Goredoth]

Thanks! I have been interested in some Xtars but unfortunately my choices are limited to either the Nitecore Intellicharger i2 or the Pila IBC as I'm ordering from EDC+ Seeing as that's where I'm getting a couple Redilast P18650-3400mAh from for a Fenix TK35 or similar.

Is the extra $30 worth it for the Pila?

Thanks for all the reviews by the way, before I discovered my limited options I spent the better part of this morning going through reviews on your site!

 

[HKJ]

Thanks! I have been interested in some Xtars but unfortunately my choices are limited to either the Nitecore Intellicharger i2 or the Pila IBC as I'm ordering from EDC+ Seeing as that's where I'm getting a couple Redilast P18650-3400mAh from for a Fenix TK35 or similar.

Why not order from another dealer that has good batteries and Xtar chargers?

Is the extra $30 worth it for the Pila?

I believe that the Pila is too expensive, but it is better than the i2 or i4 for charging LiIon.

 

[cland72]

Is the extra $30 worth it for the Pila?

In my opinion, no. I'll admit I've never used a Pila, but I have owned a i4 Intellicharger for the past couple of years and it's worked very well for me with no issues. I think you're getting diminishing returns on your money by spending more on a Pila vs. what you could get a i4 for.

 

[Goredoth]

I suppose I could do that haha. I got my heart set on Redilast as the reviews I read showed them often as just slightly better than AW and seeing as AW's reputation on this forum I was pretty stoked to find Redilast slightly cheaper on EDC and I haven't found any other sites that sell Xtar and Redilast. Any suggestions?

Yeah I wouldn't mind if the Pila was a little cheaper it seems a lot to ask.

Thank you.

In my opinion, no. I'll admit I've never used a Pila, but I have owned a i4 Intellicharger for the past couple of years and it's worked very well for me with no issues. I think you're getting diminishing returns on your money by spending more on a Pila vs. what you could get a i4 for.

Thanks Chris, if I have trouble finding an Xtar charger & quality 18650 seller for the right price & that will ship to Aus I think I'll have a good thought about getting the i2 as HKJ says it is better but how much better I suppose we're not sure. Not looking like people think it's $30 worth better.