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NITECORE 'New' i4 Smart Battery Charger $17.89 + Delivery @Zapals

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The NEW i4 is extremely efficient (up to 1500mA) as it is able to charge batteries twice as fast as the i4 ( up to 1000mA ), which will drastically reduce charging time.

Zapals listing normal price as $33. This the new i4 charger apparently.

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  • +2

    How is 1500mA twice as fast as 1000mA?

    • the link shown:
      Max output on the i4: 750mA
      Max output on the NEW i4: 1500mA

  • Lot of mixed reviews about Zapals on Ozbargain - Anyone a regular buying from them ?

    • +3

      Ive not had a problem with zapals .. including all the free stuff they used to give away.

    • +1

      I've bought from them a couple of times, shipping is pretty slow but they eventually arrive without issue.

    • +1

      Not a regular, purchased from them a legitimate qcy qy7 and qy7 Bluetooth headphones. Took 2 months to arrive and I could tell the difference between the real thing and generic.

      they did inform me the difference (hence half price).

      No issues with the products just really slow delivery time.

    • Hey mate I ordered some headphones from these guys….they sent the item on the 8th of November and I am still waiting….its been >60 days. I had to open a dispute with paypal….and they said to wait two more weeks. If not I've asked for a refund.

    • Slow delivery but arrived at last

  • +3

    Shipping options:
    Regular non tracking: Australia Post - (7-15 business days) AU$6.29
    Registered with tracking: Australia Post - (5-8 business days) AU$8.87
    DHL: DHL Express (3-7 business days) AU$20.32
    EMS: EMS (5-11 business days) AU$21.59
    FedEx: FedEx Express (3-7 business days) AU$33.79

    • Thanks aether

  • +5
    • +3

      D4 for the sake of a few $ difference

  • are these good chargers?
    d or i series?

    • +2

      I have the older model i4 and it is a great charger, will charge anything… never had an issue. Great for travel also because the power plug is a standard figure 8 connector so its easy to get power cables wherever I travel to.

    • +1

      I have the D4 and it's been pretty reliable.

    • +1

      only difference between I and D is the D showing more information (has a screen) and maybe a few features not available in the I series. TBH, a regular person would not know the difference if they just want to just plug and charge batteries.

      • Thx for the reply. Guess I will get 1 and start collecting eneloop.

        • the i series doesn't have slow charge for NiMh battery but the D series does. People saying this will affect the life time of eneloop.

        • @syl, forget Eneloop. All Aus stock of the non Pro versions are Chinese made, and they have been tested to significantly fall short of the Japanese version still available in other countries. Pros are fine still but if you want Pros though, just get the Japanese made Ikea Ladda 2450 mAhs, these are the Pros anyway just a different wrapper.

          For 1800 cycle batteries, same as Eneloop stds that everyone raves about, Fujitsu are still Japanese made and from the same factory.

          @Leetec, all batteries have a C rate. Its relevant to discharge or use, and recharge. I charge AA nimh at no more than 1 amp, and AAA at somewhere near .5 amp.

        • @Tuba:
          IKEA? Really?
          Thx for ur advice!

          I missed the eneloop bandwagon lol

        • +1

          @syl: The IKEAs were tested and the curve results were the spitting image of Eneloop Pros, and under $10 for a pack of 4. Theres little doubt they are made in the same place, same spec, same materials. Pack says made in Japan too. But note, they are Pros, not std Eneloop. More grunt, more capacity, less recharges, less low self discharge by LSD standards, but still significantly LSD compared to most rechargeables. Fujitsus are standard Japanese LSD Eneloops. Sanyo, Fujitsu and Panasonic were all involved in the Eneloops R&D. Looks like this… http://www.fdk.com/denchi-e/rechargeable_battery/standard/in…

          Sadly Panasonic bought out 100% of Sanyos battery division (its more complex but that is close enough) and some regions (Oceania being one) get the new batteries from a Chinese factory (garbage), while more established markets get versions from the original Japanese factory (excellent). All Fujitsu rechargeable are still made in the Japanese factory.

  • I love NC charges but it would be great if they can introduce discharge function…

  • Can these charges charge the enloop batteries?

    • yes no issues, charge them with mine.

  • Can they discharge batteries? Can they charge 18650 Lithium Li-Ion cells?

    • From my knowledge of owning one, it doesn't discharge batteries. However it does charge 18650 Lithium Ion Cell.

      EDIT: I own the Nitecore D4.

  • Very good price for this charger

  • only disadvantage vs la crosse charger that the this charger is slower on 4 batteries charge - max 375mA, La crosse could be set at 750mA for each battery

    • La Crosse also cost more, requires an adapter/AU Power Supply and doesn't charger 18650 Li-Ion Batteries.

      • yeah only if charging 4 at 750mA is available, i would get the new one.

        bad thing about la crosse is the "jump start" or require dummy to jump start a depleted battery

        this one seems able to "jump start" directly

  • Have one, very good for my endless supply of Eneloops and the 18650s that power my torch.

  • Thanks grabbed one

  • Cheers, got one. Now I just need to get some rechargeable batteries

    • What, you've been a member for 5 days and you don't have a single Eneloop?!
      If you don't have at least 38 within two days you could be banned! 😉

      • I have been on the lookout :)

  • +1

    Fast charging a is a great way to kill your batteries, always slow charge if possible.

    • Meaning buy a different charger OR does this have an option to slow charge

      • This charger cannot reduce the charge current for NiMh batteries, unlike the Nitecore D4. See my comment below.

    • +4

      Mic is right, but I'll put a little more background into his statement. You want a smart charger, but you must also make sure it doesn't charge too fast.

      First, I should clarify that this charger will only charge large lithium batteries at 1.5A. When it detects NiMh batteries, the maximum charge current for those is 500mA - which is lower than the previous model, which could output 750mA when only one or two batteries are being charged. See the table in the 1-page manual for more information: http://charger.nitecore.com/html/uploads/ueditor/image/produ…

      Now back to the information about charging NiMh batteries:
      One of the main killers of batteries is heat. Charging a battery too fast (or discharging it too fast for that matter) will cause the battery to heat up. Too hot and the pressure inside the battery will increase. All NiMh batteries have a pressure relief membrane which ruptures when the pressure becomes too great, and once it has ruptured, your battery begins a downward spiral of reducing capacity. They also leak a little, and this can damage whatever you put the battery into.

      How fast a charge is too fast? Well, I consider a charger that takes less than 3 hours to charge the battery (charging from totally flat) to be too fast. To equate that to charge current, you need to know the battery capacity.

      For an example, I'll pick an AAA eneloop, with a capacity of 750mAh. Due to the inefficiencies in charging, you will have to push 1.4x750= 1050mAh into the battery to fully charge it. So to charge that battery in three hours, the charge current should be 1050/3 = 350mA. If you charge it at significantly higher current than that, you run the danger of it getting too hot at the end of the charge cycle and rupturing the battery's pressure seal.

      This charger can charge at up to 500mA if you are charging one or two batteries. This is too high for AAA eneloops. When charging three at once, one of the batteries will receive 500mA while the other two receive 375mA. Only when you are charging four batteries at once does the current come down to 375mA per battery, and while this is tiny bit higher than the 350mA I recommend, it's okay. So if you are charging NiMh batteries with 750mAh capacity or lower, like AAA eneloops, this charger will be risky unless you are charging four at the same time.

      For AA eneloops, this charger will be fine, although a little slow compared to many other chargers. To charge a 2000mAh eneloop fully will take 1.4x2000= 2800mAh, and at 500mA, that will take up to 5.6 hours. If charging three or four batteries the rate will be 375mA, so the charge time will be up to 7.5 hours. Many other chargers (e.g. the Panasonic BQ-CC16 "smart fast" charger) will charge the same batteries in 3-4 hours, so the Nitecore I4 is quite slow by comparison.

      If you are planning on charging AAA batteries, pick the Nitecore D4 in preference to the I4. When charging four batteries the D4 is the same as the I4, at 375mA per battery. But when charging fewer that four batteries the D4 lets you select "low" mode for the batteries that would otherwise get 750mA, reducing the current to 300mA. The display on the D4 tells you what the charging current is, it's easy to select low mode.

  • Anyone know of a good online store to get 18650 batteries

  • How do these compare to a Maha MH-C9000?

  • Can anyone recommend a charger with discharge function? Is discharging 18650 cells really that important??

    • There is no need to discharge lithium batteries, like your 18650. It doesn't do anything useful.

      Not so with NiMh batteries, they occasionally need to be "refreshed" becuase their capacity has dropped. A few charge+discharge cycles usually brings their capacity back up.

      I don't think there are any chargers which will discharge a lithium battery.

      • I have the IKEA charger, but it does not support 18650. Would the D2 be good enough? I also have IKEA LADA AA, are the Li-ion or NiMh?

        • Ikea LADDA are NiMh. Nitecore D2 will charge 18650s and AA LADDA batteries. I have the D4, works well, but it won't discharge batteries either.

          If you do want to discharge NiMh batteries, you don't need a special charger for that, just use a flashlight that takes a single NiMh battery. Don't use a flashlight with more than one battery, invariably one battery will run flat before the others do, and then that battery will be reverse-charged by the other batteries.

        • @Russ: Cool. So getting the D2 then. Should I store my 18650 and LADDA AA cells with zero charge or full charge?? Sometimes I do not use them for months.

        • @bargainaus:

          Lithium batteries shouldn't be left flat for any significant amount of time, so definitely don't store them when flat.

          This page is from a reputable website, essentially they say Lithium-ion batteries should be stored in the fridge (fridge section, not the freezer), and be stored partially charged - they say "the optimal charge voltage is 3.92V/cell", which is about 60% charged.
          http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_li…

          This page is also interesting, saying how Lithium-ion batteries degrade with time, even when they aren't being used, and gives the reasoning for 3.92V/cell:
          http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/bu_808b_what_caus…

          NiMh batteries don't care whether they are full or flat, you can store them either way with no bad effects.

        • @Russ: Thanks for detailed explanation, helped a lot. I hope other OZB users will find this info helpful as well.

  • Sorry for any inconvenience as this is out of topic. Can anyone who has purchased from Zapals before tell me the shipping option on Australia Post with tracking 5-8 working days means? Reason is I made a purchased on Jan 9 with 5-8 working days shipping and on Jan 13, I send an email to their Customer Service (CS) to enquire on the delivery status as my account is still showing processing. CS replied and mentioned item has been couriered on Jan 12. Today Jan 17, again saw my account status is still showing processing, email CS again to ask for tracking number and received one. When typed in tracking number with Austpost, it appeared as no events yet. CS asked me to wait patiently and to try again after 2-3days. What do they mean shipping : air parcel (5-8 business days)? Thanks in advance.

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