Charger recomendation

[Deanwick]

I have been searching the forum for an honest opinion about what type of charger to by for my batts. I've come across a couple of threads about the nitecore i2/i4 and the trust fire. In my search I ran across the thread about the charger and battery that comes with the vamo kit blowing up. Now I'm in search mode on locating a good charger for my efest 18350's, and in the future some 18650's (love the stealthy appeal of the 18350's way to much right now) for my vamo v2.

I have a good hand full of local shops around town and am planning on stopping by a few after work to see what they have and pick up a better charger. Is there a specific charger or brand name to stay away from? I'm pretty positive I've seen a couple of the shops with the nitecore chargers, and I am going to stop by those first. I would order off line but 3 fully charged 18350's are gonna get me far enough until a charger is shipped to my doorstep. Thanks for all the future help!


HAPPY vaping!

 

[gtbb]

The only charger worth looking into is the "PILA". You get what you pay for.

 

[shatner]

Intellicharger by Nitecore is just as good as a PILA. Can't go wrong with either. I use Nitecore, myself.

 

[yzer]

Nitecore, Xtar and Pila are big favorites here at ECF. Trustfire chargers are much maligned but I have to admit that the Trustfire TR-001 I puchased three years ago for Li-ion flashlight batteries is still working fine for my 18500s. I'm looking for a four bay charger now and leaning toward the Nitecore Intellicharger i-4 on the strength of reviews, especially regarding RFI (radio frequency interference) which is important to me.

Here are some expert reviews.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...arger-Review-(V2)-current-voltage-comparisons

Review of / Measurement on Xtar WP6 II charger

As far as build quality goes, all of these Li-ion battery chargers are made in the far east. The more units that are out there and the longer they are in production the more reports of defects appear.

 

[RaceGun59]

Been using this since the first of November. It does double duty as it recharges my digital camera Ni-MH batteries also.

http://illuminationsupply.com/chargers-c-48_51/nitecore-intellicharge-i4-p-225.html

 

[Baditude]

I agree with the comments/statements of yzer above.

When I purchased my first mods about a year and a half ago I got a Pila charger. At the time it had the reputation of being the top charger available for mod batteries. After using one I can't say anything bad about it. It had a very good build quality with attention to detail. I very much liked the spacers it used in the charging bays. It charged batteries fast with a 4 step algorhythm. I used it pretty hard as I accumulated more mods and more batteries. Not long ago one of the bays stopped working, so I needed another charger. At this point, I needed a charger with more than just two bays.

Next charger purchased was the 6-bay charger by Xtar. Worked great for all my batteries except for my 18350 batteries. The springs in this charger allowed the 18350's to pop out of the charging bay (too tight). I have a lot of 18350 batteries that I use, so this charger became rather useless for my purposes.

Long story short, I ended up with a Nitecore Intellicharger i4. Very happy with it. My daughter uses the i2 version and she's happy with hers.

The Pila and the Xtar VP1 are the top two chargers on the market today. If you can reasonably afford one, get one. The second tier chargers will do what they were designed to do, too. I suggest sticking with the Xtar and Nitecore brands. Personally I like the chargers that use spacers or a slider bar to hold the batteries in the charging bays; I strongly dislike the chargers that have springs at one end.

 

[gtbb]

Intellicharger by Nitecore is just as good as a PILA. Can't go wrong with either. I use Nitecore, myself.

Shatner is right on the money here. I had to check out the Nitecore. What I found is it is not as good as Pila it is BETTER. I have been using a two bay Pilla now for four years never a problem. However the Nitecore wins for me over my Pila. I'm not sure if it comes in a two bay compared to the four bay I just seen . The first version of it had issues and basicly was recalled and replaced with the v2. The one complant that was made by some was the spring tension being too strong. No problem for me there. If any one wants a good deal on a pre loved Pila PM me lol And thanks again Shatner!

 

[Deanwick]

Thanks for all the info! I have contacted one of my local shops and they have a nitecore i2 in stock! 20 bucks I am on the way to get it now.


HAPPY VAPING!

 

[Deanwick]

Just came out the store with the nitecore i4!!! The i2 was 19.99. The i4 was only $5 more! Was a no brainer to get the 4 bay instead of 2 bay. The shop I buy most, if not all my juice from wanted $40! Again thanks for the info/help!


HAPPY VAPING!