eyeball kid
Legend
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2016
- Messages
- 17,767
Now I've been using xtar chargers for vaping for many years but tended to use the little single cell ant charger or dual cell usb charger as I could pocket them easily for mods with no internal charger....
Yep, I was that vaper. More often than not, ease of use (aka laziness) would get the better of me and I'd charge within the mod.
Now I should know better than this as I've used more standard rechargeable batteries for decades in music equipment and had more than a few near misses over the year's.
Also I was more than aware that I was wasting a great deal of the life in my vaping cells by laying them open to whatever recharging circuit is inside the mod.
So I decided to make amends and move to charging all my vape cells when ever possible in a dedicated piece of kit for the job. (I still reserve the right to charge in the mod in an emergency but have upgraded my mods to ones with high quality charge circuits not 50p worth of questionable charge circuit at best ).
As I also need to vape a lot of AA and AAA cells for recording equipment I bought myself the Vc4s.
Then the good folks at xtar asked for apes to review their chargers and kindly sent me a Vc4s so this test sample will be heading into the giveaway section once it's up and running again.
The Xtar Vc4s.
Compatible with 3.6 V / 3.7 V Li-ion / IMR / INR / ICR batteries:
10440 14500 14650 16340 17335 17500 17670 18350 18490 18500 18650 18700 20700 21700 22650 25500 26650 32650.
1.2VNi-MH / Ni-CD: AAAA / AAA / AA / A / SC / C / D
Note: 20700/21700 protected batteries cannot be charged (I assume due to the extended size being larger than the slots rather than any tech issues as protected 18650 cells are welcome and I used a few myself).
The 4s arrives nicely boxed with full instructions inside. The charger is contact in a smart grey velvet tote bag which opens to reveal a smart black charger about the size of your average little 7" tablet but about a little over inch in depth.
You get an 80cm usb/micro usb charge lead which although marked as 2.5amp has the Orange tongue in the usb plug to denote it's rated for the Q 3.0 protocol (this means suitable for 3amp fast charging).
The body is made from fire resistant abs plastic. four charge slots are available with the two outer slots slightly larger for your 20700 and 21700 cells.
The steel spring loaded battery clampes are smooth in operation and not powerfully sprung as to be difficult to use.
The case has a huge amount of vent holes all over the base and sides to disperse any heat build up. Rubber feet keep the charger off the ground to allow airflow.
(Apologies for the screen protector but I want to keep this one perfect for the giveaway).
Above the four slots is a large led screen with two buttons one labelled "Disp" underneath. This buttons scrolls through Capacity current and internal resistance while the other one with the word Mode above is used to select the modes charging, Evaluation and storage.
The led screen displays four circular displays showing the battery voltage (0 -4.2v) and beneath is displayed the charging current (0.5amps-3amps).
Above the circles the display shows which mode your currently in (cap for capacity, ir for internal resistance.. More on those modes shortly).
At the bottom of each batteries display is listed the batter chemistry (LI-ion or NI-me) this will be
automatically detected.
The 4s in operation.
The charger has three operating modes that can be selected with the mode button.
1 charge mode, In charge mode the 4s recognizes the type of battery and adjusts to charge automatically.
2 - evaluation mode, this evaluates the effective capacity of the battery through a process of charging, discharging and recharging the battery.
3 - store mode, in case you need to store the battery at a nominal voltage (1.2V o 3.7V) to keep the battery in a good condition if it is not used for a long period. (Particularly good if you take advantage of fogstars Friday discount to build up a stock. Pop you batteries in and active this mode before storing.
Helpfully the 4s also can automatically recognise an over used, tired or a cell which may have been used to too low a voltage (mech user's will recognise this one) and then recondition that battery and hopefully save it to live another day (I had an old eleaf 18650 that was taken too low and the 4s successfully revived it back to use. Handy.
Issue's.
My workshop chargers charge AA and AAA cells at a choice of 0.5amps 1amps or 1.5amp as small cells do not liked to be charged too quickly. As the loaded charge rate on the 4s 2 amps it's been mentioned before that's this could be too high for optimum life and safety.
When charging AA and AAA cells the displayed rate of charge has hovered just above 1.4 amps on this charger so I don't know if its been technically addressed by xtar and not listed. All I can say is 2amps is as fast as I'd want to charge them. That said the other chargers that are the competition of the 4s are giving amp levels in excess of 6amp charging which is too high and dangerous, so for a simple plug and play universal charger it's understandable even if it does deliver the full 2amp, if a shade over ideal. Use good quality batteries people but that shouldn't need mentioning to you guy's.
The spring loaded charge connections can be a little aggressive on 21700 cells. Nothing serious but load them carefully to prevent any dents in the base of your cells.
No PP3 battery support.
I don't know about your house but I think I've used a c battery once for the granddaughters toy in the last five year and I haven't used a D cell since boom box's went out of fashion but I have many tools around the house that use PP3 cells.
Not a major issue for me as they are my battery of most use in the guitar world and have a wall full of PP3 chargers in the workshop but it would have been nice to have the option but I guess with this topping out at 4.2v that would have required a whole extra circuit.
Obviously you need to make sure you use a usb supply that's able to supply 3amps or above to get the best from the 4s (most modern phone charger plugs or smart usb towers have this ability). You can still use the charger with a lower output plug but it will obviously take longer to charge. It may not be the worse idea if your worried about charging AA or AAA batteries at 2amps as a lower overall input like a 1amp charge point will limit your charger power to 1amp max.
You can safely charge four different batteries at the same time with each cell being independently assessed and charged according to it's needs.
Xtar included some batteries with the sample that seem excellent but as these are 're wrapped and optimistically rated I've chosen not to review those and refer you to our resident battery expert Ben fogstar for all your cell requirements and information or check out mooch 's website or YouTube channel for more information.
Conclusion.
I've been more than happy with my Vc4s. It's given me peace of mind while charging what is essentially a very dangerous cell.
Although my pictures are showing this one on the side, my day to day one sits on a spare tile that I picked up for two quid from b&q. I recommend you charge all cells away from soft furnishings and flammable surfaces.
This hasn't got a huge amount of adjustable features but it has everything you could need for vaping or home needs.
No fuss and charging is automatic and as easy as just popping your cell into the sleigh and waiting for the screen to read full.
It will let you know of any hidden problems in advance of them becoming a problem.
Thoroughly recommended from me and I urge you to switch to a separate charger as soon as possible.
A bargain for peace of mind.I
Also I've been getting far better daily performance from my batteries, even ones previously on the downwards slope.
You'll find an excellent collection of xtar chargers here at fogstar
https://www.fogstar.co.uk/collections/xtar-chargers
Keep your eyes peeled for this one in the giveaway section soon.
huge thanks to @XTAR for sending this one for testing.
Yep, I was that vaper. More often than not, ease of use (aka laziness) would get the better of me and I'd charge within the mod.
Now I should know better than this as I've used more standard rechargeable batteries for decades in music equipment and had more than a few near misses over the year's.
Also I was more than aware that I was wasting a great deal of the life in my vaping cells by laying them open to whatever recharging circuit is inside the mod.
So I decided to make amends and move to charging all my vape cells when ever possible in a dedicated piece of kit for the job. (I still reserve the right to charge in the mod in an emergency but have upgraded my mods to ones with high quality charge circuits not 50p worth of questionable charge circuit at best ).
As I also need to vape a lot of AA and AAA cells for recording equipment I bought myself the Vc4s.
Then the good folks at xtar asked for apes to review their chargers and kindly sent me a Vc4s so this test sample will be heading into the giveaway section once it's up and running again.
The Xtar Vc4s.
Compatible with 3.6 V / 3.7 V Li-ion / IMR / INR / ICR batteries:
10440 14500 14650 16340 17335 17500 17670 18350 18490 18500 18650 18700 20700 21700 22650 25500 26650 32650.
1.2VNi-MH / Ni-CD: AAAA / AAA / AA / A / SC / C / D
Note: 20700/21700 protected batteries cannot be charged (I assume due to the extended size being larger than the slots rather than any tech issues as protected 18650 cells are welcome and I used a few myself).
The 4s arrives nicely boxed with full instructions inside. The charger is contact in a smart grey velvet tote bag which opens to reveal a smart black charger about the size of your average little 7" tablet but about a little over inch in depth.
You get an 80cm usb/micro usb charge lead which although marked as 2.5amp has the Orange tongue in the usb plug to denote it's rated for the Q 3.0 protocol (this means suitable for 3amp fast charging).
The body is made from fire resistant abs plastic. four charge slots are available with the two outer slots slightly larger for your 20700 and 21700 cells.
The steel spring loaded battery clampes are smooth in operation and not powerfully sprung as to be difficult to use.
The case has a huge amount of vent holes all over the base and sides to disperse any heat build up. Rubber feet keep the charger off the ground to allow airflow.
(Apologies for the screen protector but I want to keep this one perfect for the giveaway).
Above the four slots is a large led screen with two buttons one labelled "Disp" underneath. This buttons scrolls through Capacity current and internal resistance while the other one with the word Mode above is used to select the modes charging, Evaluation and storage.
The led screen displays four circular displays showing the battery voltage (0 -4.2v) and beneath is displayed the charging current (0.5amps-3amps).
Above the circles the display shows which mode your currently in (cap for capacity, ir for internal resistance.. More on those modes shortly).
At the bottom of each batteries display is listed the batter chemistry (LI-ion or NI-me) this will be
automatically detected.
The 4s in operation.
The charger has three operating modes that can be selected with the mode button.
1 charge mode, In charge mode the 4s recognizes the type of battery and adjusts to charge automatically.
2 - evaluation mode, this evaluates the effective capacity of the battery through a process of charging, discharging and recharging the battery.
3 - store mode, in case you need to store the battery at a nominal voltage (1.2V o 3.7V) to keep the battery in a good condition if it is not used for a long period. (Particularly good if you take advantage of fogstars Friday discount to build up a stock. Pop you batteries in and active this mode before storing.
Helpfully the 4s also can automatically recognise an over used, tired or a cell which may have been used to too low a voltage (mech user's will recognise this one) and then recondition that battery and hopefully save it to live another day (I had an old eleaf 18650 that was taken too low and the 4s successfully revived it back to use. Handy.
Issue's.
My workshop chargers charge AA and AAA cells at a choice of 0.5amps 1amps or 1.5amp as small cells do not liked to be charged too quickly. As the loaded charge rate on the 4s 2 amps it's been mentioned before that's this could be too high for optimum life and safety.
When charging AA and AAA cells the displayed rate of charge has hovered just above 1.4 amps on this charger so I don't know if its been technically addressed by xtar and not listed. All I can say is 2amps is as fast as I'd want to charge them. That said the other chargers that are the competition of the 4s are giving amp levels in excess of 6amp charging which is too high and dangerous, so for a simple plug and play universal charger it's understandable even if it does deliver the full 2amp, if a shade over ideal. Use good quality batteries people but that shouldn't need mentioning to you guy's.
The spring loaded charge connections can be a little aggressive on 21700 cells. Nothing serious but load them carefully to prevent any dents in the base of your cells.
No PP3 battery support.
I don't know about your house but I think I've used a c battery once for the granddaughters toy in the last five year and I haven't used a D cell since boom box's went out of fashion but I have many tools around the house that use PP3 cells.
Not a major issue for me as they are my battery of most use in the guitar world and have a wall full of PP3 chargers in the workshop but it would have been nice to have the option but I guess with this topping out at 4.2v that would have required a whole extra circuit.
Obviously you need to make sure you use a usb supply that's able to supply 3amps or above to get the best from the 4s (most modern phone charger plugs or smart usb towers have this ability). You can still use the charger with a lower output plug but it will obviously take longer to charge. It may not be the worse idea if your worried about charging AA or AAA batteries at 2amps as a lower overall input like a 1amp charge point will limit your charger power to 1amp max.
You can safely charge four different batteries at the same time with each cell being independently assessed and charged according to it's needs.
Xtar included some batteries with the sample that seem excellent but as these are 're wrapped and optimistically rated I've chosen not to review those and refer you to our resident battery expert Ben fogstar for all your cell requirements and information or check out mooch 's website or YouTube channel for more information.
Conclusion.
I've been more than happy with my Vc4s. It's given me peace of mind while charging what is essentially a very dangerous cell.
Although my pictures are showing this one on the side, my day to day one sits on a spare tile that I picked up for two quid from b&q. I recommend you charge all cells away from soft furnishings and flammable surfaces.
This hasn't got a huge amount of adjustable features but it has everything you could need for vaping or home needs.
No fuss and charging is automatic and as easy as just popping your cell into the sleigh and waiting for the screen to read full.
It will let you know of any hidden problems in advance of them becoming a problem.
Thoroughly recommended from me and I urge you to switch to a separate charger as soon as possible.
A bargain for peace of mind.I
Also I've been getting far better daily performance from my batteries, even ones previously on the downwards slope.
You'll find an excellent collection of xtar chargers here at fogstar
https://www.fogstar.co.uk/collections/xtar-chargers
Keep your eyes peeled for this one in the giveaway section soon.
huge thanks to @XTAR for sending this one for testing.
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