IMR Batteries... Safer?

[Karma]

Apr 15, 2012 15:46:28 GMT alvoram said:

So should I contact the vendor, with it being brand new and making the noise?

I think you should alvo

[alvoram]

Yes all the batteries make the same sound.

[Gordy]

my TR001 makes a noise too so this sounds quite common

[2risky]

Many TR001s do this, Alvo, there are several reports of it online. It's a cheapo charger with an OK reputation, and you get what you pay for.

The main danger with the system is overcharging. If it's not overcharging batteries past 4.2V (if it is, contact your vendor and never use it again) I suggest you have a simple choice.

1) As a precaution, buy a more expensive, higher quality charger that doesn't make any noise or
2) Keep an eye on charge levels, live with the noise.

With any charger there's the possibility of a dangerous failure. Given that TR001s commonly make this noise and still function normally, I judge this risk as small. By taking the precaution of keeping an eye on charge levels, and not charging batteries unsupervised, you would be acting to reduce the larger part of this risk.

But it's up to you.

[alvoram]

Thanks 2risky, I absolutely do check the charge level every time I use a freshly charged battery, so will continue to do this, and hope all is well. I'm hoping to buy a Pila as soon as I can afford one, so hopefully it lasts until then, then it will become just a backup charger.

[Roger]

I can recommend the Xtar WP2 II. It's an excellent charger for the money.

[alvoram]

Thanks Roger I did look at that one, but the thing is a few months ago, people would recommend the TR-001... one thing that's been consistent for quite some time, not just in the ecig world, but in the world of high powered torches too, is that the Pila is apparently the absolute best, the standard by which others are judged, so decided I may as well go for that. I don't want to be swapping, changing and upgrading every so often, and it's only £40 if you shop around.

Back to the TR-001, I have now noticed, as somebody said earlier in this thread, that the sound drops off after a while, it's still there, but much lower. I also had a battery that I ran down to 3.4 volts, by mistake, and when I put that on charge it's much louder.

[maccafan]

Probably making the high pitched squeal in CC charging stage and the noise drops off when it's goes to the CV stage..Either capacitor or inductor..

As long as it's not overcharging and cuts off when it should, I would just use it and not worry too much about it..

[hifistud]

From memory, the TR-001 uses a regulated 4.25V circuit with no termination current. No CC/CV is present here. The unit does not actually run the full current up to the destination voltage followed by tapering off of current the way a normal CC/CV would work. Also, it doesn't terminate correctly - there'a a trickle charge of around 20mA getting to the cell once the light has gone green.

[Roger]

Apr 16, 2012 7:08:42 GMT alvoram said:

Thanks Roger I did look at that one, but the thing is a few months ago, people would recommend the TR-001... one thing that's been consistent for quite some time, not just in the ecig world, but in the world of high powered torches too, is that the Pila is apparently the absolute best, the standard by which others are judged, so decided I may as well go for that. I don't want to be swapping, changing and upgrading every so often, and it's only £40 if you shop around.

I agree that the Pila is an excellent charger, just trying to save you money that you could spend on lush juice.

[alvoram]

Apr 16, 2012 13:50:30 GMT Roger said:

Apr 16, 2012 7:08:42 GMT alvoram said:

Thanks Roger I did look at that one, but the thing is a few months ago, people would recommend the TR-001... one thing that's been consistent for quite some time, not just in the ecig world, but in the world of high powered torches too, is that the Pila is apparently the absolute best, the standard by which others are judged, so decided I may as well go for that. I don't want to be swapping, changing and upgrading every so often, and it's only £40 if you shop around.

I agree that the Pila is an excellent charger, just trying to save you money that you could spend on lush juice.

Thanks Roger, by all accounts it is thought of as a great charger, the wp2 that is... But I've (finally ) come to realise that, along with batteries, this is one department where you really do benefit from spending that little bit more, even if it's only for peace of mind.

I do appreciate the thought though, more juice is usually a good thing... And saving money is almost always a brilliant thing.

[maccafan]

I got my eye on one of these:

www.amazon.co.uk/JETBeam-Intellicharge-i4-Intellicharger/dp/B005ZQ8VKK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334601946&sr=8-1

I'll most probably end up getting this. Anyone else tried it?

[Karma]

Apr 16, 2012 18:46:36 GMT maccafan said:

I got my eye on one of these:

www.amazon.co.uk/JETBeam-Intellicharge-i4-Intellicharger/dp/B005ZQ8VKK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334601946&sr=8-1

I'll most probably end up getting this. Anyone else tried it?

Looks good for the price, looks like it would charge NiMH bats too. If you do get one, please do a review

[maccafan]

Apr 16, 2012 19:39:28 GMT Karma said:

Looks good for the price, looks like it would charge NiMH bats too. If you do get one, please do a review

Here's a much more comprehensive review than I could ever manage Karma.

budgetlightforum.com/node/5059

[Karma]

Thank you Macca, I've bookmarked it. Looks like too much info for my tired brain to deal with at the moment. I will have a good read of it and get back to you about the bits I don't understand

Certainly looks like it could be very useful