Looking for Li-ion analyzing charger

Hi folks!
So I admit that I know embarrassingly little about chargers. I have a Nitecore I4 (the original one) from when I bought my first li-ion light and an Xtar WPII, and they both do their job just fine.

However, as I accumulate more cells, I would like to be able to keep track of charge and age/capacity. I'm looking for a charger which can display accurate voltage and analyze capacity. I'm not super concerned whether the mAh readings a perfectly accurate, I just want something I can compare over time. I would also like to be able to charge (or discharge) batteries to ~3.7v for storage.

I don't want to spend too much but I'm also willing to pay for quality. Hopefully in the $50 range.

Any suggestions?

Thanks for your help!

I only know of one charger/analyzer that has a true storage function and will charge or discharge to 3.7V, the skyrc mc3000. It will charge or discharge whatever is necessary to get to what you have the target volt set to.


If the mc3k is out of you price range I suggest you do this. Look for a charger/analyzer that supports LiFePO4 battery chemistry. Then when you want to store a LiIon battery set the charger for LiFePO4. The charger will charge the battery to about 3.6V. You just need to make sure the battery has less that 3.6V or else the charger will probably just say the battery is full and not do anything. The Opus Bt-c3100/c3400 might be worth looking at. It's under 50 dollars, it supports LiFePO4, it will do a charge>discharge>charge for capacity testing and also has a straight discharge function.

HTC has a nice list.

http://lygte-info.dk/info/roundCellChargerIndex UK.html

John.

If you're serious about batteries, then my take on it is that sooner or later, you'll probably want the MC3000.

Other chargers will do some jobs pretty well, such as fast charge (SC2/SC4) or analyze (Opus), but MC3000 does all of it, and also allows you to do more advanced things such as charging cells to 3.92V for optimal storage.

If you don't need fast charge or charge to a custom voltage, and also don't want to spend too much, get the Opus.

For most other cases, the MC3000 might be a better choice (IMHO anyway).

TinderBox (UK) said:

HTC

Click to expand...

Who is that?

HKJ said:

Who is that?

Click to expand...

Your evil twin, Harvey.

Duh!

Chris

Thanks for all the input. As mentioned, I'm not opposed to spending money if it is justified. If the MC3000 is really worth it I'll start saving my pennies.

Random Dan said:

Thanks for all the input. As mentioned, I'm not opposed to spending money if it is justified. If the MC3000 is really worth it I'll start saving my pennies.

Click to expand...

If you like to tinker and fiddle with parameters, the MC3000 is the one for you.

If you want a basic understanding of what your batteries/cells are doing, the Opus and Liitokala analyzing multi-chem. chargers should be sufficient and come in well under $50.

Chris

HKJ said:

Who is that?

Click to expand...

Sorry Henrik, Typo, Did you thing somebody called HTC had ripped of your website

John.

TinderBox (UK) said:

Sorry Henrik, Typo, Did you thing somebody called HTC had ripped of your website

Click to expand...

Lots of people have problems typing "HKJ", but yours are the worst I have seen to date.:laughing:

The OP`s thread is in a right mess , I hope a MOD will clean it up.

John.

In that price range, you may want to look at the AccuPower IQ-338XL as well.

While not a lab-spec device, I find it a convenient general purpose charger with enough features to keep one interested. The IR reading may not be exact, but good enough for baselineing cells as you use them. Being able to charge 4 D-cells or 4 26650's is also convenient for me.

Random Dan said:

Hi folks!
So I admit that I know embarrassingly little about chargers. I have a Nitecore I4 (the original one) from when I bought my first li-ion light and an Xtar WPII, and they both do their job just fine.

However, as I accumulate more cells, I would like to be able to keep track of charge and age/capacity. I'm looking for a charger which can display accurate voltage and analyze capacity. I'm not super concerned whether the mAh readings a perfectly accurate, I just want something I can compare over time. I would also like to be able to charge (or discharge) batteries to ~3.7v for storage.

I don't want to spend too much but I'm also willing to pay for quality. Hopefully in the $50 range.

Any suggestions?

Thanks for your help!

Click to expand...

I have been in the same boat. It all starts with basic intelligent chargers (I also have the I4 and Xtar WPII). When I felt the need to upgrade, I thought about $50 would suffice and bought the Opus. Through time, I felt the need to be further on command of my various batteries at various ages that I am using for various needs. This requires fiddling with charge/discharge parameters. I ended up by buying the MC3000. I now can do whatever my batteries need (or whatever I want to do with them) but I spent too much for chargers. If the trend with my enthusiasm for batteries continues, I can use some features of my MC3000 that I am not actually using. IMHO, spend once. This is more economical than to keep spending. Just saying...

Bucur said:

I have been in the same boat. It all starts with basic intelligent chargers (I also have the I4 and Xtar WPII). When I felt the need to upgrade, I thought about $50 would suffice and bought the Opus. Through time, I felt the need to be further on command of my various batteries at various ages that I am using for various needs. This requires fiddling with charge/discharge parameters. I ended up by buying the MC3000. I now can do whatever my batteries need (or whatever I want to do with them) but I spent too much for chargers. If the trend with my enthusiasm for batteries continues, I can use some features of my MC3000 that I am not actually using. IMHO, spend once. This is more economical than to keep spending. Just saying...

Click to expand...

Have you seen this (link below) I printed 2 A4 put them back to back and laminated them.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?428121-SkyRC-MC3000-charger-CHEAT-SHEET

John.

TinderBox (UK) said:

Have you seen this (link below) I printed 2 A4 put them back to back and laminated them.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?428121-SkyRC-MC3000-charger-CHEAT-SHEET

John.

Click to expand...

Yes, I did and I downloaded it with great interest. Thanks a lot for all the time and effort you have put into this.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! Bucur makes a good point. Cheaper to buy the MC3000 now than to buy something else and still end up with the MC3000 later. I guess I'll need to start saving my pennies!