JETBeam Intellicharge i4

[Stephen Wallace]

This is maybe a bit OT, but I think a lot of people have been misled here. I may be wrong, as I have only done a minimal amount of research on the subject, but as far as I know Sysmax has always owned Jetbeam and for all I know Nitecore as well.

You may well be right. Just seems odd that it is only recently that they have been making a point of announcing their presence behind the brands that they are associated with. They seem to be pushing the Sysmax name as hard as the brand names.

I have been aware of several occasions where people have questioned the origins of a light, and theorised that it was actually made by Jetbeam, Nitecore or whoever. At the time, we assumed one or other was the parent company, not realising that there was another company (however large or small) behind the brands. What we should have been asking was, "Is this a Sysmax brand?"

 

[mvyrmnd]

The 4 eneloops I've been testing with have all terminated between 1.4 and 1.5V. They seem to terminate properly.

My AW 2900mAh 18650 had 3 solid lights at 4.20V on the dot. I'll leave it to sit for an hour or two and see if it climbs at all. I started charging it when it was at 4.07V, and measured 350/400mA charge, with the charger pausing every 2 seconds to measure.

A different AW 2900 terminated at 4.16V. No matter which slot I move it to, it will not continue to charge. I've left it in a bay with 3 solid lights for an hour now, and the voltage has settled down to 4.14V. It appears to have completely termiated, with no trickle current.

I ran a AW protected 14500 until it tripped. Multimeter read 0V. The charger happily began charging it at 870mA after a brief pause. After a few minutes I checked again, at it was still charging at 870mA. This is a 750mAh 14500. I'm pretty sure 1.16C is out-of-spec... :duh2:

 

[j3bnl]

I am in the UK (240v) and cannot say my experience with this charger was positive.
It went bang and started smoking after brief use.
I would have to say that I would have little confidence that this charger could deliver what it promised to even with a replacement power cord.

 

[mvyrmnd]

The power cord is irrelevant!

It's just a plain old "figure 8" lead.

The charger has an integrated switching PSU - that's the bit that won't work at 110V, and that's the bit that exploded.

Some people are reporting much success when using a 12V "wall wart" adapter and the DC input socket, which bypasses the switching PSU.

 

[csshih]

I have been aware of several occasions where people have questioned the origins of a light, and theorised that it was actually made by Jetbeam, Nitecore or whoever. At the time, we assumed one or other was the parent company, not realising that there was another company (however large or small) behind the brands. What we should have been asking was, "Is this a Sysmax brand?"

They originally started out together, then split, the sometime (last year?) got together again, from what I know.

Craig

 

[j3bnl]

The power cord is irrelevant!

It's just a plain old "figure 8" lead.

The charger has an integrated switching PSU - that's the bit that won't work at 110V, and that's the bit that exploded.

Some people are reporting much success when using a 12V "wall wart" adapter and the DC input socket, which bypasses the switching PSU.

Is your reply above directed for me?
I am in the UK and we are 240v not 110v.
I do agree that the cord argument is irrelevant as you rightly point it its a generic figure 8 one supplied.

 

[mvyrmnd]

Is your reply above directed for me?
I am in the UK and we are 240v not 110v.
I do agree that the cord argument is irrelevant as you rightly point it its a generic figure 8 one supplied.

Yes it was. I was aware that you are in the UK, but the reason that so many people are having problems with this charger in the US is because the integrated PSU doesn't work properly at 110V

 

[j3bnl]

Yes it was. I was aware that you are in the UK, but the reason that so many people are having problems with this charger in the US is because the integrated PSU doesn't work properly at 110V

I agree with your points but it doesnt explain why mine went bang.
The PSU obviously doesnt work properly full stop.

 

[mvyrmnd]

Obviously yours didn't, but I've got two of these and I've had them both running non-stop for the last 7 hours with no issues.

 

[j3bnl]

Obviously yours didn't, but I've got two of these and I've had them both running non-stop for the last 7 hours with no issues.

I may just have been unlucky but wouldnt touch another of these with a bargepole!
Will stick to my Pila and other chargers as I wouldnt trust using one of these.

Glad yours are working and long may it last.

 

[Pöbel]

I guy in Germany (on messerforum.net) took measurements. The charger charges single Ni-MH and Single Li-Ion fine. Although with no regard for cell size and the appropriate charging currents. A 10440 will be charged with the same current as a 18650 (up to 800mA).

Also when charging a Ni-Mh AND Li-Ion on the same channel the Ni-Mh is charged with higher current while the Li-Ion is charged AND discharged.

So not mixing battery chemistry seems to be ok, as long as the cells can handle the current. Mixing battrey chemistry does only work if separate channels are used (channels, not slots!)

 

[fyrstormer]

I think the issue with the power supply is just a plain old quality control problem. As for why it may or may not charge certain combinations of different battery types, that is most likely due to limitations in the firmware that only the person who wrote the firmware fully understands.

So not mixing battery chemistry seems to be ok, as long as the cells can handle the current. Mixing battrey chemistry does only work if separate channels are used (channels, not slots!)

What is the difference between "channel" and "slot" in this context? Are there two slots per channel, or some similar arrangement?

 

[Tohuwabohu]

What is the difference between "channel" and "slot" in this context? Are there two slots per channel, or some similar arrangement?

I tried to explain it in this thread in the MarketPlace. I think there are two charging circuits/channels, one for the bays/slots 1 and 3 and the other for 2 and 4. Each channel can deliver 1A but when both bays of a channel are used the charge is applied alternately to both bays.
It is a bit difficult for me to describe this behavior as I don't write or speak English very often.

 

[fyrstormer]

I tried to explain it in this thread in the MarketPlace. I think there are two charging circuits/channels, one for the bays/slots 1 and 3 and the other for 2 and 4. Each channel can deliver 1A but when both bays of a channel are used the charge is applied alternately to both bays.
It is a bit difficult for me to describe this behavior as I don't write or speak English very often.

I see. That would certainly cause problems if a lithium cell is connected to the same channel as a NiMH cell.

 

[HKJ]

I got the first charge curve (This test is done with a old cell with high Ri):

Some comments:
It looks like a real CC/CV charger.
It stops charging at 300mA, this is rather high.
The charge current is not 1A, but more like 850 mA.
The charger does not trickle charger LiIon batteries, the current is below 0.1 mA (I will get a better measurement later on).

I just did another charge curve and it was not very good, more on this when I have done a few more test.

 

[mvyrmnd]

I got the first charge curve (This test is done with a old cell with high Ri):

Some comments:
It looks like a real CC/CV charger.
It stops charging at 300mA, this is rather high.
The charge current is not 1A, but more like 850 mA.
The charger does not trickle charger LiIon batteries, the current is below 0.1 mA (I will get a better measurement later on).

I don't have the ability to graph the results, but that's exactly what I've observed. I get 870mA charge current. I've left a cell in the charger for an hour after getting 3 solid lights and the voltage on the cell dropped 0.01v as it settled. I'm very happy about complete termination

 

[SantaClawz]

So did anyone get these new 12V AC Adapter's? If so, are the "problems" some of you reported gone?

 

[turboBB]

ETA quoted for the adapters was about 2-3 weeks and likely another week after that to get to owners. Bummer...

 

[veedo]

I found a 12v adapter in my cable collection that fits perfectly. I can do some tests tonight if you guys have some requests.

 

[fyrstormer]

I got my charger yesterday. It worked well enough at first, but when I put more than one battery in it, it started to act funny. I unplugged it and put it back in its box. Unfortunately I don't have room for another power brick, and anyway Jetbeam needs to fix the problem with the built-in PSU instead of patching it with an external power brick. Maybe I'll buy version 2.

I found a 12v adapter in my cable collection that fits perfectly. I can do some tests tonight if you guys have some requests.

The correct voltage isn't enough. Can it supply 6 amps @ 12 volts?