Charging an 18650

So I bought a Nitecore P12 "bundle" off amazon. The light, a Nitecore 2300Ma 18650 and charger. Seemed like a good place for me to enter "nice lights". The listing implied a Nitecore charger, but upon arrival it is not…just a cheaply no name. I'm new to rechargeable batteries in general, so a charger with no sort of indicator lights or auto-off feature worries me. Do I run the risk of "overcharging" this sort of battery if I just leave it in over night?

Riddus said:

So I bought a Nitecore P12 "bundle" off amazon. The light, a Nitecore 2300Ma 18650 and charger. Seemed like a good place for me to enter "nice lights". The listing implied a Nitecore charger, but upon arrival it is not…just a cheaply no name. I'm new to rechargeable batteries in general, so a charger with no sort of indicator lights or auto-off feature worries me. Do I run the risk of "overcharging" this sort of battery if I just leave it in over night?

Click to expand...

For an unknown charger, you'd be better off tossing it and get Nitecore i2, i4 or D2 charger. Should cost less than $20 for either.

The i series chargers don't have a display only a panel that indicates when charge is complete. The D series chargers have a LED display that shows charge rate as well as voltage while charging.

Thanks for the input! Let's say I've hit my flashlight budget for a while due to fear of divorce…any suggestions on how to proceed with caution using this charger? I read a bit saying that charging any Li-ion can be dangerous if not monitored.

On the cheap, you could only charge the battery while home, possibly be closed in a room not used. Then only charge for three or four hours.

The Nitecore P12 displays voltage via a flashing light, first the major voltage, meaning three flashes, 3 volts, then a pause, then minor voltage, eight flashes for .8 volts.

Battery Junction has the Xtar MC1 charger on sale for $5.02. It will only charge a single cell, but since that's all you have, it's much safer than the what you presently have. The Xtar charger was reviewed here. http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?383777-Test-Review-of-Charger-Xtar-MC1

Great! Thanks!

I would check it at lest every hour and take it off the charger when its finished light comes on or turns green (however that one works) then if you have a digital multimeter, check the voltage fresh off the charger. If it reads 4.2volts or slightly below, like 4.19 would be better, you are probably ok to use it until you get something better. If it reads much over 4.2 I would either not use it, or check cell voltage before finished light comes on, anything over 4.1V at rest will give you ok runtimes and be safer than overcharging... I have a xtar vp1 that works well, they have a newer vp2 that people seem to like.

I do not charge any li-ion cells overnight. I figure I would rather err on the side of caution than be sorry...

The above mentioned Xtar MC1 looks pretty good for an inexpensive charger. It is better to undercharge a li-ion than overcharge it.. If the wife complains too much tell her it's a safety thing.

At some point soon you will probably want a 3400 mAH cell, I would go for Keeppower, or Orbtronic. There are other good ones but those are the ones I trust right now.

If you haven't already you should read this thread:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...-Using-Li-ion-cells-in-LED-flashlights-safely

Riddus said:

......no sort of indicator lights

Click to expand...

So if the charger has no indicator lights at all I think I would charge for an hour then check voltage with a DVM. If you don't have a DVM that is probably your second purchase after a better charger if you're going to stick around the 18650 format.

Riddus said:

...no sort of indicator lights

Click to expand...

My bad, I totally missed that.

I have never seen any charger without at least a light or something, interesting...

NotSoBrightBob said:

So if the charger has no indicator lights at all I think I would charge for an hour then check voltage with a DVM. If you don't have a DVM that is probably your second purchase after a better charger if you're going to stick around the 18650 format.

Click to expand...

I second that.

chazz said:

My bad, I totally missed that.

I have never seen any charger without at least a light or something, interesting...

Click to expand...

I gave up on noname china chargers with no indicator light after a box of five contained 3 doas and 2 that worked for about five minutes. The three doas rattled, taking it apart I discovered solder beads rattling around in the cases.

I paused. I thought. I threw those suckers away. Never again. Coulda started an electrical fire just plugging one in...

I was a little taken back by the lack of an indicator also. This thing reeks of "cheap"…even the little contact spring is suspect.

Curious: Why didn't you simply return the order? Amazon is great with returns.

Tandem, @ Riddus or me?

If me, I got them as part of a non-exchangeable deal and found out why they were thrown in.

Riddus said:

So I bought a Nitecore P12 "bundle" off amazon. The light, a Nitecore 2300Ma 18650 and charger. Seemed like a good place for me to enter "nice lights". The listing implied a Nitecore charger, but upon arrival it is not…just a cheaply no name. I'm new to rechargeable batteries in general, so a charger with no sort of indicator lights or auto-off feature worries me. Do I run the risk of "overcharging" this sort of battery if I just leave it in over night?

Click to expand...

You really shouldn't be playing with lithium-ion cells without first owning a digital multi-meter. A DMM is almost a mandatory item, allowing you to determine runtimes vs. voltage, the state of charge of your cells and most importantly, a DMM will allow you to verify that your no-name/no-indicator lights charger is not over-charging your cells.

Without one, you're really only guessing.

Chris

ChrisGarrett said:

You really shouldn't be playing with lithium-ion cells without first owning a digital multi-meter. A DMM is almost a mandatory item, allowing you to determine runtimes vs. voltage, the state of charge of your cells and most importantly, a DMM will allow you to verify that your no-name/no-indicator lights charger is not over-charging your cells.

Without one, you're really only guessing.

Chris

Click to expand...

THIS! 100% agree!

tandem said:

Curious: Why didn't you simply return the order? Amazon is great with returns.

Click to expand...

Mostly due to being giddy about my new light to be entirely honest. Also, after reviewing the listing when I realized the charger was a cheapy, I technically got exactly what was listed. It was a matter of the wording that mislead me…"Nitecore Bundle". I'll make due by checking the battery on hourly intervals until I can justify the purchase of a better charger.

Riddus said:

I'll make due by checking the battery on hourly intervals until I can justify the purchase of a better charger.

Click to expand...

An actual Nitecore i4 is $16.19 free ship at Amazon at the moment. Throw a multimeter in the cart when you order (about $15.) These things are cheaper than "the alternative."

Riddus, there is no safe way to use an unknown, cheapo charger, with a lithium ion battery.

And the battery - do you know that the battery is genuine/not fake ?

This sort of situation really does scare me.

The battery I feel pretty confident in (as well as the light)…really decent packaging for a forgery. I'll typically charge the thing at work anyhow, and it's a fabrication shop…something is always on fire lol. I'll never know unless I try. Thanks for the words of caution.