Is the Xtar VC4 charger a better charger than the Nitecore D4?

[HEDP]

I saw a thread that talked about fake Nitecore D4's. Worried that mine might be a fake from Amazon I chose to buy a new charger from Battery Junction to replace it. I bought a Xtar VC4.


Is the Xtar VC4 a better charger than the Nitecore D4?


Is it a good charger?


Does it charge fast?

 

[stephenk]

I would advise reading CPF member HKJ's charger reviews. He goes into great detail in his reviews. I'd post the link if I wasn't trying to type this from my phone.

 

[brighterthanthesun]

Read HJK's review, but yes it is a very good charger. The D4 will tell you the actual cell voltage as it is charging and it can be set to charge with much lower current which is better for small cells. But the VC4 can charge 2 cells at 1A each or 4 cells at .5A each. The D4 can only charge one cell at .75A.

 

[HEDP]

Read HJK's review, but yes it is a very good charger. The D4 will tell you the actual cell voltage as it is charging and it can be set to charge with much lower current which is better for small cells. But the VC4 can charge 2 cells at 1A each or 4 cells at .5A each. The D4 can only charge one cell at .75A.

Is an 18650 considered a small cell?


Does the VC4 automatically decide what to charge each battery at?


Is the VC4 a faster charger than the D4?

 

[vicv]

An 18650 is a large cell
No it will not automatically choose a current. It may have a default setting but it has no idea what cell is put in
Yes

 

[StorminMatt]

Does the VC4 automatically decide what to charge each battery at?

Not exactly. Provided you are using a USB power source that can supply 2+A, the VC4 will charge at 1A if a cell is placed in slot 1 and/or slot 4 with NOTHING in slots 2 and 3. So it can charge up to TWO cells at 1A. The second a cell is placed in slot(s) 2 and/or 3, the charge rate for all slots drops down to .5A. So if you want to charge at 1A, place up to two cells in the charger, and only in slots 1 and/or 4. And if you want to charge at .5A, place at least one cell in either slot 2 or 3. But doing so will drop the charge rate in slots 1 and 4 down to half an amp as well - the VC4 cannot simultaneously charge at 1A in slots 1 and 4 while charging at .5A in slots 2 and 3.

 

[CelticCross74]

Yes the VC4 is better than the D4. The Xtar is just built to a better quality standard. Also the VC4 is a USB plug powered unit. Avoid the Xtar specific VC2/4 wall wart it is under powered and slow. Xtar does now make a six USB port hub that gives a full 2.4v/5amps per USB slot meaning that no matter what you load into the VC2/4 the unit will have more than enough charging current going to each USB slot to charge at the max rate without dropping charge current. Whatever you load into slots 1 and 4(the 1 amp slots)gets charged at a full on 1 amp until the cells are fully charged. Load all 4 slots and plug the VC4 into the 6 port USB hub(it plugs directly into a wall socket)and you get the full on .50 amp charge rate until fully charged. No drops in current etc. I like my VC4 so much I bought another one. Today I just charged an awful lot of my cells on the VC4 through the 6 port Xtar USB hub and plugged my iPhone 6 into it at the same time. Cannot say any of that for the D4

 

[mightysparrow]

I can't comment on the D4, as I don't own one, but I do own a VC4 and am very impressed with it. My inexpensive CE Tech wall outlet adapter will not power the VC4 at full charging power, but my inexpensive Insignia wall adapter will.

The VC4 display shows the cell voltage, the charging current, and the total amount of charge taken by the cell as charging occurs. For the price, I think the VC4 is an excellent value.

 

[jm79]

Hello about to buy XTAR VC4 and its USB plug is a separate buy with output of 5V 2.1A and input of 0.40A (Left picture attached).

I have at home two cellphone chargers that has a rating of
1. Output 5V 2A / Input 0.30A (Black Charger)
2. Output 5V=2A OR 4.5V=5A OR 5V=4.5A / Input 0.75A (White Charger)

Can i use my cellphone chargers to charge the VC4 or need to buy a separate one with the same rating as of the device.

Thanks in advance for the assistance.

 

[vicv]

Yes either one will work. The current ratings are maximum. So your charger will only pull 400ma from either power supply

 

[jm79]

Yes either one will work. The current ratings are maximum. So your charger will only pull 400ma from either power supply

Thank you for your assistance. Glad that I don't need to buy a separate USB plug that Xtar is offering with 2.1A. I can use my cellphone USB plugs at home(2.0A). One more thing by the way, just confused about this output reading 5V=2A OR 4.5V=5A OR 5V=4.5A. What OR means? I assume it is 10W OR 22.5W?

 

[vicv]

They're "smart" power supplies. Standard USB is 5v 0.5A originally. In time it's been kind of upgraded to 2.1A. When looking for more power, a device "tells" the power supply that it wants 5v 4A. They make an electronic handshake, and the PS gives he device what it asks for. If you plug a dub device into that PS, no handshake occurs and it can draw up to 2.1A. With USBC power delivery, a matched PS and device can use 20v at up to 5A

 

[Cree XHP 70 LED]

I saw a thread that talked about fake Nitecore D4's. Worried that mine might be a fake from Amazon I chose to buy a new charger from Battery Junction to replace it. I bought a Xtar VC4.


Is the Xtar VC4 a better charger than the Nitecore D4?


Is it a good charger?


Does it charge fast?

I ordered my D4 directly from Nitecore and fast shipping if I remember. I can't find a better charger so I might actually buy another one directly from Nitecore and just put up with the slow speeds.

 

[jm79]

They're "smart" power supplies. Standard USB is 5v 0.5A originally. In time it's been kind of upgraded to 2.1A. When looking for more power, a device "tells" the power supply that it wants 5v 4A. They make an electronic handshake, and the PS gives he device what it asks for. If you plug a dub device into that PS, no handshake occurs and it can draw up to 2.1A. With USBC power delivery, a matched PS and device can use 20v at up to 5A

Got it. thanks thanks...

 

[vicv]

You're welcome