Batteries and Charging Time

Im looking for a faster charging battery.

Right now i use the Samsung ICR 18650, but it takes 8 hours to charge. Or could this possibly be do to a cheap charger?

Does anyone know of a High 'C' Charge Rate battery that is safe? (not to be confused with Discharge C rate)

How long does yours take to charge?

 

One of teh best on the market is the Efest LUC4 (4 bay) or LUC 2 (2 bay) It can charge at 0.5A, 1A or, for 2 batteries at a time, 2A. I would say the slow charging is down to your charger and they are not IMO a safe option at all.

Another good charger, but slower, is the Nitecore I4 intelligicharger or the newer one the D4. The I4 only charges at 0.5A and the D4 charges at 0.5A and 0.75A, I believe.

Both are around the $20 - $30 mark I think.

My VTC5 only take around 2-3 hours to charge at 1A, unless I have used them on a regulated device which takes the charge lower than I go on a mech.

 

good info, thanks

 

I almost got the LUC S2 today because I wanted a 2 battery charger for travel and viewed the shortened charging times a real plus...problem is the size of the body of the charger (which itself is small enough) plus the large power block head made it heavier and larger in overall size than the i2 which is what I ended up getting. Again, purely as a charger to pack in luggage and reduce size compared to my i4.

 

Thanks guys keep them coming, it appears my charger isnt packing enough power.

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found spec sheet for samsung ICR 18650 http://www.batteryonestop.com/baotongusa/products/datasheets/li-ion/Samsung-SDI-ICR18650-26A.pdf

they need 1300mah, and should charge in 3 hours, (2600mah brings it to 2.5 hours)

my charger is only 400mah = 8 hours

 

I still am rocking the nitecore i4 and i2. The i2 was on sale at amazon for like $10 so I had to get an extra one, and yeah I also got it for traveling purposes. The D4 may be faster, but I am happy with the current set up. If you have six charging bays available and a whole buttload of batteries, it doesn't really matter that much how long it takes to charge. I have so many batteries that I will always have a couple available.

 

hmm yeah, im thinking it might be cheaper just to buy another battery and keep them in rotation.

 

First off, I don't have a clue about battery charging technology. I'm using a Nitecore i2 that Tienga sells for 490B + 50 for shipping. I have 3 Sony VCT5 18650 2600 mAh and 2 Panasonic NCR18650B 3400mA. That gives me one of each in reserve at all times. I have not timed it but I think the Sony batteries are charging in around 3 hours. The Panasonic batteries are being broken in, so longer charge times right now and no idea what they will ultimately be, but my guess is around 4 hours. I do think that having a spare is the most practical approach, as there is no down time.

 

I say just bite the bullet, and buy a buttload of batteries. It is a worthwhile investment. New mods come out, you keep some, get rid of some...whatever. But you will always need batteries. And if you buy a good brand like Sony, they will last you for years.

My suggestion is shell out $20-30 and buy 4-6 of these Sony's. Attention Required! | CloudFlare

They're like $5 a piece. It's the the previous generation VTC4, which is kind of outdated compared to the VTC5 (which incidentally is the best battery I own, and I believe the best battery available period). The VTC5's are twice the price. Attention Required! | CloudFlare

The VTC5's are actually sold out (some kind of production problem or something) and hard to get at this time. The VTC5 has a higher mAh rating at 2600 vs. 2100 mAh for the VTC4, but they both have the same continuous amp rating of 30amp with a peak of 60 amps. (The max amps are more important to me than the mAh).

It's taking about 2 months for them to be delivered. So just order them now and wait for them to get in. That's what I did on my last FT order which was ordered August 4, and delivered October 4. I already had enough batteries that I didn't really need more but might as well order cause it will take a while to get in.

 

I agree with Sub, if you fast charge your batts it will shorten their lifetime. Get like 5 Sony VTC5's and just rotate them. Get the little plastic carrying cases for them and you won't even need to charge your batteries for like a week. That's what I do, I don't even take my charger with me anymore unless I'm out for a week.

 

i believe the nitecore i2 charges at 750mah : charge time (VCT5 2600mah / 750 mah = 3.4 hours) - thats if it is fully dead.

Panasonic 3400mah / 750mah = 4.5 hours.

 

Rider, what voltage is your battery at when you place it in the charger?

 

OK, enough is enough. You need to go buy (1) an ohm meter, (2) a charger. The i4 is available for like $20 off of ebay. Nitecore Intellicharger I4 V2 Li ion Ni MH Ni CD Universal Battery Charger 2014 | eBay

The i2 I bought off of amazon for $10. They're not expensive or anything and they're incredibly useful so you know how charged they are.

Finally, (3) you need to buy batteries. Lots and lots of batteries. Keep 'em in rotation so you will always have a whole mess of them charged and ready to go.

This here is my battery collection:

[/url]My battery collection by [/IMG]