# Trustfire TR003P4 18650 Charger Review



## old4570 (Aug 5, 2011)

TrustFire Multi-Function Li-Ion Battery Charger - TR003P4 (110-240V/DC12V)

Its been a while since there has been a new charger from Trustfire , I wont dare mention who may have lit a fire under them. 



So seeing the new charger a while ago , I decided to drop some coin on it rather than driving my car [ fair exchange ] , since I already had enough chargers I needed to be able to justify buying another , and after giving the charger some what of a shake down , I have to say its a fairly good charger for the money . Lets get on some details first : 

With a 18650 @ 3.16v the 4 bays returned - 0.63A - 0.65A - 0.67A - 0.67A

18650 @ 3.52v the 4 bays returned - 0.55A - 0.53A - 0.53A - 0.56A 

18650 @ 3.67v the charger varied from 200-360mA

18650 @ 3.93v the charger varied from 140-160mA

18650 @ 3.97v the charger varied from 120 - 150mA

18650 @ 4.07v the charger varied from 83-99mA and with another cell 97-112mA

18650 @ 4.12v the charger varied from 70-82mA

18650 @ 4.19v the charger varied from 25-75mA 

Now with 2 batteries in place - I tested several combinations of bays ...

The charge rate went from 0.67 or so Amp to 0.51A there was little variation after that when you added more cells ..



Termination seems to be around the 4.19v range to 4.21v [ so far ] 

The charger behaves much like the WF-139 or WF-188 , in the sense that it seems to check battery state about once every second [ what my MM can detect ] , it does appear to sort of terminate charging , and what I mean by that , it does not actually turn off the charging channel but rather goes into a monitoring / stand by state [ around 2 to 3mA ] and if another cell is charging it may check battery state kicking current up to 20 to 40mA as it does so , again very much dependent on my MM [ How accurate it is ] . 

Now what I like about this charger = It will start charging from 4.19v . And so far has terminated from 4.19v to 4.21v , it has a decent starting charge rate [ current ] but looks to ease off in a almost linear fashion rather than at certain voltage levels , this makes the charger some what slow as the charge rate has eased of quite a bit before the battery even gets to 4 volts , but the upside of this is that the charger would be very gentle on the 18650 and quite possibly help in putting in as much charge as one possibly could [ Hmmm gives me an idea for an experiment ] , anyhow . 

So by now your probably wondering what batteries the charger will handle ...

18700 fit with room to spare , should be no issues here ..

16340 , I put in the shortest ones I had , and again there should be no issues here ..

I have to say the charger looks to be well made , the lid looks to be well made , as well as being attached firmly .

The sliding tabs in each bay move with no binding , and also appear to be well made [ Ive had a tab bend and break before ] , should be no problems in this regard ..

Each charge channel does appear to be independent , I saw no evidence to show otherwise .

And this is the first charger with a open voltage of 0 volts , yeah even with a battery in one channel the others read 0 volts ...

Voltage input range is 110 to 240v and there is a 12v DC input [ 2A ] , if you have a 12v sig adapter .



I like this charger , and I will use it as much as possible to see if it does something strange , so far so good , and from the testing so far , I would recommend this charger [ based on my sample ] .


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## Lightfoot98 (Aug 5, 2011)

Aw, Nice little Kitty Cat!

I like little kitty's, they taste just like chicken!!!!

BTW, Nice review.
I spotted this the other day Googling, and thought it seemed pretty decent.


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## iron potato (Aug 5, 2011)

Nice review mate, guess that its also capable to charging kitty cat as well... then again, maybe not ^^"

I have a Soshine, SC S1 mix II for couple of months now, all the batteries coming out after charge terminate, were 4.18v - 4.19v, battery itself feels like room temperature, not warm, does it fully charged or almost full ? Maybe I'm too rush to get a replacement for my UltraFire WF139, so my question is, the batteries feels room temperature or warm to the touch after charge terminate with this TrustFire charger ? Should it be at room temperature or warm to the touch ? Because the more I read about Li-ion battery gone , the more I concern about battery charging process :sweat:

Thanks


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## old4570 (Aug 5, 2011)

Temperature ... Room temperature .. 

But it might also depend on the battery . 

A battery with more internal resistance will most likely charge warmer than a cell with lower internal resistance .


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## iron potato (Aug 5, 2011)

old4570 said:


> Temperature ... Room temperature ..
> 
> But it might also depend on the battery .
> 
> A battery with more internal resistance will most likely charge warmer than a cell with lower internal resistance .


 
Ahh... battery dependent, alright then, thanks for another tip regarding battery characteristic ~ : )


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## old4570 (Aug 5, 2011)

iron potato said:


> Ahh... battery dependent, alright then, thanks for another tip regarding battery characteristic ~ : )



Another thing to watch for is poor ventilation around the charger , often the charger gets warm and that makes the cells warm , these days I try to elevate one side of the charger so that heat does not build up under the charger . 

It actually makes a difference .


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## scheven_architect (Aug 5, 2011)

EDIT: deleted double post


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## scheven_architect (Aug 5, 2011)

Ty for this review!
I am going to buy some xtar 2600 batteries and i was wondering whether to buy this charger or the xtar wp2 that also has a good review. You know anything about that charger?

greetings!


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## KiwiMark (Aug 5, 2011)

This sounds like a charger worth considering for some users (not so much for me) - with the low price (under twenty bucks including shipping) and the simplicity of putting up to four cells in the charger and letting it do its job. I wonder how slow it would be to charge a battery from near flat - though that wouldn't be a big deal to some.

I like the versatility of my hobby chargers and think that they are better quality and better performance, but they aren't to everyone's tastes (some find them too complicated) so sometimes we find ourselves wondering what the best option to recommend would be. Priority number one for a charger to recommend to a friend would be that it is safe and priority number two is that it does the job - speed & performance aren't nearly as important.

I like the WF-139 for speed, but it is a bit harsher on the batteries, this Trustfire charger looks to be slower but much kinder on the batteries.


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## iron potato (Aug 5, 2011)

KiwiMark said:


> I like the versatility of my hobby chargers and think that they are better quality and better performance, but they aren't to everyone's tastes (some find them too complicated) so sometimes we find ourselves wondering what the best option to recommend would be. Priority number one for a charger to recommend to a friend would be that it is safe and priority number two is that it does the job - speed & performance aren't nearly as important.



Hi Mark, do you parallel charge or balance charge in series with hobby charger ? I heard of iMax B6 is quite popular & reasonably priced, but then again, I also read some forum saying that it was not as accurate on the cut-off voltage & need some resistors replacement to get it right, how do you see it ?




KiwiMark said:


> I like the WF-139 for speed, but it is a bit harsher on the batteries, this Trustfire charger looks to be slower but much kinder on the batteries.



I concurred with you, that's why I bought Soshine SC S1 mix II charger, quite similiar to Trustfire charger to replace WF-139, now although it charges slowly, but the cells are cooler on every charge


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## old4570 (Aug 6, 2011)

scheven_architect said:


> Ty for this review!
> I am going to buy some xtar 2600 batteries and i was wondering whether to buy this charger or the xtar wp2 that also has a good review. You know anything about that charger?
> 
> greetings!



Yes , Ive posted a review on the WP2 ..

WP2 or TR003 ? Do you need to charge more than 2 cells ? The WP2 is a good charger but if you want to charge 16340 or more than two cells , you may wish to consider the TR003


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## KiwiMark (Aug 6, 2011)

iron potato said:


> Hi Mark, do you parallel charge or balance charge in series with hobby charger?


 
I usually charge a single cell at a time (or one on each hobby charger) but when I need to charge a set of cells I usually use balance charging in series.

I've been using an iCharger 106B+ and a Turnigy 8150, but my new iCharger 208B should be here within a couple of days. I used to have a Turnigy Accucell 6 - I think that is an excellent budget charger, not as good as the iCharger but works well and a very reasonable price. 

Hobby chargers are a little more involved to use - lots of different options & settings. But I really don't find them that complicated, mostly I use the last setting I used which means I don't need to change anything, just hold down the start button. I like how I can charge a cell at 1A until it hits 4.20V or for my 32650 cells I go with 2A and for my 14500 cells I go with 0.3A - the cradle chargers like the Trustfire don't have the same options available, simpler but very limited in capability. For a tech savvy tinkerer I'd definitely recommend going with a hobby charger, for a person that would just get confused by all the options then a cradle charger like the Trustfire would be an option worth considering.


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## scheven_architect (Aug 6, 2011)

old4570 said:


> Yes , Ive posted a review on the WP2 ..
> 
> WP2 or TR003 ? Do you need to charge more than 2 cells ? The WP2 is a good charger but if you want to charge 16340 or more than two cells , you may wish to consider the TR003


 
I will buy 4 xtar 2600 batteries to power a DRY 3x18650 and a KD C8 1x18650
So i guess in that case I'll be better of with this one, if it's same quality.


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## old4570 (Aug 6, 2011)

scheven_architect said:


> I will buy 4 xtar 2600 batteries to power a DRY 3x18650 and a KD C8 1x18650
> So i guess in that case I'll be better of with this one, if it's same quality.



Same quality - Hard to say , Ive had the WP2 since release , but I have so many chargers it only gets a light work out - but so far no issues ..
As for the TR003 , build quality is very nice , and I see no reason why it would not be as good as the WP2 , only time will tell , and if people buy it and confirm that its good ...

Thats the problem with new stuff , takes time for a broader view to be established , For now , I would say - There is no reason not to buy it , and possibly quite a few , to buy it . 
But I dont think its my job to sell this charger , but more to inform you - or empower you to decide if its something you wish to try .


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## scheven_architect (Aug 7, 2011)

as the xtar 2600 are 18700 and not 18650 fitting could be a problem or not?

appreciate the help!


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## old4570 (Aug 7, 2011)

Yeah , 18700 fit with room to spare -


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## scheven_architect (Aug 7, 2011)

Great! Then I'll order me one of these instead of the 2 battery charger from xtar !
Appreciate your help!


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## j3bnl (Sep 3, 2011)

Good review and pics, so thanks.
Dropped on one of these from a Ebay seller so will see how it performs when it arrives.


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## tstites (Sep 9, 2011)

old4570, now that it's been a month, which one would you prefer, the WP2 or the TR003? Have you found any issues with the TR003? Thanks!


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## HKJ (Sep 10, 2011)

tstites said:


> old4570, now that it's been a month, which one would you prefer, the WP2 or the TR003? Have you found any issues with the TR003? Thanks!


 
The WP2 has one huge advantage over the TR003, that is speed. The WP2 can charge in less than 5 hours, where the TR003 needs more than 15 hours.


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## old4570 (Sep 10, 2011)

tstites said:


> old4570, now that it's been a month, which one would you prefer, the WP2 or the TR003? Have you found any issues with the TR003? Thanks!



Wow , they both have a place in my collection .. The WP2 MK2 is more versatile [ 500mAh @ 1A charge settings ] but the TR003 can charge 4 cells , and that has been handy recently ...

With hind sight , id own both [ Actually I do ] but if I was a noob looking for one 18650 charger ?????? It would come down to need , would I need to charge more than two batteries .. And that's it , otherwise it would be a very close call . 

Probably by a cats whisker to the Xtar unless you need to charge more than two cells at a time ..


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## j3bnl (Sep 19, 2011)

HKJ said:


> The WP2 has one huge advantage over the TR003, that is speed. The WP2 can charge in less than 5 hours, where the TR003 needs more than 15 hours.


 
15hours?
I have had mine a week or so now and it has never taken that long.
Its not as quick as my PILA but is not that slow.


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## HKJ (Sep 19, 2011)

j3bnl said:


> 15hours?
> I have had mine a week or so now and it has never taken that long.
> Its not as quick as my PILA but is not that slow.


 
58240 seconds (970 minutes or 16 hours) for a Xtar 2400 mA cell on channel #1, before the indicator led says finished, for my copy of the TR-003P4. That is for a empty cell, i.e. I discharge it to 3 volt, before charging it.

The time is not measured with a stopwatch, but with a computer, a DMM and a photo sensor place on the led, this is done at the same time as I record the charge curve (You can see the setup here, except the sensor it is new). Usual it is easy to see on the charge curve when the charger is says finished, but this is not the case with this charger, it does not stop charging when it says it is finished, but continues for a few hours more.


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## stepep (Sep 22, 2011)

I've this charger: it's seems to go well but every kind of battery it charger mesure 4.27V when the light is green....is it too much?


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## HKJ (Sep 22, 2011)

stepep said:


> I've this charger: it's seems to go well but every kind of battery it charger mesure 4.27V when the light is green....is it too much?


 
That is slightly to high, the limit is supposed to be 4.25 and usual you will not get up to that (But it might be your DMM).


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## KiwiMark (Sep 22, 2011)

stepep said:


> I've this charger: it's seems to go well but every kind of battery it charger mesure 4.27V when the light is green....is it too much?


 
If you MM is accurate then it will be fine at that voltage BUT your battery will have a reduced lifespan. If you don't care if your battery only lasts for a year or 2 then it isn't really a problem, but if you want to get a good 3 or 4 years out of the battery then you shouldn't use that charger.


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## grossetc (Jul 7, 2015)

Hi all,

I have a problem with my charger TR-003P4 and i search the value of the resistor R3 on the board and the Zener value for the diode DZ1 could you help me ?

thanks


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## Huntakillaz (Jul 8, 2015)

Nice Review Cat!

Highly intelligent!, my cats just eat sleep and wander off :/


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