18650 Battery Charger, USB Powered, AU $1.42 at BuyInCoins

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Russ on 01/04/2016 - 23:18 buyincoins.com (362 clicks)

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Ever wanted to try an 18650 battery in your flashlight, but you don't have a charger suitable for 18650 batteries? Well this is a charger for very little money.

From memory, normal price for this item is about AU$2.00, so the discount isn't huge. It is currently US$1.09, but if you select AUD at the top-left corner of the webpage, all prices will be shown in AUD, and you will be charged in AUD when you go through PayPal.

Note that BIC is actually listing this as a mini powerbank without a battery. As a powerbank, it would be very low capacity (only a single 18650!), so I think it is better to describe it as a battery charger, and ignore its other capabilities.

As a charger, I'm afraid it doesn't have an indicator to show full charge. If you want one with an indicator LED, they are about twice the price: http://www.buyincoins.com/item/37825.html

This charger doesn't come with a micro USB cable, but most people own one of those. If you don't own a cable, BIC also sell this charger with a cable for 36 cents more: http://www.buyincoins.com/item/35357.html

You can power the charger by plugging into a computer, a USB phone charger, or a powered USB hub.

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• 

  0PriceJack0 on 01/04/2016 - 23:24

  18650 mAh in one cell? well, if it's true, it will take a day to charge it and i have a boom in your bag lol

  • 

    Russ on 01/04/2016 - 23:26

    +7

    18650 is the type of battery, not its capacity. The name comes from its size, 18mm diameter and 65mm long. Typically they are 2000-3000mAh, but that rating might be in "Chinese mAh", similar to Chinese lumen ratings for torches.

    • 

      [Deactivated] on 02/04/2016 - 01:06

      "Chinese mAh" love it.

      • 

        Russ on 02/04/2016 - 12:41

        I'm not sure if people are thinking I was trying to be humorous. I wasn't, my comments are based on many "3000mAh" batteries listed on sites like dx.com, and in the comments section, many people said "actual capacity is more like 1600mAh".

        Even in some of the listings it says "capacity 3000mAh Actual capacity 2600mAh", example http://www.dx.com/p/fandyfire-super-power-18650-3000mah-rech…

      • 

        [Deactivated] on 02/04/2016 - 19:53

        +1

        @Russ: no I definitely know you weren't being humorous. I've bought various no-name 18650s before and 'Chinese mAh' is the best way to explain it.

• 

  Russ on 01/04/2016 - 23:30

  I always get a laugh out of the way many lithium-ion battery brands have the word "fire" in their name, like "ultrafire". Prophetic much?

  • 

    scrimshaw on 02/04/2016 - 00:13

    +3

    The Ultrafire brand also has half a dozen spin-offs.

    Superfire
    FandyFire
    Trustfire
    Singfire
    Prairiefire
    Windfire

    They all may as well be called XSplodeyFire

    • 

      Russ on 02/04/2016 - 12:45

      I wonder if it's an unintentional mis-translation. I always remember the batteries that were included with toys when I was a kid. I think "missile" or "rocket" brand is what the manufacturers intended, but the translation printed on the batteries was "flying bomb".

    • 

      WT on 02/04/2016 - 15:10

      none of the fire brand batteries are good

• 

  aussieprepper on 01/04/2016 - 23:51

  +2

  yea unless HKJ says shes safe don't touch it!

• 

  elusive on 01/04/2016 - 23:58

  +2

  I'd recommend passing on this one. Overcharging Li-ion batteries can be rather risky, and you never know how well the charge termination works on something like this.

  • 

    scrimshaw on 02/04/2016 - 00:09

    +1

    This one also does not accept protected cells. In most DIY powerbanks, you need to use unprotected cells because the protection circuit added to the end of the 18650 battery makes it longer — it might not fit.

  • 

    Russ on 02/04/2016 - 13:23

    you never know how well the charge termination works on something like this.

    From one of the "customer photos", the charge and step-up chip is an MP3401. While I haven't found a datasheet for this chip (many charger chips only have datasheets written in Chinese), here is a review for a similar device, same chip, where the reviewer says "For this price is very good product. It have good protection, so it will not over charge or over discharge you battery."

    http://budgetlightforum.com/comment/803278#comment-803278

    I realize that isn't a definitive answer, so I recommend you put the whole device inside a ceramic coffee cup while charging, to reduce the chance of damage if any smoke or fire happens.

• 

  scrimshaw on 02/04/2016 - 00:05

  +2

  The Nitecore i2 is $23.7 from an Australian supplier
  http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Nitecore-i2-Intellicharger-Univer…

  and if that is not good enough for you (maybe you'd like to charge 4 batteries at once, both Eneloops and Lithium ion) you can buy the Xtar VC4 universal charger for $21 USD from Gearbest
  http://www.gearbest.com/chargers/pp_160440.html

  (I own both products mentioned above. The VC4 is without a doubt the better value charger)

  Do note the Xtar VC4 does not come with a power supply, and needs a USB power source. A good quality 2.1 amp tablet charger does the trick, but your computer will do in a pinch.

  I don't see why you'd buy this junk, which is not really built for charging batteries and might not have any overcharge protection.

  • 

    sav11 on 02/04/2016 - 00:30

    I take it you're happy with the Xtar VC4? Any problems or deficiencies with it? Do you have an opinion on VC4 versus Nitecore D4?

    • 

      scrimshaw on 02/04/2016 - 00:43

      +2

      Deficiencies? Well, it doesn't do 1 amp for every channel. So putting in 4 batteries means that 2 amps is shared equally for each battery — 0.5amp each.

      If you only charge two batteries, both batteries will get 1 amp each, therefore charging faster. Four batteries will take twice as long.

      But chargers that can actually do 4x1 amps are a bit more expensive, and they generally require a little fan to keep them cool, which adds to the price tag of the device and also fan noise.

      Technical review with all the geeky data

      I don't have the nitecore D4, but it has more features: namely it charges LiFePO4 batteries in addition to Ni-mh and LIOn. It's also slightly smarter since it also gives you a countdown timer, plus some additional charging modes.

      The VC4 only handles Ni-MH, and Lithium Ion, and a bit more basic, but is cheaper. You also need to BYO USB power supply, as mentioned above.

      • 

        sav11 on 02/04/2016 - 01:04

        Thanks mate, appreciate the detailed answer and info :)

• 

  [Deactivated] on 02/04/2016 - 01:24

  +2

  I've got one of these and honestly they're pretty average. I'm not sure on the exact efficiency of it, though with a Panasonic 3,400mAh 18650 it'll charge my phone for around an hour and a half.

  1000mAh x 5v = 5wh
  5wh x 1.5hours = 7.5wh
  3000mAh x 3.7v = 11.1wh
  <70% efficiency based on this.
  (Using 3000mah just in case it's a lower quality cell)

  Honestly, the effiency isn't high enough for it to be worth it imo. Some may say "yeh but $1.40", to that I simply ask they look up the price of xiaomi power banks, note that they include high-quality cells and 90%+ effiency then calculate the difference in price between the powerbank and an equal number of cells.

  Edit: also note I don't even mention the poor chRging controller. I wouldn't ever actually trust charging an 18650 inside that thing… For real world use, I'd say just go with a cheap xiaomi powerbank or something. You're paying about the same anyway once you factor in battery costs.

  • 

    Russ on 02/04/2016 - 13:25

    I'm not suggesting it is any good as a powerbank, I say that in the post, even adding "I think it is better to describe it as a battery charger, and ignore its other capabilities."