USB Battery Charger Advice?

OAT · 2021-11-03 20:26:26

I tend to use USB charging for an increasing number of devices these days and have recently bought a new torch with a 21700 battery to add to the list.

It does have integrated USB C charging but I would also like to have an external charger to have one in use and a spare on charge. My current (no pun) charger has never been very good anyway and won't take these batteries either so looking for a replacement.

I have had a look at a few reviews and forums but have been overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of conflicting advice and (for me) over technical information offered. I didn't expect the depths of geekery and enthusiasm for torches I have fallen into. Often from US gun nut's and preppers too which I struggle to maintain enough interest in to watch or read. I need something to see by, not to kill grizzly bears with.

What I would like is a USB-C charger that will do AA, AAA, and 21700's both NIMH and LI-ION. Protection of cells more important than speed and 2 cell would be adequate. And of course I want it as cheap as possible without sacrificing too much quality.

USB connection most important as I need to charge from solar more often than mains. I suspect it won't be long before type C takes over from mini USB altogether so I think that's the one to go with.

Does such a thing exist?

My head is spinning.

Casper · 2021-11-03 21:01:50

Them battery's are common in vaping machines. Might be worth looking along them lines for reviews.

OAT · 2021-11-03 23:55:18

Casper wrote:

Them battery's are common in vaping machines. Might be worth looking along them lines for reviews.

Cheers. I will dip my toes into that muddy water too.

May be another quagmire you are sending me into though.

The sum total of human knowledge at our fingertips but it has never been so difficult to find reliable, accurate information. smile

Edit... Can't do with any more of this. Looks like I will have to go with USB micro unless anyone knows better.

Last edited by OAT (2021-11-04 02:04:18)

OAT · 2021-11-04 21:40:00

Literally hours reading forums and watching review videos and ended up with this:-

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/383847501044.

I wanted one of these from the start but they have been unavailable for months.

A bit slow charging but the versatility and small size makes up for it.

Last edited by OAT (2021-11-04 21:40:33)

Pathfinder100 · 2021-11-05 02:56:07

I'm guessing the battery you want to charge is Li-ion and not LiPo? Regardless of that, be careful with charging them. They occasionally explode, although it seems to be more of a problem with LiPo chemistries.

OAT · 2021-11-05 13:30:02

Pathfinder100 wrote:

I'm guessing the battery you want to charge is Li-ion and not LiPo? Regardless of that, be careful with charging them. They occasionally explode, although it seems to be more of a problem with LiPo chemistries.

I am prety sure that most incidents with all rechargeable batteries are due to abuse by either users or chargers. Which is why I was so particular about which charger to choose. Plenty available from Banggood, Aliexpress etc with unspecified or spurious electronics.

Olight may be overpriced and use dubious marketing, but their products in my experience are of a decent quality.

I wanted one to charge the widest range of batteries. Few of the decent ones wouldn't take Li-ion 21700's. and even fewer were USB-C.

vaz2121 · 2021-11-07 11:39:16

OAT wrote:

I tend to use USB charging for an increasing number of devices these days and have recently bought a new torch with a 21700 battery to add to the list.
It does have integrated USB C charging but I would also like to have an external charger to have one in use and a spare on charge. My current (no pun) charger has never been very good anyway and won't take these batteries either so looking for a replacement.
I have had a look at a few reviews and forums but have been overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of conflicting advice and (for me) over technical information offered. I didn't expect the depths of geekery and enthusiasm for torches I have fallen into. Often from US gun nut's and preppers too which I struggle to maintain enough interest in to watch or read. I need something to see by, not to kill grizzly bears with.
What I would like is a USB-C charger that will do AA, AAA, and 21700's both NIMH and LI-ION. Protection of cells more important than speed and 2 cell would be adequate. And of course I want it as cheap as possible without sacrificing too much quality.
USB connection most important as I need to charge from solar more often than mains. I suspect it won't be long before type C takes over from mini USB altogether so I think that's the one to go with.
Does such a thing exist?
My head is spinning.

Don't know if this is of any use it's a smart charger I tend to use an XTAR VC4 USB charger either on my PC or a 3pin usb 5V output plug...I never use more than 5V with it and seems to do OK and takes many types of battery 1.5V and the 3 .7V ..... Lion & Nimh types

Pathfinder100 · 2021-11-07 19:47:31

OAT wrote:

Pathfinder100 wrote:
I'm guessing the battery you want to charge is Li-ion and not LiPo? Regardless of that, be careful with charging them. They occasionally explode, although it seems to be more of a problem with LiPo chemistries.

I am prety sure that most incidents with all rechargeable batteries are due to abuse by either users or chargers. Which is why I was so particular about which charger to choose. Plenty available from Banggood, Aliexpress etc with unspecified or spurious electronics.
Olight may be overpriced and use dubious marketing, but their products in my experience are of a decent quality.
I wanted one to charge the widest range of batteries. Few of the decent ones wouldn't take Li-ion 21700's. and even fewer were USB-C.

You aren't wrong about abuse and inexperience causing most problems. People watch a couple of youtube videos, consider themselves an expert and then get themselves into trouble. Seems to be at least 4 a year on some of the forums I read that burn a garage or house to the ground from charging LiPo/Li-Ion incorrectly. I used to charge my cells individually, then build the pack, add a BMS and generally used a Victron charger beyond that for Ion or LFP. Haven't touched LiPo and never will.

Anyway if you found a good product that works for you, go with it.

OAT · 2021-11-08 00:22:41

Obviously the greater the amount of energy crammed into smaller and smaller packaging, the greater the potential for catastrophic outcomes. So I respect your caution.

But if such caution were to have been adopted historically, we might all still be riding horses, which may or may not be a good thing. But even a carthorse releasing it's energy in an uncontrolled and unexpected manner can be a very dramatic event. Perhaps I should have said ponies. smile

Out of curiosity I just tried to look up the proportion of windmills that burnt down. Many did numerous times that's for sure. But is seems that the word windmills has now been misappropriated and applied to wind turbines. Meaning that an internet search now buries windmills far, far down in the search results. I did though learn that 1 in every 1,710 turbines caught fire in 2011. Which must be a massive improvement over the old windmills.

I find it quite worrying that however well designed and reliable battery or energy management systems may be, their protection can and does sometimes instantly disappear due to circuits failing without warning. Entropy rules! smile

Yet here we are, (or were):-

Ford Nucleon concept car developed by Ford in 1957
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Nucleon

You wouldn't want to be rear ended in that!

What was your own particular application for the power packs btw?

Last edited by OAT (2021-11-08 00:52:04)

OAT · 2021-11-08 00:47:10

vaz2121 wrote:

Don't know if this is of any use it's a smart charger I tend to use an XTAR VC4 USB charger either on my PC or a 3pin usb 5V output plug...I never use more than 5V with it and seems to do OK and takes many types of battery 1.5V and the 3 .7V ..... Lion & Nimh types

XTAR is definitely on my list for a home charger. But I don't think it takes 21700's which seems to be becoming the new norm. I think it won't be long before most chargers will take them though. It's only a matter of adapting to their greater length of 700mm as opposed to the old 18650's and 26650's.

Made up with this tiny little Olight one for the van though. The idea of having + & - contacts on a short and flexible cable with strong magnets irresistibly attracting them to each other seemed dodgy at first. I am still impressed by the fact that there is absolutely no current flow, not even the tiniest spark when they touch. No current detected, no current supplied.

As discussed in my post to Pathfinder though, such protection can never be 100%. But at least there isn't the power equivalent of 1/960 of a Tesla between them as there is with a 21700 LiPo when they touch. Just the 750mA output of the charger.

Last edited by OAT (2021-11-08 00:47:57)

Casper · 2021-11-08 18:31:34

Some protected and some not. What is that all about?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/XTAR-Quick-Cha … B010J9GE5G

OAT · 2021-11-08 19:53:17

I am no expert but after spending many hours researching batteries and chargers in the past few days:-

Protection imposes restrictions on capacity, drain and level of discharge. It. also adds to price.

Some users, particularly of vapes and flashlights want to occasionally temporarily exceed levels deemed safe for continuous use. While this can be done safely it can be also be dangerous if not properly understood and managed by users

Also, protected batteries are slightly larger than unprotected due to internal circuitry and may not fit some devices. The additional circuitry also raises the cost.

Even if unprotected were banned it is usually an easy matter to remove protection.

Most decent quality devices and chargers will have protection built in but they can't stop over discharging.

As I also mentioned earlier, even the best protection can fail, in the device, the charger or the battery itself. Duplication and redundancy are the only protection against any such failures.

An additional problem is the presence of so many fake products available and many false claims about protection levels It is, almost literally, a minefield.

Personally,. I prefer as much protection as available with something I might be putting in my pocket or bag, leaving unattended in my home while charging, or even in my mouth.

Happy to be corrected by anyone with more experience and knowledge.

vaz2121 · 2021-11-09 13:13:17

OAT wrote:

XTAR is definitely on my list for a home charger. But I don't think it takes 21700's which seems to be becoming the new norm.

I think you may be somewhat correct .....................
I had a look at the list on the back of mine and as the normal largest battery apart from my double A's is the 18650 I charge which is listed along side a 18700 .....................
I don't know if this means it would only accommodate 3 21700's instead of the normal 4 batteries ... Although I have noticed the outer two charging bays are wider ....................
So I decided to dig a little deeper .............
As I no longer have the box it arrived in and it may be a later version of mine that I found ... But the box in the video listed a 21700 as being able to be charged along with other sizes that I paid no attention too ...........
The vid ... It did say the compatibility for 21700's was for unprotected only

What I will say about the Xtar VC4 charger is it's effected by amperage input and also how many batteries installed for charge as well ...........
Obviously much slower on my PC USB than A 3 pin USB plug outlet

OAT · 2021-11-09 18:24:51

It is indeed very confusing.

I think it is only the physical size of 700mm long that is the problem.

And of course a protected cell would be marginally longer.

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#1 2021-11-03 20:26:26

USB Battery Charger Advice?

#2 2021-11-03 21:01:50

Re: USB Battery Charger Advice?

#3 2021-11-03 23:55:18

Re: USB Battery Charger Advice?

#4 2021-11-04 21:40:00

Re: USB Battery Charger Advice?

#5 2021-11-05 02:56:07

Re: USB Battery Charger Advice?

#6 2021-11-05 13:30:02

Re: USB Battery Charger Advice?

#7 2021-11-07 11:39:16

Re: USB Battery Charger Advice?

#8 2021-11-07 19:47:31

Re: USB Battery Charger Advice?

#9 2021-11-08 00:22:41

Re: USB Battery Charger Advice?

#10 2021-11-08 00:47:10

Re: USB Battery Charger Advice?

#11 2021-11-08 18:31:34

Re: USB Battery Charger Advice?

#12 2021-11-08 19:53:17

Re: USB Battery Charger Advice?

#13 2021-11-09 13:13:17

Re: USB Battery Charger Advice?

#14 2021-11-09 18:24:51

Re: USB Battery Charger Advice?

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