# Sysmax/Nitecore/Jetbeam i4 Intellicharger Review (V2): current/voltage comparisons



## selfbuilt

*Sysmax/Nitecore i4 Intellicharger Review (V2): current/voltage comparisons*

Welcome to my Sysmax/Nitecore Intellicharger i4 V2 review. 

_*UPDATE JANUARY 6, 2012:* I have now reviewed a similar version of this charger, under the Jetbeam-specific branding - the Jetbeam i4 PRO._











The initial iteration of the i4 charger sparked a lot of interest here, due to its stated ability to "intelligently" handle both Li-ions and standard NiMH/NiCd rechargeable batteries. oo:

There were some problems with the first version of this charger (especially when run on North American 110V AC power), resulting in a model recall. This review will look at the new and revised V2, which addresses the earlier issues and adds some new features.

This review will be done in the style of my earlier Xtar WP2-II review. I am not as well versed in electronics or circuitry as some of the other members here, so I suggest you consult with the experts if you want to know more than just the basic current/voltage runtime relationships presented here. 

Please see my original charger round-up review for more background on my testing method, and comparison to a number of basic chargers. 

If you are looking for more information on how to perform measurement/testing on chargers, please see HKJ's excellent Measurement on flashlight page. 

*i4 Intellicharger V2 Reported Specifications *
Li-ion: 26650, 22650, 18650, 17670, 18490, 17500, 17335, 16340 (RCR), 14500, 10440
NiMH / NiCd: AA, AAA, C
Input Voltage: AC 100-240V 50/60Hz or DC 12V
Input power: 10W
Output Voltage: 4.2V +/- 1% / 1.48V +/- 1%
Output Current: 350mA x 4 / 750 mA x 2
Capable of charging 4 batteries simultaneously
Each of the four battery slots monitors and charges independently
Automatically identifies Li-ion, Ni-MH and Ni-Cd rechargeable batteries
Features three charging modes (CC, CV and Trickle Charge)
Automatically detects battery status and selects the appropriate voltage and charge mode
3 Color LED displays charging progress for each battery
Automatically stops charging when complete
Features reverse polarity protection
Designed for optimal heat dissipation
Certified by both RoHS and CE
Dimensions: 139mm x 96mm x36mm
Weight: 156g (without batteries)

*What's New in Version 2*
The charging slot is now 2cm longer than the v1 version, to accommodate larger protected cells. _(Reviewer's Note: I believe they meant to say 2mm longer)_
The charging current drops to 750mA when charging two batteries at position #1 & #3. The current is still 750mA for and will alternate charge cycle once every second for each battery. When charging two batteries installed in slot #1 & #2 they will get 750mh respectively. The result is: charging at slot #1 & #2 will be faster than charging at slot #1 & #3 _(Reviewer's Note: #2 & #4 are similarly paired, like #1 & #3)_
Improved charging capability/safety when charging 10440 li-ion batteries
Works properly with US 110V System
MSRP: ~$25
Note the above is what the manufacturer _reports_ for the charger – scroll down to see my actual review findings. :wave:










My i4 V2 came with just a standard 110 AC power adapter. The unit supports 100 – 240V AC, 50/60Hz, so those outside of North America can use it fine (with the appropriate terminal plug). A 12V DC car adapter is available separately. 






















The cabling and overall build seem good (good length on the cables, solid base unit). The battery trays are spring-mounted, and can easily accommodate any size from RCR to 18650 without spacers. :thumbsup: However, I found the springs lacked lube on my sample, and a couple of them were very stiff to operate out of the box. You will likely need to add some lube yourself, which is an inconvenience for the general consumer. :shrug:

As explained in the manual, while the charger has four bays, it actually only has two independent channels. If you want to charge two cells independently of each other (i.e., each charged at the full 750mA current the unit is capable of), you need to place the cells in bays #1 & #2, #2 & #3, #1 & #4, or #3 & #4. 

If you place the cells in the paired bays #1 & #3, or #2 & #4, the charging current will be split between the cells. Rather than just cutting in half (i.e., 375mA per bay), the current remains at 750mA for each bay – but it alternates charging by cycling off/on once every second for each battery. This effectively results in the same thing, but the cell is actually being charged at 750mA for a 1sec on, 1sec off, cycle. 

This is explained in the manual, but it would be good have the charger unit bays labelled somehow. Scroll down to see my actual testing results.


















_Note: I didn't have the unit plugged in for these shots, which is why you don't see any of the indicator lights lit up._ 

There are three yellow lights located over each charging bay, and a blue power indicator at the top right hand side of the unit (lights up when AC/DC power is supplied).

When you insert a battery into the charger, the three yellow lights over the bay indicate the charging status. One flashing LED on the bottom means the unit is charging, and the battery is less than 1/3 full. One solid on the bottom and one flashing LED in the middle means the unit is charging, and the battery is less than 2/3 full. Two solid and one flashing LED means the unit is charging, and the battery is more than 2/3 full. Three solid LEDs means the battery is fully charged and the unit has stopped charging.

As you can see in the pics above, all standard battery sizes fit fine. I was able to get my longest high-capacity 18650s to fit (although they were a bit snug). :thumbsup: I was even able to get the 26650 from my 4Sevens X10 to charge fine. I can't guarantee that all 26550 cells will fit, however (i.e., a smaller positive button on the cell may not be able reach to the positive contact plate in the bay).

Here is a quick video overview of the physical build of the charger:



Video was recorded in 720p, but YouTube typically defaults to 360p. Once the video is running, you can click on the configuration settings icon and select the higher 480p to 720p options. You can also run full-screen. 

*Voltage/Current Measurements*

To examine the performance of the charger, I have directly monitored charging current and voltage with a data-logging DMM (on separate runs). 

For these tests, I have used my standard AW protected 18650 (2200mAh) and RCR (750mAh) cells, and Sanyo Eneloop AA NiMH. The cells used here have all had a good number of cycles on them, but are still in reasonable condition. To deplete the cells, I used my regular test bed of a fully-regulated JetBeam Jet-III ST, Jet-II or Jet-I Pro (all IBS models) on Max output – and wait until the cell’s protection circuit gets tripped. The cell is then immediately loaded into the charger for testing and recording (depleted resting voltage typically ~3.0-3.2V).

Let's start with something simple: 1x18650, and 1xRCR:






The i4 V2 shows a charging algorithm on 1x18650 that at least approximates the CC/CV charger pattern for Li-ions. The initial charging current (measured at 750mA) is exactly as reported for this charger. :thumbsup:

In the 1x18650 run above, you can see the i4 kept the charge current very constant during the CC phase, and dropped down gradually during the CV phase. The CV phase doesn't appear to exactly constant, but it's not bad.






Ok, this a little different. :thinking: For the 1xRCR run, the unit was not able to keep the CC phase for long, and quickly dropped into the CV phase.

_UPDATE: As noted in the discussion below, the charger does not seem to have a true CV phase, but rather something that approximates it. I have not tested enough chargers to know for sure what this phase normally looks like on 1xRCR._

For both runs, the unit terminated at just under 40mA charging current. This is very respectable, and means that lower capacity Li-ions can be safely charged in the light (e.g. RCR, 14500, 10440, etc.). Of course, this specific CC/CV-like pattern also means that cells will take a bit longer than in some other chargers. 

Fully charged, most of my well-used cells were ~4.16-4.18V at rest. With newer cells, I measured ~4.20-4.21V at rest. This is normal (cell capacity drops with repeated cycles), and suggests the charger is charging up to the full capacity of the cells. 

The i4 does not completely terminate when the three yellow LEDs go solid. Although my DMM dropped to zero on my 10A port, when I switched over an re-ran the termination charge on my DMM’s mA/uA port, I measured a low 110 uA current. But this is low enough to be irrelevant. Note that despite what the manual says, this is not what most people understand as a "trickle charge." A true "trickle charge" usually involves a regular pulse of mA current, to maintain the fully charged state. IMO, this is not a good thing for Li-ions – most "trickle chargers" are set too high, and over the long-term, will slowly cook your batteries (i.e. it gradually over-charges the cell, as long as it sits in the charger). The constant low uA current here is negligible, and will not lead to "trickle-charger" over-charging. For all intents and purposes, the i4 is close enough to full termination.

_*Note:* The "dips" in the graphs above have to do with how the charger operates – it actually stops charging once every two seconds to check to see if anything has been inserted into the paired charging bay._ I don't have an oscilloscope to show you the exact pattern, but I can estimate from my sampling measures that it takes just under a third of a second to check. This is enough to drop the current/voltage reading in the traces above. My sampling rate is once every 30 secs, hence the why you don't see a continuous "wall of noise", but just sporadic dips (i.e. there is a ~15% chance my DMM will be taking a reading during a charging pause).

Let's see what happens if you charge two cells in paired bays (i.e. #1 & 3, or #2 & #4)






_While this may look similar to the earlier 1xRCR charge cycle, please pay attention to the timescale._ As you will see, it took a lot longer to charge two cells in the paired bays. The reason for this is that the charger alternates the current between the cells (i.e. charges the first bay for a little under one sec, then stops and charges the other bay for a little under one sec, etc.). Note also the charger still does its ~1/3 sec pause every ~2 secs to check the status of the paired bay. 

The net effect is roughly comparable to what would happen if each bay got a continuous half-current instead of an intermittent full current (i.e., 375mA to start, instead of 750mA), assuming the same CC/CV-like pattern. 

So, effectively, this means is that it may take up to twice as long to charge cells in paired channel bays (e.g., I would expect 10+ hours to charge two 18650 cells in paired bays). You could still charge two 18650 cells in ~5 hours using the independent channels (which I recommend). But if you wanted to charge 3-4 cells at once, at least some of those cells would take twice as long.

So why does the charger do this? Well, the 750mA initial charging rate is high for lower capacity cells (e.g. 10440). If you are trying to charge cells with low capacities (basically, anything AAA-sized or smaller), it is recommended by the manufacturer that you always charge two cells at a time, in the paired bays to lower the overall average current to each cell.

Again, remember that if I had charged these cells in bays #1 & #2, #2 & #3, #3 & #4, or #1 & #4, each one would have gotten the full charge cycle and looked just like my earlier 1xRCR current charging trace. 

So how does NiMH look?






The charger runs at a CC cycle of just over ~700mA in my testing. :thumbsup:

Unlike Li-ion, NiMH chargers don't work by a CC/CV method. Instead, they typically terminate when the battery reaches a particular voltage level, based on a characteristic increase in the positive slope of voltage versus time (i.e., dV/dT). As you can see in my runtime traces, there is a very pronounced uptick in voltage just before the run terminates. But I haven't tested other NiMH chargers, so I don't know if this is what to expect for dV/dT termination. Any of the NiMH experts want to chime in here? :thinking:

The full charge capacity seems to be good. My Maha C9000 charger typically charges this cell to ~1950mA, and reports the discharge capacity as ~1850mA. When I discharged the i4-charged cell, I got ~1830mA discharge capacity, which is pretty comparable to what my Maha reports after its own charge/discharge cycle. 

Oh, and some good news: it looks like you can charge both NiMH and Li-ions at the same time, even in paired bays.  I know there were some issues reported with this on the first (recalled) version of the i4. But I've tested it in a variety of bays, and NiMH and Li-ion both charged correctly (at least based on initial charging patterns – I didn't run them until termination). The manual for the i4 V2 reports this is allowed. 

*Preliminary Discussion*

The new second edition of the i4 Intellicharger from Sysmax appears to live up to the initial promise of this model. It successfully charged all manner of cells that I threw at it, with performance generally consistent with its specifications. 

For Li-ions, I particularly like the use of the CC/CV-like method, with a low charging rate at the time of termination (i.e. <40mA in my tests above). This is about half that of my Pila charger, which is the gold-standard for consumer Li-ion chargers. A low termination current is important for low-capacity cells (i.e., RCR and anything smaller), which suggests you are good to charge anything here.

However, because of the relatively high initial charging current on Li-ions (750mA), you shouldn't charge anything smaller than RCR individually. Sysmax recommends you charge anything with the capacity of AAA/10440 or smaller in pairs, on the same current channel (i.e. bays #1 & #3, or #2 & #4). As this is a four-bay charger with only two independent channels, the charging current will be essentially halved when you charge two cells simultaneously in those bays. If you want to charge two cells simultaneously with the full current to each, you would need to place them in bays #1 & #2, #2 & #3, #3 & #4, or #1 & #4.

The charger suspends charging for just under 1/3 of a second every 2 seconds, to check the status of the other bay. This means that the charger is only charging a single cell ~85% of the time (or ~42% of the time, if running in paired charging bays). :shrug:

The end result of all of the above means that it takes a little longer to fully charge your cells. For one 18650 2200mAh cell (or two cells in independent channels), I would plan for at least 5 hours charging time from fully depleted (my Pila takes a little over 4 hours, in comparison). As an aside, for those who complain that four 18650s would take 10+ hours on the i4, I would point out my Pila would need 8+ hours anyway (i.e., I would have to switch the two cells out after 4 hours, or buy a second Pila!).  

The i4 V2 charger dropped to a negligible low uA once the status lights indicated a full-charge. Despite what the manual says, this is not a "trickle-charge" – it is in fact much better, and is practically equivalent to actual full termination. :thumbsup:

The i4 also successfully handled any NiMH cells I tried on it. Charging current was constant at ~700mA over the course of the charging cycle. The i4 will certainly not replace my Maha C9000 workhorses with their detailed featured sets (yes, I own two of them :kiss, but it gets the job done in a reasonable amount of time. I was (pleasantly) surprised to see that I could charge both Li-ions and NiMH simultaneously – in both paired and/or independent channels – and everything seemed to work fine.

Physically, the charger handled all my cells (including one 26650). However, they do need to grease the springs at the factory – most of mine were so stiff, I was worried about bending the prongs when first trying to insert the cells. The charging light interface is intuitive, and worked consistently in my testing.

End of the day, no real surprises here – the charger lived up to its billing. I hope you found the current/voltage analysis useful. But as always, I will leave it up to the battery and charger experts here to weigh in and provide more detail on the charger specifics. :wave:

_*UPDATE JANUARY 6, 2012:* I have now reviewed a similar version of this charger, under the Jetbeam-specific branding - the Jetbeam i4 PRO._

----

i4 V2 charger supplied by Sysmax for review.


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## badtziscool

Nice review! I see a new charger in my future.


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## Nake

I'm guessing RCR2 cells should be charged in 1 & 3 and 2 & 4 also, correct?


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## kj2

Thanks for the review 
-Had already ordered one last week.


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## peterharvey73

Great review as usual Selfbuilt.

So this mean I best continue to recharge a single 1x AW RCR Chemistry 16340 Protected on my Pila charger?

While the new Sysmax i4 is good for 3x18650 AW 2900 Flat Tops from an RRT-3, and 4x18650 Redilast 3100 Button Tops from a TM11?


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## Draven451

Thanks for always bringing some of the best reviews of the newest products on the market! :thumbsup:

We like it but our wallets don't like so much~*


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## RI Chevy

Excellent review. Thank you for doing this for us. :thumbsup:


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## selfbuilt

:grouphug: Thanks guys, glad you are enjoying the review. The charging/battery stuff is not really my forte, but I thought I'd try to provide as detailed an overview as I can. 



Nake said:


> I'm guessing RCR2 cells should be charged in 1 & 3 and 2 & 4 also, correct?


Yes, RCR2 should only be charged in paired bays on the same channel (1 & 3, or 2 & 4), due to their lower capacity.



peterharvey73 said:


> So this mean I best continue to recharge a single 1x AW RCR Chemistry 16340 Protected on my Pila charger?


Well, the i4 has only a slightly higher initial current (750mA) on a single cell - but given that it is only charging for ~85% of the time, the average CC current is not so different from the the Pila. The i4 also has a lower termination current than the Pila, which is even better for RCR. End result is that is takes longer to charge on the i4, and it seems at least as suitable as the Pila.



> While the new Sysmax i4 is good for 3x18650 AW 2900 Flat Tops from an RRT-3, and 4x18650 Redilast 3100 Button Tops from a TM11?


Those should all work fine.


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## Joe Talmadge

> The i4 V2 shows the classic CC/CV charger pattern for Li-ions.



selfbuilt, thanks for the in-depth review. I'm stuck on your statement above. to my eyes, that pattern is not a classic CC/CV charger pattern. It's showing a CC phase (ignoring the open circuit voltage checking I guess), but I believe the CV phase should start when the voltage hits 4.2V, and stay at exactly 4.2V until the current drops to the termination current. Instead, on the i4, the CC phase is over at around 4V, and then switches to a not-quite-CV phase where the voltage slowly rises the rest of the way to 4.2V while the current drops off. 

I don't know that it's a problem, but that second phase of charging just isn't quite a CV. Maybe a SRV (Slowly Rising Voltage) phase  No?


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## Joe Talmadge

double-tap


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## selfbuilt

Joe Talmadge said:


> to my eyes, that pattern is not a classic CC/CV charger pattern. It's showing a CC phase (ignoring the open circuit voltage checking I guess), but I believe the CV phase should start when the voltage hits 4.2V, and stay at exactly 4.2V until the current drops to the termination current. Instead, on the i4, the CC phase is over at around 4V, and then switches to a not-quite-CV phase where the voltage slowly rises the rest of the way to 4.2V while the current drops off.


A good point ... I had originally written "The i4 V2 shows a charging algorithm that at least approximates the CC/CV charger pattern for Li-ions", but had shortened it because I thought the review was getting too wordy.  I have just re-instated that sentence, because I agree with you that it is not really constant voltage. But I have not tested enough chargers to know for sure what the CV phase should look like. Maybe someone with more experience can chime in with an opinion?


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## cactus man

I found this product review a valuable asset!

After reading this review, I ordered the i4 charger from Wiseguys....$27.89 [shipped]

I received the original model 375/750ma on the rear label [yellow color].
I now see they have a Ver-2 model and the charging current 
is specified at 500/1000ma....

I primarily charge 18650 protected batteries and AA 1.2v Ni-MH batteries.

How critical is the additional current of 125ma of the VER-2 model?
Are there other improvements that would encourage me to replace the 
first generation unit with the newer VER-2 model?

If charging time is the only difference than in my case it's a moot point
and I'll keep the unit I have.

Thanks....

Cactus Man


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## fonzerelli

Great review! 

After reading about this charger, however, the price point seems too good to be true. I was wondering if there were any reasons to not get this charger, vs the Pila IBC. 

I already have the Maha charger for NIMH, so I would primarily be using it to charge multiple 18650's for the new Niteye Eye-30 that I just scored a killer deal on.

I already have one Pila IBC for another light I have, but I've been contemplating getting a second one to expedite charging of four batteries at the same time. I realize that the Pila has the potential to charge four batteries faster than this new charger, but that's only if I keep a very close eye on it and swap out the first two batteries right when they finish.

I can spend around another 50 for a second Pila, or 25 and get a charger that does four at the same time. 

Any thoughts?

Thank you!


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## selfbuilt

cactus man said:


> I received the original model 375/750ma on the rear label [yellow color].
> I now see they have a Ver-2 model and the charging current
> is specified at 500/1000ma....


No, that is the old model that lists the 500/1000mA charging current (i.e. V1). Nitecore/Jetbeam do not appear to have updated the content of their websites in awhile. So, while they advertise the new V2 charger on their front pages, the actual link takes you to the old page showing pictures of the original V1, with copies of the original V1 manual posted. The new V2 uses 375mA/750mA.

If you have the version with the same color label as mine, then you have the latest V2. It is confusing that they list the specs for the old V1 on the website. :sigh:



> Are there other improvements that would encourage me to replace the
> first generation unit with the newer VER-2 model?


Again, you seem to have the V2. But for anyone in North America actually using the V1 with the originally supplied 110 AC cable on the V1, you should stop using the charger now.  The V1 of this charger was recalled in North America, due to problems with the 110V rail. As a workaround, Sysmax supplied to an adapter that lets you run the unit off the 12V DC port, through AC power. 

But even at that, there were a number of problems with the V1 of this charger. Please see HKJ's excellent review of the V1 here.



fonzerelli said:


> After reading about this charger, however, the price point seems too good to be true. I was wondering if there were any reasons to not get this charger, vs the Pila IBC.


I typically try to avoid recommending any specific producs (well, I do recommend the Pila for Li-ion and Maha for NiMH, but that's because they are the standards around here ).

That said, the new V2 of the i4 and the Xtar WP2-2 that I review previously both seem to function well, and could serve as good "budget" versions of the Pila. The i4's ability to run NiMH and take four cells at a time (albeit on 2 channels) makes it particularly attractive.

I'm looking forward to HKJ's more detailed review of this charger, to see if there's anything that I missed ...


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## cactus man

Thank you Selfbuilt....

I am now a bit confused so please bear with me....

My unit has a yellow decal on the front "Intellicharger i4" top left

on the backside I also have a yellow decal that says "NITCORE"
the output specs show 4,2v +/- 1%, 1.48v +/-1% 375ma *4 and 750ma*2

no serial number

This unit came with a two wire AC power cord not a wall wart cube.
The AC cord is nonplarized and plugs into the blue AC socket on the charger.

Using the charger I do not experience excessive heat or any noise or odors.
The batteries charge is a reasonable amount of time.

So.... you're saying the unit I have is version-2?

and the original version-1 unit specs a higher charging current of 500ma? and 1000ma?-

I look at various vendors and it's quite confusing as they show ver-2 as the higher current model.
I also see some vendors showing the 375ma current spec


I also downloaded user instructions from various sites and they discuss the 500ma rating
my unit included a single sheet [both sides printed one side chineese] with the 375ma current spec.

What is the reason for reducing the charging current?

Thanks for your input

Cactus Man


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## ecrbattery

Thank you for the review selfbuilt.

I have two questions for you:


In the manual, it is stated that



> Precautions:
> 1. When used at 110V, do not charge four Li-ion rechargeable batteries simultaneously.



Any reason for not being able to do this?


SAFETY question: If you insert an Alkaline AA or an Energizer L91 Lithium Primary AA into the charger, would it reject the battery or would it still try to charge?


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## selfbuilt

cactus man said:


> My unit has a yellow decal on the front "Intellicharger i4" top left
> So.... you're saying the unit I have is version-2?
> and the original version-1 unit specs a higher charging current of 500ma? and 1000ma?-


That's right - you have the new V2 (375mA/750mA), and the manual online is for the original V1 (500mA/1000mA). 

I don't know why they dropped the current, but the charger now behaves as expected at the 750mA level.



ecrbattery said:


> In the manual, it is stated that
> Precautions:
> 1. When used at 110V, do not charge four Li-ion rechargeable batteries simultaneously.
> Any reason for not being able to do this?


Ah, that's the old manual for V1. The Jetbeam website has NOT been updated with the new manual yet.

I will have to check to see my manual tomorrow, but I don't believe that precaution is there anymore. Similarly, the new manual also explicitly supports charging different types of cells simulateously (Li-ion and NiMH) - the old V1 had a warning against this.

I do wish they would update the website with the correct V2 manual ... 



> SAFETY question: If you insert an Alkaline AA or an Energizer L91 Lithium Primary AA into the charger, would it reject the battery or would it still try to charge?


A good question, and one you should ask of any NiMH charger. I don't have an answer for you, and I would NOT want to try it. Don't ever put a primary cell (of any chemistry) into a charger, unless it is explicitly capable of handing it (e.g. for discharge measures only).


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## HKJ

selfbuilt said:


> I'm looking forward to HKJ's more detailed review of this charger, to see if there's anything that I missed ...



I expect to publish my review in the coming weekend.

To see the physical difference between V1 and V2 charger, check these comparison.


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## Joe Talmadge

selfbuilt said:


> A good point ... I had originally written "The i4 V2 shows a charging algorithm that at least approximates the CC/CV charger pattern for Li-ions", but had shortened it because I thought the review was getting too wordy.  I have just re-instated that sentence, because I agree with you that it is not really constant voltage. But I have not tested enough chargers to know for sure what the CV phase should look like. Maybe someone with more experience can chime in with an opinion?



Great, I think that's a fairer way to word things up. Just to make sure I'm not crazy, I went back and looked at the curves for a few other chargers I remembered doing CC/CV more properly, and indeed, those chargers have pretty straight horizontal lines during the CV phase. The 4sevens, pila, etc. have nice flat CV lines


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## Beacon of Light

Cool review. What happens with all 4 slots charging the same or different batteries? Is that all 4 charging at 750 mAh? That would likely fry the RCR123s I use protected or unprotected. The WF138 or WF139 charger is pretty safe and the only reason I';d buy this is to charge 4 at a time, but not at the expense of cooking the batteries. 

Was there any tests done to monitor battery temperature with your review? This is usually a major concern and factor in choosing a new charger. 

How effective is this charger at reviving older battteries that will not take a charge on other smart chargers. I'd like to kickstart a bunch of over terminated RCR123s that I can only sometimes fool into charging on my WF138/9 charger.


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## HKJ

Beacon of Light said:


> Cool review. What happens with all 4 slots charging the same or different batteries? Is that all 4 charging at 750 mAh? That would likely fry the RCR123s I use protected or unprotected. The WF138 or WF139 charger is pretty safe and the only reason I';d buy this is to charge 4 at a time, but not at the expense of cooking the batteries.
> 
> Was there any tests done to monitor battery temperature with your review? This is usually a major concern and factor in choosing a new charger.
> 
> How effective is this charger at reviving older battteries that will not take a charge on other smart chargers. I'd like to kickstart a bunch of over terminated RCR123s that I can only sometimes fool into charging on my WF138/9 charger.



When using two slots, with a shared charge circuit, the battery will only be charged half the time, but with the full current. I.e. the charge time is nearly double up. 750mA is not a problem for RCR123/16340 batteries, it is a 1C charge and they can handle that.
The charger does not have anything preventing it from charging a low battery, this is not really possible when it also has to charge NiMH.


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## Beacon of Light

Thanks but this didn't answer whether it charges at 375mAh or 750mAh using all 4 slots. I would assume 375mAh as how would the charger differentiate the 1&3 slot being used in conjunction with the other paired slot and when used alone 1&3 or 2&4 it halves the charge current.

You say it can a RCR123 handle a 750mAh charge? Maybe, but I sure wouldn't want to charge at that high a setting. For example, a AA NiMH can handle 2000 mAh but is it wise to do? No, it isn't. It fries the cell into premature death.


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## HKJ

Beacon of Light said:


> Thanks but this didn't answer whether it charges at 375mAh or 750mAh using all 4 slots. I would assume 375mAh as how would the charger differentiate the 1&3 slot being used in conjunction with the other paired slot and when used alone 1&3 or 2&4 it halves the charge current.



I believe I did answer that, but obvious not in a clear enough way.

When charging 4 batteries the charge current is 750 mA in about 45% of the time, giving an average charge current of 340 mA for each battery.


----------



## Beacon of Light

That response is even less clear. So it does charge at 750mAh. Too high for RCR123 3.0 volts imo. The 45% of the time makes no sense even when using the idea of alternating currrent 750mAh and then 1 second of 0 mAh. This Pulse width modulation style of charging I would assume is not a very good algorythm for charging. Abrupt surge of current then turn off, then surge again and then turn off. I prefer slow and steady to this. Here's hoping there will be a Maha Wizard one in a style that accepts different cells like this someday.

\


HKJ said:


> I believe I did answer that, but obvious not in a clear enough way.
> 
> When charging 4 batteries the charge current is 750 mA in about 45% of the time, giving an average charge current of 340 mA for each battery.


----------



## HKJ

Beacon of Light said:


> That response is even less clear. So it does charge at 750mAh. Too high for RCR123 3.0 volts imo. The 45% of the time makes no sense even when using the idea of alternating currrent 750mAh and then 1 second of 0 mAh. This Pulse width modulation style of charging I would assume is not a very good algorythm for charging. Abrupt surge of current then turn off, then surge again and then turn off. I prefer slow and steady to this. Here's hoping there will be a Maha Wizard one in a style that accepts different cells like this someday.\



It can not charge RCR123 3 volt, only 3.6/3.7 volt batteries. The pulsing is not a problem for the batteries, MAHA does exactly the same.


----------



## Beacon of Light

If it will charge 1.2volt AAA/AAs and 3.6/3.7volt RCR123s then why would it have a problem with 3.0volt RCR123s? How would it even determine the RCR123 is 3.0volt versus a 3.6/3.7 volt RCR123? Seems odd as this is advertised as a one charger for all cells/chemistries. This may be a smart charger but I doubt it is THAT smart...

Also will this charge individual solder tab 18650 cells from a laptop battery?

Are you sure the Maha pulses it's charge? I've never been aware of this and I own 2 of these Maha Wizard Ones. Seems you would see the display indicating 0 mAh at times when seeing the charging indicator LED display and I watch it like a hawk when charging cells on the Wizard One.



HKJ said:


> It can not charge RCR123 3 volt, only 3.6/3.7 volt batteries. The pulsing is not a problem for the batteries, MAHA does exactly the same.


----------



## selfbuilt

Beacon of Light said:


> Cool review. What happens with all 4 slots charging the same or different batteries? Is that all 4 charging at 750 mAh? That would likely fry the RCR123s I use protected or unprotected.


I see HKJ has already responded to this point (i.e., it alternates the current). I would just add that my testing shows that even in a single channel, RCR doesn't stay at 750mA for long - the average current during charging is less than half of that over the run.



> Was there any tests done to monitor battery temperature with your review? This is usually a major concern and factor in choosing a new charger.


The short answer is I don't believe heat is a major issue, as the charger actually charges at a lower current than my Pila or Xtar WP2-2 chargers most of the time. But I don't have comparator heat measurement data for those other chargers, so I wouldn't have a way to put any temp results into context (i.e., I would have to go and re-test those chargers under exactly the same conditions, with the probe in exactly the same spot, etc.).

Plus the reason I didn't do any of this in the first place is that I don't have aother datalogging DMM available for concurrent runs (i.e., I already have to repeat every run twice to get voltage and current readings separately, and would need to everything a third time for temp).



> How effective is this charger at reviving older battteries that will not take a charge on other smart chargers. I'd like to kickstart a bunch of over terminated RCR123s that I can only sometimes fool into charging on my WF138/9 charger.


As HKJ said, this charger should charge everything, even over-discharged cells. But I'd recommend tossing cells in that state - it's not really safe to continue to try and charge them.



Beacon of Light said:


> If it will charge 1.2volt AAA/AAs and 3.6/3.7volt RCR123s then why would it have a problem with 3.0volt RCR123s? How would it even determine the RCR123 is 3.0volt versus a 3.6/3.7 volt RCR123? Seems odd as this is advertised as a one charger for all cells/chemistries.


I have no information on its ability to charge 3.0V cells, but I wouldn't want to try it. Just a guess, but I would be concerned that it would interpret these as overly-depleted 3.7V cells, and then try to way over-charge them. :shrug: Since it is differenting between Li-ion and NiMH on the basis of voltage, I don't see how you could do 3V cells without some additional info. But I will leave that question up to the charging circuitry experts to answer ... :wave:


----------



## HKJ

Beacon of Light said:


> If it will charge 1.2volt AAA/AAs and 3.6/3.7volt RCR123s then why would it have a problem with 3.0volt RCR123s? How would it even determine the RCR123 is 3.0volt versus a 3.6/3.7 volt RCR123? Seems odd as this is advertised as a one charger for all cells/chemistries.



The charger need to recognize the battery type and then select the correct algorithm. This is fairly easy with only 3.7 volt LiIon and NiMH. I would be just about impossible to include the 3 (or 3.2) volt chemistry in this.



Beacon of Light said:


> Also will this charge individual solder tab 18650 cells from a laptop battery?



As long as you can get them into the charger. The batteries used in laptops is usual 3.6/3.7 volt LiIon, i.e. the charger supports them.


----------



## Beacon of Light

selfbuilt said:


> As HKJ said, this charger should charge everything, even over-discharged cells. But I'd recommend tossing cells in that state - it's not really safe to continue to try and charge them.



Why wouldn't it be safe? It should terminate just like it would as normal. Would the cell being over discharged cause the runaway charge like was notorious on the Lacrosse BC900 chargers where it was charging at over 2000mAh resulting in a complete meltdown including charger and cells?


----------



## 45/70

HKJ said:


> ......The pulsing is not a problem for the batteries, MAHA does exactly the same.



Is this your opinion, or......? As we all know, NiMH cells and Li-Ion cells utilize a totally different charging algorithm. Not too long ago, I remember seeing a reference to where Panasonic had some sort of guideline for pulse charging Li-Ion cells. I meant to check for it, but never did. Also, I'm not sure whether this applied specifically to the newer LiNiCo cells, or all types of Li-Ion cells. If you could post a link to where an actual Li-Ion cell manufacturer discusses pulse charging Li-Ion cells, it would be much appreciated.

As for Sysmax/JetBeam/Nitecore calling this a CC/CV charger, I still have a major problem with that. It seems deceiving, to me. From selfbuilt's and HKJ's (first version) own charge graphs, it obviously is not a CC/CV charger, as neither current nor voltage is constant. Similar to the way driver's limit current in our lights, you either have PWM, or current regulation, you can't have both. In the case of the i4 IntelliCharger, it obviously utilizes both pulsed voltage and current and is not CC/CV. That's not to say it isn't a good simulation of a CC/CV algorithm, but......

It could very well be that the way this charger replicates a CC/CV algorithm, that it is acceptable. I'm just not convinced, until I see what the actual Li-Ion cell manufacturers have to say about pulse charging cells.

As for charging smaller cells with this charger, yes, it apparently charges at ~750mA, 45% of the time, as HKJ said. In my opinion, that is not the same as a ~340mA constant current. Not exactly related and perhaps a poor example but, you can drive a 1000mA rated LED at 2000mA with 50% PWM, which is effectively 1000mA. However, regardless of the color bin, it'll have a bluish tint and it won't last very long......

@ selfbuilt, thanks for the review. Fine job.:thumbsup:

Dave


----------



## HKJ

Beacon of Light said:


> Why wouldn't it be safe? It should terminate just like it would as normal. Would the cell being over discharged cause the runaway charge like was notorious on the Lacrosse BC900 chargers where it was charging at over 2000mAh resulting in a complete meltdown including charger and cells?



LiIon has a safety problem when discharged to much, that is the reason many people warns against reusing over discharged LiIon batteries.




45/70 said:


> Is this your opinion, or......? As we all know, NiMH cells and Li-Ion cells utilize a totally different charging algorithm. Not too long ago, I remember seeing a reference to where Panasonic had some sort of guideline for pulse charging Li-Ion cells. I meant to check for it, but never did. Also, I'm not sure whether this applied specifically to the newer LiNiCo cells, or all types of Li-Ion cells. If you could post a link to where an actual Li-Ion cell manufacturer discusses pulse charging Li-Ion cells, it would be much appreciated.
> 
> As for Sysmax/JetBeam/Nitecore calling this a CC/CV charger, I still have a major problem with that. It seems deceiving, to me. From selfbuilt's and HKJ's (first version) own charge graphs, it obviously is not a CC/CV charger, as neither current nor voltage is constant. Similar to the way driver's limit current in our lights, you either have PWM, or current regulation, you can't have both. In the case of the i4 IntelliCharger, it obviously utilizes both pulsed voltage and current and is not CC/CV. That's not to say it isn't a good simulation of a CC/CV algorithm, but......
> 
> It could very well be that the way this charger replicates a CC/CV algorithm, that it is acceptable. I'm just not convinced, until I see what the actual Li-Ion cell manufacturers have to say about pulse charging cells.
> 
> As for charging smaller cells with this charger, yes, it apparently charges at ~750mA, 45% of the time, as HKJ said. In my opinion, that is not the same as a ~340mA constant current. Not exactly related and perhaps a poor example but, you can drive a 1000mA rated LED at 2000mA with 50% PWM, which is effectively 1000mA. However, regardless of the color bin, it'll have a bluish tint and it won't last very long......



The 750mA charge current is not to high for the battery and the voltage also stays below the safe limit. The Panasonic specifications I have seen say to stay below 4.25 volt when using puls charge and this charger does that.
The charger does a perfect CC/CV curve on 18650, but it does not look perfect on 16340 batteries, this has nothing to do with the pulsing.

An you are wrong about driving a led at double current, half the time. This has for many years been done this way on 7 segment displays, except the ration is higher than two.


----------



## 45/70

HKJ said:


> The charger does a perfect CC/CV curve on 18650, but it does not look perfect on 16340 batteries, this has nothing to do with the pulsing.





selfbuilt said:


>



Well, maybe it's my eyes, LOL, but it sure looks to me like the current (green) in the above graph fluctuates initially between zero and ~740mA and later, between zero and a lesser value. The voltage (red) also appears to me to fluctuate as much as a tenth of a Volt, or more initially, and then does smooth out towards termination of charge.



HKJ said:


> An you are wrong about driving a led at double current, half the time. This has for many years been done this way on 7 segment displays, except the ration is higher than two.



Well, you may be correct about 7 segment displays, I have no idea. The only experience I have is with high power LEDS, such as those we use in our lights. With those, I didn't have much luck.

Any link to the Panasonic recommendations for pulse charging Li-Ion cells?

Dave


----------



## selfbuilt

Beacon of Light said:


> Why wouldn't it be safe? It should terminate just like it would as normal. Would the cell being over discharged cause the runaway charge like was notorious on the Lacrosse BC900 chargers where it was charging at over 2000mAh resulting in a complete meltdown including charger and cells?


I recall some previous discussions here in the old days that it was a bad idea to try to charge over-discharged cells, but I don't recall the specifics as to what the issue was exactly (or which chargers in particular). I gathered it was a general safety concern during charging.


----------



## 45/70

selfbuilt said:


> I recall some previous discussions here in the old days that it was a bad idea to try to charge over-discharged cells



The reason it's not a good idea to attempt to charge over discharged cells, is there is a danger of the cell "venting with flame".

You really shouldn't attempt to charge "bad" cells. This includes older cells that do not retain their charge well, those that retain less than 70-80% of their original capacity, cells that seem to get noticeably warmer than normal while charging, and cells that have been over discharged. Cells that suffer from the above conditions are likely damaged in some way and should be considered unstable.

Cells that have been over discharged in particular, are prone to copper shunts having formed across the separator. This is also often the cause of high self discharge, as this is basically a short circuit. When attempting to charge cells in this condition, the added energy from the charging process itself adds to the problem and there is the possibility of the cell(s) venting.

I'll also add here that there is no such thing as "reconditioning" Li-Ion cells. They are a one way trip. Attempting to recondition Li-Ion cells just adds more wear to the cell, making them even more unstable, and increases the possibility of encountering unexpected problems, ie. "venting".

Dave


----------



## HKJ

45/70 said:


> Well, maybe it's my eyes, LOL, but it sure looks to me like the current (green) in the above graph fluctuates initially between zero and ~740mA and later, between zero and a lesser value. The voltage (red) also appears to me to fluctuate as much as a tenth of a Volt, or more initially, and then does smooth out towards termination of charge.



The pulsing does not really change anything in the CC/CV curve.



45/70 said:


> Well, you may be correct about 7 segment displays, I have no idea. The only experience I have is with high power LEDS, such as those we use in our lights. With those, I didn't have much luck.



There are some limits you has to obey when puling leds, but when you do I have not seen I led that could not be pulsed at higher than specified current.



45/70 said:


> Any link to the Panasonic recommendations for pulse charging Li-Ion cells?



I do not have a link to that. I have only seen a few specifications.


----------



## sspc

Now that I have mine in hand I reread this review and it is really helpful for a layman flashaholic like myself. Your explanation of the slot channel/charging is appreciated as the instructions don't go into much detail about the different slots.


----------



## PirateBoy

i'm a noob....

would this charger be good for the _AW IMR 18350 (red unprotected cells sold here: _http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/sh...nternational-***Part-2***&highlight=IMR+18350)?

Everyone says those batteries are best for my jetbeam rrt01, so i need a good charger. thx


----------



## HKJ

PirateBoy said:


> i'm a noob....
> 
> would this charger be good for the _AW IMR 18350 (red unprotected cells sold here: _http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/sh...nternational-***Part-2***&highlight=IMR+18350)?
> 
> Everyone says those batteries are best for my jetbeam rrt01, so i need a good charger. thx



Yes it will.


----------



## ClassicGOD

Just a quick question regarding charging single AAA battery in i4 v2. According to the manufacturer spec and a graph provided by selfbuilt charging current for single NiMH cell never goes over 750mA and according to Sanyo Eneloop AAA (normal not the 'Lite' type) spec-sheet there should be no problem with charging currents up to 800mA and AFAIK Eneloops have no problem with charging at 1C. So despite Sysmax not recommending it there should be no problem charging single Eneloop AAA in i4 v2 or am I missing something?


----------



## HKJ

ClassicGOD said:


> Just a quick question regarding charging single AAA battery in i4 v2. According to the manufacturer spec and a graph provided by selfbuilt charging current for single NiMH cell never goes over 750mA and according to Sanyo Eneloop AAA (normal not the 'Lite' type) spec-sheet there should be no problem with charging currents up to 800mA and AFAIK Eneloops have no problem with charging at 1C. So despite Sysmax not recommending it there should be no problem charging single Eneloop AAA in i4 v2 or am I missing something?



That is correct, there is no problem with eneloop AAA on the i4, only with LiIon 10440.


----------



## selfbuilt

ClassicGOD said:


> . So despite Sysmax not recommending it there should be no problem charging single Eneloop AAA in i4 v2 or am I missing something?


That is right, there is no real concern with regular NiMH AAA batteries. It is just 10440 you have to watch out for.


----------



## DP Hunter

I just purchase 4 of these - thanks for the review - it was outstanding and the price/value is certainly there!


----------



## cbr400rr

I recently purchased the Intellicharger and took a DVM reading on the positive and negative contacts. The reading I get is 5.2v. My other solarforce charger gives me 4.20v. Is this normal?


----------



## selfbuilt

cbr400rr said:


> I recently purchased the Intellicharger and took a DVM reading on the positive and negative contacts. The reading I get is 5.2v. My other solarforce charger gives me 4.20v. Is this normal?


Hmmm, seems to be "normal" - I get 5.33V when the charger is plugged in but no cell is in the slot. :shrug:

When charging, voltage across the cell reflects what is in my charging curves (i.e. <4.22V at all times).


----------



## hank

> over-discharged cells. But I'd recommend tossing cells in that state -

As explained above the problem is with crystals ("shunt") growing inside a battery once it's been over-discharged.
This doesn't happen immediately or predictably and not only during charging or during use; it happens slowly over time.
Eventually one of the crystals pokes a hole through a membrane that separates the chemicals that need to be kept separate.
Then the battery starts heating up.


----------



## Travelmate

I just bought mine from here to quick charge 12x18650s for my EYE30

http://black-tactical.com/store/ele...-smart-4-universal-intelligent-charger-p-2937

although it didn't say from Nitecore


----------



## zoulas

How does this charger compare to a Maha if we are only talking about recharging Nimh AA's. Does it do any conditioning, etc.? Thanks


----------



## selfbuilt

zoulas said:


> How does this charger compare to a Maha if we are only talking about recharging Nimh AA's. Does it do any conditioning, etc.? Thanks


No, it is just a straight-forward charger.


----------



## Baddog

Can anyone confirm the charger doesnt trickle charge towards the end as i need to charge unprotected LG 3100 batts


----------



## selfbuilt

Baddog said:


> Can anyone confirm the charger doesnt trickle charge towards the end as i need to charge unprotected LG 3100 batts


Quoted from the review:

_The i4 does not completely terminate when the three yellow LEDs go solid. Although my DMM dropped to zero on my 10A port, when I switched over an re-ran the termination charge on my DMM’s mA/uA port, I measured a low 110 uA current. But this is low enough to be irrelevant. Note that despite what the manual says, this is not what most people understand as a "trickle charge." A true "trickle charge" usually involves a regular pulse of mA current, to maintain the fully charged state. IMO, this is not a good thing for Li-ions – most "trickle chargers" are set too high, and over the long-term, will slowly cook your batteries (i.e. it gradually over-charges the cell, as long as it sits in the charger). The constant low uA current here is negligible, and will not lead to "trickle-charger" over-charging. For all intents and purposes, the i4 is close enough to full termination._


----------



## d1337

Just wanted to thank both selfbuilt and HJK for all the information in this thread!


----------



## sidecross

Thank you for this review; it answered many of my questions.

My one remaining question is it safe to leave the charger plugged in with fully charged batteries? 

I have read the discharge of Eagletac 18650 Li-ion is 10% or more; is it safe to leave a fully charged Eagletac 18650 in a plugged in Nitecore i4 version2 for 30 days?


----------



## selfbuilt

sidecross said:


> My one remaining question is it safe to leave the charger plugged in with fully charged batteries?
> I have read the discharge of Eagletac 18650 Li-ion is 10% or more; is it safe to leave a fully charged Eagletac 18650 in a plugged in Nitecore i4 version2 for 30 days?


It is certainly safe to leave the cells for a period of time once fully charged (as this is not a so-called "trickle charger", that would slowly cook them). But I wouldn't never recommend leaving cells in a charger for more than a few hours - they should be pulled once ready. You shouldn't leave any charging system plugged in for days at a time - they should always be monitored, and not left unattended if you can help it.

There is certainly no reason to leave them plugged in. In terms of self-discharge, it is fairly low on Li-ion (compared to other types of non-Li chemistries). And since this isn't a trickle-charger, leaving them plugged in will not keep them "topped up" anyway (i.e. the uA current is too low). 

Also, you should never leave batteries in a charger that is unplugged from a wall. Keep in mind that anything that is set-up to charge a cell can also discharge it. I've seen batteries left in an unplugged charger drain more quickly. Just remove them once ready and store them somewhere safe, and you should be fine.


----------



## sidecross

selfbuilt said:


> It is certainly safe to leave the cells for a period of time once fully charged (as this is not a so-called "trickle charger", that would slowly cook them). But I wouldn't never recommend leaving cells in a charger for more than a few hours - they should be pulled once ready. You shouldn't leave any charging system plugged in for days at a time - they should always be monitored, and not left unattended if you can help it.
> 
> There is certainly no reason to leave them plugged in. In terms of self-discharge, it is fairly low on Li-ion (compared to other types of non-Li chemistries). And since this isn't a trickle-charger, leaving them plugged in will not keep them "topped up" anyway (i.e. the uA current is too low).
> 
> Also, you should never leave batteries in a charger that is unplugged from a wall. Keep in mind that anything that is set-up to charge a cell can also discharge it. I've seen batteries left in an unplugged charger drain more quickly. Just remove them once ready and store them somewhere safe, and you should be fine.




Thank you for your answer it clears up any doubt I had about these batteries. The very informative review you wrote of the version 2 of the NITECORE i4 charger was also greatly appreciated.

I have only used Surefire flashlights with Surefire 123 lithium batteries, but I have recently purchased the Eagletac G25C, some of Eagletac's 18650 rechargeable batteries and NITECORE i4 and your help to better understand these new products is very much appreciated.

A 'tip of my cap' to your very good information.


----------



## oKtosiTe

Due to the forum crash a couple of days ago, I'll have to repost this:

I was wondering about the stiff springs on this charger. After a bit of thought and interaction with selfbuilt and others, I decided to put a tiny amount of Nyogel on the rails of the charger and can report that inserting batteries is now a smooth experience.

Thanks to selfbuilt and HKJ for their great reviews!


----------



## Korgath

Excellent review and great shots mate. Thanks.
I have one question though. Does this charger have the ability to discharge cells? I do not see this option mentioned though you said it can "discharge" cells like you maha charger @ 1830MAH??


----------



## oKtosiTe

Korgath said:


> Excellent review and great shots mate. Thanks.
> I have one question though. Does this charger have the ability to discharge cells? I do not see this option mentioned though you said it can "discharge" cells like you maha charger @ 1830MAH??



I have one and it has no settings or buttons. All it does is charge.


----------



## selfbuilt

There is no discharge feature.

Sent from my handheld device


----------



## bobbar

Thanks for the review. I have alot of aaa/aa rechargeables and im looking to replace it. Glad to see this work for the 18650 since i need to buy some for a new light i just ordered.


----------



## DavidMB

I'm curious about this.. Does this charger send out slightly too much current to charge a single AA Nimh/Lithium? They say it doesn't, but if you only insert one battery it charges at around 750mh, is that around the upper limit charging current for an AA?

Other question, it says to put in AAA's in pairs so to cut the charging current 375mA. What if one of the AAA's finishes charging before the other, will the current be bumped up to 750mA and cook the other AAA?


----------



## HKJ

DavidMB said:


> I'm curious about this.. Does this charger send out slightly too much current to charge a single AA Nimh/Lithium? They say it doesn't, but if you only insert one battery it charges at around 750mh, is that around the upper limit charging current for an AA?



A NiMH AAA does not have a problem with 750mA charge current, but it is to high for a LiIon AAA.



DavidMB said:


> Other question, it says to put in AAA's in pairs so to cut the charging current 375mA. What if one of the AAA's finishes charging before the other, will the current be bumped up to 750mA and cook the other AAA?



Yes it will, but if the two LiIon AAA has needs about the number of mAh, you will be in the CV phase and there will be no significant increase in current. 
I do not recommend using the charger for LiIon AAA.


----------



## DavidMB

HKJ said:


> A NiMH AAA does not have a problem with 750mA charge current, but it is to high for a LiIon AAA.



Do you mean AA?

So, this charger can be used to charge a single Nimh AA, but not recommended for a single LiIon AA?

Sorry for this other question, but if it's not recommend for a single AA LiIon, (eg. 750mh is too high). Would it work if I put in one LiIon and one Nimh AA?

I'm never really going to charge AAA, but I was curious in how this charger works when one of the batteries in slots 1-3 and 2-4 finish charging early..


----------



## HKJ

DavidMB said:


> HKJ said:
> 
> 
> 
> A NiMH AAA does not have a problem with 750mA charge current, but it is to high for a LiIon AAA.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Do you mean AA?
> 
> So, this charger can be used to charge a single Nimh AA, but not recommended for a single LiIon AA?
> 
> Sorry for this other question, but if it's not recommend for a single AA LiIon, (eg. 750mh is too high). Would it work if I put in one LiIon and one Nimh AA?
> 
> I'm never really going to charge AAA, but I was curious in how this charger works when one of the batteries in slots 1-3 and 2-4 finish charging early..
Click to expand...


Sorry, I did not read you question correctly. There is no problem with AA, neither NiMH or LiIon.

When one slot is finished, it will charge with full current in the other slot.


----------



## Korgath

So, can I use my flashlight say on "high" mode and discharge the cell completely before charging it? Will it be the same as discharging it in a battery charger?


----------



## HKJ

Korgath said:


> So, can I use my flashlight say on "high" mode and discharge the cell completely before charging it? Will it be the same as discharging it in a battery charger?



With a battery charger/tester you have much more control with how much you discharge the battery. In some situation you might also want to know the discharge rate and/or how much current you discharge from the battery.


----------



## selfbuilt

DavidMB said:


> Sorry for this other question, but if it's not recommend for a single AA LiIon, (eg. 750mh is too high). Would it work if I put in one LiIon and one Nimh AA?


HKJ has summed it up well - there's no problem with single-charging Li-ion or NiMH AA, or single NiMH AAA. It is only single Li-ion AAA where the CC current is too high.

But in answer to your question - yes, when one of the paired slots finishes the charging, the other will behave like a single charging slot. How much the current goes up will depend on the type of battery and where it is in the charging cycle (i.e., for Li-ions, you are likely to be in the CV phase after awhile).



Korgath said:


> So, can I use my flashlight say on "high" mode and discharge the cell completely before charging it? Will it be the same as discharging it in a battery charger?


To add on to HKJ's comment, a typical flashlight on Hi will simply continue to drain the NiMH until it is completely dead (i.e., reads zero volts). Although not as catastrophic as what happens to unprotected Li-ion if you do that, this is still not a healthy thing to do to a NiMH. I recall some testing here that showed over-discharging NiMH is damaging to their ability to hold a charge long-term. This is particularly true of LSD cells (i.e., eneloops), what are very sensitive to over-discharging. 

A charger with a proper discharging algorithm is presumably set to terminate the discharge at specified voltage or differential (although I don't know what that would typically be - the experts on NiMH charging here could probably chime in). I would expect that this is a safer thing than trying to run down a cell in flashlight, which will be a lot more variable.


----------



## Ualnosaj

I've come to live this charger and it replaces my Maha 9000, WP6 and MP2 for general stuff. My only qualm is it's very slow to charge when fully loaded.

Although we don't sell Nitecore gear, I've had them make and exception and we have a slew of i4 coming. It makes perfect sense for those that don't already have a NiMH charger too.



________________
Sent from my mobile device. Please excuse the brevity of this message.


----------



## coatezy

Another fantastic review selfbuilt! New to the torch world have just purchased a Klarus XT11 with Diffuser and a Nitecore i4 V2 charger with x2 Eagletac 18650 3100mah batteries using your reviews and videos as guidance. :thumbsup: 

Hope I bought all the right stuff! :duh2:


----------



## SilentK

Thanks for the great review Selfbuilt.  I'm curious though, does anyone know if the charger that lighthound sells is the V1 or the V2? The picture shows a V2 charger, and it says that it includes the new updated power supply. I just don't want to order it expecting the V2, only to get the V1.


----------



## SamF

HKJ said:


> The charger need to recognize the battery type and then select the correct algorithm. This is fairly easy with only 3.7 volt LiIon and NiMH. I would be just about impossible to include the 3 (or 3.2) volt chemistry in this.



Thank you for this review! I have this charger for and I was wondering about my RCR123 3.0 volt options. Guess I will continue to use the charger that came with them and use this for the 18650s. I also appreciate the descriptions regarding charging times and the paired bays - I wasn't quite clear from the manual.


----------



## pageyjim

Thanks for the great review and all the informative comments by all.

Received the i4v2 charger and am very happy with it. I was using the WH-139 charger and the batteries got very warm and I never thought about it until my TM11 would always indicate 4.3 volts on startup. So I got the i4v2 charger and batteries do not get warm charging and charging stops at 4.21 v. This is with old and new cells so I am assuming the WF-139 hasn't damaged the cells.


----------



## Joe Talmadge

selfbuilt said:


> It is only single Li-ion AAA where the CC current is too high



Old thread, but I'd like to challenge this a little. For a protected AA, it's charging at 1C -- definitely not too high, technically, but also rougher on the cell than it needs to be. For protected 16340, it's over 1C, since we know those 750mAh 16340s are chronically short of that. Which means over 1C... not dangerously too high, but rough on the cell. This charger is not what I'd go with if I were charging 14500s or 16340s either . Frankly, I think the charger is a mess, setting current based on bays rather than a simple switch seems to be a bad idea, at least in my opinion.


----------



## selfbuilt

Joe Talmadge said:


> For a protected AA, it's charging at 1C -- definitely not too high, technically, but also rougher on the cell than it needs to be. For protected 16340, it's over 1C, since we know those 750mAh 16340s are chronically short of that. Which means over 1C... not dangerously too high, but rough on the cell.


Well, if you look at the actual discharge curves for RCR in the review, you'll see it switches out of CC mode within the first few mins. So practically, it's not getting a very high charge current for very long. Also, it terminates at <40mA current, which is quite reasonable. I've seen other Li-ion chargers that have a lower overall charging current, but terminate at too high a level (which is not good for RCR/14500).

Agreed it is not the ideal choice for RCR/14500, but it's not bad.


----------



## HKJ

selfbuilt said:


> but terminate at too high a level (which is not good for RCR/14500).



Terminating at to high a current does not have any harmful effect on a LiIon battery, but it will not charge the battery fully.
Terminating at 40mA it not that bad for a 16340 or 14500, that is about the same level you will get with a hobby charger (Assuming you charge at 400mA).


----------



## peterharvey73

Will this charger recharge 3.0 V 16340 size batteries?


----------



## Ualnosaj

peterharvey73 said:


> Will this charger recharge 3.0 V 16340 size batteries?



No, it will not.



________________
Sent from my mobile device. Please excuse the brevity of this message.


----------



## Joe Talmadge

selfbuilt said:


> Well, if you look at the actual discharge curves for RCR in the review, you'll see it switches out of CC mode within the first few mins. So practically, it's not getting a very high charge current for very long. Also, it terminates at <40mA current, which is quite reasonable. I've seen other Li-ion chargers that have a lower overall charging current, but terminate at too high a level (which is not good for RCR/14500).
> 
> Agreed it is not the ideal choice for RCR/14500, but it's not bad.



I'd forgotten that, I hadn't looked at the graphs since they were initially posted. Out of CC and into not-quite-CV in 3 minutes or so, and down to 600mA by 10 minutes in. I realize we don't know how this may (or may not) impact cell wear versus a charger that implements proper CC/CV and charges at (say) 500mA.


----------



## grayhighh

Can this charger charge LiMN/IMR cells ?


----------



## HKJ

grayhighh said:


> Can this charger charge LiMN/IMR cells ?



As I write in my review: Yes
But it cannot charge LiFePo4.


----------



## peterharvey73

You need this type of charger in the second picture below with a 4.2/3.6 V selector switch to charge LiFePo4, which is a 3.0 V rechargeable???

http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?125353-NEW-R123-with-safe-chemistry


----------



## Labrador72

Does anybody know if the new Nitecore I2 is the same charger as the I4 v2 with just 2 charging bay instead of 4?


----------



## MobileEMP

Labrador72 said:


> Does anybody know if the new Nitecore I2 is the same charger as the I4 v2 with just 2 charging bay instead of 4?



I am curious about this as well. The packaging does look similar to the I4 v2 and it's listed as 100-240v in the description on Battery Junction: http://www.batteryjunction.com/smx-intellicharge-i2.html. 

Its more compact size would be better for travel IMO. 

Edit: Grammar

"May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out."


----------



## Joe Talmadge

peterharvey73 said:


> You need this type of charger in the second picture below with a 4.2/3.6 V selector switch to charge LiFePo4, which is a 3.0 V rechargeable???



Are you asking what a 3.0V rechargeable is? It's a standard ICR 3.7V rechargeable with a circuit across the top that bucks the voltage down to 3.0V on output. If I remember what 45/70 said about these cells, the circuit actually takes .3V itself, so to charge these 3.0V Li Ion cells, you need a special charger that charges at 4.5V. Performance on the cells seems bad, which is why no one uses them or talks about them as a realistic replacement

Obviously, lifepo4 is not a 3.0V rechargeables, it's 3.6V max/3.2V nominal, not 3.0V


----------



## peterharvey73

Joe Talmadge said:


> Are you asking what a 3.0V rechargeable is? It's a standard ICR 3.7V rechargeable with a circuit across the top that bucks the voltage down to 3.0V on output. If I remember what 45/70 said about these cells, the circuit actually takes .3V itself, so to charge these 3.0V Li Ion cells, you need a special charger that charges at 4.5V. Performance on the cells seems bad, which is why no one uses them or talks about them as a realistic replacement
> 
> Obviously, lifepo4 is not a 3.0V rechargeables, it's 3.6V max/3.2V nominal, not 3.0V



Thanks for the info Joe.
I always wanted to know what a 3.0V battery was.


----------



## peterharvey73

I just used my Sysmax i4 to recharge one partially used Redilast 3100 mAH from a Zebralight SC600, and three partially used AW 2900 mAH flat tops from a Jetbeam RRT-3 - all four recharged simultaneously. 
The lone man Redilast was in bay 1, while the other three occupied the remaining bays.
I charged them overnight.

However, I have since found that the recharged Redilast 3100 mAH only lasted a short time before it died; somehow it was incompletely charged, despite charging overnight.

Did I do something wrong?
Was I not supposed to charge the Redilast with the three AW's - simultaneously?
Or is the i4 not capable of such feat as described above?


----------



## selfbuilt

peterharvey73 said:


> However, I have since found that the recharged Redilast 3100 mAH only lasted a short time before it died; somehow it was incompletely charged, despite charging overnight.
> Did I do something wrong?
> Was I not supposed to charge the Redilast with the three AW's - simultaneously?
> Or is the i4 not capable of such feat as described above?


There's no problem charging different cells simultaneously - the charger is designed for it. 

Did all four indicator lights over the bays indicate a full charge? There may have been a contact issue with that cell/bay. Only way to know for sure is to verify the voltages of the cells after charging. Do you have a DMM? I recommend everyone who uses Li-ions to get a basic DMM so that they can verify the actual voltages directly.


----------



## peterharvey73

Thanks Selfbuilt.
From my memory, I [think] did insert the batteries correctly in all four bays, and all the four bay lights did light up like usual, and all four bay lights were fully illuminated on full charge, but in future, I will test it with my Fluke after I take the batteries out.


----------



## GehenSienachlinks

Is this charger good for charging 16340 at 375mA or should I get xtar mp2 at 250mA ?


----------



## selfbuilt

GehenSienachlinks said:


> Is this charger good for charging 16340 at 375mA or should I get xtar mp2 at 250mA ?


I haven't tested the MP2, but it is likely fine at that current (based on my testing of other Xtar chargers). The i4 V2 charger is fine for RCR when paired (i.e., at 375mA).


----------



## oKtosiTe

I have a 12 volt car adapter with a plug that fits the Intellicharger perfectly. The socket on the charger is unmarked, however, and I'm worried I'd destroy my charger by just giving it a go.
Does anyone know the polarity for the 12 volt input?


----------



## cyclesport

oKtosiTe said:


> I have a 12 volt car adapter with a plug that fits the Intellicharger perfectly. The socket on the charger is unmarked, however, and I'm worried I'd destroy my charger by just giving it a go.
> Does anyone know the polarity for the 12 volt input?



FWIW, and as a disclaimer... please don't take this as an endorsement to do the same, but I too had some older 12v car adaptors lying around from some long forgotten devices that also fit the Intellicharger V2 perfectly and have been using it successfully in my car(s) when camping and driving to recharge a number of different cells...so far, after 3 months, it has performed flawlessly. *I had two of these chargers, and being somewhat reckless and willing to suffer loss of a charger I attempted it monitoring the batteries often for excessive heat and voltage in the beginning, and all seemed to function just as w/110v. ac. I also noticed that pictures of the car cord that Jetbeam sells looked just like the one I was attempting to use so I felt slightly justified in initially trying it.


----------



## oKtosiTe

cyclesport said:


> FWIW, and as a disclaimer... please don't take this as an endorsement to do the same, but I too had some older 12v car adaptors lying around from some long forgotten devices that also fit the Intellicharger V2 perfectly and have been using it successfully in my car(s) when camping and driving to recharge a number of different cells...so far, after 3 months, it has performed flawlessly. *I had two of these chargers, and being somewhat reckless and willing to suffer loss of a charger I attempted it monitoring the batteries often for excessive heat and voltage in the beginning, and all seemed to function just as w/110v. ac. I also noticed that pictures of the car cord that Jetbeam sells looked just like the one I was attempting to use so I felt slightly justified in initially trying it.



I'm pretty convinced it will work, *if* the polarity is correct. As a kid I've destroyed more than one device by just experimenting. Learned a few things along the way. 
Do you have any way to check the polarity on your adapter?
Cheers for the heads-up in any case!


----------



## Shadowww

oKtosiTe said:


> Do you have any way to check the polarity on your adapter?
> Cheers for the heads-up in any case!


For the i4 charger, polarity is most common type used on 5.5x2.1mm plugs, wired like this:


----------



## oKtosiTe

Shadowww said:


> For the i4 charger, polarity is most common type used on 5.5x2.1mm plugs, wired like this:


That's what I expected. Thank you!


----------



## GehenSienachlinks

So how can I charge one 16340 ? It will only charge the battery at 750ma is this safe ?


----------



## Shadowww

GehenSienachlinks said:


> So how can I charge one 16340 ? It will only charge the battery at 750ma is this safe ?


Nope, it isn't, unless your battery is an IMR. Get another charger, such as Xtar MP2 (250mA), Xtar WP2 II (0.5A / 1A) or Xtar SP2 (0.5A / 1A / 2A).


----------



## blgentry

Shadowww said:


> Nope, it isn't, unless your battery is an IMR. Get another charger, such as Xtar MP2 (250mA), Xtar WP2 II (0.5A / 1A) or Xtar SP2 (0.5A / 1A / 2A).



I disagree. If you charge a very, very discharged 16340 in this charger, you'll get 750 mA for 10 or 15 minutes tops, then the current reduces to under 500 mA. So you give the battery a 1.5C charge for a few minutes. *IF* you have a totally (or nearly) discharged battery. Why not put another 16340 or other Li-ion battery in the same bank with it for 10 minutes? I do this sometimes. But most of the time I don't bother. My 16340's never get even skin temperature. They stay quite cool and have no issues.

I think someone started something about 16340s being low capacity (500 to 550 mAh) a while ago and everyone suddenly thinks this charger is "dangerous" with 16340s. I'm no expert, but I think this is misplaced hand ringing (worrying for no reason). Give me some proof or evidence I should look for from my cells and I'll change my tune. Until then I'll happily use this charger on 16340s.

Brian.


----------



## Shadowww

blgentry said:


> I disagree. If you charge a very, very discharged 16340 in this charger, you'll get 750 mA for 10 or 15 minutes tops, then the current reduces to under 500 mA. So you give the battery a 1.5C charge for a few minutes. *IF* you have a totally (or nearly) discharged battery. Why not put another 16340 or other Li-ion battery in the same bank with it for 10 minutes? I do this sometimes. But most of the time I don't bother. My 16340's never get even skin temperature. They stay quite cool and have no issues.
> 
> I think someone started something about 16340s being low capacity (500 to 550 mAh) a while ago and everyone suddenly thinks this charger is "dangerous" with 16340s. I'm no expert, but I think this is misplaced hand ringing (worrying for no reason). Give me some proof or evidence I should look for from my cells and I'll change my tune. Until then I'll happily use this charger on 16340s.
> 
> Brian.


Check manufacturer datasheets for recommended charging currents (hint: it's usually between 300mA and 420mA for 16340's), and then try to realize that exceeding manufacturer's specifications is never a good idea on something that is potentially explosive.


----------



## herosemblem

The answer to my question can probably be easily/instantly deduced from sections 1 & 2 under "Precautions" in the instruction manual, but I am going to ask you guys anyway because the alternative to success is a burned-down house, death, injury, or damage to property. 
I would rather ask you guys who can give me an easy answer since I'm new to the game and at the moment do not want to attend batteryuniversity, nor read through many discussion threads. Thank you. 

*I have a red AW IMR 14500 3.7v 600mAh cell & this Intellicharger i4 V2 unit. 
Can I charge this cell by itself? I own no other batteries.*


----------



## rocketship

Hello,

I have a question regarding the i4 intellicharger!

the manual recommends not charging just one single AAA Nimh as it can't withstand the 750mah current!

instead, it says to charge by 2 or 4 batteries to split the current into 350mah for each slot.

but someone here said that if one of the AAA's finishes charging before the other, the current will be bumped up to 750mA for the other AAA and will cook it!

is it true?

would you still recommend charging by 2?

thanks in advane


----------



## Shadowww

Manual of i4 mostly consists of misleading information, marketing crap and plain bull****.

750mA is not anywhere near enough to cook an AAA, it's under 1C for most NiMH AAA's - which is perfectly safe current.


----------



## herosemblem

*Re: Sysmax/Nitevoltage comparisons*

I'm not familiar w the jargon- what does "C" stand for? Thank you.


----------



## selfbuilt

rocketship said:


> instead, it says to charge by 2 or 4 batteries to split the current into 350mah for each slot.
> but someone here said that if one of the AAA's finishes charging before the other, the current will be bumped up to 750mA for the other AAA and will cook it!


I would recommend charging 2xAAA at a time, in paired bays (#1 & #3, or #2 & #4 on the i4 V2), if you can - but it's not a big deal if you can't.

Note that paired charging does not actually cut the current to 350mA though ... what it does is alternate the full 750mA charge to one-second-on/one-second-off for each paired bay (with ~1/3 of second per pulse to check the status of the other bay). Effectively, this averages out to the equivalent of <350mA over time, but the cell is actually 750mA for one second intervals at a time. 

When one cell is fully charged, the other will indeed start charging at the full 750mA (minus the fraction of a second when it checks the other bay). This should be fairly limited in time with matched cells. 

In any case, 750mA will not "cook" the cells - it's not that high of a rate. This may not be the ideal charger for AAA ... but then again, that's true of most chargers that don't allow you to specify the actual charging rate. In contrast, a basic charger that is ideal for AAA is going to be rather slow for AA.

FYI, I have recently published a review of the new Jetbeam i4 PRO - this is their newly re-branded version of the i4 V2, in a new housing with a few tweaks. See that review for more details - the AA/AAA charging aspect is unchaged, though..


----------



## selfbuilt

Shadowww said:


> 750mA is not anywhere near enough to cook an AAA, it's under 1C for most NiMH AAA's - which is perfectly safe current.





herosemblem said:


> I'm not familiar w the jargon- what does "C" stand for? Thank you.


"C" refers to C-rate - it's a a scale used to indicate charge and/or discharge current of a specific battery.

Simply put, for a 750mA battery that that is being charged at a 1C-rate, that would mean it is being charged under conditions that provide a current of 750mA for one hour. A 0.5C-rate for the same battery would mean it took two hours to charge the battery (i.e., constant current of 325mA, under ideal conditions). Most AAA NiMH are higher capacity than that (i.e. 800mA or 850mA are more common), so a 750mA current could be considered as just below 1C in most cases.

A 1C charge rate for NiMH is acceptable - this is what's known as a "fast" or "ultrafast" charger (i.e., "ready in one hour"). The issue with fast chargers is that they need to have good communication with the cell, to make sure they don't accidentally over-charge. As result, most good fast chargers probably slightly undercharge the battery at termination. As with most things, it is a lot easier to be more accurate in reaching your desired end point if you drive there slowly and pause before the end - instead of driving quickly and slamming on the breaks. 

For Li-ion, it's a bit more complicated, but typically 0.5C-1C is recommend for constant-current phase, follow by a slower constant-voltage phase where the current slowly drops off before termination.


----------



## HKJ

rocketship said:


> would you still recommend charging by 2?



A NiMH AAA battery can be charger with 750mA, i.e. you do never need two when charging them. It is only with 10440, i.e. LiIon batteries in AAA size that you have to be careful, preferable use another charger.


----------



## TweakMDS

I just received this charger, and was wondering about this part:


> The charging current drops to 750mA when charging two batteries at position #1 & #3. The current is still 750mA for and will alternate charge cycle once every second for each battery. When charging two batteries installed in slot #1 & #2 they will get 750mh respectively. The result is: charging at slot #1 & #2 will be faster than charging at slot #1 & #3 _(Reviewer's Note: #2 & #4 are similarly paired, like #1 & #3)_


_

If I have two new Eagletac 14500's (750mAh), is it better to charge them initially in slot 1 & 2 or in slot 1 & 3?
_


----------



## eusty

*Re Sysmax/Nitecore/Jetbeam i4 Intellicharger Review (V2): current/voltage comparisons*

According to the review 1&2, this way they both are charged at the same rate.

But if they are not going to be used together in the same torch then that isn't so much is an issue.

Sent using Tapatalk 2.


----------



## TweakMDS

*Re: Re Sysmax/Nitecore/Jetbeam i4 Intellicharger Review (V2): current/voltage compari*

Thanks, I'll put them in 1&2 then. If everything explodes and burns down, I'm at work anyway ^^

I might use them in the same torch, but not until depletion - just to test what they'll do in a P20A2 with a 6V XP-G2 module that I accidentally received


----------



## selfbuilt

*Re: Re Sysmax/Nitecore/Jetbeam i4 Intellicharger Review (V2): current/voltage compari*

You are probably fine charging 14500 in channels #1 & #2 (i.e., each cell gets the full charge). This will charge the cells faster.

If you put the cells in the paired #1 and #3 bays, it will take longer, as the charger alternates the current between the two bays (one second on, one second off). 

Note that it doesn't matter for the final charge state - all bays are fairly consistent in producing the same resting voltage, in my testing. It's just a question of how long you want it to take.


----------



## gradio

*Re: Re Sysmax/Nitecore/Jetbeam i4 Intellicharger Review (V2): current/voltage compari*

Nice review and what a load of useful information.
Now have one ordered along with two 8-packs of Eneloop 2000mAh.
Although I have a few Sanyo 4-bay chargers that came as a package deal when I bought my current on hand Eneloop's, I think on the incoming Eneloop's, I'll sharpie mark to dedicate one of the 8-packs to this charger, other 8-pack to my existing Sanyo charger.


----------



## TinderBox (UK)

*Re: Re Sysmax/Nitecore/Jetbeam i4 Intellicharger Review (V2): current/voltage compari*

I cannot remember if i can charger both li-ion and nimh battery`s at the same time, does anybody know.

John.


----------



## HKJ

*Re: Re Sysmax/Nitecore/Jetbeam i4 Intellicharger Review (V2): current/voltage compari*



TinderBox (UK) said:


> I cannot remember if i can charger both li-ion and nimh battery`s at the same time, does anybody know.
> 
> John.



With the version 2 charger it is no problem, in my review you can see tests where I do it.


----------



## TinderBox (UK)

*Re: Re Sysmax/Nitecore/Jetbeam i4 Intellicharger Review (V2): current/voltage compari*

I have the V2 , thanks for the quick answer 

John.



HKJ said:


> With the version 2 charger it is no problem, in my review you can see tests where I do it.


----------



## rjs987

Hello all i am new to the forums and i just purchased a Vamo and am looking for a charge. I was wondering how can you tell if the nitcore i4 charge is a V2, is there anywhere you suggest i purchase? Also i was wondering can this charge 1 18650 battery at one time. Also can this handle 18350 batteries without a spacer? Thanks in advance for your help.


----------



## RI Chevy

Welcome to the Forum! :welcome: 

I believe the V2's have a yellow sticker. Here is a link from fellow member HKJ. He is the guru for testing. Scroll down to the charger your looking for, and it will provide you with a wealth of information. 

http://www.lygte-info.dk/info/indexBatteriesAndChargers UK.html


----------



## selfbuilt

rjs987 said:


> Hello all i am new to the forums and i just purchased a Vamo and am looking for a charge. I was wondering how can you tell if the nitcore i4 charge is a V2, is there anywhere you suggest i purchase? Also i was wondering can this charge 1 18650 battery at one time. Also can this handle 18350 batteries without a spacer? Thanks in advance for your help.


As RI Chevy mentioned, V2 of the i4 has a yellow spec label on the back. I expect it would be rather rare to find a V1 charger, as they were recalled over a year ago and replaced with the V2 model. The charger can handle 1x18650 fine, as well as 18350 cells without a spacer.



RI Chevy said:


> Here is a link from fellow member HKJ. He is the guru for testing. Scroll down to the charger your looking for, and it will provide you with a wealth of information.
> http://www.lygte-info.dk/info/indexBatteriesAndChargers UK.html


Agreed, HKJ is a fantastic resource for all things related to batteries and chargers. :thumbsup:


----------



## Flame74

selfbuilt said:


> :grouphug: Thanks guys, glad you are enjoying the review. The charging/battery stuff is not really my forte, but I thought I'd try to provide as detailed an overview as I can.
> 
> 
> Yes, RCR2 should only be charged in paired bays on the same channel (1 & 3, or 2 & 4), due to their lower capacity.
> 
> 
> Well, the i4 has only a slightly higher initial current (750mA) on a single cell - but given that it is only charging for ~85% of the time, the average CC current is not so different from the the Pila. The i4 also has a lower termination current than the Pila, which is even better for RCR. End result is that is takes longer to charge on the i4, and it seems at least as suitable as the Pila.
> 
> 
> Those should all work fine.



This is my first time using this forum so I am kinda new and will take some time to fully understand the rules and use of the forum  ...
I think this is the best review of the subject charger :thumbsup: .....
Now my First question is that I have a Nitcore I4 Charger and today i received my new Batteries Panasonic 18650B 3400mAh Protected for my TK75 ..... so when i put all the 4 cells in the charger, 3 lights started to blink and one of the light is off , WHY ? :huh: I have already tried to change the position of the cell but same result in all slots ?.... (picture attached)
My second question is that Does a low quality batteries affect the quality/beam/throw of a flash light ?


----------



## RI Chevy

Welcome to the Forum!  :welcome:

This is a very good review indeed.  There are also a few more here.  http://www.lygte-info.dk/info/indexBatteriesAndChargers UK.html

I guessing maybe a bad LED light?  Or maybe the circuit is not working.  Try switching the batteries around to see if it maybe an issue with the battery.  Other than that, send it back for a new charger.  Charge up the batteries that you have using the slots that work for now.  

Low quality batteries MAY affect the quality of the beam with certain drop ins that draw high amps.  We would need more info as to the drop ins that you are using.  And the "low quality" batteries that your are talking about.


----------



## Flame74

RI Chevy said:


> Welcome to the Forum!  :welcome:
> 
> This is a very good review indeed.  There are also a few more here.  http://www.lygte-info.dk/info/indexBatteriesAndChargers UK.html
> 
> I guessing maybe a bad LED light?  Or maybe the circuit is not working.  Try switching the batteries around to see if it maybe an issue with the battery.  Other than that, send it back for a new charger.  Charge up the batteries that you have using the slots that work for now.
> 
> Low quality batteries MAY affect the quality of the beam with certain drop ins that draw high amps.  We would need more info as to the drop ins that you are using.  And the "low quality" batteries that your are talking about.




@RI Chevy thanx allot for helping me out and replying 
Nothing is wrong with the charger coz i tried switching the batteries around but in all slots i get the same result with the 1 cell so i think this battery is dead n charger works fine .... I have already emailed FastTech for a replacement or reshipment but now again i have to wait for almost 13 days for delivery 

Low quality :- lets take a simple example ..... using Chinese cheap battery like ultrafire etc 3800mAh in Fenix TK75 and than using Panasonic 3400 mAh Protected in Fenix TK75 so ;;
will both the batteries give the same result in throw ? which in Fenix TK75 is 606 meters


----------



## selfbuilt

Flame74 said:


> so when i put all the 4 cells in the  charger, 3 lights started to blink and one of the light is off , WHY ? :huh: I have already tried to change the position of the cell but same result in all slots ?.... (picture attached)


Just to clarify - the battery consistently won't charge in any slot, or that particular slot of the charger never lights up?  If the former, then the issue is definitely with the battery, and it should be returned IMO.  If the latter, the issue is with the charger, and it should be returned. The above is assuming that you have ruled out a  problem with properly seating the battery (i.e., the postive contact nub of the battery must be fully in contact with the top terminal of the slot).

Note by the way that you can't just append an image directly to CPF.  You have to have it hosted somewhere on the internet, and link to it in the IMG tag.



> My second question is that Does a low quality batteries affect the quality/beam/throw of a flash light ?


As RI Chevy pointed out, the answer to this is qualified.  The problem with many "low quality" brands of batteries is that they are sometimes not what they pretend to be (i.e., lower capacity cells that have already seen a lot of use/abuse).


----------



## RI Chevy

Stay away from anything *****fire as far as batteries go. Stick with a good quality cell such as the Panasonic that you mentioned and you will get better results, be much safer, and be happier in the long run. The batteries will not have anything to do with throw, as that is where your specific type of flashlight or drop in will determine. Good quality batteries will help in the overall performance and run times. Lower quality batteries (Such as the *****fire 3800 mAh mentioned above which do not exist) will hurt your runtimes and and may not allow your light to perform at optimum. The Panasonic 3400 mAh cells are the largest out on the market today as far as I know. Many different battery companies use the Panasonic cell as their base cell and install a protection circuit to that cell and sell it under their respective names. Keepower, Redilast, and many others use these cells and place their wrapper on them.


----------



## Flame74

selfbuilt said:


> Just to clarify - the battery consistently won't charge in any slot, or that particular slot of the charger never lights up? If the former, then the issue is definitely with the battery, and it should be returned IMO. If the latter, the issue is with the charger, and it should be returned. The above is assuming that you have ruled out a problem with properly seating the battery (i.e., the postive contact nub of the battery must be fully in contact with the top terminal of the slot).
> 
> Note by the way that you can't just append an image directly to CPF. You have to have it hosted somewhere on the internet, and link to it in the IMG tag.
> 
> 
> As RI Chevy pointed out, the answer to this is qualified. The problem with many "low quality" brands of batteries is that they are sometimes not what they pretend to be (i.e., lower capacity cells that have already seen a lot of use/abuse).



--- Yes it was a problem with the battery and it won't charge in any slot and I have returned it to FastTech 
--- Thanx allot for the suggestion on uploading image on CPF ... as i have mentioned earlier that I am new to the forum so will definitely learn allot from members like you :thumbsup:


----------



## ledmitter_nli

Does anyone else notice that slot 1 for bay 1 and slot 1 for bay 2 charges batteries to fuller completion than slots 2 and 2?

After a 4 slot charge I rotate slots and the batteries that charged in slots 2 are now continuing to charge in slots 1. The batteries that charged in slots 1 immediately show fully charged on the led indicators for slots 2.


----------



## selfbuilt

ledmitter_nli said:


> After a 4 slot charge I rotate slots and the batteries that charged in slots 2 are now continuing to charge in slots 1. The batteries that charged in slots 1 immediately show fully charged on the led indicators for slots 2.


Are you able to measure the voltage after charging? There was no significant difference between the wells on my sample (or others I've tested). 

Alternatively, how much longer did the cells charge for before second termination? Typically, the charging current is so low near termination, that an additional couple of minutes wouldn't make a measurable difference.


----------



## ledmitter_nli

selfbuilt said:


> Are you able to measure the voltage after charging? There was no significant difference between the wells on my sample (or others I've tested).
> 
> Alternatively, how much longer did the cells charge for before second termination? Typically, the charging current is so low near termination, that an additional couple of minutes wouldn't make a measurable difference.



Second termination in slot #1 for cells rotated from each bays #2 slot was about 12 min. Second termination in slot #2 for cells rotated from each bays #1 slot was a few seconds.

Don't have a volt read available. Will next time after I run four of these cells down.

Panasonic 3400mAh 18650's BTW.


----------



## srmd22

ledmitter_nli said:


> Does anyone else notice that slot 1 for bay 1 and slot 1 for bay 2 charges batteries to fuller completion than slots 2 and 2?
> 
> After a 4 slot charge I rotate slots and the batteries that charged in slots 2 are now continuing to charge in slots 1. The batteries that charged in slots 1 immediately show fully charged on the led indicators for slots 2.



I noticed that two of four batteries were not full charged at termination: <4.1 vs. 4.17 and 4.21 (this is on a mastech MS8268, which is supposed to be a reliable DMM). I did not pay attention to which battery cane from which bay, though, unfortunately. I put the low ones in my Pila, and pressed the reset button, and they both topped off at 4.18.


----------



## selfbuilt

ledmitter_nli said:


> Second termination in slot #1 for cells rotated from each bays #2 slot was about 12 min. Second termination in slot #2 for cells rotated from each bays #1 slot was a few seconds.





srmd22 said:


> I noticed that two of four batteries were not full charged at termination: <4.1 vs. 4.17 and 4.21 (this is on a mastech MS8268, which is supposed to be a reliable DMM). I did not pay attention to which battery cane from which bay, though, unfortunately. I put the low ones in my Pila, and pressed the reset button, and they both topped off at 4.18.


Hmm, interesting. With repeated tests of the same cells, or with well matched cells (i.e., same age, number of cycles, purchased in the same batch), I didn't notice any significant difference in the charging levels across the four bays of i4 V2 (or i4 PRO for that matter). Hard to say more in your case without a DMM measure of the resting voltage, but it does sound like some of the bays may not be charging to quite as high level.

However, in ledmitter_nli's case, 12 mins near the termination current level is not going to make a huge difference in resting voltage. But I would recommend you pick up at least an inexpensive DMM just to confirm voltages.


----------



## jkid1911

I just ordered 2 IMR 18350 batteries and was trying to figure out if this charger would charge them. There is no listing anywhere for them on the charger box and I couldn't find mention of them in this thread. Does anyone know if they can be charged with the Nitecore I2 or I4? I have both. Please help. Thanks.

NOTE: Went back and looked better and found that I had missed post #37 and #38 where this was mentioned very quickly. Can someone please confirm this and I would be very curious to know why neither charger lists this battery anywhere as being ok to use.


----------



## välineurheilija

jkid1911 said:


> I just ordered 2 IMR 18350 batteries and was trying to figure out if this charger would charge them. There is no listing anywhere for them on the charger box and I couldn't find mention of them in this thread. Does anyone know if they can be charged with the Nitecore I2 or I4? I have both. Please help. Thanks.
> 
> NOTE: Went back and looked better and found that I had missed post #37 and #38 where this was mentioned very quickly. Can someone please confirm this and I would be very curious to know why neither charger lists this battery anywhere as being ok to use.


They are ok to charge with both i have done it many times with AW IMR 18350.i dont know why they dont mention them.


----------



## ArJuna

Thanks for posting this thread. The instructions for this charger are seriously lacking information.

I have some King Kong ICR26650's that seem to barely connect with the "+" contacts. Is this normal? They seem to be fine in the Intellicharger i2. Is there a mod or workaround to fix this?


----------



## oKtosiTe

ArJuna said:


> Thanks for posting this thread. The instructions for this charger are seriously lacking information.
> 
> I have some King Kong ICR26650's that seem to barely connect with the "+" contacts. Is this normal? They seem to be fine in the Intellicharger i2. Is there a mod or workaround to fix this?


I believe that's normal. You may have good results making the connection with a small piece of aluminum or copper foil.


----------



## gteague

this ... is ... absolutely ... the ... slowest ... charger ... ever ...

a few days ago, the first set of batteries i charged were a brand new set of AW 3400mah 18650s which took over 5 hours. i have no idea what voltage they went in as.

then i charged 4xRCR123 AW 750mah and those took over 5 hours.

next i charged 4x 2800mah nimh eneloop cells which i use in a bearcat scanner. i have 3 sets and rotate and rest them and my maha 8-cell charger can keep a set of good nimh batteries going for years with its 'soft' charging feature--i rarely need to fast charge these. when i put them into the charger they were about 2/3rds depleted. i finally pulled them out after 5 hours because they were getting hot and the indicator lights said they still weren't charged.

today i get my new tm26 and 4x nitecore 3100mah 18650 cells. i have no idea of the state of the cells--i just put them straight on the charger. 3 hours and 40 minutes later and there is only 1 solid yellow light.

do i have a defective unit? unless i have a spare set of batteries for my tm26 (which cost about $80), 5 hours to charge non-bottomed-out cells is just ridiculous. and it doesn't seem like this charger has the slightest bit of 'intelligence' to it--i have yet to see any proof that it will, for example, top off some cells that are only a couple of tenths of a volt down in a reasonable amount of time. it's strange, because the charger does seem to be aware of the level they are charged to. in other words, if i take a battery out that has two solid yellow lights and put it back in it retains those lights.

i bought this charger because i needed an 18650 charger and i bought this one on the chance i could put my maha in storage and use this one for all (or nearly all) the rechargeable cells i use--lithium and nimh. but the maha would have soft-charged those nimh cells in 30-60 minutes tops and even faster on fast charge. and my cheap little ultra fire charger i paid about $6 would have charged the rcr321 750mah batteries in well under 3 hours even if they were nearly dead.

/guy


----------



## cland72

Sounds like a defective charger. Try charging only one battery at a time and see if it's any different.


----------



## gteague

tks chris. imo it could easily be something similar to a stuck timer ckt based on the symptoms i'm seeing so far and if i can't get it to complete in a shorter time. all this is subjective though unless i have some objective data.

right now i've got two new 18650 lights (and one takes 4x18650s) and i'm trying to get enough batteries up to charge asap in order to check out the lights, so i haven't had time to record any data. if these nitecorp batteries which i need to try out my tm26 will ever finish charging i'll check voltages using my dvm and try a single battery which is known to be only minimally depleted to see if this charger will do a 'top-up' in just a few minutes--or at least under an hour.

[upd: 4 hours 22 minutes on the charger for a brand new set of nitecore 3100mah 18650 batteries. one (1) solid yellow light. i think defective is the operative word here. either that are all 4 batteries (which were individually packaged and nitecore sealed) are bad. yeah, right ... and yes, i know that now i have the tm26 i could use its internal charger. and my hexbright lite (gathering well-deserved dust) even has an internal charger, but these are the slowest of slow methods.]

[upd2: checked the charger again and there's a bad electronics-burning smell and the bottom is red hot. this charger will be leaving here asap. i guess it's to the tm26 internal charger and wait overnight. ]

[upd3: accidentally found a charger i had no idea i even had--cheap chinese contruction and labeled 'dsd'. sort of a strange configuration--takes 2x123 crossways and 2x18650 lengthways. at least this will allow me to charge 2 cells at a time until i can replace the i4 with another 4-cell charger. then i take the nitecore cells i've been charging for over 4 hours on the i4 and put them one-by-one into the tm26 (i swear to you guys, the oled with the voltmeter was the top selling point!) and checked the voltage. each and every one was 4.10v. next i checked the same cell in each battery chamber to make sure all chambers were working and each one reported 4.10v. fantastic! at least something has gone right tonight. and despite the i4 charger reporting false information, it did charge the cells. and most likely would have over-charged them if i'd let it go any longer--much less overnight. that's most likely what happend to my nimh cells yesterday--i think i left them in too long and might have damaged one or more of the cells. imo, definitely a defective i4 unit.]

[upd4: i pulled the ac cord and let the i4 charger cool down for about an hour. i then put in an aw3400mah 18650 i had just charged yesterday into slot #1. the i4 indicated properly by displaying 3 solid yellow bars. then i put in another aw3400mah 18650 i had bought at the same time, but never charged into slot #3. this one indicated one solid yellow light and a blinking 2nd yellow light. i left the cell in slot #1 which indicated full charge and let the cell in slot #3 charge, albeit monitoring it closely every 10-15 minutes for any erratic behavior or excessive heat. all proceeded normally and this cell too indicated full charge in just over two hours. so i'm completely befuddled. the wacky behavior started with the 4 brand new nitecore cells i tried to charge. although they seem to be working perfectly now in the tm26, perhaps one is flaky even though i checked the voltage on each one separately, the tm26 will after all work on only one cell. anyway, for now i'm going to keep a very close eye on the charger and test voltages of random cells as i charge them. i also plan to pay more attention to which channels i'm using and try to avoid charging 4 very dead batteries all at once.] /gt

/guy


----------



## oKtosiTe

I've never seen a *just* solid light on. There's always at least one blinking light. If your i4v2 charger ever shows *only* a solid light, it may well be defective.


----------



## gteague

sorry, you're right. the only time i see no blinking lights is at full charge when all three yellow lights are solid. i must have meant _one_ solid light, implying that the light above was blinking. the charger seems to again be operating properly, but unexplained still was the unmistakeable smell of overheated electronics mixed with plastic which i experienced when trying to charge the 4 new nitecore 3100mah cells. i have 4 orbtronics 3400s coming in today for the tm26 (the 3100s will be my backup set) and i'll measure the orbtronics before i insert them and then keep a close eye on the charging cycle.

/guy


----------



## gteague

ok. received my 4 orbtronics 18650 3400mah batteries just now. i put each pair into the tm26 and the voltage showed 3.64v on each pair, i didn't check each individual cell. i put them into the i4 charger at 1812ct and each one showed one solid yellow light with the next light blinking. i'll update this post when i get some results, good or bad.

btw, those orbtronics people are serious about their batteries--packaging was truly impressive.

[upd @1912ct: 1h_00m: one solid yellow light]

[upd @2012ct: 2h_00m: one solid yellow light. smell of overheated electronics. charger very warm to touch. i feel like i should remove them and test voltage again. i know the specs say a charge can take up to 5 hours, but how long should it take to go from 3.64v to 4.2v?]

[upd @2020ct: 2h_06m: one solid yellow light. burning smell only getting worse. removed all batteries and unplugged charger.]

[upd @2026ct: 2h 14m: checked voltage in pairs in tm26 @3.85v. so we have gained 0.2v in 2 hours. put batteries back on charge and the time listed to the left is the restart time. this is basically the same pattern i experienced last night with the brand new 3100mah nitecore cells.]

[upd @2134ct: 3h 14m: one solid yellow light. burning electronics smell.]

[upd @2230ct: 4h 10m: one solid yellow light. burning electronics smell. i think i am aborting this test. 4 hours of charging and, according to the charger, there has been no advancement as we still only have the one solid yellow light on. we know that they went from 3.64v to 3.85v in just over 2 hours. i am going to pull them again and test voltage. i'm guessing that the charger is so hot that all the charging energy is being dissipated in heat loss. i just tested them again in the tm26 and they read 4.07v. so the yellow light indicators on the i4 charger are nowhere near correct. at that voltage they ought to have two solid yellow lights with the 3rd blinking. i think this charger is headed for the trash--it is unreliable and inconsistent and might ruin a set of batteries if left unattended.]



/guy


----------



## gteague

received an xtar vp1 today and i sure with i had gotten two of these instead of the nitecore. so much better. best thing is that you know exactly what the status is at any time as compared to me checking on the i4 yellow lights every hour and wondering if the damm thing was just stuck or not.

the only con i can see of the xtar is it only accommodates two cells at a time, but surely if others feel the same as me and it becomes popular they'll release a larger model. i would far prefer to do 2 charging cycles to charge 4 cells in the xtar than only the one cycle in the nitecore.

/guy


----------



## Popeskill

Great review! But I am a little confused about one thing. I am charging efest imr high drain 18650 and 18350 I also have an EH 18650 imr. Which bays do I put them in if charging two to get the fastest charge? 1&2?


----------



## selfbuilt

Popeskill said:


> Great review! But I am a little confused about one thing. I am charging efest imr high drain 18650 and 18350 I also have an EH 18650 imr. Which bays do I put them in if charging two to get the fastest charge? 1&2?


On my sample of the i4-V2, pairing in slots 1 & 2 (or 3 & 4) will be fastest. It is different on the Jetbeam i4 PRO (there, it is 1 & 3 and 2 & 4 for faster charging).


----------



## Popeskill

selfbuilt said:


> On my sample of the i4-V2, pairing in slots 1 & 2 (or 3 & 4) will be fastest. It is different on the Jetbeam i4 PRO (there, it is 1 & 3 and 2 & 4 for faster charging).



Thank you!


----------



## lukesan

Thought I would get myself registered after reading (and buying) for years now.

I just purchased the i4 from HK based on the review here. I noticed something weird, slightly worrying on mine so I thought lets check with the folks here if they can reproduce it on their i4 or that mine is just a DOA.
Situation is as following. 4 identical 18650 cells that are almost full ... 2 out of the 4 are already showing full because I took out 2 cells to test a flashlight. They were used for like 1 minute and then placed back in the i4.

Now something weird with slot 2. When I take the batt from either slot 1 or 3 that shows 'full' in slot 2 it starts charging again. It is not that it stops after 1 minute but after 10 minutes it still shows charging so I pulled the plug safety wise.

I made a small recording, not very handy swapping batts and holding the camera in the other hand btw.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6odzE0nJxfs

Sending it back to the seller registered costs me more than buying another one and since I will need a reliable 4 port charger within a couple of weeks time it is getting a bit urgent.
What do you guys think about this?


----------



## Vortus

What are they showing on your meter? The gauge on the charger is not a good thing to go by.


----------



## lukesan

Vortus said:


> What are they showing on your meter? The gauge on the charger is not a good thing to go by.




Good question, and actually not very bright of me not to measure it (just as a 'valid' excuse it was about 2am). 
I have 2 Fluke's which should be pretty precise but I don't have a good feeling about it. It obviously kept on charging, even after those 10 minutes, otherwise the leds wouldn't be indicating this. The charger shows as being 1% precise on the bottom so yes measuring should be my next step.


----------



## TronPlayer

NiteCore i4 Innards -


----------



## hemdale

Does this charger have any "top up" capabilities ? Just wondered if it would be possible to check the full charge of 18650 batteries, insert them for a quick and easy top up process ?

Thanks !


----------



## oKtosiTe

hemdale said:


> Does this charger have any "top up" capabilities ? Just wondered if it would be possible to check the full charge of 18650 batteries, insert them for a quick and easy top up process ?
> 
> Thanks !



Decent Li-ion chargers are able to safely top up Li-ion batteries without any problems. They will cut off when the voltage reaches a certain level (usually around 4.2V). A full cell should cut off almost immediately, although I've seen it take up to a number of minutes on the I4v2.
Still caution is recommended and checking voltages with a DMM after and before charging is always a good idea.


----------



## InquisitiveInquirer

Stupid question, but is it harmful in anyway to the battery or charger if, say, you were to accidently unplug the charger while it was charging? For ex, you tried to disconnect a plug for something else from an ovepopulated outlet and accidently unplugged the i4 v2? Or a power outage. If either of these happen, you could just replug it and it'd continue where it left off, right?


----------



## HKJ

InquisitiveInquirer said:


> Stupid question, but is it harmful in anyway to the battery or charger if, say, you were to accidently unplug the charger while it was charging? For ex, you tried to disconnect a plug for something else from an ovepopulated outlet and accidently unplugged the i4 v2? Or a power outage. If either of these happen, you could just replug it and it'd continue where it left off, right?



Generally no, as you write you can just replug it.


----------



## Norm

HKJ said:


> Generally no, as you write you can just replug it.



Just tried it, unplugged for about 30 seconds, restarted fine.

Norm


----------



## InquisitiveInquirer

Thanks Norm, HKJ for the reply. This looks like a sweet, affordable charger that should serve my eneloops & 18650s well. 

Asides from the obvious differences of 2 compared to 4 slots, i wonder how the intellicharger i2 comapares to this i4. Price isn't much less and it only offers 2 slots. I didn't find much info on the i2 on cpf.


----------



## HKJ

InquisitiveInquirer said:


> Asides from the obvious differences of 2 compared to 4 slots, i wonder how the intellicharger i2 comapares to this i4. Price isn't much less and it only offers 2 slots. I didn't find much info on the i2 on cpf.



I would suggest that you look for my reviews, either here on CPF (including comments) or on my website, I have tested both of them.


----------



## InquisitiveInquirer

I just found the review. My bad! So the in the conclusions, you say, "For most purposes I will say this charger is better than the i4, the lower charge current makes it much better for the 14500 and 16340 batteries, the trays works better and it does not reduce the current when it is filled with batteries." Makes my decision easier. 

Thanks for all the time and efforts in your awesome reviews HKJ!


----------



## tripplec

Ok, I recently got a Nitecore I4 and was advertised as a V2. I don't see any marking to lead me to see that it is in fact a Version 2 charger.


----------



## HKJ

tripplec said:


> Ok, I recently got a Nitecore I4 and was advertised as a V2. I don't see any marking to lead me to see that it is in fact a Version 2 charger.



It is probably a version 2, version 1 was discontinued long time ago.
You can see my comparison here: http://lygte-info.dk/review/Difference between Sysmax charger V1 and V2 UK.html


----------



## markr6

Thoughts on using this as a travel charger?

By "travel", I don't necessarily mean compact and light but rather a do-it-all charger that I can keep in my Jeep and always have access to charging my Eneloops and 18650 while away from home (forget main charger or extra batteries). The price also fits my needs since it may just sit in a bag and rarely get used.


----------



## cland72

markr6 said:


> Thoughts on using this as a travel charger?
> 
> By "travel", I don't necessarily mean compact and light but rather a do-it-all charger that I can keep in my Jeep and always have access to charging my Eneloops and 18650 while away from home (forget main charger or extra batteries). The price also fits my needs since it may just sit in a bag and rarely get used.



Assuming you've tested it on both 12v and 110v and it works as it should, I think it would be a great travel charger. I love that I can have one charger for both lithium ions and eneloops.


----------



## YetiFlash

*Nitecore Intellicharge: Pros and cons?*

Hi all - I'm after my first charger for 18650 battery units and the Nitecore Intellicharger caught my eye. As well as primary 18650 recharging duty, can this unit cope with my Sanyo Eneloop AA and AAA batteries?

As a stand alone jack of all trades charger, can it be recommended as being reliable?

Plus which 18650 batteries do you prefer - 2600mAh or the 3600mAh? Will be used in a Fenix PD35 btw.

Any thoughts and advice welcome


----------



## Labrador72

*Re: Nitecore Intellicharge: Pros and cons?*

I think you can find the answer to both your questions here:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...rger-Review-(V2)-current-voltage-comparisons/
And here:
http://lygte-info.dk/review/Review Charger SysMax i4 V2 UK.html


----------



## Wiggle

*Re: Nitecore Intellicharge: Pros and cons?*

I have one. It's not a bad charger but watch it carefully, mine has a tendency to overcharge slightly (sometimes I pull off my Panasonic 3400s) at 4.23V if I let it go til it terminates. This isn't exactly dangerous but will wear down your cells a bit faster especially if you run them through alot of cycles. My Zebralight and cheap cells (Trustfire) seem to terminate at 4.20V almost exactly though. Like any li-ion charger, use a multi meter and watch it closely, especially near termination. On mine, I'll usually pull the cells off once I get 2 solid bars on the indicator as this indicates a voltage between 4.10 and 4.20 on my unit which is effectively full and less hard on the cells than hitting the full 4.20 (or a little above).


----------



## YetiFlash

*Re: Nitecore Intellicharge: Pros and cons?*

Thanks folks - appreciated. 

Are there any other dedicated 18650 chargers I should be considering - same with the 18650 batteries (protected) ?


----------



## TEEJ

*Re: Nitecore Intellicharge: Pros and cons?*



YetiFlash said:


> Hi all - I'm after my first charger for 18650 battery units and the Nitecore Intellicharger caught my eye. As well as primary 18650 recharging duty, can this unit cope with my Sanyo Eneloop AA and AAA batteries?
> 
> As a stand alone jack of all trades charger, can it be recommended as being reliable?
> 
> Plus which 18650 batteries do you prefer - 2600mAh or the 3600mAh? Will be used in a Fenix PD35 btw.
> 
> Any thoughts and advice welcome



There's no such thing as a real 3600 mah 18650, meaning you either meant to type 3400 mah, or, you have one of those BS el cheapo cells that might be recycled from a lap top, or whatever (Whatever it IS, it ISN'T 3600 mah 18650)

And, sure, the i4 does both eneloops and li-ions.



I use that same i4, plus, Xtar WP6 (6 bay), Xtar VP1 (A few of them), Pila IBC, and a few others. I also have some dedicated chargers JUST for nimh of various sizes...MAHA C808M, etc.

They all work fine...with some being faster or slower, or having better displays of what they are doing, etc.


----------



## gopajti

*Re: Nitecore Intellicharge: Pros and cons?*

Nitecore i4 is too slow for four high capacity 18650 batteries, charge current only 4*375mA.. so I recommend XTAR XP4, charge current 4*250mA, 500mA, 1000mA + USB output 1A.

Recommended battery for PD35 (I have PD35) unprotected Panasonic NCR18650B, 3400mAh. High performance, fit perfectly. PD35 will reduce the brightness when voltage dropping down to ~3.20V.


----------



## Capolini

*Re: Nitecore Intellicharge: Pros and cons?*



YetiFlash said:


> Hi all - I'm after my first charger for 18650 battery units and the Nitecore Intellicharger caught my eye. As well as primary 18650 recharging duty, can this unit cope with my Sanyo Eneloop AA and AAA batteries?
> 
> As a stand alone jack of all trades charger, can it be recommended as being reliable?
> 
> Plus which 18650 batteries do you prefer - 2600mAh or the 3600mAh? Will be used in a Fenix PD35 btw.
> 
> Any thoughts and advice welcome



I have Two of them. For me they work fine for the 18650 L.Ion.

I just got an EA4 which take AA. I bought the Sanyo eneloop 2500 Mah AA/XX Nimh. The charger can't seem to charge them past 1.42. That is warm off of the charger. Then they drop to about 1.39 after they cool. It won't charge them to 1.5 volts. If you leave it on too long thinking it will get to that point, the batteries get a bit hot! 

Anyway, when all three lights are solid and it is suppose to done, that is the furthest it will charge! That is about 1.39 after they cool.

Good news, I still got 1 hour 15 minutes of high and about 20 minutes of turbo on my EA4[Nitecore]. it is suppose to get 2 hours on high.

Let me know if you get the same results.

*Ciao,,,Roberto,,,"capo di capo" "KEEP LIGHTING UP THE DARKNESS"*


----------



## N8N

*Re: Nitecore Intellicharge: Pros and cons?*

NiMHs shouldn't go to 1.5V anyway, that is for carbon-zinc or alkaline primaries. NiMH are nominal 1.2V but they do come off the charger somewhere around 1.4 or so. Not sure why you're seeing short run times on your light.


----------



## HKJ

*Re: Nitecore Intellicharge: Pros and cons?*



N8N said:


> NiMHs shouldn't go to 1.5V anyway, that is for carbon-zinc or alkaline primaries. NiMH are nominal 1.2V but they do come off the charger somewhere around 1.4 or so. Not sure why you're seeing short run times on your light.



While on the charger they may go above 1.5 volt, but drops below 1.5 volt when charge current is stopped.
Here is my charge curve for black eneloop:


----------



## Capolini

*Re: Nitecore Intellicharge: Pros and cons?*



N8N said:


> NiMHs shouldn't go to 1.5V anyway, that is for carbon-zinc or alkaline primaries. NiMH are nominal 1.2V but they do come off the charger somewhere around 1.4 or so. Not sure why you're seeing short run times on your light.



I did not say I was getting SHORT run times. The EA4 according to Nitecore should get 2 hours run time on "High" setting.

As I indicated in post #7, I got about 1 hour 15 minutes on high AND 20 minutes on turbo. I do not know the equivalent of Turbo minutes into high, or vice versa, but that does not seem that bad to me. Hypothetically speaking if 20 minutes of turbo equaled 30 minutes of high, I would have gotten 1 hour and 45 minutes of high.

Also, if this battery website was right, it usually or sometimes may take 4 or 5 discharge cycles to get the full capacity of the cell.

In conclusion from my early experience and from the help of people on here, I do not think I should be worried if my I4 will only take it to about 1.43 or so at its highest voltage. I think I also need to remember that the I4 CAN charge L.ion, Nimh and Nicd but is NOT specifically made for Nimh batteries. I am not going to buy another charger specifically made for Nimh, which MAY do a better job. This[EA4] is like 5th or 6th in line for torches I use! I wear it on my belt for emergency if the high powered torches fail!! I also ordered another light[Fenix TK-35] with similar output!

Like I need another one!! I started a thread about that! "CROSSING THE LINE- WHEN IS TOO MUCH TOO MUCH"!

Thanks everyone

*Ciao,,,Roberto,,,"Capo di Capo" "KEEP LIGHTING UP THE DARKNESS"*


----------



## N8N

*Re: Nitecore Intellicharge: Pros and cons?*

Ahhhh... Capolini, I misunderstood, I thought that you meant that NC spec'd 2 hours on high, but you were fully discharged after 1h 15m and then tested total runtime on turbo and found it to be 20m. In your case I would not worry about it as it sounds like you are doing fine 

HKJ, that is interesting and I don't doubt you, I don't have any way of reproducing that though as I don't have any Eneloop XXs. I can say that I've been charging a bunch of Gen2 and Gen3 loops, Imedions, and now a few Tenergy Centuras on my C9000 and per the C9000's display, I haven't ever seen the voltage go over 1.5. I have a pair of Centura Ds breaking in right now and they're about an hour away from being done (so really, they ought to be full already, having had 15 hours of 0.1C charge crammed into them at this point) cell voltage displayed is 1.45 and 1.43. That said, I have not checked it against a real meter, although maybe I should - although at the same time, there's the principle of "if it's working, don't mess with it."

Of course, my meter is disassembled at the moment as one of the D cells is going into it, that makes life difficult  (but I think it only needs the cell for resistance measurements)


----------



## HKJ

*Re: Nitecore Intellicharge: Pros and cons?*

I do not have any data with XX and low charge current. From the XTAR XP1 I have just reviewed, there is a 0.25A charge curve:




Again, it goes above 1.5 volt and drops below when charge current is turned off. This charger is pulsing the current, that is the reason for the *thick* lines.


----------



## N8N

*Re: Nitecore Intellicharge: Pros and cons?*

I can reproduce that, next time I have to charge some AAs (assuming that I remember to come back to this discussion) I will discharge them fully then charge @ 0.25A and see what happens. I don't have a fancy logging meter like you do though, I'll have to take my measurements eyeballically. (just two Flukes and a Simpson 260, the latter of which I actually use most, but perhaps for this purpose a Fluke would be better.)

Also, Capolini - note that while HKJ and I are looking at the maximum voltage achieved anywhere in the charge cycle, if you are measuring the voltage after the charge cycle has terminated (which it sounds like you are) HKJ's graphs drop off quickly after the charge current stops and within a matter of minutes are below 1.5V even though the voltage just prior to termination was higher.


----------



## HKJ

*Re: Nitecore Intellicharge: Pros and cons?*



N8N said:


> I can reproduce that, next time I have to charge some AAs (assuming that I remember to come back to this discussion) I will discharge them fully then charge @ 0.25A and see what happens. I don't have a fancy logging meter like you do though, I'll have to take my measurements eyeballically. (just two Flukes and a Simpson 260, the latter of which I actually use most, but perhaps for this purpose a Fluke would be better.)



My DMM's are fancy logging meters, but I do not use it, I let the computer do the logging



N8N said:


> Also, Capolini - note that while HKJ and I are looking at the maximum voltage achieved anywhere in the charge cycle, if you are measuring the voltage after the charge cycle has terminated (which it sounds like you are) HKJ's graphs drop off quickly after the charge current stops and within a matter of minutes are below 1.5V even though the voltage just prior to termination was higher.



Yes, it is very important when the voltage is measured.


----------



## Capolini

*Re: Nitecore Intellicharge: Pros and cons?*



N8N said:


> I can reproduce that, next time I have to charge some AAs (assuming that I remember to come back to this discussion) I will discharge them fully then charge @ 0.25A and see what happens. I don't have a fancy logging meter like you do though, I'll have to take my measurements eyeballically. (just two Flukes and a Simpson 260, the latter of which I actually use most, but perhaps for this purpose a Fluke would be better.)
> 
> Also, Capolini - note that while HKJ and I are looking at the maximum voltage achieved anywhere in the charge cycle, if you are measuring the voltage after the charge cycle has terminated (which it sounds like you are) HKJ's graphs drop off quickly after the charge current stops and within a matter of minutes are below 1.5V even though the voltage just prior to termination was higher.




Yes, thank you young man!!

As I indicated in Post # 7[!!] Immediately after taking off the charger they were 1.42 v,after they cooled[15 minutes or so, SHOULD I WAIT AN HOUR???!!!!] they were at 1.39v. I realize that the ACCURATE reading is the latter!

I think I will be ok!! 

I am going to get a torch for my Siberian!!!

*Ciao,,,Roberto,,,"Capo di Capo" "KEEP LIGHTING UP THE DARKNESS"*


----------



## N8N

*Re: Sysmax/Nitecore/Jetbeam i4 Intellicharger Review (V2): current/voltage compariso*

young man? Only reason I don't call anyone "son" is I certainly don't need anyone calling me "dad" 

Anyway we're drifting off topic here but I got my meter back together and am charging another set of cells now in my C9000... the voltage displayed is dead on w/in .01V per my Simpson 260. (say what you like, it's older than some of you reading this and still works.) Right now it's charging some cells that I just deliberately discharged for break in, so the voltage is low, one is at 1.33 and the other at 1.35V. That is what I'm reading on the Simpson most of the time, about 1x a second the needle ticks up maybe 0.1-0.2V or so.

It's entirely possible, though, that a different charger might have a different termination point/set of criteria. In fact, I recall one criticism of the C9000 was that it terminated too early for some cells particularly Eneloops and would terminate on absolute voltage before negative delta-V and that to get a 100% full charge you needed to let it trickle for about 2 hrs. after it displays "done." So 1.50V may be a little high for a NiMH but not excessively so; but at the same time not achieving it does not necessarily mean that your charger isn't doing its job.


----------



## sptham30

very nice review. i have a question though, will this v2 charger work with >2600 rating batteries such as samsung, sanyo etc? cause i read that those need voltages up to 4.35 V to make full use of their true capacity?
Would the trustfire TR001 work as well? Just curious cause am planning to get one of the 2. first timer investing in batteries and chargers.


----------



## Wiggle

It won't terminate that high. But the new 3400s are designed for 4.20V as far as I know


----------



## oKtosiTe

sptham30 said:


> very nice review. i have a question though, will this v2 charger work with >2600 rating batteries such as samsung, sanyo etc? cause i read that those need voltages up to 4.35 V to make full use of their true capacity?
> Would the trustfire TR001 work as well? Just curious cause am planning to get one of the 2. first timer investing in batteries and chargers.


Trustfire doesn't have the best reputation around here. Steer clear of *fire batteries if at all possible. Batteries that can be charged to 4.35V should marked very clearly as such, because charging regular (4.2V max) cells to 4.35V is *quite dangerous and may result in loss of property, limbs or life*.
The i4v2 will charge 3100mAh and 3400mAh cells from reputable brands just fine. To get a good idea about what batteries to get, check HKJ's battery and charger reviews and comparisons.


----------



## selfbuilt

*Re: Sysmax/Nitecore/Jetbeam i4 Intellicharger Review (V2): current/voltage compari*



Wiggle said:


> It won't terminate that high. But the new 3400s are designed for 4.20V as far as I know


Yes, all commercial "3.7V" (nominal) li-ions charge to 4.2V. 

I don't know where these claims of higher charging voltages come from, but the built-in over-charge protection feature of all protected li-ions cells would kick in long before then. Not that you would want to test that - any good quality charger should terminate by shortly above 4.20V.


----------



## HKJ

*Re: Sysmax/Nitecore/Jetbeam i4 Intellicharger Review (V2): current/voltage compari*



selfbuilt said:


> Yes, all commercial "3.7V" (nominal) li-ions charge to 4.2V.




Not all, but most. There is a reason there exists 4.35V chargers. 



selfbuilt said:


> I don't know where these claims of higher charging voltages come from, but the built-in over-charge protection feature of all protected li-ions cells would kick in long before then. Not that you would want to test that -



You can get protection IC's for different voltages, but sadly the manufactures of protection LiIon batteries with 4.30 and 4.35 volt, does sometime use 4.20 volt protection chips, preventing full use of the battery.



selfbuilt said:


> any good quality charger should terminate by shortly above 4.20V.



A 4.20 volt charger shall terminate at 4.20 volt, when the current is down to about 50 to 100mA (for 18650) and the LiIon battery will end up with a voltage slightly below 4.20 volt (Somewhere between 4.17 and 4.199 volt, older batteries can be lower). This voltage drop is very easy to see in all my battery tests, where I have a charge curve from a nearly ideal CC/CV charger with 100mA termination.
Because there is +/- 0.05 volt tolerance on the 4.20 volt specification, it is ok to get a battery with 4.23 volt after charging (That could mean a 4.25 volt charger with a 0.02 volt drop when finished).


----------



## selfbuilt

*Re: Sysmax/Nitecore/Jetbeam i4 Intellicharger Review (V2): current/voltage compari*

Thanks for the reply HKJ. Very interesting - I didn't think there were any higher charging cells that were still considered 3.7V nominal (which is what I was limiting my comments to in my last post). That certainly makes it difficult for consumers to separate out. Thanks for the info.

And bizarre that some makers of such cells would compound the problem by putting early termination circuits. Doesn't sound very well thought out.


----------



## HKJ

*Re: Sysmax/Nitecore/Jetbeam i4 Intellicharger Review (V2): current/voltage compari*



selfbuilt said:


> Thanks for the reply HKJ. Very interesting - I didn't think there were any higher charging cells that were still considered 3.7V nominal (which is what I was limiting my comments to in my last post). That certainly makes it difficult for consumers to separate out. Thanks for the info.



I agree, but the nominal voltage has not been increased, at least not on the cells where I could find a datasheet.




selfbuilt said:


> And bizarre that some makers of such cells would compound the problem by putting early termination circuits. Doesn't sound very well thought out.



No, I suppose it was a mistake in production or maybe missing knowledge.
I have only tested a few (protected) batteries for more than 4.20 volt and one of these had the problem.

Generally you can find all the 18650 batteries I have tested in my comparator, I have not included the curve for the failed protection, but you can find a few 4.3 volt and 4.35 volt curves.

For 4.35 volt batteries you can get a specialized charger, for 4.3 volt batteries, you need a hobby charger, where you can trim the charge voltage, I have not seen any charger for it. Using a 4.35 volt charger for 4.30 volt batteries will probably be within allowable tolerances, but would reduce the lifetime of the battery.


----------



## Elwin

I was looking for a good on this charger, and darned if I didn't find 2 on the same forum. 
Thanks much!


----------



## Jaygermeister

Would anyone know if this charger is in anyway compatible with a Goal Zero Nomad 7 Solar Panel?

My thinking is that with the right cord 8mm Male to 5.5mm Male I could charge the Nitecore i4 (or i2) with the nomad 7, below are the Nomads specs:



*SOLAR PANEL
*Rated wattage7WCell TypeMono crystallineOpen-circuit Voltage8-9V*OUTPUT PORTS (3)*USB port5V, up to 1A (5W max), regulatedSolar port (blue, 8mm)15V, up to 0.3A (5W max), regulatedMini solar port (2.5mm)
6.5V, up to 1.1A (7W max)


I think I'd use the "Solar port (blue, 8mm, 15V, up to 0.3A [5W max])" output, into the Nitecore i4 (DC12V 10watt) Input? I'm hoping the panel produces enough power to charge with the Nitecore i2, anyone know better?

Thanks,
Jayger


----------



## N8N

Should work, but probably not 4 cells at once. 15V is a little high for a "12V" input but I assume Nitecore probably tested it up to maybe 14.2V or so as they have to assume that people will be using cigarette lighter adapters.

Sent from my XT897 using Tapatalk 4


----------



## GlockLU

This is my first charger I ordered from Amazon and it seems to work pretty good so far .


----------



## sptham30

oKtosiTe said:


> Trustfire doesn't have the best reputation around here. Steer clear of *fire batteries if at all possible. Batteries that can be charged to 4.35V should marked very clearly as such, because charging regular (4.2V max) cells to 4.35V is *quite dangerous and may result in loss of property, limbs or life*.
> The i4v2 will charge 3100mAh and 3400mAh cells from reputable brands just fine. To get a good idea about what batteries to get, check HKJ's battery and charger reviews and comparisons.



Reputable brands like panasonic 3400mAH, samsung and sanyo's 2600mah should have no problem with these chargers. so i just have to steer clear of any *fire brands.. i did notice trustfire brands don't have good reputation here... Am planning to to order from fasttech. good? or are there other good sites with free postage?
Thanks



HKJ said:


> Not all, but most. There is a reason there exists 4.35V chargers.
> 
> 
> 
> You can get protection IC's for different voltages, but sadly the manufactures of protection LiIon batteries with 4.30 and 4.35 volt, does sometime use 4.20 volt protection chips, preventing full use of the battery.
> 
> 
> 
> A 4.20 volt charger shall terminate at 4.20 volt, when the current is down to about 50 to 100mA (for 18650) and the LiIon battery will end up with a voltage slightly below 4.20 volt (Somewhere between 4.17 and 4.199 volt, older batteries can be lower). This voltage drop is very easy to see in all my battery tests, where I have a charge curve from a nearly ideal CC/CV charger with 100mA termination.
> Because there is +/- 0.05 volt tolerance on the 4.20 volt specification, it is ok to get a battery with 4.23 volt after charging (That could mean a 4.25 volt charger with a 0.02 volt drop when finished).




So it highly depends on the IC as well. imagine a battery with 3400mAH but the IC terminates at 4.20V, then can only charge for less than 2400mAH? wasted the extra 1000mAH


----------



## ChiefRA

Hello,
So, for charging:
- 2(4) 26650 batteries of 5800 mAh (6800 mAh)
or/and
- 2(4) 18650 batteries of 5000 mAh 

which charger is the best?

As people seems to debate which charger does this job extremely well. Nitecore i4 v.2 does the job but it doesn't seem to me that it does this job very good. 

Thanks in advance,
Arthur


----------



## HKJ

ChiefRA said:


> Hello,
> So, for charging:
> - 2(4) 26650 batteries of 5800 mAh (6800 mAh)
> or/and
> - 2(4) 18650 batteries of 5000 mAh
> 
> which charger is the best?
> 
> As people seems to debate which charger does this job extremely well. Nitecore i4 v.2 does the job but it doesn't seem to me that it does this job very good.
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> Arthur



Where do you get these batteries? I have tested a few 18650 and 26650, but never seen capacities that high.

I have also tested a few chargers and the ThruNite MCC-4 looks like a good charger. The Xtar XP4 might also be good for LiIon, but I am not ready with a review yet.


----------



## välineurheilija

Ultrafire makes some very high capacity batteries they must have somekind of advanced technology available :devil:


----------



## Petir

I have just bought Nitecore Intellicharger i4 and one Nitecore NL189 3400 mAh 18650 battery. I opened the battery package then measured the voltage it showed 3.63 V. I plugged the battery in the charger and checked it out every about 30 minutes during the charging process. The battery was barely getting warm during the charging.

After a few hours, I noticed all three lights were steadily on, the battery was not warm at all so I believe the charger has stopped charging. When I measured the battery voltage 15 mins after I took it off the charger, it was 4.22 V. My digital multimeter is a cheap one, its manual says at 20V selector the resolution is 10 mV, accuracy is 0.5% 3 RDG.

On the second night (maybe around 30 hours later) the battery voltage was 4.20 V. On the third night, it was 4.18 V.

Is this normal? Can anyone who has the same charger, battery, and probably better multimeter run some tests?

I am still awaiting for my flashlight delivery, so I do not have anything to discharge the battery and run another tests.


----------



## oKtosiTe

Petir said:


> I have just bought Nitecore Intellicharger i4 and one Nitecore NL189 3400 mAh 18650 battery. I opened the battery package then measured the voltage it showed 3.63 V. I plugged the battery in the charger and checked it out every about 30 minutes during the charging process. The battery was barely getting warm during the charging.
> 
> After a few hours, I noticed all three lights were steadily on, the battery was not warm at all so I believe the charger has stopped charging. When I measured the battery voltage 15 mins after I took it off the charger, it was 4.22 V. My digital multimeter is a cheap one, its manual says at 20V selector the resolution is 10 mV, accuracy is 0.5% 3 RDG.
> 
> On the second night (maybe around 30 hours later) the battery voltage was 4.20 V. On the third night, it was 4.18 V.
> 
> Is this normal? Can anyone who has the same charger, battery, and probably better multimeter run some tests?
> 
> I am still awaiting for my flashlight delivery, so I do not have anything to discharge the battery and run another tests.


Sounds pretty normal to me. Although ideally chargers terminate at exactly 4.2 or slightly below that, anything below 4.25 is not generally considered dangerous. It will probably shorten the lifetime of your cells a bit however.
I would really recommend confirming the readings with a better/other DMM.


----------



## fortean101

*Sysmax/Nitecore/Jetbeam i4 Intellicharger Review (V2): current/voltage compar...*

Sounds normal to me. The battery voltage will go down slightly after the cell has been taken off the charger, if the charging current is low it will not warm up much or at all. All seems normal


----------



## Petir

*Re: Sysmax/Nitecore/Jetbeam i4 Intellicharger Review (V2): current/voltage compar...*



oKtosiTe said:


> Sounds pretty normal to me. Although ideally chargers terminate at exactly 4.2 or slightly below that, anything below 4.25 is not generally considered dangerous. It will probably shorten the lifetime of your cells a bit however.
> I would really recommend confirming the readings with a better/other DMM.





fortean101 said:


> Sounds normal to me. The battery voltage will go down slightly after the cell has been taken off the charger, if the charging current is low it will not warm up much or at all. All seems normal



I found a thread in BLF about this, it seems i4 does charges up to slightly than 4.20 Volt....


----------



## 27woz27

hi there,im new on hear lol.got into flash lights.i got this changer and some new 18650 protected ones.but when there on charge on the 3rd flashing light it goes off.but when i charge AA or AAA i get full solid orange lights full charge, can someone help me out thanks.


----------



## Marconelly

27woz27 said:


> hi there,im new on hear lol.got into flash lights.i got this changer and some new 18650 protected ones.but when there on charge on the 3rd flashing light it goes off.but when i charge AA or AAA i get full solid orange lights full charge, can someone help me out thanks.


I have just got this charger, and I'm seeing the exact same thing happening when charging four 3400mAh Panasonic 18650s. Batteries do charge fully - I checked the voltages and they all have the same voltage - 4.17V. However, on three of the batteries, the charge indicator lights switch completely off when the charging is done. On the remaining fourth battery, all three indicators remain lit, just as it should when the battery is fully charged. It looks like lights go off in posts 1, 3 and 4, while the post 2 remains lit. None of the four batteries are even slightly warm to touch, once the charging is done, regardless if the lights are lit or not btw.

The same thing happens even when I charge just two batteries - one in port 2 and other in port 4. Port 4 lights go off, while port 2 lights stay lit :\ I wonder if this is an indication of some future problem with my charger and if I should even keep using it, despite it clearly being able to charge the batteries right now.


----------



## Lightning Bub

I have charged everything from 34mah unprotected NCR18650B cells to 2600mah laptop pulls in my four Intellichargers. I had one bad one that would shut off every five minutes or so, but Amazon swapped the bad one out for me. The chargers sit with all three leds lit on each cell when finished. Maybe it's the protection circuit on the cells tripping.


----------



## Marconelly

Lightning Bub said:


> Maybe it's the protection circuit on the cells tripping.


I thought so as well, but when I swapped the cells around to different bays, it would still always be that lights on ports 1, 3, 4 go off, and lights on port 2 remain lit.


----------



## Lightning Bub

Marconelly said:


> I thought so as well, but when I swapped the cells around to different bays, it would still always be that lights on ports 1, 3, 4 go off, and lights on port 2 remain lit.



You may have gotten a defective unit. All three LEDs on all four cells on all four of my I4s stay on solid when charging is complete.


----------



## Marconelly

Lightning Bub said:


> You may have gotten a defective unit. All three LEDs on all four cells on all four of my I4s stay on solid when charging is complete.


I'll try it once more when the batteries have been discharged after I've been using them in the light. I'm not sure in what state they are when they're charged the very first time. If there's still a problem, I'll contact the seller. I've also noticed that the cable end that plugs into the charger is really loose. It's extremely easy to unplug it, even by accident if you move the charger around and tug it just a bit.


----------



## Lightning Bub

All of mine are loose and don't seem to go in far enough. It's like they didn't make the hole deep enough. 

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk


----------



## dewie

Will it charge a tab top battery or just a flat top?


----------



## ven

dewie said:


> Will it charge a tab top battery or just a flat top?



Charges flat top and button top fine,little tip on the spring slides as quite stiff when new.Little bit of silicon spray on the springs,frees it up nicely.


----------



## Petir

I bought a car cigarette lighter adapter cable to be used with my Nitecore i4. It looks like just a "pass-through" cable adapter without any circuit board inside. There is a fuse of 2A / 250V inside.
So I plugged it to the car lighter socket and measure the output using a DMM. The voltage is 14 Volt!

Is it safe for my i4? As per its specification it needs 12 Volt instead.


----------



## Wiggle

That's a normal voltage, if your car battery was actually at 12V it would be pretty low or dead.


----------



## HiGhGuY

Hi. First of all, just wanted to say thanks selfbuilt for an excellent review.... helped me in making my decision to buy this charger. Regrading the order of the slots. I'm assuming the order is simply 1-4 from left to right, as shown in the picture below. Can anyone confirm this? Thank you.


----------



## cland72

HiGhGuY said:


> Hi. First of all, just wanted to say thanks selfbuilt for an excellent review.... helped me in making my decision to buy this charger. Regrading the order of the slots. I'm assuming the order is simply 1-4 from left to right, as shown in the picture below. Can anyone confirm this? Thank you.



Yes, that's correct.


----------



## oKtosiTe

HiGhGuY said:


> Hi. First of all, just wanted to say thanks selfbuilt for an excellent review.... helped me in making my decision to buy this charger. Regrading the order of the slots. I'm assuming the order is simply 1-4 from left to right, as shown in the picture below. Can anyone confirm this? Thank you.


With those cells (Duraloops as far as I can tell), you're probably better off using slot 1&2, 2&3, 3&4 or 1&4 (my favorite). Then they will charge at 750mA—a quicker charge and less chance of a missed termination—as opposed to 375mA. 750mA is still pretty conservative where 'loops are concerned.


----------



## HiGhGuY

oKtosiTe said:


> With those cells (Duraloops as far as I can tell), you're probably better off using slot 1&2, 2&3, 3&4 or 1&4 (my favorite). Then they will charge at 750mA—a quicker charge and less chance of a missed termination—as opposed to 375mA. 750mA is still pretty conservative where 'loops are concerned.



From What I understood, with AA/AAA size batteries, you want to use paired channels specifically to get the slower charging rate. At any rate, those are not my batteries. I simply reused the picture selfbuilt attached in the original post and just added the numbers. I am using this charger to charge 18650 batteries.


----------



## oKtosiTe

HiGhGuY said:


> From What I understood, with AA/AAA size batteries, you want to use paired channels specifically to get the slower charging rate. At any rate, those are not my batteries. I simply reused the picture selfbuilt attached in the original post and just added the numbers. I am using this charger to charge 18650 batteries.


It all depends on the cells used of course, but for 'loops it's fine. Some smaller Li-ion cells should be charged in paired slots though.


----------



## MR.355

I have two Nitecore i4's, both of which pretty much give me the same results:

Charging only 2 18650's in either 1-3 or 2-4 slots: 4.210 / 4.217

Charging 4 18650's: 4.205 / 4.213 / 4.209 / 4.211

All seems pretty reasonable to me?

Batteries used at Keeppower 3400mAh (essentially Panasonic's), Testing was with a Fluke 116 RMS Multimeter.

Cheers

Edit: Fixed numbers


----------



## dazed1

MR.355 said:


> I have two Nitecore i4's, both of which pretty much give me the same results:
> 
> Charging only 2 18650's in either 1-3 or 2-4 slots: 4.210 / 4.217
> 
> Charging 4 18650's: 4.205 / 4.213 / 4.209 / 4.211
> 
> All seems pretty reasonable to me?
> 
> Batteries used at Keeppower 3400mAh (essentially Panasonic's), Testing was with a Fluke 116 RMS Multimeter.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Edit: Fixed numbers



I'm really confused, in the review it says, slots 1& 4 give full charge ~ 0.750ma per bay, not 1& 3?


Also what if i use 3x batteries?


----------



## selfbuilt

dazed1 said:


> I'm really confused, in the review it says, slots 1& 4 give full charge ~ 0.750ma per bay, not 1& 3?
> Also what if i use 3x batteries?


MR.355's results are just refering to the variation you can get across individual charging bays - it has nothing to do with which ones are paired.

On the original V2 charger reviewed here, bays 1&3 were paired (as were 2&4). But builds can change over time, so I recommend people time their own chargers to confirm which bay pairs take longer.

If you have 3 cells charging at once, two of them will be charged in paired wells (and thus take almost twice as long as the one that isn't).


----------



## ChrisGarrett

selfbuilt said:


> MR.355's results are just refering to the variation you can get across individual charging bays - it has nothing to do with which ones are paired.
> 
> On the original V2 charger reviewed here, bays 1&3 were paired (as were 2&4). But builds can change over time, so I recommend people time their own chargers to confirm which bay pairs take longer.
> 
> If you have 3 cells charging at once, two of them will be charged in paired wells (and thus take almost twice as long as the one that isn't).



I'm glad this thread popped up, as I received a NC i4 v.2 (presumably) Monday and used it once charging up a 18650 in bay one, an AAA Eneloop Gen.2 in bay 3 and an AA Eneloop Gen.2 in bay 4.

I think that when charging up either 3, or 4 cells, I get a charging rate of 375mA and 1, or 2, I get the 750mA, so charging up only two AAAs isn't advisable.

Here's my question. You say that bays 1 and 3 are paired on that unit (I'll assume it is on mine) and 2 and 4 are paired.

My AAA in bay 3 finished first and the 18650 and AA were still charging in bay 1 and bay 4. I was wondering/worrying that if I took out the completely charged AAA from bay 3, would that action then bump the charger up into the 750mA rate, since there were now only 2 batteries charging in the charger, even though they were in unpaired bays 1 and 4?

If the machine can distinguish the required load between 1/2 cells and 3/4 cells, why would one the lone occupied bay be charging faster than the paired bays when three cells are charged? 

I'd have to do some testing in various bays, but the instructions don't really mention any of this, except that the four bays are independent of one another for charging purposes.

How and why are they paired?

I know that for purposes of thermal protection, my LaCrosse BC-700's bays are paired 1-3 and 2-4, IIRC. If one bay gets too hot, it and its paired bay shuts down until things cool below the protection threshold temperature.

Chris


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## dazed1

selfbuilt said:


> MR.355's results are just refering to the variation you can get across individual charging bays - it has nothing to do with which ones are paired.
> 
> On the original V2 charger reviewed here, bays 1&3 were paired (as were 2&4). But builds can change over time, so I recommend people time their own chargers to confirm which bay pairs take longer.
> 
> If you have 3 cells charging at once, two of them will be charged in paired wells (and thus take almost twice as long as the one that isn't).



Thanks, i got the v2, so afaik slots 1 & 4 for 2 batteries will give me full charge, right?


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## oKtosiTe

dazed1 said:


> Thanks, i got the v2, so afaik slots 1 & 4 for 2 batteries will give me full charge, right?


Yes, that will give you the full 750mA charging current, as will using any two adjoining slots (i.e.: 1+2, 2+3, 3+4).


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## selfbuilt

ChrisGarrett said:


> I was wondering/worrying that if I took out the completely charged AAA from bay 3, would that action then bump the charger up into the 750mA rate, since there were now only 2 batteries charging in the charger, even though they were in unpaired bays 1 and 4?


What the charger actually does when two cells are charging in paired bays is that it alternately pauses the current going into each one. So for example, 1 sec on at 750mA, 1 sec off, 1 sec on, etc - with the opposite timed pattern in the paired bay. As soon as the charging is done in one bay, the paired bay will automatically run in constant charging without any pauses. It doesn't matter when you remove the cell.

The point is that the charger cannot charge all four bays simultaneously - there are only two charging channels, so it has to "share" one charging channel across two paired bays.


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## yogiboobooranger

I have to admit, I am dumber than a doughnut hole when it comes to chargers/batteries and the like. But after reading through the review by selfbuilt, and the adjoining comments, I made the decision to purchase the aforementioned charger. Thanks so much selfbuilt for all of your insight on flashlights, batteries, and chargers. I read all of your detailed reviews on products I have an interest in which of course helps in making a wise purchasing decision. Thanks much.


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## Gaffle

*Re: Sysmax/Nitecore i4 Intellicharger Review (V2): current/voltage comparisons*

I bought the intellicharger i4 2nd gen last December. As of right now most of my house is running on NiMH, and I love it. I am now turning to li-ion for my HDS, and next light (whatever that my be). I was a ******* and bought some tenergy rcr123s, but they are the 3volt (playing the price is right loser music). Yesterday I ordered a set of aw IMR 16340s. Before I ordered these I went to nitcores site and alas there was the info for the 2014 i4 with text about being suitable for imr's. I email nitecore whether or not the 2nd version could charge imr's and no response. So here I am trolling through selfbuilts review (which is fantastic), and I read up on hjks site about the i4 being compatible for IMR. 

I just got a email yesterday from nitecore saying that the 2nd gen is not able to charge IMR. Can anyone elaborate on this?


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## HKJ

*Re: Sysmax/Nitecore i4 Intellicharger Review (V2): current/voltage comparisons*



Gaffle said:


> I bought the intellicharger i4 2nd gen last December. As of right now most of my house is running on NiMH, and I love it. I am now turning to li-ion for my HDS, and next light (whatever that my be). I was a ******* and bought some tenergy rcr123s, but they are the 3volt (playing the price is right loser music). Yesterday I ordered a set of aw IMR 16340s. Before I ordered these I went to nitcores site and alas there was the info for the 2014 i4 with text about being suitable for imr's. I email nitecore whether or not the 2nd version could charge imr's and no response. So here I am trolling through selfbuilts review (which is fantastic), and I read up on hjks site about the i4 being compatible for IMR.
> 
> I just got a email yesterday from nitecore saying that the 2nd gen is not able to charge IMR. Can anyone elaborate on this?



A lot of people has used it for IMR without any problems, probably because the IMR has the same charge requirements as other LiIon batteries.


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## Mukiwa19

*Re: Sysmax/Nitecore i4 Intellicharger Review (V2): current/voltage comparisons*

I'm about to pull the trigger on one of these chargers but since I have 10000mA NiMH D cells to charge and it doesn't take D cells... could I use a D-AA adapter and charge it like that? How long would it take to to charge 4 of them?
thanks


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## topcho

*Re: Sysmax/Nitecore i4 Intellicharger Review (V2): current/voltage comparisons*

I am not sure what you are saying. D- cells are too large to fit into the charger. That is the only problem with D cells. How do you propose to solve that by using an adapter?


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## oKtosiTe

*Re: Sysmax/Nitecore i4 Intellicharger Review (V2): current/voltage comparisons*



topcho said:


> I am not sure what you are saying. D- cells are too large to fit into the charger. That is the only problem with D cells. How do you propose to solve that by using an adapter?


Adapters exist that allow one to place a D-cell inside an external bay which connects to a sort of dummy AA battery exactly for this purpose. A Google search for d-cell maha should show some examples.
I expect no problems with charging high quality D-cells in this charger, although some chargers do have a timer cut out when charging takes too long. I doubt that's the case here, since C-cells can also be charged.


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## topcho

*Re: Sysmax/Nitecore i4 Intellicharger Review (V2): current/voltage comparisons*

It shouldn't be a problem then. The charger doesn't have a timer cutout.


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## RCTPAVUK

Just repaired my I4 v2.
The thing was it wouldn't charge 3rd channel. Blinks for a few, and says it's full, then turns off all leds on 3rd line.
Opened, and re-soldered all 4 springs, - works fine now.


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## blah9

*Re: Sysmax/Nitecore i4 Intellicharger Review (V2): current/voltage comparisons*

Nice job fixing that!


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## Eneloops

HKJ said:


> I expect to publish my review in the coming weekend.
> 
> To see the physical difference between V1 and V2 charger, check these comparison.



Thank you for that. I had the same question as cactus man and those pictures helped enormously. Just wanted to show my appreciation for your hard work.


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