Got this coupon code for the "New" NITECORE Universal Smart Battery Charger that has 4 bays charging anything from 1.2V AA/AAA/C/D to whole lot of other 3.7V, 4.2V and 4.35V batteries. Use code NNU07349 to bring the price down to USD $16.50 / AUD $22.09. You need to log in to apply the code otherwise you'll get an invalid coupon code error.
Click on "Plug Type" and choose "with AU Adapter"…
Thanks
I got a D4 from Zapals and it came with an AU adapter, but you can use any figure 8 cable if you have one spare, that is what I use.
Is this newer/better than the LCD screen version ?
https://m.fasttech.com/products/1421/10001638/1756402-authen…
Cheaper here $24.08 D4 @ Zapals same as the I4 but has an LCD screen.
Edit: Sorry not the same as D4 this is the new I4 can charge up to 1500mAh
are you sure its the same ? '' NITECORE New i4 Universal Smart Battery Charger'' seems to be a new better model maybe your link comparable to previous model?
cool yes that what i thought thanks
More expensive than that, says in the order
Regular non tracking (Temporary unavailabe for high value order) (7-15 business days) $5.73US
So ends up a fair bit more expensive.
The D4 is a superior charger, if you want to charge NiMh batteries. Has a low-current mode for charging AAA batteries, the I4 doesn't have that. And the display is much more useful.
The new i4 can charge 1.5A only on one slot and 4x0.375A, 2x0.75A similar to the old i4 and D4, so the new i4 is only better if you plan on charging one battery at a time.
Another good charger at a similar price Liitokala-Lii-500 and Review
Also, the 1.5A charge current is for lithium-based batteries only. Looks like NiMh batteries get 750mA maximum.
Imo a charger like this really should have a mAh reading. Otherwise you just end up with a bunch of batteries where some are good and some are crap and you have no way to tell which have gone bad. Especially if your devices run multiple batteries in series. I was looking at the nitecore chargers buy afaik none have mAh reading.
At the moment I just judge that based on how they appear when I whack em in the charger. Can kinda see which ones are draining quicker than others. Not that accurate I know …
Is that AliEx seller reliable? It would be nice to have one charger that can more properly test capacities.
From my understanding it is the official LiitoKala factory store with 934 orders with a rating of 98.8% which is excellent for Aliexpress. I got mine from Gearbest as I had a heap of points so ended up cheaper than the factory store. It is a great charger I much prefer it over my D4
@adr8: Cheers thanks! I'll check GB later to see how many points I have with them and get which one is cheaper. I already have a D2 and D4 so I'm silly buying it, but my inner says I want a capacity tester one haha. I have a Soshine smart charger at the other end of the house for convenience; I'll replace that with this.
I was looking at the nitecore chargers buy afaik none have mAh reading
That is correct, but with the D4 you can sort-of work it out. During charging it tells you the current, and after charging is complete, it tells you how long it took to charge each battery. From that you can work out how many mAh went into the battery, divide that by 1.4 and you have a rough estimate of the capacity you'll get out of the battery (assuming it was flat to start with).
If you just want to know which of a group of batteries is the best and worst, no need to do the calculations, just compare the charging times directly.
If you want to flatten batteries for this sort of measurement, flatten them individually, perhaps in a single-battery flashlight (or a bank of several single-battery flashlights). This is because discharging batteries in series can damage them - one battery will invariably run flat first, while the others continue to supply power. This reverse-charges the flat battery, shortening its lifetime even more.
Also, don't use a really high-powered torch. If you discharge (or charge) batteries too fast, they heat up. If a battery every gets hotter than you can hold in your hand, i.e. so hot that you drop it, it has almost certainly been damaged by the heat.
Thanks OP, was going to buy an i2 for much the same price.
Don't forget Cash Rewards and the free gift from Zapals (eg: usb cable).
If anyone is interested, this page, which claims to be Nitecore Ukrane appears to outline the differences between i4 and d4:
http://nitecore-ua.com/en/news/compare-chargers-d4-and-i4-ne…
"New intellectual component of the charger Nitecore I4 NEW allows you to care less about how the charge process."
Thanks Wolfy - I do love a good Engwish review :D
Warning - may be a bad charger for use with NiMh batteries (like eneloops), depending on whether you get the "updated" version or not.
According to a few reviews on Amazon, it does not correctly detect end-of-charge.
I couldn't find a thorough technical review of the "New I4", but I did find these two reviews of the "New I2" which is similar. Apparently there is an "updated" model.
http://lygte-info.dk/review/Review%20Charger%20Nitecore%20In…
http://lygte-info.dk/review/Review%20Charger%20Nitecore%20In…
Apparently the first batch that came out had trouble detecting end-of-charge. The review above says "This NiMH battery is filled and also gets an hour extra charge, not very good".
Then Nitecore changed the software for the second batch, and re-submitted. The second batch looks to work correctly, the second review says "For NiMH it is a good charger, it terminated fine on all the tested cells."
As to which version Zapals are selling, I have no idea.
Also, like all Nitecore chargers, the "New I4" is quite slow to charge four AA batteries - about 7.5 hours for four 2000mAh batteries. For one or two batteries it's half that time. Most other smart chargers will fully charge four AA batteries in 3-4 hours.
Apparently only Lithium-based batteries get charged at 1.5A, for NiMh batteries the maximum charge rate is 750mA.
Also, this can be dangerous for AAA NiMh batteries. If you are charging four batteries at the same time, the current is 375mA for each battery, which is acceptable. However if you charge three or fewer AAA batteries, some or all of them will be charged at 750mA - that's way too fast for an 800mAh battery.
The D4 has low mode so you can reduce the current when charging only two batteries, not sure if the i4 has?
The "old" I4 didn't have a low current mode. While the "new I4" has buttons, it doesn't have a way to indicate "low" mode, so I doubt it has a low mode.
The D4's webpage mentions the 300mA "low" mode; the I4's webpage doesn't, only says the "C" button can select 1.5A mode. Nitecore's website won't let me download the PDF manual to be sure.
http://charger.nitecore.com/CHARGER/D/D4/
http://charger.nitecore.com/CHARGER/i/NEWi4/
Update, I've just managed to get the manuals to download from the Ukranian Nitecore website.
There is no low-current mode on the New I4 (nor on the old I4 either, only the D2 and D4 have this feature).
The maximum charging current for NiMh batteries is worse than I thought, it's LOWER than the "old" I4. The old I4 can charge two batteries at 750mA, the New I4 only does 500mA.
Note that this is still too high a current for charging AAA NiMh batteries. You could use the new I4 for charging AAA batteries if you always remember to charge four batteries at once (not all of them need to be AAA batteries, you can use AA batteries to fill any empty places). An even better idea is to pay $2 more, and buy the D4, if you want to charge AAA NiMh batteries.The D4 is also a little faster when charging only two batteries, 750mA charging current versus 500mA for the new I4.
awesome, I'll be waiting for that one ;-)
cool, wonder how much that will cost?
May the, ah, force be with you
I'm looking to replace my standard eneloop charger as it cant charge one battery at a time. Is this charger a good one? I have no knowledge on chargers.
If you're just charging eneloop AA/AAA batteries, I would just grab the one from Ikea. 4 individual channels. Main issue - only has one LED so you can't tell which battery is finished until they're all charged. However - $15!!!!
Can the Ikea one also discharge?
If you put 4 empty batteries in, they should all finish charging at the same time, so don't need separate indicators.
But does it stop charging when an individual battery is full or continue charging until all of them are full?
No discharge option. It'll stop charging the individual batteries once they're full, and continue charging the rest. The light goes green when all of them are done.
Thanks Jikx
I only know about the cosmetic differences, I'd rather get the D4's instead too, which I got for a similar price with the LCD.
I don't know/mind if it's particularly slower or not. I'm not in a rush when charging batteries. As long as it charges properly ofcourse. Didn't know about the termination issue above. I do wonder why some of my AA NiMHs take a while, but at ~375mAh it does seem about right - 7~8 hours for a 2000+ mAh battery. And taking into account I'm using up older/dying batteries first too.
EDIT: I swear, usually I can read.
Is it better than the $10 one from IKEA?
Anyone know what the best charger is if you want to charge lithium in batteries? Eg. Looking to charge 18650 batteries that are wired together or batteries from tablets and other devices that either won't charge in the device or need a jump start etc
+1 If Zapals would deliver my orders! :(
Tried twice, didn't receive items, but got refunds without hassle.
Just tried to buy one and the code is invalid :(
AU str8 out of box or will I need an adapter?