Battery charging question

[allankuston]

Should I let my battery's discharge completely before recharging?
For reference I'm using a lavatube and I think the batteries are the 18650's
What's happened is my battery was down to 3.5 I stuck it in the charger and poof little bang from the charger and smoke
Battery still works which is nice
When I put the battery in the charger (not plugged in) green light shows on the charger.
When power then applied light remains green
Does this sound like a blowen charger?

[OneDay]

Allan - no need to completely discharge.
I'll let someone more qualified answer the second part

[maccafan]

Jun 9, 2012 21:25:05 GMT allankuston said:

Does this sound like a blowen charger?

Poof and a bang..Yes..

A trustfire TR 001 perhaps?

get yourself a Xtar WP2 ii..

[Batdragon (AKA Batty)]

Yes to the second part, sound like your charger is dun in

(oneday is right on the first part)

[hifistud]

Jun 9, 2012 21:28:53 GMT Batdragon (AKA Batty) said:

Yes to the second part, sound like your charger is dun in

(oneday is right on the first part)

Agreed on both counts - and to amplify, Li-ion batteries actually prefer little and often top-ups, as it were.

[allankuston]

Thanks gang I'll look into getting a Xtar WP2 ii
To make matters worse its the fist day of my holidays and I'm away for a week!
Thanks

[steve386]

Jun 9, 2012 21:27:54 GMT maccafan said:

Jun 9, 2012 21:25:05 GMT allankuston said:

Does this sound like a blowen charger?

Poof and a bang..Yes..

A trustfire TR 001 perhaps?

get yourself a Xtar WP2 ii..

I bought a Xtar WP2 from Safercigs, much better than the Trustfire chargers.

[Batdragon (AKA Batty)]

I have a tr001 & it works fine. What is it about them that people don't like? Is it just the name trustfire?

[allankuston]

Is there any major difference between the XTAR WP2 and the WP6 ?

[maccafan]

Jun 10, 2012 10:58:07 GMT allankuston said:

Is there any major difference between the XTAR WP2 and the WP6 ?

Yes, One can charge 2 batteries at a time with a separate channel for each and the other can charge 6 with three channels if I remember correctly.

Jun 10, 2012 10:54:04 GMT Batdragon (AKA Batty) said:

I have a tr001 & it works fine. What is it about them that people don't like? Is it just the name trustfire?

The charging technology is wrong..Single Li-ion should be charged with a CC-CV cycle and be capable of a TC pulse to sense the battery voltage when it reaches the topping up stage. The Trustfire does a CV charge only so can overcharge the battery which is dangerous.

Second the Trustfire is made using very poor quality components and the capacitor has a tendency to blow up as has happened several times. If it works for you and you already have one, just use it till it lasts but make sure you test the batteries that come off it and stop using it if they are being overcharged..

[Karma]

thanks for that explanation Macca, i knew the XTar was better but had no idea why

[Batdragon (AKA Batty)]

So would you say that the Trustfire ones are the budget end and the XTAR is the top end or is there a Rolls version of the charger world?

[maccafan]

Pila IBC..

The WP2 is probably the cheapest of the good ones..

[Batdragon (AKA Batty)]

So Pila is the top one then?

[Roger]

Jun 10, 2012 11:35:28 GMT Batdragon (AKA Batty) said:

So would you say that the Trustfire ones are the budget end and the XTAR is the top end or is there a Rolls version of the charger world?

You can spend a lot on a charger, the Pila ones are good, but expensive. I have an Xtar WPII, it's good. If you need a quick boost you can charge at 1amp, or normal charge at 500ma.