Bad battery charger?

I bought via eBay a flashlight CREE ULTRAFIRE that comes with a rechargeable battery, a charger, and an adapter for using three AAA batteries.

When I put the rechargeable battery into the charger and plug that into an electrical receptacle, the charger shows a blinking red light. Is this normal? I assume when it finished charging, it will change to a green light or the red blink would stop...however after 6 hours the red light is still blinking. I removed the charger and put the battery into the flashlight and it did seem brighter then before so it did charge.

I read on here there are some faked flashlights - I didn't know about this is it possible what I bought was a faked/substandard product? How can one tell?

On the battery it says "HZM-045D/E BRC18650 3000mAh 3.7V Li-ion". There is no label on the charger itself other than "Made in China".

Ultrafire batteries and chargers don't have the best reputation around here (e.g. here and here and here). Be careful.
What I think is hilarious is the fact the the 'official ultrafire store' state that

Ultrafire WF139 Specifications
[...] OutPut: DC 4.2V / 450mAh
[...] 18650 3000(mAh) protected battery x 2
Charging time with Ultrafire Battery (2~3 hours)

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They even announce that the 18650 batteries are only around 1000 mAh (2 x 450 mA = 900 mAh).

imho there is no typical "led indicator"

most would do:
red steady for charging, then
nothing (or switch to green steady) when finished

red blinking - to me - seems more like an error message


unfortunately anything ultrafire is questionable quality at best. So that alone can be considered faked/substandard.
Just take a look at price.
Lets take one - the one that has to get all the cheers for starting reasonable price tag- which is the maker Fenix.
get You light and compare to a comparable model from Fenix.
Your ultrafire will be less than half and that should show how "good/reliable" these makes have to be considered in general

Welcome to CPF, Miamicuse!

If personal safety is important to you, the best advice is to put any ???Fire battery in the recycling bin, ASAP. Well perhaps after a last discharge...
Not that they're bad by definition. But quality is so inconsistent, many fakes out there, and safety features may even have been omitted! Which can make these batteries dangerous to use even if not abused.

Couple that with a cheaper-than-cheap charger, which may do a decent job. Or not. Again, you simply can't be sure. Even if the particular model was tested somewhere, with these really cheap things you can never be sure that 2 items labeled the same or bought in the same place, are actually the same inside.

Funny thing is that good 18650 cells are not expensive! If you intend to go cheap, just buy a little older / lower capacity type cell from respected brand like Sanyo/Panasonic, LG, Samsung or Sony (or one with protection circuit, that has such a cell inside). For example a 2900 mAh one might be $3~4 or so, or half the price of a 3400 mAh one. That 2900 mAh cell will be much better than ???Fire junk - in many ways. And in practice, 2900 vs. 3400 mAh isn't a big or important difference. So for cells, it's a no-brainer imho: don't cheap out on those, period!

If you're saving pennies, save on the flashlight instead. There isn't much dangerous a flashlight can do to its batteries other than over-discharge, or die & short circuit cells in the process. A protected battery should safeguard against both of those. The potential for problems gets even less (much less!) if you limit yourself to flashlights that use a single cell only (highly recommended for users that are new to the world of Li-ion powered lights).

In terms of how dangerous they can be if junk, chargers sit somewhere in between those. Luckily chargers need not be expensive either, a decent quality single-bay charger can be had for ~$10 or so (for example USB powered ones from Xtar).

So you'll understand that personally I wouldn't even consider buying a cheap light+battery+charger combo. Even the low cost of included cell + charger would be considered wasted money. But a cheap flashlight? Sure why not (performance / build / durability / quality / UI issues aside ).

As for what you bought: if you can, try that charger with other Li-ion(s). If you happen to own a multi-meter: time to get it out & do some measurements!

As mentioned above, keep it simple. Avoid anything XXXFire.

Ultrafire cells are notoriously known for dubious quality, a complete lack of QC and are plain dangerous. Im surprised their even still legal to buy or sell.

A simple vent with flame that can result from using substandard batteries and chargers is extremely dangerous leading to property damage and significant injury. ( All things that have happened and are documented on CPF. )

We had one member that has permanent lung damage, although that incident was attributed to cheap China CR123's that are also never a good idea to buy.

If you want rechargeables stick with genuine AW, Orbtronic or KeepPower cells and a time proven, quality, charger. There are other brands, but those were the first that came to mind.

Saving $13.00 or whatever is trivial compared to hospital bills and a permeant, life altering, disability.

Wow thank you so much for the education. So the battery and charger I have are bad news?

Just to be sure, I should keep the flashlight I have, and buy a reliable 18650 charger and battery from a name brand like Sony, Panasonic etc?

Or should I throw the whole thing away and get new everything?

Chances are the light itself is fine, but that charger and the cells have to go..... Safety man, no price tag.

Without incident, I have used ****fire batteries for years. That said, from cheap to expensive, without incident, for years, I too have used various chargers. That said, I currently use a Nitecore D4 battery charger and Panasonic inside, protected 18650 Li-ion batteries.

I write the above, not to get into any sort of debate or argument but to make the point, that despite not having any troubles with lesser gear, wisdom demands that when I when I was able, I step up to better quality batteries and charges so I will continue not having any troubles and I have done so.

OK thanks. I will look for better batteries and chargers than.

I started to look on Amazon and eBay. So I have two followup questions.

First, I noticed on eBay for batteries made by say Panasonic. One such listing is Panasonic "made in China" and another one claims to be "made in Japan". I assume the Japanese made version of Panasonic is a safe bet and the China version could be a faked?

Second, do chargers and batteries need to be matched up brand for brand? Or can they mix? Will using a brand X charger with the brand Y battery be OK, or there could be subtle differences that may affect performance or safety?

When you use batteries in series, yes, use the same mAh capacity, same brand, and same age. Gear best have the xtar vc4 charger for less than 20$. Keeppower brand batteries are pretty cheap as well.

Miamicuse said:

First, I noticed on eBay for batteries made by say Panasonic. One such listing is Panasonic "made in China" and another one claims to be "made in Japan". I assume the Japanese made version of Panasonic is a safe bet and the China version could be a faked?

Second, do chargers and batteries need to be matched up brand for brand? Or can they mix? Will using a brand X charger with the brand Y battery be OK, or there could be subtle differences that may affect performance or safety?

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The made in Japan is suppose to have better characteristics. I don't have personal experience and I'm repeating what I've read on this forum. Can't say which thread as I've read so many.

In the case of the Nitecore D4, you can simultaneously mix and match as you choose; manufacture, chemistry and battery size. The brains in the D4 charger will figure it out for you.

OK so now I am doing the charger and battery shopping.

First I am looking at the charger, and after searching around, I think it would be wise for me to buy a "4 bay" intelligent charger so I can charge AA and AAA rechargeable batteries at the same time I charge 18650s. I have several land line cordless phones that I use AA eneloop that occasionally need charging and using the phone stand charger takes 8 hours.

I saw a brand called NITECORE and it seems to be popular. Is this a good option? What seems to puzzle me is the price on eBay is a bit confusing in that I saw a NITECORE i2 charger that is being bidded by 12 people with a current price of $12.80 free shipping and there is another item same charger for buy it now at $11.99. Surely those bidding on that item to a higher price are not dumb, what's the catch? Both are "new", both are free shipping, same specs, both items are being shipping from the US...strange. I assume these intelligent chargers I can at the same time charge four batteries of different types say two 18650 and two AA right?

Also, it seems a single bay charger for a single battery is not much cheaper than say a two bay or four bay charger. Obviously a single charger is more portable for travel but for in home or in car use better to get a 2 or 4 bay right?

By the way I found a brand called EBL that is very low priced that can even charge those 9V smoke alarm batteries, and you can get EBL charger plus two EBL batteries for $10. That is also bad news like UltraFire right?

Edited to add: Scratch the EBL chargers. I saw in the details that:

1. Only fit for AA/AAA/C/D/18650 Batteries, please do not charge some other types of batteries!
2. Please do not charge batteries in different sizes or capacities at the same time!
3. Please keep the battery away from miost and heat!

So, I think I better go with the smarter charger that I can mix and match batteries.

Miamicuse said:

I saw a brand called NITECORE and it seems to be popular. Is this a good option? What seems to puzzle me is the price on eBay is a bit confusing in that I saw a NITECORE i2 charger that is being bidded by 12 people with a current price of $12.80 free shipping and there is another item same charger for buy it now at $11.99.

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Ebay lowest price is a good way to get burned with a counterfeit. Nitecore is nominally a good brand. Buy from a reputable seller for best results.

Miamicuse said:

Surely those bidding on that item to a higher price are not dumb, what's the catch? Both are "new", both are free shipping, same specs, both items are being shipping from the US...strange.

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It's a toss up when you buy on Ebay. I don't suggest it with lithium ion and chargers.

more_vampires said:

Ebay lowest price is a good way to get burned with a counterfeit. Nitecore is nominally a good brand. Buy from a reputable seller for best results.


It's a toss up when you buy on Ebay. I don't suggest it with lithium ion and chargers.

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++++

Miamicuse said:

I assume these intelligent chargers I can at the same time charge four batteries of different types say two 18650 and two AA right?

Also, it seems a single bay charger for a single battery is not much cheaper than say a two bay or four bay charger. Obviously a single charger is more portable for travel but for in home or in car use better to get a 2 or 4 bay right?

So, I think I better go with the smarter charger that I can mix and match batteries.

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It is definitely a good idea to go for a 'smart' charger. Generally this means that they stop charging, when the batteries are full. This is an important safety feature - especially for Lithium-anything batteries. I would also go for a multi-channel charger, that takes care of every single battery individually. Besides the safety factor, this also helps to increase the lifespan of the rechargeable batteries.

When you say "reputable seller" do you mean an online store that specialized in batteries? Or do you mean large online merchants like Amazon, Best Buy...that would source the items from legit suppliers? I looked on Amazon and they too sell these chargers and batteries but often times they are sold via "third parties" which from the looks of it they are basically similar merchants on eBay.

Miamicuse said:

When you say "reputable seller" do you mean an online store that specialized in batteries? Or do you mean large online merchants like Amazon, Best Buy...that would source the items from legit suppliers? I looked on Amazon and they too sell these chargers and batteries but often times they are sold via "third parties" which from the looks of it they are basically similar merchants on eBay.

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The problem with Amazon is they are sort of a "common carrier" for a whole lot of individual merchants. For example, *I* am Amazon (or I used to be.) I sold books on Amazon and would dropship to one of their distribution centers. It was a PITA and the volume and profit weren't there, so I quit doing it.

...so you can't really trust "Amazon," since it might be in fact... ME. (Just kidding, you can trust me, I have a rep here for not screwing people over.)

Reputable dealers? Illumination Supply, Mountain Electronics, Goinggear, there are many many many. Pretty much any dealer who has a CPF presence is very likely good-to-go.

Buy from Ebay and Amazon and you could be buying from Kim Jong Un.

Miamicuse said:

When you say "reputable seller" do you mean an online store that specialized in batteries? Or do you mean large online merchants like Amazon, Best Buy...that would source the items from legit suppliers? I looked on Amazon and they too sell these chargers and batteries but often times they are sold via "third parties" which from the looks of it they are basically similar merchants on eBay.

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Considering the bad reputation sellers have on e-Bay, people who still buy on e-Bay deserve to have their intelligence challenged. I buy everything I can from Amazon.

I have no reason to challenge the quality of Nitecore. In my opinion, they have an excellent reputation, a great product mix and the several product purchases that I've made from their product mix, I'll totally happy with and have no reason, when I'm able to buy more of their product line, which I will be doing, not to buy additional Nitecore products.

Nitecore D4 charger.

Note that the order is filled by Amazon. I don't know if EASTSHINE, the manufacturing rep behind Amazon's distribution center, sells on e-Bay but due to a shipping delay on one flashlight order, I've had e-mail interactions with company personnel and I'm very happy with the fast response and positive interchange.

more_vampires said:

Buy from Ebay and Amazon and you could be buying from Kim Jong Un.

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And we all know what happens if you buy from Kim Jong-un and don't leave positive feedback.

I don't want to buy from Kim Jong Un!!! Terrible haircut he has probably using battery operated hair trimmers powered by faked batteries!

Miamicuse said:

I don't want to buy from Kim Jong Un!!! Terrible haircut he has probably using battery operated hair trimmers powered by faked batteries!

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Seriously though, counterfeit products and crystal meth are main NK exports. Kim Jong would sell you a sawdust filled Ultrafire battery in a heartbeat.

Parrot Quack said:

And we all know what happens if you buy from Kim Jong-un and don't leave positive feedback.

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He nukes people for that. We should stop making fun of him! Stop ignoring him nuking you!