# Review of Charger Xtar WP2s



## HKJ (Aug 21, 2013)

[SIZE=+3]Charger Xtar WP2s[/SIZE]







Xtar makes many good chargers and does also sometimes updates their models. This is an update to the WP2 II, the update includes more selectable charge currents and more power on the usb output. The charger has two channels, i.e. it can do two cells independently of each other.















It comes in a cardboard box with a view to the charger and specifications on the back.






I got the charger, a manual, a warranty card and a car adaptor, but Xtar forgot to add a power supply.
Normally the power adapter is included and the car adaptor may be included.










This version of the WP2 has a cover over the batteries. This is an advantage when using it as an usb power supply/charger, because it is easier to put in a bag or pocket while loaded with batteries.






The control panel has 6 leds and one button:
3 Leds to show selected current (0.25A, 0.5A or 1A).
1 Led to show that usb output is activated.
2 leds to show charge status for the batteries (red=charging, green=done or no batteries, not used when usb output is activated).
The button will select charge current, when power is connected and a long press will activate usb output when power is disconnected.






The power input is a 12 volt DC connector, it can either be powered from the car adapter or the mains adapter.
The usb output must be activated with the button and will stay on until deactivated or the batteries are empty.









Xtar has a special label on, that makes it possible to check for counterfeit chargers.









The charger can handle both button top and flat top batteries, from 30mm to above 70 mm. The slider works well.






























The charger can handle 70 mm long batteries, including flat top cells. (See my 18650 LiIon comparison for length of different brands).
It is possible to charge one 26650 in the charger, but it might be necessary to use some tinfoil at the minus pole.




[SIZE=+2]Measurements charger[/SIZE]



Will discharge battery with about 4mA when not connected to power. 
Will discharge battery with about 0.25mA when connected to power. 
Will restart charging at 3.9 volt 
Will restart charging when battery is reinserted or power is cycled. 
Below 1 volt the charger will show a green light and charge with 2.5mA. 
Between 1 and 2 volt the charge will show a blinking red light and charge with 2mA. 
Between 2 and 2.9 volt the charge will show a red light and charge with 50mA to 65mA. 
Above 2.9 volt it will apply selected charge current. 
The channels on the charger are independent, i.e. there are small differences between them. 







This charger has a very good CC/CV curve, this is an improvement from the old WP2 model that simulated it. The charge time is just below 4 hours.











With smaller capacity the charge time is slightly shorter.






The second channel works the same.






With 0.5A on a 3100mAh cell the charge time is considerable longer. The termination current is lower at the 0.5A settings, this is very good.






The lower current is for smaller cells.






0.25A requires a lot of patience (nearly 12 hours) with a 3100mAh cell.






My old 16340 cell charges perfectly on this charger.






Even at 1A the charger can handle it.











The charger is using a slow ramp up of the current in all modes.



[SIZE=+2]USB output[/SIZE]

The WP2s can power the usb output with one or two batteries. The cells are not directly in parallel (I had to use 5 DMM's to log it).


Will discharge battery with about 4mA when not connected to power. 
USB output is coded as Apple 2.1A 
USB output will stay on when load is removed, on/off is only controlled with the button. 
USB output will always be off when charge power is connected. 






Doing a load sweep with two batteries, showed that the current limit is at 2.4A, this is very good for a 2.1A supply.






A test with 2A current, shows a rather short runtime and also that the two batteries is loaded differently. 
The termination voltage is rather high for this load (That is the reason for the short runtime).






Reducing the load to 0.5A works better, this gives 3 hours runtime with a single 18650 cell.






And four hours runtime on the other battery. This is strange behavior.


















This is the same with other cells.






There is not much noise in the output, even at full current (10 mV).






At 0.5A the noise is down to 4.5 mV.



[SIZE=+2]Conclusion[/SIZE]

This charger does a good CC/CV charging and with 3 current settings it can handle a wide variety of cell sizes.

The usb output has very low noise in it and the ability to supply 2A, makes it useful for a lot of usb equipment, but due to the Apple coding on the connector, some equipment will not charge at full speed. The difference between the two batteries is silly and will hopefully be fixed soon, but the only downside is shorter runtime.
The charger has a rather high current drain on the batteries, this is absolutely no problem for the charging part, but it will not be a good idea to keep batteries in the charger for weeks. There is no battery power status indication for the usb output.

The charger is a very good LiIon battery charger and a acceptable usb charger.



[SIZE=+3]Notes[/SIZE]

The charger was supplied by XTAR for a review.
All the tests were done with my own 12 volt 1A supply.

Here is an explanation on how I did the above charge curves: How do I test a charger
Read more about how I test USB power supplies and chargers


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## madecov (Aug 21, 2013)

*Re: Review of Review Charger Xtar WP2s*

Great review as usual


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## sbbsga (Aug 22, 2013)

*Re: Review of Review Charger Xtar WP2s*

Thank you very much, HKJ. Yes, the cover is indeed useful, I had to secure my cell with a piece of Velcro band when I use WP2 II outdoors.

I hope XTAR will send you their XP4 soon.


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## candle lamp (Aug 22, 2013)

*Re: Review of Review Charger Xtar WP2s*

Thanks a lot for the excellent test review. HKJ! :thumbsup:


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## gopajti (Aug 22, 2013)

*Re: Review of Review Charger Xtar WP2s*

Thanks HKJ!


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## Tokimer (Oct 1, 2013)

I'm replying here instead of making a new thread, since my question is regarding the Xtar WP2S, and whats written in this review.

Could someone explain for a newb whats meant by this: "The difference between the two batteries is silly and will hopefully be fixed soon, but the only downside is shorter runtime."?
I've ordered a Xtar WP2S and it would be good to know if this is something I should consider when using the charger.


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## ChrisGarrett (Oct 1, 2013)

Tokimer said:


> I'm replying here instead of making a new thread, since my question is regarding the Xtar WP2S, and whats written in this review.
> 
> Could someone explain for a newb whats meant by this: "The difference between the two batteries is silly and will hopefully be fixed soon, but the only downside is shorter runtime."?
> I've ordered a Xtar WP2S and it would be good to know if this is something I should consider when using the charger.



I'm going to venture a guess that there's an issue with Apple's charging scheme, that everybody else on planet Earth doesn't have.

Apple stuff has a chip that might, or might not, always work with 3rd party chargers.

I remember buying a 2.1A 12v adapter for the car last year and seeing videos of guys modifyng those adapters to work with Apple iPhones and iPads, the latest generations at least. 

They had to remove some circuit from the guts of the adapter.

The Xtar WP2s probably has a bottleneck when charging up Apple stuff off a Li-Ion cell, installed in the charger.

Chris


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## HKJ (Oct 1, 2013)

Tokimer said:


> I'm replying here instead of making a new thread, since my question is regarding the Xtar WP2S, and whats written in this review.
> 
> Could someone explain for a newb whats meant by this: "The difference between the two batteries is silly and will hopefully be fixed soon, but the only downside is shorter runtime."?
> I've ordered a Xtar WP2S and it would be good to know if this is something I should consider when using the charger.



The usb output does not work the same with the two batteries. The internal circuit has better performance with one of the batteries.

It is a silly problem, that does not have much significance in real use. If it runs dry, while charging something, try swap the batteries and you might get a bit more power from it.


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## Replicant (Oct 1, 2013)

Is there any risk of overheating any of the Xtar chargers if the batteries are charged with the lid closed? I see there is ventilation in the cover, but most of the pictures I see of the VP1 don't have a cover while charging. I was just thinking of covering the WP2s or VP1 while its charging in the car.


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## Tokimer (Oct 1, 2013)

HKJ said:


> The usb output does not work the same with the two batteries. The internal circuit has better performance with one of the batteries.
> 
> It is a silly problem, that does not have much significance in real use. If it runs dry, while charging something, try swap the batteries and you might get a bit more power from it.




So basically you might end up drawing more from one battery than the other when charging a mobile phone for example, and this relates to all devices charged by the USB output?


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## Planz (Oct 1, 2013)

Hi HKJ,
Could you help explain what is meant when you mentioned the charger 
"Will discharge battery with about 0.25mA when connected to power."
I don't understand why the battery is being discharged when it is connected to power.
Do you happen to have a picture of where the measurement is made?
Thanks.


[SIZE=+2]Measurements charger[/SIZE]




Will discharge battery with about 4mA when not connected to power.
Will discharge battery with about 0.25mA when connected to power.


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## HKJ (Oct 1, 2013)

Tokimer said:


> So basically you might end up drawing more from one battery than the other when charging a mobile phone for example, and this relates to all devices charged by the USB output?



Exactly, at least on my copy of the charger.



Planz said:


> Hi HKJ,
> Could you help explain what is meant when you mentioned the charger
> "Will discharge battery with about 0.25mA when connected to power."
> I don't understand why the battery is being discharged when it is connected to power.
> Do you happen to have a picture of where the measurement is made?



When a charger is finished with charging, the current does never drop to exactly zero, it will either charger or discharge with a small current. This charger discharges with 0.25A.

I do not take pictures of me doing the different measurements.


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## Planz (Oct 1, 2013)

HKJ said:


> Exactly, at least on my copy of the charger.
> 
> When a charger is finished with charging, the current does never drop to exactly zero, it will either charger or discharge with a small current. This charger discharges with 0.25A.
> 
> I do not take pictures of me doing the different measurements.



Sorry I got mixed up with NiMh.


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## Tokimer (Oct 2, 2013)

HKJ said:


> Exactly, at least on my copy of the charger.



Thanks for answering, and thanks for the great review!


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## HKJ (Oct 2, 2013)

Planz said:


> Sorry I got mixed up with NiMh.



There is not really any difference, some NiMH chargers might also discharge (but most do a small trickle charge).

I forgot to mention that one of the links at the bottom of the reviews, shows some of my equipment and how I uses it when testing a charger (The article needs an update, a lot of stuff has changed since I wrote it).


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## Planz (Oct 2, 2013)

HKJ said:


> There is not really any difference, some NiMH chargers might also discharge (but most do a small trickle charge).
> 
> I forgot to mention that one of the links at the bottom of the reviews, shows some of my equipment and how I uses it when testing a charger (The article needs an update, a lot of stuff has changed since I wrote it).



Thanks for the clarification. I mistakenly thought LiIon should not trickle charge and NiMh chargers always have maintenance charge.
Yes, I have visited your links. Thanks.


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## HKJ (Oct 2, 2013)

Planz said:


> Thanks for the clarification. I mistakenly thought LiIon should not trickle charge and NiMh chargers always have maintenance charge.
> Yes, I have visited your links. Thanks.



LiIon must not be trickle charger, but a very low current is not really a problem, as long as the battery are removed within a few days.


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## Planz (Oct 2, 2013)

HKJ said:


> LiIon must be trickle charger, but a very low current is not really a problem, as long as the battery are removed within a few days.



I must have misunderstood. I thought I read somewhere in this forum that once a LiIon is charged, the supply should be cut off and there should be no trickle charging. 
However, I am confused by your earlier statement
"When a charger is finished with charging, the current does never drop to exactly zero, it will either charger or discharge with a small current. This charger discharges with 0.25A."

If LiIon must be trickle charged, then why does this charger discharge with 0.25A?


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## HKJ (Oct 2, 2013)

Planz said:


> I must have misunderstood. I thought I read somewhere in this forum that once a LiIon is charged, the supply should be cut off and there should be no trickle charging.



It was a typo, I meant to say "must *not*" (I have fixed the original post).

I hope it makes sense now.


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## Planz (Oct 2, 2013)

Yes, that clears it up. Thanks.


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## Replicant (Nov 6, 2013)

For the USB charging, is it necessary to use two batteries of the same rated capacity? Does it draw from one battery entirely before moving on to the next?


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## HKJ (Nov 6, 2013)

Replicant said:


> For the USB charging, is it necessary to use two batteries of the same rated capacity? Does it draw from one battery entirely before moving on to the next?



No, they do not need to have the same capacity. It does draw from both batteries at the same time.

In this curve I did log the voltage of both batteries and you can see that the voltage on both drops continuous, i.e. they are both supplying power.


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## Replicant (Nov 6, 2013)

HKJ said:


> No, they do not need to have the same capacity. It does draw from both batteries at the same time.
> 
> In this curve I did log the voltage of both batteries and you can see that the voltage on both drops continuous, i.e. they are both supplying power.


Do the cells need to be protected, or is there a protection circuit built in to the USB charger? Can I use IMR or unprotected ICR with no worries?

If that is ok, not that I plan on doing it regularly, is there any concern mixing battery chemistries when using the USB charging function? Could I use an IMR 16340 and an ICR 18650 at the same time?


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## HKJ (Nov 6, 2013)

Replicant said:


> Do the cells need to be protected, or is there a protection circuit built in to the USB charger?



Yes, the only ones I have found without protection is the TrustFire chargers.




Replicant said:


> Can I use IMR or unprotected ICR with no worries?



Yes.



Replicant said:


> If that is ok, not that I plan on doing it regularly, is there any concern mixing battery chemistries when using the USB charging function? Could I use an IMR 16340 and an ICR 18650 at the same time?



No problems with mixing on this usb box, but I would not use small cells due to the low capacity of the cells and high current drain when usb output is loaded.


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## Replicant (Nov 6, 2013)

HKJ, thanks for the clarification.


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## Gauss163 (Nov 6, 2013)

*Xtar's literature claims some protection*



HKJ said:


> Replicant said:
> 
> 
> > Do the cells need to be protected, or is there a protection circuit built in to the USB charger?
> ...



This is what Xtar's web page says: "Low-voltage, over-current, short-circuit protection and automatically stop-supplying function", see the excerpt below. Did anyone test if these protection features are properly implemented?


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## BrightLignt (Aug 10, 2014)

*Re: Xtar's literature claims some protection*

I was charging my iPad Air with this charger. I plugged it in at 49% while the WP2s had 2 Sanyo UR18650FM. When the iPad was at 72%, I smelled burning. The charger melted. The cells measure 3.66v each after being removed.


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## oKtosiTe (Aug 10, 2014)

*Re: Xtar's literature claims some protection*

To be fair the iPad Air expects slightly higher charging current than this charger is rated to deliver, but surely the over-current protection should have kicked in. Scary.


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## jaross (Jun 14, 2015)

*Re: Xtar's literature claims some protection*

Bringing up an old thread here. Thanks for the review! 

With the different charging settings, it says that .25 is better for longevity of the battery life, which means, presumably, more charge/discharge cycles? Will the charge rate effect the cells performance? Will a batter charged from .25? last longer/be brighter in my light then a battery charged at 1.0A? All my batteries are unprotected Panasonic 3400 mAh. If I have the time, should I charge them at .25 to prolong the cells life or does it matter?

My next question is on the USB output. I have the WP2S and a Miller ML-102 Version 8. When charging my phone, and using an app called Galaxy Charging Current, I get the following readings when charging from the following devices:

The 'fast' charging wall charger that came with my phone:
reference: 1200 mA 
maximum: 1667 mA *(this seems to be the secret current that tells the phone it is being charged by a special 'fast' charger.) 
average: 1200 mA

ML-102
reference: 1000-1200 mA
maximum: 1000-1800 mA
average: 1000-1200 mA

WP2S:
reference: 900-1100
maximum: 900-1100
average: 900-1100

So does that mean the WP2S, with 2 18650s, charges slower then the ML-102, since it generally has less mA? Which once is the best for my phone's battery health, or does it matter?


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## RI Chevy (Jun 14, 2015)

What kind of cellphone do you have? I use that APP. The charge rate depends on how low your battery is. Once the charger is plugged in, it starts with a lower amperage, then gradually gets higher. Sometimes if you hit refresh, it transitions to the maximum charge output that the wallwart is capable of quicker. But I have found that the charge rate depends on the current state of your battery. When it is really low, below 40%, it transitions more quickly to max output, but it always starts charging on a lower amperage. 
I am not sure how to answer your other questions, but I think if you charge using .25 mAh, it would be OK, but unnecessary. HKJ is most capable of answering those.


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## jaross (Jun 14, 2015)

I have a Samsung Galaxy S6. Those charge rates were measured at just about the same time.. I noticed that immediately after plunging in, the rates were higher, then they went down a few moments after that and stayed down.


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## RI Chevy (Jun 14, 2015)

Wow. Ok. My S5 is the opposite. Go figure. Lol


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## jaross (Jun 14, 2015)

The S5 had a USB 3.0 port. They ditched that for a 2.0 on the S6 because charging this way hurt the long-term battery health. Not really sure on the details, but I get that has something to do with it.


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## RI Chevy (Jun 14, 2015)

Wow. Ok. Thank you for the info. I may cut back to using a 1A ot 850mAh wallwart.


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## jaross (Jun 14, 2015)

RI Chevy said:


> Wow. Ok. Thank you for the info. I may cut back to using a 1A ot 850mAh wallwart.



Yeah but at least you can replace your battery easily. the S6 on the other hand...


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## RI Chevy (Jun 15, 2015)

True dat.


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## magellan (Jun 15, 2015)

*Re: Xtar's literature claims some protection*



BrightLignt said:


> I was charging my iPad Air with this charger. I plugged it in at 49% while the WP2s had 2 Sanyo UR18650FM. When the iPad was at 72%, I smelled burning. The charger melted. The cells measure 3.66v each after being removed.




Had the same issue last week. I can't see any external damage on mine, but I was using it as a power bank and smelled burning components and plastic and took it outside. I was using 2 AW 18500 IMRs and was using it to charge my iPhone 5C which has a 1430 mAh battery if I remember right.


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## TinderBox (UK) (Jun 15, 2015)

*Re: Xtar's literature claims some protection*

Well this charger is off my list because of this fault, it`s just to dangerous, my Duracell CEF23 nimh charger, started to smoke while i was using the usb output, so it happens to the big boys as well.

As we all know, it`s best not to leave any type of charger unsupervised.

John.



BrightLignt said:


> I was charging my iPad Air with this charger. I plugged it in at 49% while the WP2s had 2 Sanyo UR18650FM. When the iPad was at 72%, I smelled burning. The charger melted. The cells measure 3.66v each after being removed.


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## magellan (Jun 15, 2015)

*Re: Xtar's literature claims some protection*

Yeah, it's too bad since I really like the dual capability and the 2A output.


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## jaross (Jun 16, 2015)

*Re: Xtar's literature claims some protection*



BrightLignt said:


> I was charging my iPad Air with this charger. I plugged it in at 49% while the WP2s had 2 Sanyo UR18650FM. When the iPad was at 72%, I smelled burning. The charger melted. The cells measure 3.66v each after being removed.





TinderBox (UK) said:


> Well this charger is off my list because of this fault, it`s just to dangerous, my Duracell CEF23 nimh charger, started to smoke while i was using the usb output, so it happens to the big boys as well.
> 
> As we all know, it`s best not to leave any type of charger unsupervised.
> 
> John.



THE IPAD AIR IS 2.4A. THE WP2S COMES WITH A WARNING SAYING NOT TO CHARGE ANYTHING HIGHER THEN 2.1A!!! I am still going to use my WP2S to charge my <2A phone, worry free!


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## ChrisGarrett (Jun 17, 2015)

*Re: Xtar's literature claims some protection*



jaross said:


> THE IPAD AIR IS 2.4A. THE WP2S COMES WITH A WARNING SAYING NOT TO CHARGE ANYTHING HIGHER THEN 2.1A!!! I am still going to use my WP2S to charge my <2A phone, worry free!



Yeah, not the charger's fault. The iPad AIR was sucking more than the poor charger is designed to handle.

Chris


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## TinderBox (UK) (Jun 17, 2015)

*Re: Xtar's literature claims some protection*

Well it should have had some sort of cutout, instead of committing suicide, I though designer`s are supposed to be a bit conservative in their ratings , like the specs say 2.1A but it`s really good to 2.5A , the laws of Scotty seem to be absent.

John.


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## HKJ (Jun 17, 2015)

*Re: Xtar's literature claims some protection*



TinderBox (UK) said:


> Well it should have had some sort of cutout, instead of committing suicide, I though designer`s are supposed to be a bit conservative in their ratings , like the specs say 2.1A but it`s really good to 2.5A , the laws of Scotty seem to be absent.



They may have overload protection in future products. Designing gets a bit difficult when you uses a chip where the datasheet says it is overload protected, but it fries itself anyway.


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## magellan (Jun 25, 2015)

*Re: Xtar's literature claims some protection*



jaross said:


> THE IPAD AIR IS 2.4A. THE WP2S COMES WITH A WARNING SAYING NOT TO CHARGE ANYTHING HIGHER THEN 2.1A!!! I am still going to use my WP2S to charge my <2A phone, worry free!



When mine melted down, I was using it to charge my iPhone 5C, which only has a 1340 mAh battery. I was using two AW 18500 IMR batteries in the charger. Since IMR cells have greater drain capacity, though, I suppose this could have contributed to the meltdown. Usually I just used this charger to power my Xtar MP2s mini charger or Cottonpicker Octa-charger to recharge my Orbtronic RCR2 3.0V, AW 15270 ICR 3.7V, and my Efan 15270 IMR 3.7V batteries for my CR2 size lights such as my 4Sevens Quark Mini MLR2, TnC Extreme Micro Turbo, Nitecore Sens Mini, etc., and these batteries are only 350 mAh or so. The Efans being IMR's are a bit higher at 400 mAh. But powering either of these two small capacity chargers with these modest capacity batteries shouldn't have been a problem for this charger.


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## TinderBox (UK) (Jun 25, 2015)

*Re: Xtar's literature claims some protection*

So do we have 3 owners who have had usb problems/meltdowns with this charger, magellan, brightlight and bene

John.


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## magellan (Jun 25, 2015)

*Re: Xtar's literature claims some protection*

Yes, just noticed the other thread.

Come to think of it, I did use it to partially charge my iPad once--from 40% to about 80% full--but that was just once more than six months ago and never did it again since like I said I mainly use it to charge up small device batteries. But maybe that one charge was enough to shorten its lifespan.


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## Rossymeister (Jun 6, 2016)

*Re: Xtar's literature claims some protection*



TinderBox (UK) said:


> So do we have 3 owners who have had usb problems/meltdowns with this charger, magellan, brightlight and bene
> 
> John.



Make that 4 owners. Just plugged mine in to charge and heard a hissing sound and some smoke came out of it. Smells like something burned inside. I use high quality surge protectors , so im not sure what the issue was.


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## Gauss163 (Jun 6, 2016)

*Re: Xtar's literature claims some protection*

This is a perfect example of the danger inherent in consumer-level Li-ion chargers. Recall HKJ's review of this XTAR WP2s charger, which begins "Xtar makes many good chargers" and concludes "The charger is a very good LiIon battery charger". Very good to burn your house down!

Without _professional-level_ safety and failure analyses (such as is done in Laptop battery power systems) there is no telling just how unsafe such chargers may be. You cannot always count on reviews by fellow hobbyists to warn you of such dangers. They don't come remotely close to the comprehensive professional safety tests. That's why Sony sends cease-and-desist letters to shops selling 18650's direct to consumers, warning that



Sony said:


> These [18650] battery cells were made only to be used in connection with the assembly of battery packs of products such as power tools, which have the necessary enclosure, protective devices and circuitry that enable safe usage of these battery cells. Sony lithium-ion rechargeable battery cells are not intended for use without such packaging or circuitry, and should not be used as a standalone product .. The use of any Sony lithium ion rechargeable battery cells as a stand-alone product .. constitutes a DANGEROUS misuse of the battery cells that poses a SERIOUS RISK of personal injury or property damage...



In devices whose safety design is unknown, such dangers must be managed by the _end user_. So always be extra cautious. In particular, NEVER charge Li-ion batteries unattended, and ALWAYS charge them far away from any flammable materials. ALWAYS be on guard, because the one time you let down your guard might be the time that matters (even experts with decades of experience have burned down buildings by being careless). Better safe than sorry.


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## TinderBox (UK) (Jun 6, 2016)

*Re: Xtar's literature claims some protection*

No thermal photo`s in this HKJ review, maybe he got the camera later, It might have shown that extremely hot area while on test.

John.



Gauss163 said:


> This is a perfect example of the danger inherent in consumer-level Li-ion chargers. Recall HKJ's review of this XTAR WP2s charger, which begins "Xtar makes many good chargers" and concludes "The charger is a very good LiIon battery charger". Very good to burn your house down!
> 
> Without _professional-level_ safety and failure analyses (such as is done in Laptop battery power systems) there is no telling just how unsafe such chargers may be. You cannot always count on reviews by fellow hobbyists to warn you of such dangers. They don't come remotely close to the comprehensive professional safety tests. That's why Sony sends cease-and-desist letters to shops selling 18650's direct to consumers, warning that
> 
> ...


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## HKJ (Jun 6, 2016)

*Re: Xtar's literature claims some protection*



Gauss163 said:


> This is a perfect example of the danger inherent in consumer-level Li-ion chargers.



Wrong, it is a perfect example of the dangers in consumer electronic, it do not have anything to do with LiIon.


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## TinderBox (UK) (Jun 6, 2016)

*Re: Xtar's literature claims some protection*


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## Gauss163 (Jun 6, 2016)

*Re: Xtar's literature claims some protection*



HKJ said:


> Wrong, it is a perfect example of the dangers in consumer electronic, it do not have anything to do with LiIon.



Nonsense. It has everything to do with Li-ion safety design since it is a Li-ion charger, so it is essential to design the device with much more care than devices that don't charge Li-ion cells.


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## Rossymeister (Jun 7, 2016)

*Re: Xtar's literature claims some protection*







finally had a chance to take it apart and see what was smoking. The only damage that i see is on the square component in the middle of the picture. Sorry about the picture quality.


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## HKJ (Jun 7, 2016)

*Re: Xtar's literature claims some protection*



~Deicide~ said:


> finally had a chance to take it apart and see what was smoking. The only damage that i see is on the square component in the middle of the picture. Sorry about the picture quality.



That is probably the usb output switcher. This will often be chips designed exactly for that purpose, i.e. with build in over discharge protection and over current protection.


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## Gauss163 (Jun 7, 2016)

*Re: Xtar's literature claims some protection*



~Deicide~ said:


> finally had a chance to take it apart and see what was smoking. The only damage that i see is on the square component in the middle of the picture. Sorry about the picture quality.



Are there any components on the bottom of the PCB? If so, could you please also post a photo of the bottom.


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## Rossymeister (Jun 7, 2016)

*Re: Xtar's literature claims some protection*



Gauss163 said:


> Are there any components on the bottom of the PCB? If so, could you please also post a photo of the bottom.



I should have made it clear that this is the VP2 model.

Here are some more pictures:


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