Test/review of Miboxer C4-12

[hammerjoe]

Which bay was the cell in? What you should do is mark that cell so you know which one it is and move it to another bay and charge there next time. Also I'd charge a different cell in the bay that is suspect. Could it possibly be related to the bay or maybe the cell was the problem?.............Just some thoughts.

Miboxer has recently come out with the "Upgrade C4-12" which has temperature reading displayed. Now whether it uses that in the charging algorithm I'm not sure............but I think it does based on the literature. That charger also has two yellow buttons and has some changes from the original C4-12 that make it more to my liking. I have not seen it available on Amazon, U.S. yet. Rather than get a spare Upgrade C4, I think I might be interested in the "Upgrade C4-12 as a 2nd unit. Price will likely be around $40 on Amazon is my guess.
http://www.miboxer.com/eng/p6u.html

Bingo. That might be my next charger. I will put the c4upgrade I just got on sale very quickly. LOL

[ven]

c4-12 are fantastic,


But the updated still looks to be the same with springs from the link pics. The weak spot being the connection to the slider neg pole. Easy to fix, but would prefer more beefed up. My vp1 and vp2 get used a lot(especially the vp1 i use in work, that is daily use for several years). No issue so far with spring/s .

But for user friendly simplicity, the c4-12 is spot on, i place cells in, no pressing, job done! Other chargers i have to press, select each time. Yes no big deal, but when using a lot, it wears thin. So these are kind of a breath of fresh air after 6 or 7+ years of charging cell/s daily.

[hammerjoe]

c4-12 are fantastic,


But the updated still looks to be the same with springs from the link pics. The weak spot being the connection to the slider neg pole. Easy to fix, but would prefer more beefed up. My vp1 and vp2 get used a lot(especially the vp1 i use in work, that is daily use for several years). No issue so far with spring/s .

But for user friendly simplicity, the c4-12 is spot on, i place cells in, no pressing, job done! Other chargers i have to press, select each time. Yes no big deal, but when using a lot, it wears thin. So these are kind of a breath of fresh air after 6 or 7+ years of charging cell/s daily.

I agree with you but for me is more the fact that the internal resistance of the battery matters and the charger adapts the charging on the go. I can only wonder how many batteries I have helped ruin faster because I would just put them on my litokola 500 or the opus bt700 charging at 400 or 500ma when their internal resistance was going up.

How many chargers out there take in account the internal resistance to determine what ma the battery can take while charging?

[hammerjoe]

Folks dont miss this oportunity.
The new c4-12 upgrade is on sale on banggood for $28.95.

I placed an order and I will be selling the C4upgrade soon.

[ven]

I agree with you but for me is more the fact that the internal resistance of the battery matters and the charger adapts the charging on the go. I can only wonder how many batteries I have helped ruin faster because I would just put them on my litokola 500 or the opus bt700 charging at 400 or 500ma when their internal resistance was going up.

How many chargers out there take in account the internal resistance to determine what ma the battery can take while charging?

Quite a few of the more recent chargers use IR . Only down side is button tops tend to add to the resistance, so some can get a real low rate. Of course you can manually set the rate and over ride the selected .

[hammerjoe]

Quite a few of the more recent chargers use IR . Only down side is button tops tend to add to the resistance, so some can get a real low rate. Of course you can manually set the rate and over ride the selected .

Can you name a few so that I can check them out?
I am thinking the RC3000 might do it but that is a beast on its own league.

[ven]

Can you name a few so that I can check them out?
I am thinking the RC3000 might do it but that is a beast on its own league.

Off the top of my head, nitecore sc4, this one was a close contender for me. For a list, not sure actually how many there are today.
https://lygte-info.dk/info/indexBatt...gers%20UK.html

[tripplec]

I looked at mine and don't see a version #. It has temperature displayed for the cell which I believe the V3 does not. The black embossed printing on the back of the charger is hard to read if its there at all.

[hammerjoe]

The upgraded version that I bought on banggood has finally shipped. It should be here in a couple weeks.

[Rexlion]

My Gyrfalcon has an auto mode like that; pop the cell in and the machine does the rest. But the readout only shows voltage and charge current. I like the idea of having more info presented on screen.

[hammerjoe]

Got the c4-12upraded version and its bigger than the c4upgrade version and theres a few differences.
The unit is bigger and it comes with a brick power supply.

The display now shows the cell temp

It seems to behave differently as well.
When a cell is put in it will check the internal resistance.
If its over 1000 ohm it will display --- instead of 999 and it will show Zero for Amps as well for a few seconds before display starts showing amperage and it starts at 0.010

It has some bugs as well. With a battery with high internal resistance end its full the display is wonky. The IR display show artifacts like and both the Ohm and A symbol is lit.
I will take a picture later.


I sent an email to customer support and I am waiting for a reply.

[turnipfarmer]

Anyone know where I can get the upgrade version from in the UK?

Is this the old one at Amazon?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Battery-Cha.../dp/B07CPWDXGX

[ven]

Try Norb at Ecolux shop, he might have them in stock.

[hammerjoe]

I would not recommend to buy any of miboxer c4 versions out there except perhaps the first one tested by HJK.
I have two models the c4upgrade and the c4-12 new version and it stops charging the nimh batteries at 1.40v.

[tripplec]

Well I do have a C4-12 version with temp sensors as it does display the temp. I have the box still and there is no version number on it. I don't use it a lot but its working properly as far as I can see. NiMH can charge up to 1A and no more which I am ok with. I thought it might go higher but don't really care. I like the display and its clarity. From the original review by HJK on this its an excellent charge for most owners. Size is a non issue as is the USB port I'd never use.

[hammerjoe]

Well I do have a C4-12 version with temp sensors as it does display the temp. I have the box still and there is no version number on it. I don't use it a lot but its working properly as far as I can see. NiMH can charge up to 1A and no more which I am ok with. I thought it might go higher but don't really care. I like the display and its clarity. From the original review by HJK on this its an excellent charge for most owners. Size is a non issue as is the USB port I'd never use.

You have the original c4-12 wich per HJK is a very good charger. The max amp for nimh is 1A. The question is when its finished charging what is the voltage of the cell displayed?
The two that I have tap out at 1.40V and for newer batteries it should hit 1.5V otherwise the battery is not fully charged. Thats my understanding.

In the HJK graph pictures it shows that the nimh are charged up to 1.5v+.

[hammerjoe]

For the heck of it I put in two of my 18650 and it only charges them to 4.18v.

Overall I am disapointed with Miboxer. The two C4 models that I have behave the same way...

[WalkIntoTheLight]

For the heck of it I put in two of my 18650 and it only charges them to 4.18v.

That's about right for lithium-ion. Allow for a big of voltage depression after a full 4.20v charge, and 4.18v is quite common by the time I take them off my chargers. It's certainly within the +/- 0.05v spec, and personally I like it to be a bit under 4.20v rather than a bit over.

[hammerjoe]

That's about right for lithium-ion. Allow for a big of voltage depression after a full 4.20v charge, and 4.18v is quite common by the time I take them off my chargers. It's certainly within the +/- 0.05v spec, and personally I like it to be a bit under 4.20v rather than a bit over.

To be honest I am not very familiar with the Lion cells, I use mainly nimh batteries and the Miboxer is letting me down.

[WalkIntoTheLight]

To be honest I am not very familiar with the Lion cells, I use mainly nimh batteries and the Miboxer is letting me down.

Yes, it doesn't look good for NiMH. FWIW, a lot of "combination chemistry" chargers tend to be great for lithium-ion, but not-as-good for NiMH. Better than your Miboxer, though.

For NiMH, the best charger I have found is the little BQ-CC17 charger they include in Eneloop starter kits sold at places like Costco. It's slow, but always gives a full charge to every AA and AAA cell, and always terminates when its done.

[Mishanchik]

To be honest I am not very familiar with the Lion cells, I use mainly nimh batteries and the Miboxer is letting me down.

Judging by your topic "Amazon Basic Silver, did I get duds?" you should learn to use chargers New Miboxer C4-12 perfectly charges Ni-Mh cells. Perhaps you have soiled the contacts of the charger or the contacts of the cells, or manually set the current at which the charger cannot catch the -dv / dt. I use New Miboxer C4-12 for charging Ni-Mh cells and I am very pleased with this charger.

[hammerjoe]

Judging by your topic "Amazon Basic Silver, did I get duds?" you should learn to use chargers New Miboxer C4-12 perfectly charges Ni-Mh cells. Perhaps you have soiled the contacts of the charger or the contacts of the cells, or manually set the current at which the charger cannot catch the -dv / dt. I use New Miboxer C4-12 for charging Ni-Mh cells and I am very pleased with this charger.

Fair enough, I will clean the contacts altough I dont recall ever touching them.
The tests were all done in auto mode, did not select a current. I will do that with the test as well.

Which model of the C4-12 do you have and does it charge the batteries to 1.45v-1.55v?
Mine stops at 1.40v but I have the new c4-12upgrade and also have the C4upgrade. Both stop charging my brand new cells at 1.40v.

[Mishanchik]

Fair enough, I will clean the contacts altough I dont recall ever touching them.
The tests were all done in auto mode, did not select a current. I will do that with the test as well.

Which model of the C4-12 do you have and does it charge the batteries to 1.45v-1.55v?
Mine stops at 1.40v but I have the new c4-12upgrade and also have the C4upgrade. Both stop charging my brand new cells at 1.40v.

I have New version of Miboxer C4-12. Ladda Ni-Mh from Ikea AA and AAA it charge the batteries to 1.48V.

[hammerjoe]

I have New version of Miboxer C4-12. Ladda Ni-Mh from Ikea AA and AAA it charge the batteries to 1.48V.

Thats what I like to hear. I am trying to get a replacement from Miboxer. I really want to keep this charger.

BTW does your charger looks like this one?

[Mishanchik]

Yes, that is exactly what it looks like. Only you have a protective film not removed, and this is in your case - may be the cause of the incorrect operation of your charger )

[hammerjoe]

Yes, that is exactly what it looks like. Only you have a protective film not removed, and this is in your case - may be the cause of the incorrect operation of your charger )

AH, good catch but I think the problem is because I cant precisely place the charging facing north so the electromagnetic rays interfere with its operation.

[hammerjoe]

I thought that Miboxer would have available a new revision of the Miboxer C4-12 so I ordered one last month.
I got it in the mail and indeed I was right. The previous one I had was Version V2 as per the manual and this one is version V2.2.

So I was excited because I thought that I would have a fully functional unit that worked properly.
My V2 the nimh batteries are not fully charged and the unit displays artfacs in the screen.

Alas this new unit is worse than V2 because it stops working altogether.
I made a video to show the issues here : https://youtu.be/mrXP7tiQRlQ

First of all it now starts charging cells at 300mA. which on itself is not a problem, but I tried different ones and I never seen it drop below that, so that is a difference compared to V2.
Then when the battery is full it doesnt display FULL like V2. Its a minor quirk that I can live with.

And then, worse of all the unit goes berserk and stops working properly. You can see it in the video towards the end.
And it doesnt matter which slot and/or the number of cells are used. It ends up in this loop and never gets out of it.
I have to remove the cells for it to stop.

I have contacted Mixboxer support and wait for their response but right now I cant recommend this company. Its my second unit that does not work properly.

[tripplec]

Check the back and packaging. It maybe a clone, not original oem product.
Return if you can.

[hammerjoe]

Check the back and packaging. It maybe a clone, not original oem product.
Return if you can.

I looked closely and I dont see any evidence of it being a clone. Perhaps opening would provide with the definitive proof but Im not going to do that right now.

I have started the refund process with the store.
But what disappointed me most was Miboxer answer that was simply to go back to the place where I bought it ask for a refund.
They dont seem to care about the issue of one of their chargers.

I will not buy another Miboxer product nor will I recommend them.