My nitecore never charge up to 4.2v

Hi folks,

As you know nitecore concept 2 come with build-in 12400mah IMR batteries pack and can only be charged using the wall charger come along with it. I found that no matter how I charge it or try to cold it down, it never went up to 4.2v. I do know that many nitecore charger will be terminated at 4.189v including my DC4 and SC4. But my concept 2 can even reach to this level.

Just curious any of you got the same problem?

If so please share you comment and your think.

Hey Buster,
What is the resting voltage of your Concept 2? I do not believe it should be more than 4.19 or less. The battery pack may be getting a charging voltage of 4.2 but the pack will not hold that after the charging is complete. I hope you are enjoying your light.

Not reaching that level is a good thing. The battery will have longer life.

Check this article about it: https://lygte-info.dk/info/BatteryCharge4.2V UK.html

4.15v - 4.25v is within spec for most chargers. So, as long as you're getting a charge to at least 4.15v, I wouldn't worry about it. I'd rather be under 4.20v than over it, for longevity reasons.

As KHJ has already mentioned Nitecore chargers are famous for high termination current (250 mA), hence — undercharged batteries. 4.15-4.16V — is "normal" for Nitecore

vadimax said:

As KHJ has already mentioned Nitecore chargers are famous for high termination current (250 mA), hence — undercharged batteries. 4.15-4.16V — is "normal" for Nitecore

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Does anyone have any idea whether this is due to low quality components and/or poor design or, rather, could it possibly be a conscious design decision to improve safety and/or cell longevity? For example, the latter might be true if they know that their chargers tend to appeal more to newbies and users who may be more likely to buy cheap unsafe batteries (whereas it would less likely be true for buyers of higher-end chargers like the SkyRC MC3000). Thoughts?

Gauss163 said:

Does anyone have any idea whether this is due to low quality components and/or poor design or, rather, could it possibly be a conscious design decision to improve safety and/or cell longevity? For example, the latter might be true if they know that their chargers tend to appeal more to newbies and users who may be more likely to buy cheap unsafe batteries (whereas it would less likely be true for buyers of higher-end chargers like the SkyRC MC3000). Thoughts?

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I have a Nitecore SC4, and it charges to between 4.19v and 4.20v. So, it's not all Nitecore chargers.

However, I think vadimax might be alluding to more simple Nitecore chargers, that have a fixed charge rate and fixed cutoff current of 250mA. 250mA is a fairly high current to cut the charge off during the final CV phase of the charge. What this means is that the cell being charged might not be fully saturated with a full charge yet. This is especially true for cells that are not high-discharge cells, since they take longer to "soak up" a full charge due to their higher internal resistance.

It's not anything to do with cheap components. It's just a design decision for their CC/CV charge algorithm.

WalkIntoTheLight said:

[...] It's not anything to do with cheap components. It's just a design decision for their CC/CV charge algorithm.

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I was hoping someone might know some evidence in support of one claim or the other. If only their lower-end chargers have this issue then that doesn't seem to favor either claim, e.g. maybe their cheaper chargers use cheaper components with coarser regulation, or maybe they're trying to protect likely less technical buyers of the cheaper models. I don't have any firsthand experience with Nitecore chargers so I have little intuition on such.