# New Nitecore Superb Charger - SC2



## lonelyboy (May 13, 2016)

Any comment on this one?

http://charger.nitecore.com/product/sc2

It seems the spec is very attractive to me. I am also looking forward to seeing a SC4 coming up!


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## stephenk (May 14, 2016)

What, no voltage readout?


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## Connor (May 14, 2016)

3A is nice, of course, but that "display" surely is not.


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## vadimax (May 14, 2016)

stephenk said:


> What, no voltage readout?



They are in a trend 







You look at this indication and... WTF?!


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## Capolini (May 14, 2016)

no thanks! I WILL STICK W/ MY K'Power L2, EFEST LUC4 and my 2 x FENIX ARE-C2!:twothumbs


*+1 ......*You look at this indication and... WTF?!


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## ven (May 14, 2016)

It says it selects the charge rate on the cells mah, an example being 3000mah in 1.5hrs. I do wonder as you can select the rate yourself, people using the 3a setting on cells they should not............just to charge it quick!. 3a imo is fine for some IMR 26650 cells, but for 18650's its quite a high rate. Although manufacturers may state that the max charge rate is 4a, it will surely shorten the life of the cell!!!

On my IMR or INR cells, 1.5a is the highest i will use , a balance of still a relatively quick charge and to no real detriment to the cell.

It is a bit of a concern that "vapers" can just throw their tired INR etc cell on and bang 3a of rate into it! Also if the charger is going off the actual mah to determine the rate, not quite sure how it can do this before actually charging it and knowing how much mah it actually has. So if i put a 2100mah vtc4 in, will i get a lower rate than say a 3400 pany B cell.......where as it is actually the other way around, the vtc4 is higher rated! 

I see potentially some ultracrapfire cells getting charged at 3a here............

Shame on the display, not quite sure what they were thinking, needs a digital voltage read out !


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## CuriousOne (May 15, 2016)

A lot of modern and not so modern 18650 cells support high current charge, up to 4A, LG HE2 is one example.


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## ven (May 15, 2016)

Yes i know, i have pretty much most of these cells, but 4a or 3a as this charger can do, will surely shorten the cells life(cycle wise). Sure they will get quite warm too............


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## CuriousOne (May 15, 2016)

I'm regularily charging my HE2 cells with 4A, using self made balance cradle, connected to Turnigy Accucell 6-80. No major heating or other issues so far.


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## ven (May 15, 2016)

CuriousOne said:


> I'm regularily charging my HE2 cells with 4A, using self made balance cradle, connected to Turnigy Accucell 6-80. No major heating or other issues so far.



Right, have you done that many cycles or anything to compare with over the same kind of time scale. Most i use is 1.5a but always have lots of cells to just swap out and good to go again. I cant do more than 2a on my bt c3100, could on one of my hobby chargers though............. Ones now in use have had a good few cycles through them as most of this batch are around 6-12m old. I have always saved the 2a rate for 26650's(that could do with a higher rate!).

Cheers


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## CuriousOne (May 15, 2016)

So far, I've done about 40 cycles, noticed no decrease in performance. I'm using them for powering dewalt drill, via the modified original battery case. These 6 cells are connected in 3S2P configuration, with lipo low battery alarm circuit connected to them, so when it starts to beep, I know, it is time to balance charge.


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## ven (May 15, 2016)

Cool! So I am presuming your putting the 4a through though pack of 6 cells and not each individual cell.


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## el soluna (May 15, 2016)

It locks the 3A option for small batteries like 18490, said its manual


ven said:


> It says it selects the charge rate on the cells mah, an example being 3000mah in 1.5hrs. I do wonder as you can select the rate yourself, people using the 3a setting on cells they should not............just to charge it quick!. 3a imo is fine for some IMR 26650 cells, but for 18650's its quite a high rate. Although manufacturers may state that the max charge rate is 4a, it will surely shorten the life of the cell!!!On my IMR or INR cells, 1.5a is the highest i will use , a balance of still a relatively quick charge and to no real detriment to the cell.It is a bit of a concern that "vapers" can just throw their tired INR etc cell on and bang 3a of rate into it! Also if the charger is going off the actual mah to determine the rate, not quite sure how it can do this before actually charging it and knowing how much mah it actually has. So if i put a 2100mah vtc4 in, will i get a lower rate than say a 3400 pany B cell.......where as it is actually the other way around, the vtc4 is higher rated! I see potentially some ultracrapfire cells getting charged at 3a here............Shame on the display, not quite sure what they were thinking, needs a digital voltage read out !


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## david57strat (May 19, 2016)

I have a pair of D4s, and an older i4 V2 charger of theirs; but I seem to be using mostly XTAR chargers, for a majority of my charging needs. The Nitecores get used the least (The main thing I seem to use the D4s, is for charging Duraloops, or my LiFePO4 CR123s.

The most heavily used chargers I use, these days, are the newer XTAR SV2s, and the VC2 Plus units.





Top Row (Left to right)


LaCrosse BC-700 
Nitecore i4 V2 
Nitecore D4 (2) 
Middle Row (Left to right)


XTAR VC4 (2) 
XTAR VP2 (2) 
XTAR VZ2 - This is the newest addition



. Just picked up a second one (not pictured). 
Bottom Row (Left to right)


XTAR VC2 Plus (4) 
 
Right Hand Side (Top to Bottom)


Pelican 1010 Case with 14500 batteries 
Pelican 1010 Case with 16340 and CR123 batteries (No...I did not buy those. They came with some flashlight purchases. I stopped buying CR123 batteries about four years ago. 
Pelican 1010 Case with 26650 batteries 
Pelican 1010 Case with 18650 batteries - still my favorite battery type





I may have to pick up an SC2, to try it out. You can _never _have too many chargers


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## vadimax (May 19, 2016)

Why preference is given to XTAR chargers?


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## vestureofblood (May 20, 2016)

ven said:


> It says it selects the charge rate on the cells mah, an example being 3000mah in 1.5hrs. I do wonder as you can select the rate yourself, people using the 3a setting on cells they should not...........
> 
> I see potentially some ultracrapfire cells getting charged at 3a here............



I love the idea of having a charger that can actually output a respectable current.:twothumbs I have to say I too am anticipating plenty of  for the uninformed though.


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## david57strat (May 25, 2016)

vadimax said:


> Why preference is given to XTAR chargers?



I prefer the brighter readouts of the XTAR chargers. I also think they terminate more accurately, and are better constructed. I really like that some of them are USB-power-able. That's a real plus. It doesn't hurt that there's an XTAR store just five minutes away from where I live, either  . Those are just a few reasons, off the top of my head.



vestureofblood said:


> I love the idea of having a charger that can actually output a respectable current.:twothumbs I have to say I too am anticipating plenty of  for the uninformed though.


Agreed. I'm going to be using the SC2 charger (mainly) to charge up my 10000 mAh Tenergy D NiMhs, which I use in some of my old (but LED-upgraded) Maglites. If I like this charger enough, I'll pick up another one...or two!

Can't say I'm crazy about the idea of no voltage readouts on the SC2; but I like all the other features it offers, and am okay with just taking my batteries, and testing the termination voltage with my multimeter.

I don't think the uninformed should be using high current chargers, or even using lithium ion batteries, at all (other than for their typical smart devices, like tablets, cell phones, etc.). Those who want to use a high performance battery, for a flashlight, should study, thoroughly, how to properly maintain one, to avoid the many risks associated with careless maintenance of these types of batteries - or the purchase of inferior batteries that are inherently dangerous to use, in the first place.


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## ven (May 25, 2016)

That's part of the problem, the uninformed won't read up or join places like CPF or BLF. They will see "3a charge, that's better than 1a, my ultrasuperdooperfire cells will be charged up in a jiffy!"

Then  and potentially more fodder for the anti- li ion press to come.


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## saturnine23 (May 31, 2016)

ven said:


> That's part of the problem, the uninformed won't read up or join places like CPF or BLF. They will see "3a charge, that's better than 1a, my ultrasuperdooperfire cells will be charged up in a jiffy!"
> 
> Then  and potentially more fodder for the anti- li ion press to come.



As someone who's relatively new to all this, how would you summarize responsible Li Ion care & feeding? I just wrote the product listing for the SC2 here at Battery Junction, and as I worked on it, several employees expressed similar concerns about putting that much raw power in the hands of the uninformed. That same bad press you mentioned is a real problem for us, too, and I want to be able to pass good information along to help with responsible use.


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## markr6 (Jun 1, 2016)

3A? Jesus. They went from snail-rate charging which everyone complained about (500mA if you were lucky) to 3A max.

Just make a solid 1A charger with a voltage readout. (Xtar, hint hint)


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## ven (Jun 1, 2016)

saturnine23 said:


> As someone who's relatively new to all this, how would you summarize responsible Li Ion care & feeding? I just wrote the product listing for the SC2 here at Battery Junction, and as I worked on it, several employees expressed similar concerns about putting that much raw power in the hands of the uninformed. That same bad press you mentioned is a real problem for us, too, and I want to be able to pass good information along to help with responsible use.



Its a tough one as even if you take the measures by instructions, you still need the customer to read them. If it was me and i was selling in a shop/on line, then i would have a section on the page. This stating a warning about which cells are suitable for this rate and to always check the cell manufacturers specification . What cells to avoid and to stick with reputable shops when buying INR/IMR cells. You could even go as far as clicking a box(like you do when your buying vape stuff and to say over 18) to acknowledge the warning/info . Thats probably what i would do, but i dont have the experience of running a shop!


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## space-cowboy (Jun 1, 2016)

This could be one of the most dangerous chargers out-there for folks who do not know much about li-ion charging.


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## ChrisGarrett (Jun 2, 2016)

space-cowboy said:


> This could be one of the most dangerous chargers out-there for folks who do not know much about li-ion charging.



Darwin Awards: keeping the gene pool lean.

Chris


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## ven (Jun 2, 2016)

:laughing:


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## space-cowboy (Jun 2, 2016)

Expect to see posts like:
My brand new 18650 5xxxx0 mAh 65 Amp just exploded hi res pictures included.
:thinking:


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## saturnine23 (Jun 2, 2016)

markr6 said:


> 3A? Jesus. They went from snail-rate charging which everyone complained about (500mA if you were lucky) to 3A max.
> 
> Just make a solid 1A charger with a voltage readout. (Xtar, hint hint)



Actually, Nitecore's upgrading the i2 so that it can actually do 1A! Unfortunately it's only able to do it in one bay at a time; the other one is still 500mA. Still no voltage readout like the Xtar, but it's at least a little better than the super-minimal readout that used to be on the i2. _*Link removed by Greta - I have already emailed you about this. Please do not do it again._


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## markr6 (Jun 2, 2016)

saturnine23 said:


> Actually, Nitecore's upgrading the i2 so that it can actually do 1A! Unfortunately it's only able to do it in one bay at a time



 Oh well, they're going in the right direction


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## Gauss163 (Jun 3, 2016)

It appears that NiteCore is now competing with XTAR for the king of marketing hype award, e.g. in the above-linked brochure they claim that this SC2 charger "automatically detects battery capacities". Perhaps such imaginary features are for charging imaginary cells like 10000mAh UltraFires. Or maybe "SC" really means "Silly Claims" (or "Succulent Corn" - see below).

It is sad that the cell marketing hype (greatly exaggerated capacity, current, etc) is now leaking into chargers too. Don't support the shysters.


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## Bullyson (Jun 3, 2016)

Are there any manufacturers that make a high quality 8 bay charger with at least 1A per bay?


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## markr6 (Jun 3, 2016)

Gauss163 said:


> It appears that NiteCore is now competing with XTAR for the king of marketing hype award, e.g. in the above-linked brochure they claim that this SC2 charger "automatically detects battery capacities". Perhaps such imaginary features are for charging imaginary cells like 10000mAh UltraFires. Or maybe "SC" really means "Silly Claims" (or "Succulent Corn" - see below).
> 
> It is sad that the cell marketing hype (greatly exaggerated capacity, current, etc) is now leaking into chargers too. Don't support the shysters.



LOL love the photo. I'm not sure about the Xtar reference though. I don't remember them using much hype, but I have a horrible memory and could be wrong.



Bullyson said:


> Are there any manufacturers that make a high quality 8 bay charger with at least 1A per bay?



I'm not sure about Li-Ion, but for NiMH the Powerex Maha MH-C801D is PERFECT with a 1A and 2A setting.


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## ChrisGarrett (Jun 3, 2016)

Gauss163 said:


> It appears that NiteCore is now competing with XTAR for the king of marketing hype award, e.g. in the above-linked brochure they claim that this SC2 charger "automatically detects battery capacities". Perhaps such imaginary features are for charging imaginary cells like 10000mAh UltraFires. Or maybe "SC" really means "Silly Claims" (or "Succulent Corn" - see below).
> 
> It is sad that the cell marketing hype (greatly exaggerated capacity, current, etc) is now leaking into chargers too. Don't support the shysters.



I would not be surprised if Mr. Woo-Tang-Clan mixed up 'capacity' with 'chemistry,' but I don't know for sure. I recently got a Mastech 6500 digital thermometer/thermocouple and the English instruction sheet was pretty bad.

Better than my Mandarin Chinese, but still bad.

Chris


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## Gauss163 (Jun 3, 2016)

ChrisGarrett said:


> I would not be surprised if Mr. Woo-Tang-Clan mixed up 'capacity' with 'chemistry,' ...



Yes, I considered that too, but that doesn't explain their claims of "Active Charging with Infinite Intelligence" that can "intelligently select most appropriate charging current based on automatic battery capacity detection". Recall before I joked that there would soon be claims about infinite capacity Ultrafire cells. Apparently NiteCore was listening and has "forged" ahead with an "infinitely intelligent" charger. No need for mere mortals to attempt a review, it's infinitely more intelligent than we are.... _ But, _can it pass the (pop)corn?


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## HKJ (Jun 3, 2016)

Bullyson said:


> Are there any manufacturers that make a high quality 8 bay charger with at least 1A per bay?




http://lygte-info.dk/review/Review Charger GyrFalcon All-88 UK.html


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## Phlogiston (Jun 4, 2016)

Wasn't there at least one charger that automatically selected the charging current based on how long the cell was, i.e. longer cells pushed the slider out to the point where it made contact with another current path and enabled a higher charging current? 

Nitecore might be doing something as simple as that and marketing it as: 


"automatic" - true,
"advanced" - justifiable as being more "advanced" than a previous charger, if not very high-tech in itself - and
"intelligent" - justifiable as an "intelligent" design choice if it makes the user's life easier.
I doubt there'll ever be a substitute for doing your research, looking for independent reviews and using your own intelligence to critically evaluate marketing material.


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## Gauss163 (Jun 6, 2016)

Phlogiston said:


> Wasn't there at least one charger that automatically selected the charging current based on how long the cell was.



Any such length-based capacity inference would not qualify as "infinitely intelligent", because the same length 18650s can vary in capacity from 700mAh (UltraFire) to 3400mAh (Panasonic). If you automagically choose the same current for all of these same length cells then either you're charging some cells painfully slow, or charging others dangerously fast.

Would it be possible to automatically infer (an approximation) to the capacity? Possibly one could do so by varying the current and dynamically monitoring IR, temperature, and charge curve slopes, etc. But this would require genuine innovation, which is highly unlikely to appear in a charger on the low end of the consumer charger specturm. The only thing that is truly "infinite" in this Nitecore charger is marketing hype.


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## start90a (Jun 6, 2016)

A little question: Does exist a power source (USB suppose) of 12 V and 2,5 Amps as claimed in specs?
I don't know any USB wall charger to reach these values...


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## Gauss163 (Jun 6, 2016)

See USB C and QuickCharge 3.0.


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## HKJ (Jun 6, 2016)

start90a said:


> A little question: Does exist a power source (USB suppose) of 12 V and 2,5 Amps as claimed in specs?



The charger has usb output, not usb input. Input is a DC jack.

QC cannot deliver 12V 3A.


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## Gauss163 (Jun 6, 2016)

He asked if _there exists_ such USB chargers, and the correct answer to that question is Yes. Even some QC2 chargers already do 12V/2.5A, e.g. this 30W USB QC2 charger.


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## HKJ (Jun 6, 2016)

Gauss163 said:


> He asked if _there exists_ such USB chargers, and the correct answer to that question is Yes. Even some QC2 chargers already do 12V/2.5A, e.g. this 30W USB QC2 charger.



I forgot the QC type B chargers, all the common ones are type A and the maximum I have seen is 2A at 12V, much more common is 1.5A at 12V.


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## Gauss163 (Jun 6, 2016)

Yup, the USB and quickcharge standards are moving so fast that it is almost impossible to keep up with them.


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## HKJ (Jun 6, 2016)

Gauss163 said:


> Yup, the USB and quickcharge standards are moving so fast that it is almost impossible to keep up with them.



With QuickCharge the problem is lack of documentation. Some questions are:
What current are the maximum you can draw and how do you detect the limit of a QC charger.
What is the tolerance on the control signals.
What is the tolerance on the voltages.
Do QC3 support type B chargers?

With USB it is the other way around, there is way to much documentation and it changes frequently and some changes are incompatible with older versions:
At the start Power Delivery was supposed to work on all usb connectors, now it only works on USB-C connectors.
The actual voltages and currents for PD has also been changed.


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## Gauss163 (Jun 6, 2016)

Yeah, not too surprising considering that QuickCharge is proprietary but USB is an open standard. There is currently a lot of confusion in the marketplace around these and related matters, e.g. questions about compatibility between USB C and QC on recently released USB C phones like the HTC 10 and LG G5, e.g. see here, and see here for Qualcomm's response.


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## HKJ (Jun 6, 2016)

Gauss163 said:


> Yeah, not too surprising considering that QuickCharge is proprietary but USB is an open standard.



Documentation is free for usb, but if you want to make a usb device you have to pay.
Qualcomm could do the same.



Gauss163 said:


> There is currently a lot of confusion in the marketplace around these and related matters, e.g. questions about compatibility between USB C and QC on recently released USB C phones like the HTC 10 and LG G5, e.g. see here, and see here for Qualcomm's response.



This is a bit silly, QC has always broken the usb standard (Like other fast charge schemes and some other equipment). Luckily QC is easy to implement on any usb connection, including C, the only question is if the current coding of the cable is respected.


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## Gauss163 (Jun 6, 2016)

It's not clear just what you think is silly - the concerns, or Qualcomm's response, or something else?


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