Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - what's a good charger for 18650 batteries?

I have a cheapo charger from DX that kind of halfway works. I would like to get a better one. Any suggestions?

The Pila IBC is the "only" charger for LiIon 18650's...WooHoo! $45 and worth every cent. Won't burn down your house.

+1 on the Pila charger..

http://www.flashlightz.com/product.php?product=171829

The Pila IBC is the "only" charger for LiIon 18650's...WooHoo! $45 and worth every cent. Won't burn down your house.

Another happy Pila user. The really great thing about the Pila is that it terminates the charge at 4.20v, so it doesn't over-charge your batteries, which shortens their life.

I have a cheapo charger from DX that kind of halfway works. I would like to get a better one. Any suggestions?That sounds like a recipe for disaster. Get the new one soon. :beer:

Pila here. I'm seeing some incredible consistency, as if we're talking about Topeak Road Morph pumps...

Which cheapo charger from DX do you have? They have a bunch. I've got one from them that's junk, but the one I use now seems to work excellently. Charge level is very consistent. Not sure what else I'd want in a charger.

I'm using this one:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.6105

I've got the Trustfire All-in-One charger. It has issues.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4151

Hmmm...........do I spend $8 or do I spend $45 ? You would think there is something in between.

A little bit of feedback on DX chargers...I read several flamable stories about them that I got rid of both of mine and bought the IBC:
bacardis Thursday, May 14, 2009 5:24 PM Reply

was removed from the packaging and plug, and spark a result of burning smell often scare passes. sure has been an isolated case but I do now? still have received no reply

I only got to use it for charging ten batteries or so:
http://www.upload.ee/thumb/99223/TR-001.jpg

Unfortunately its way past the "warranty".

It also blew a fuse in my dormitory :P - so watch out with these :D

Kerch Tuesday, June 23, 2009 9:45 PM Reply

Pretty much all li-ion chargers DX sells are garbage.

One thread says that a Soshine charger burnt down someone's bedroom.


That's just 3 quickies that I pulled from DX. There are many more.

I've got the Trustfire All-in-One charger. It has issues.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4151

Hmmm...........do I spend $8 or do I spend $45 ? You would think there is something in between.

That was the first one that I got. it worked but I just didn't like it - it seemed to take a long time to charge anything and the sliders were a pain in the butt.

I bought #6105 after reading that one user had bought literally dozens and dozens of them to deploy with something, and had not had any trouble with them at all.

All the reviews for the 6105 part are good. There are actually now a number of users that have bought many of these chargers without problems. There are a couple of people who have had the fuse blow. I guess with any LiIon charger I would run the first few dozen cycles while I was around to keep an eye on it.

Pulled the trigger on the Pila.

I've got the Trustfire All-in-One charger. It has issues.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4151

Hmmm...........do I spend $8 or do I spend $45 ? You would think there is something in between.

I have that charger too.. I found that the left bay is the only one that works consistently.. It is a slow charger which is not really a bad thing.. I found that if I out 2 cells in, the right bay would never turn green, showing a full charge..

I have that charger too.. I found that the left bay is the only one that works consistently.. It is a slow charger which is not really a bad thing.. I found that if I out 2 cells in, the right bay would never turn green, showing a full charge..

I would put batteries in that charger, and the left bay would go for days and still be red. Lately, the right bay shows green, even with a discharged battery. And yes, I made sure it was making contact.
So I said screw it, I'm getting a good charger.

I'm a cheapskate...but I'm still very content with my Pila purchase.

Which cheapo charger from DX do you have? They have a bunch. I've got one from them that's junk, but the one I use now seems to work excellently. Charge level is very consistent. Not sure what else I'd want in a charger.

I'm using this one:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.6105

I have that same one. Works well. As the battery gets closer to 4.2 volts the charging rate decreases.

I still only recharge batteries on my kitchen counter and I keep a close eye on them and don't
let them charge overnight.