Opus BT-C3100 2.2-Comparison-New and Exchanged.

[Gauss163]

Re: BACK TO BASICS-SIMPLE,EFFICIENT AND DURABLE!

Just a Heads up for anyone who has this charger.

I had Three[3] FAILED attempts when I was doing the CHARGE/CYCLE test which is done for capacity results. All Three[3] failed shortly after the transition from Discharge to charge cycle. The charger briefly shut off, reset and then was defaulted to 500mAh charge current. This was w/ 4 X 18650 3400mAh discharging at 1 amp.Needless to say ALL capacity info. was lost.

This is in the process of being resolved on a thread on BLF that I am involved in [...]

Here is a link to the starting point in the BLF thread on the BT-C3100 power supply overload problem

 

[ChrisGarrett]

Re: BACK TO BASICS-SIMPLE,EFFICIENT AND DURABLE!

Here is a link to the starting point in the BLF thread on the BT-C3100 power supply overload problem

My BT-3400 v. 2.2 came with a bum wall wart. It would shut down charging 4 cells at 1A, but worked perfectly charging them up at 700mA.

Robert at first sent me a 2A replacement wart and then a 3A wart and I haven't had a problem outside of that first week.

Chris

 

[Gauss163]

Re: BACK TO BASICS-SIMPLE,EFFICIENT AND DURABLE!

@Chris What brand/model was the replacement SMPS? That info will be helpful to others with the same problem.

 

[ChrisGarrett]

Re: BACK TO BASICS-SIMPLE,EFFICIENT AND DURABLE!

@Chris What brand/model was the replacement SMPS? That info will be helpful to others with the same problem.

He grabbed a used one he had on his bench, because I wanted him to test it out before sending and I just didn't care.

Let me look, I have all three here!

First one 3A: No name: KYT120300BV, kind of has a rounded, contoured case with with embossed lines on the back.

Second 2A: No name: KYT120200BU, same contoured case with lines.

Third 3A: APD: Asian Power Devices: WA-3612U.

I'll tell you what, I now have some spare wall warts for my Xtar chargers!

Chris

 

[Gauss163]

Re: BACK TO BASICS-SIMPLE,EFFICIENT AND DURABLE!

The third was the charm, right? APD = Asian Power Devices is likely much better quality than the KYT = Shenzen KeyingTong Electronic Tech. The APD is what Opus originally supplied. Looks like they switched to a cheaper SMPS in later versions. See here for labels and more.

 

[Nev]

Re: BACK TO BASICS-SIMPLE,EFFICIENT AND DURABLE!

Here is a link to the starting point in the BLF thread on the BT-C3100 power supply overload problem

The link says page not found.

 

[Gauss163]

Re: BACK TO BASICS-SIMPLE,EFFICIENT AND DURABLE!

^^^ The link works fine for me. Maybe it was a temporary problem somewhere along your path.

 

[ChrisGarrett]

Re: BACK TO BASICS-SIMPLE,EFFICIENT AND DURABLE!

The third was the charm, right? APD = Asian Power Devices is likely much better quality than the KYT = Shenzen KeyingTong Electronic Tech. The APD is what Opus originally supplied. Looks like they switched to a cheaper SMPS in later versions. See here for labels and more.

I don't know much about the manufacturers, but over the years, I've had them crap out on me, most recently a dinky 7-25vdc for a Dirt Devil hand vac, so I realize that they're cheap and probably don't have 50 cents worth of materials in them.

The OEM Opus dud still works well at 700mAx4, so it can be used with other devices.

Chris

 

[roadkill1109]

Re: BACK TO BASICS-SIMPLE,EFFICIENT AND DURABLE!

that opus is second to the mc3000
its a great lil unit
ive tried them all, and it was the best till i got the mc 3000
you should get a mc3000
its so much more flexible than anything out there right now
beauty is you can set your cut off voltage to what ever you want
ive got mine set at 4,23, and they will rest at 4.21 after an hour or so of coming off
you can charge up to 3 amps , for ALL 4 CHANNELS if you need to, not just 1 amp
youll find out how much fun battery charging can be if you get it

+1 on this, can't wait to receive my unit!

 

[Capolini]

Re: BACK TO BASICS-SIMPLE,EFFICIENT AND DURABLE!

+1 on this, can't wait to receive my unit!

Good luck w/ your MC3K. There are some good threads where you can post your results.

Here is the most popular and long lasting one,,,for about 3 years.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...kyRC-%97-IFA-2014-%97-MC3000-charger-analyzer

 

[Nev]

I got a opus v2.2 a few days ago , when charging I set the ma current at 500 for AAA'S & 700 for AA'S , it charges fine & the ma current is what it's supposed to be but when the battery's get close to being full I noticed the current drop to about 250-300ish for the AAA'S & about 400ish for the AA'S ,is this normal behaviour ?
I first noticed this with some older AAA led lenser battery's ( the manual says its normal for old high internal resistance batteries) but I've noticed it does it on new eneloops , I was worried that because the ma current gets close to 200ma that it might not terminate but it does terminate fine.
Is this current drop towards the the last stages of charging acceptable behaviour ?

 

[Capolini]

^^^^

That is normal and it is suppose to do that for all battery types. The last phase can take the longest on some chargers and this is when the current is reduced.

• Can be set to 3.7V LiFeO4 charging or 4.35V high voltage li-ion charging by a switch on the PCB. Default li-ion charging mode is 4.2V CC/CV.

EDIT: You will find a lot more answers and explanations in HKJ'S review below:

http://lygte-info.dk/review/Review Charger Opus BT-C3100 V2.1 UK.html

 

[Gauss163]

I got a opus v2.2 a few days ago , when charging I set the ma current at 500 for AAA'S & 700 for AA'S , it charges fine & the ma current is what it's supposed to be but when the battery's get close to being full I noticed the current drop to about 250-300ish for the AAA'S & about 400ish for the AA'S ,is this normal behaviour ? [...]

Are you sure it is V2.2? Iirc, HKJs reviews showed that versions prior to 2.0 used a CC/CV-type algorithm for NiMh, which reduces the current at the end. But starting at V2.0 they switched to a dV/dt algorithm.

 

[Capolini]

 

[Nev]

^^^^

That is normal and it is suppose to do that for all battery types. The last phase can take the longest on some chargers and this is when the current is reduced.

• Can be set to 3.7V LiFeO4 charging or 4.35V high voltage li-ion charging by a switch on the PCB. Default li-ion charging mode is 4.2V CC/CV.

EDIT: You will find a lot more answers and explanations in HKJ'S review below:

http://lygte-info.dk/review/Review Charger Opus BT-C3100 V2.1 UK.html

Thanks, that makes sense.

 

[Nev]

Are you sure it is V2.2? Iirc, HKJs reviews showed that versions prior to 2.0 used a CC/CV-type algorithm for NiMh, which reduces the current at the end. But starting at V2.0 they switched to a dV/dt algorithm.

I ordered the 2.2 & the box says 2.2 also the screen on startup says 2.2 ,
I think it's probly a 2.2.

 

[Capolini]

For those interested. My Opus and others have had problems w/ the power supply. Basically the SMPS that came w/ the opus can not handle spikes in the current[~6a] when the batteries are at a low voltage. This happens shortly after transition from discharge to charge where the batteries are ~ 2.8 to 3.0v.The charger resets itself[basically a quick on/off] and ALL the data for Capacity is gone,,~3 hours wasted!

Me and a few others got a good power supply w/ a great reputation. All the info you need is on BLF.

Here is the thread:The exciting action, HKJ included, and ALL the drama and solutions start @ post#124

http://budgetlightforum.com/node/34663?page=4

Here is my new power supply: A quick note about it. Courtesy Dr. Gauss

Lite-On are a power supply OEM used by most major computer manufacturers, e.g. if your search on "LITEON oem" on eBay you will see power supplies they made for Acer, Apple, Cisco, Dell, Gateway, HP, IBM, Kodak, Lenovo, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, etc. That should help convince you of their reputation as a top-tier SMPS manufacturer.

 

[Bdm82]

LITEON is good stuff. I've built or updated dozens of PCs with that brand PSU over the years. Optical drives, too. Might even be overkill here, but since when has that been a bad thing?

 

[Offgridled]

LITEON is good stuff. I've built or updated dozens of PCs with that brand PSU over the years. Optical drives, too. Might even be overkill here, but since when has that been a bad thing?

+1 on overkill

 

[Capolini]

I do not think it is overkill. The Liteon I have is 12V/5.5A/66W. The Opus gives us is 12V/3A/36W.

I trust HKJ's Knowledge. Here are some of his excerpts on BLF:

The most likely cause is the power supply. The Opus will draw more than 3A in peak current, in my test I measured 6A for nearly 0.02 second. Then 0A for 0.03 seconds, bringing the average below 3A

*****************************************************************************************************************
Here it may not be a question about a cheap power supply.
The charger needs a 3A supply that can deliver maybe 6A peak.
A charger that can deliver 3A and shuts down at 4A is a perfectly fine supply, but would not work with this charger and empty batteries.
******************************************************************************************************************
Liteon is a good brand and as long as the power supply is rated at 5A or more I doubt you will get any problems with the current pulses.
The problem is finding a 3A power supply that will supply 6A for a short time and in my opinion that is the responsibility of the manufacturer ( i.e. Opus). Using a 5A or more supply will work as long as the supply has a honest rating.
******************************************************************************************************************


Hi
It is a very good idea to get a better power supply with the charger.
As I found out while I initially tested the charger: The peaks are worst with an empty cell, especially newer cells with lower empty voltage.
Opus did reduce the peak enough to work with the power supply they used at that time.

Best regards
Henrik K. Jensen