Pila IBC and 3500 mAh, protected 18650

Hello, gurus.

I have been using my IBC to charge my EagleTac 2400 mAh, protected 18650's since 2011.

I will be buying a pair of 3500 mAh (EagTac, Orbtronic, or KeepPower) protected 18650's. It seems to me that the only downside to continue using my IBC with the new batteries is longer recharge times since the IBD's output is .6A.

Do you concur that continued use of my IBC is appropriate?

The Pila IBC was king of the hill and is still a safe, albeit slow charger, by today's standards. You're correct, you'll just have to wait a bit longer.

Man...you can buy a Liitokala 202 multi-voltage, multi-chemistry USB charger that does 500mA and 1A on two bays, for $7-$8.

https://us.gearbest.com/chargers/pp_424662.html

Now they're up to $11, but we have lots of great chargers for cheap, these days.

600mA is a bit much for some of the smaller cells, like the 16340, or 10440, but if you're solely using 18650s, then you're fine with the Pila.

Chris

ChrisGarrett said:

The Pila IBC was king of the hill and is still a safe, albeit slow charger, by today's standards. You're correct, you'll just have to wait a bit longer.

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Yep, most of the chargers today cost much less than what I paid for the IBC in 2011 and they communicate much more information. However, my recent purchase of six Eneloops came with a charger and I don't like to toss a still-useful IBC, so I can live without a new charger for now.

Thank you for your valued advice, Chris!

hotpotato said:

Yep, most of the chargers today cost much less than what I paid for the IBC in 2011 and they communicate much more information. However, my recent purchase of six Eneloops came with a charger and I don't like to toss a still-useful IBC, so I can live without a new charger for now.

Thank you for your valued advice, Chris!

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I remember revamping all of my NiMH stuff, back in January 2012 after coming off a Rayovac IC3 15 minute charger, Rat Shack IC3 batteries and some Energizer Japan AAs and AAAs.

I swore I'd never get into li-ions, but I sported for the Zebralight SC600 CW light and well, there went that 'promise'.

My choice was the Pila IBC, but it was $57 from now defunct LightHound and I just couldn't justify that price, even though it was a great charger. I ended up with an Xtar WP2 II for $21 and while I've moved on from that charger, it was a bit more flexible than the Pila and it still works well. Two modes--500mA & 1A, spacers for my 16340s and ~$35 less money.

Now-a-days, we have the Opus BT-3xxx chargers, Xtar chargers, NiteCore chargers and a plethora of other brands that test out quite well and are safe to use and are safe for our cells and batteries.

I'm a frugal guy and I don't discard stuff too easily, using Win. 98 into 2007 lol, but if you have a few bucks, you can do better these days.

Look into the Asian vendors and the Opus BT-3100 analyzing charger. A US seller had the BT-3400 v. 2.2/3.1 made for our market and that's a pretty cheap multi-everything charger, that tests out pretty well.

Chris

ChrisGarrett said:

My choice was the Pila IBC, but it was $57 from now defunct LightHound and I just couldn't justify that price, even though it was a great charger. I ended up with an Xtar WP2 II for $21 and while I've moved on from that charger, it was a bit more flexible than the Pila and it still works well. Two modes--500mA & 1A, spacers for my 16340s and ~$35 less money.

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Good sleuthing! I wasn't as independent-minded, and paid $68 for the IBC. It's interesting how a company with a dominant product with likely solid profit margins (IBC was already Chinese-sourced) ceases to exist.

ChrisGarrett said:

I'm a frugal guy and I don't discard stuff too easily, using Win. 98 into 2007 lol,

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I do have you beat here, though I'm not at all proud about it: I was running XP until last year. In either case, good for us for being frugal.