Pila IBC charger - when to retire the unit?

RCS1300

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I have used my Pila IBC charger to charge two 18650 lithium ion batteries twice a week since 2012, or six years. How long should this charger last before considering a replacement. Are there any signs that the charger may be reaching the end of its service life?

Has charging technology changed in the last few years to make charging safer? I have a Nitecore D4 charger that reads out voltage in, voltage out, and status of charge which seems a lot safer than the Pila IBC.
 
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tatasal

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I have used my Pila IBC charger to charge two 18650 lithium ion batteries twice a week since 2012, or six years. How long should this charger last before considering a replacement. Are there any signs that the charger may be reaching the end of its service life?

Has charging technology changed in the last few years to make charging safer? I have a Nitecore D4 charger that reads out voltage in, voltage out, and status of charge which seems a lot safer than the Pila IBC.

Several years ago when I started in this hobby I bought a Pila, and eventually sold it when the new, multi-chemistry, slider-type analyzing chargers came into the picture.

Now, in hindsight, I should have kept it.

The Pila IBC is one of the most well-constructed, ultra-reliable, just-drop-in-the-cell-and-forget type of charger.

While there are reports of 'under-charging' (mine was 4.17v)..it was a non-issue for me.

If you want the multi-chemistry, multi-length, multi-sized and multi-cell features of the current analyzing chargers offered in the market now, then you will have your hands full of them, but, if I were you, just keep your Pila, especially if you have several 18650s still in use.

No, the Nitecore is not safer than the Pila.
 

SilverFox

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Hello RCS1300,

I frequently use mine and it is still going strong.

When your batteries don't get charged, it has probably failed. Until then, use it.

Tom
 

tatasal

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I've always wanted to try a Pila. At first, I was too cheap, as I was unsure how committed I was to LiIons. Later, when I decided to spend more on a charger, the newer voltage display models appealed to me more. Still I wonder what I missed. It looks like a quality piece inside and out.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?354969-A-look-inside-my-Pila-IBC-charger

Open the new, current ones and see its innards, and compare it to your link, you will see how different is the Pila's insides compared to the news ones.

It never coughed, not even a bit, the whole time I had it. Again, keep it, or use it side-by-side with your other newer chargers, and I will bet a light to those who believe any charger currently in the market can outlive the Pila.
 

Gauss163

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Open the new, current ones and see its innards, and compare it to your link, you will see how different is the Pila's insides compared to the news ones

If that's supposed to mean that you think the Pila is better in some way then why do you believe that? I don't see anything in those photos to support such a claim. One can get much more for their money nowadays. It's akin to comparing a current cellphone to one a decade old.
 
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RCS1300

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If that's supposed to mean that you think the Pila is better in some way then why do you believe that? I don't see anything in those photos to support such a claim. One can get much more for their money nowadays. It's akin to comparing a current cellphone to one a decade old.


The only issues I have with my Pila IBC charger are age and it does not display the current charge or current charge rate like my two newer Nitecore D4 and D2 chargers. In addition, sometimes one or the other red light flickers while the green lights are solid and sometimes all the green and red lights work perfectly (used the charger with several sets of 18650 batteries so it is not the batteries). It was recommended as one of the best 2 bay chargers in 2011 but I have used it for over 600 charges in the past six years and do not want to risk charging Lithium Ions if there is any question in my mind about the Pila's performance.

I used it this morning and the red and green lights worked perfectly and the batteries came out with 4.18 and 4.19v charges as always. If I continue to get the flickering red lights with many different new 18650 batteries I may retire the unit. It has had a very productive life.
 
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ChrisGarrett

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Old technology that doesn't even come close to what basic, cheaper chargers do today.

The Pila works well and was at the top of the heap in 2011/2012, but we've moved on.

I had the choice of spending $58 shipped from LightHound, or going with an Xtar WP2 II two bay charger for $21 shipped, having two 500mA/1A charging rates and I went with the latter. No regrets and while my WP2 II is itself a bit dated, it still works fine, as does the Pila.

Chris
 

Gauss163

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I had the choice of spending $58 shipped from LightHound, or going with an Xtar WP2 II two bay charger for $21 shipped, having two 500mA/1A charging rates and I went with the latter. No regrets and while my WP2 II is itself a bit dated, it still works fine, as does the Pila.

Even a pair of Lii-100 ($5 total) can do far more than a $50+ Pila IBC. Not too surprising considering the Pila is based on 15 year-old tech (Vimicro VM7205 circa 2003). Even tiny keychain chargers can do more nowadays. Alas, the cells don't improve anywhere near as fast as the electronics (but the marketing hype makes up for that ... 10000mAh 18650)
 
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Climb14er

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I bought a Pila when I got into 18650's about ten years ago. Always functioned well. Bought a BT3400 two years ago and only used the Pila twice since then. Keeping it as a reliable backup as it's very reliable.
 

ChrisGarrett

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Even a pair of Lii-100 ($5 total) can do far more than a $50+ Pila IBC. Not too surprising considering the Pila is based on 15 year-old tech (Vimicro VM7205 circa 2003). Even tiny keychain chargers can do more nowadays. Alas, the cells don't improve anywhere near as fast as the electronics (but the marketing hype makes up for that ... 10000mAh 18650)

You're preaching to the choir, but as somebody who's kept around an old GE NiCad 8 bay AAA-D-9v charger, just because it still works, I'm not going to trash the Pila.

I agree that a pair of Liitokala 100s, or 202s are vastly more flexible and even more capable, for <$15, I don't think that I'd ditch a Pila if I owned one, since they are safe and while somewhat limited by today's standards, would serve one well in a pinch--for li-ions at least.

I certainly wouldn't seek one out in 2018.

Chris
 

nbp

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I still have the IBC and use it for most of my li-ion charging, along with a handy 4Sevens USB charger I like for quick or isolated top-offs. I like the simplicity and dummy-proofness of the unit. The only thing I wish it had now is the ability to tell me cell capacity. Some of my li-ions are a few years old and I would like a way to know how healthy they still are. I know there are a ton of fancier chargers available now - what I should look for is one that is equally simple to use but with some basic additional info about the cells.
 

marinemaster

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I still use mine a lot. Maybe is almost 10 years old. Works perfect. Got some 16650 few months back charges them just fine. Mine came with spacers for 16340 i believe but never used them. It also came with international sockets adapters. Well thought out charger.
 
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WarriorOfLight

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I also have a Pila IBC charger. For me is no reason retiring this device. It is old, and may not charge my cells that fast. But anyway it is a well made and safe charger.
 

xevious

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I also have a Pila IBC charger. For me is no reason retiring this device. It is old, and may not charge my cells that fast. But anyway it is a well made and safe charger.
I still have mine but stopped using it after getting a Nitecore iQ4 charger. It's packed away so I can't get to it easily, but I think it's still in original soft foam padded box with instruction sheet. I believe they can only recharge 18650, R123, 14500, 17670, and 17500 cells. Any others?

Btw, thought it might be useful to repost this, regarding PILA proprietary battery size equivalents:
18650 = 168A / 600P
17670 = 168S / 600S
18500 = 150A / 300P
17500 = 150S / 300S

I was recently meandering through some cellphone discussions about Quick Charge technology, and the general conclusion I'd come to is that it's not a good idea to use fast charging every single time. The battery suffers extra wear. Better to slow charge most of the time and Quick Charge only when necessary. So now I'm wondering if the same is true for these lithium ion cells we use in our flashlights. Would the slower PILA IBC charger actually result in greater longevity of batteries?
 
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flatline

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I think I bought mine in 2009 and still use it all the time. It charges slow by today's standards, but it doesn't get hot when charging and the cells still come off at the proper voltage (so says my multimeter...) so I see no reason to replace it.

If it's done something to make you worry, then get a new charger. Chargers are basically disposable now. It's all about peace of mind.

--flatline
 

jmcf1949

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Does anyone know if the Pila IBC has an internal fuse. Mine has stopped working recently for no apparent reason.

Thank you!
 

xevious

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I think I bought mine in 2009 and still use it all the time. It charges slow by today's standards, but it doesn't get hot when charging and the cells still come off at the proper voltage (so says my multimeter...) so I see no reason to replace it.

If it's done something to make you worry, then get a new charger. Chargers are basically disposable now. It's all about peace of mind.

--flatline
I have to wonder if slow charging is healthier for lithium and ni-mh cells. I'd heard that Quick Charge technology for cellphones will certainly cut the charge time down a lot (less than half the normal time) but that it can also shorten battery life. I try to use QC only when I'm really short on time. Otherwise I let my phone slow charge.
 
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