Best Battery Charger?

[VickyCaramel]

I know there are lots to chose from. But what I really would like is one that can tell me if my battery needs replacing. It doesn't actually have to have a "Your battery is fucked" display... but it would be nice if I could check to see if the battery is still taking and holding a charge.

I have been looking at the Nitecore and I am not sure they do this. The Xtar VC2 seems it might?

 

[lemon22]

Good question. Doing some searches on the forum recently about this. People prefer different ones, whatta ya know, but I'm leaning towards the nitecore. It's good to ask a lot of questions first coz you buy something and then realise you wanted a certain functionality. Nice to not end up with loads of different devices when one will do the job.

 

[fraserd123]

I have the nitecore charger it's been brilliant had it for around a year and a half no problems it's the 2 battery charger they also do a 4 battery charger. So would highly recommend


Sent from my iPhone using Planet of the Vapes

 

[oldhippydude]

I also use nitecore but I think the op is looking for more High tech.

 

[VickyCaramel]

I also use nitecore but I think the op is looking for more High tech.

It doesn't have to be high tech, I just want some way to know if a battery is fooked. If none of them can do this, then I might as well get another fairly basic charger like the nitecore i2. ...the more basic, the less can go wrong with it right?

(this will be my 2nd charger. I want to have two so that if one breaks... and you know it would break just before a bank holiday weekend!)

 

[oldhippydude]

It doesn't have to be high tech, I just want some way to know if a battery is fooked. If none of them can do this, then I might as well get another fairly basic charger like the nitecore i2. ...the more basic, the less can go wrong with it right?

(this will be my 2nd charger. I want to have two so that if one breaks... and you know it would break just before a bank holiday weekend!)

I agree.
In my view you should have two of anything that is crucial to your vaping.
I use the nitecore i2 the two cell one and have recently bought the single cell nitecore um10 that can also be used as a 5v usb charger. I was drawn to the um10 because it has a screen that shows % battery charge Which I find useful.
Not what you are looking for though.

 

[VickyCaramel]

Having looked at some reviews, I don't think the Xtar is what i want either... but apparently, unlike other chargers, it completely shuts off when a battery is full rather than trickle charging. I kinda like that safety which is just £2 more.

Strange that so few of the youtube channels tackle things like this.

 

[Mr.Motivapr]

Having looked at some reviews, I don't think the Xtar is what i want either... but apparently, unlike other chargers, it completely shuts off when a battery is full rather than trickle charging. I kinda like that safety which is just £2 more.

Strange that so few of the youtube channels tackle things like this.

Hey Vicky,

Have you seen the new Digital chargers from Nitecore, sounds like what your after:
Nitecore Digicharger D4 | Nitecore.co.uk

They actually have an LCD to show how much charge the batteries are holding rather than relying on flashing LEDs.

 

[Mr.Motivapr]

Features of the Digital Charger:

• Capable of charging 4 batteries simultaneously
• Each of the four battery slots monitors and charges independently
• Compatible with and identifies Li-ion (26650, 22650, 18650, 17670, 18490, 17500, 18350, 16340(RCR123), 14500, 10440), Ni-MH and Ni-Cd (AA, AAA, AAAA, C) rechargeable batteries
• Optimized charging design for IMR batteries
• Integrated LCD panel clearly displays charging parameters and progress
• Two conveniently located side buttons allow easy selection of specific battery types and charging parameters
• Intelligent circuitry detects the battery type and status before entering automatic charge mode (CC, CV, dV/dt)
• Automatically detects battery power status and selects the appropriate voltage and charge mode (with the exception of LiFePO4 batteries which require manual selection)
• Compatible with LiFePO4 batteries
• Compatible with small capacity batteries
• Automatically stops charging when complete
• Features over-charge prevention to protect batteries
• Features temperature monitoring to prevent overheating
• Made from durable ABS (fire retardant / flame resistant)
• Features reverse polarity protection
• Designed for optimal heat dissipation
• Certified by RoHS, CE, FCC and CEC

 

[VickyCaramel]

Hey Vicky,

Have you seen the new Digital chargers from Nitecore, sounds like what your after:
Nitecore Digicharger D4 | Nitecore.co.uk

They actually have an LCD to show how much charge the batteries are holding rather than relying on flashing LEDs.

I did have a look at that again last night and didn't notice any feature that showed how much charge was going in or being held by the battery.

In the end I just bought the Nitecore i2, because it came with both wall and car plugs. And will also charge normal batteries.

By my way of thinking, I just need to know 3 things from a digital readout. Is it charging, has it finished charging, is it time I threw the battery away and bought a new one. Unless it can clearly tell me these three things, I may as well have some blinking lights and not spend the extra money.

I would have thought that if a charger is intelligent enough to know what battery you just put in it, it should be able to work out if the battery is still performing properly.