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Favorite 18650 charger?

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Lewis88 Barracuda

Lewis88

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I recently got this XTar charger, mostly because it's USB C so I can charge my camera batteries, strobe batteries, light batteries, etc. all via one big usb power adapter. 

 

Amazon.com: 18650 Battery Charger XTAR VC4H 4bays 21700 Battery Charger USB C Charger AA AAA Battery Charger (VC4H+QC3.0 Adapter) : Electronics

 

It works great, but is definitely slower than my 8 port AA only maha charger when charging the strobe AA's.

 

Edited by Lewis88
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Dave_Hicks Hammerhead

Dave_Hicks

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Looks at this Nitecore 4 bay charger that will support 21700s and 18650s for $30. The 21700 is becoming more popular and I would not buy a charge today that didn't cover that cell size.

 

This is also a USB-C powered charger. I run all my chargers off a fairly power 65W+ USB brick, eliminating as many AC power cords as possible.

 

image.png

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Dave_Hicks Hammerhead

Dave_Hicks

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1 hour ago, hellhole said:

Nitecore are not type c

 

Yes, it is. Do I need to send you a picture of mine plugged in to a USB-C cord? The picture I shared also says that it is. How much assurance do you need? RTFM

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Architeuthis Orca

Architeuthis

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Thank you all for the interesting contributions...👍

 

I am currently using a "DlyFull A4" that is very similar to the Nitcore Ci4, but it is powered by regular line voltage. I am considering now acquiring the Nitcore, powered just by USB-C,  no extra adapter, in order to save weight for travel...

 

Could I use the charger of my Notebook, that I have with me anyhow, to power the Nitcore charger?

It is for Macbook Pro M1, has USB-C out with 96 W. Already now I often exchange the USB-C to MagSafe cable with a regular USB-C cable and use the adapter to charge other items, e.g. powerbank (145 W/25 Ah), handy etc. ...

 

What specs. should a line to USB-C adapter have to power the Nitcore sufficiently and in addition also other items (from Notebook to handy), when acquiring an additional power adapter?

 

 

Wolfgang

Edited by Architeuthis
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Dave_Hicks Hammerhead

Dave_Hicks

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6 hours ago, Architeuthis said:

Thank you all for the interesting contributions...👍

 

I am currently using a "DlyFull A4" that is very similar to the Nitcore Ci4, but it is powered by regular line voltage. I am considering now acquiring the Nitcore, powered just by USB-C,  no extra adapter, in order to save weight for travel...

 

Could I use the charger of my Notebook, that I have with me anyhow, to power the Nitcore charger?

It is for Macbook Pro M1, has USB-C out with 96 W. Already now I often exchange the USB-C to MagSafe cable with a regular USB-C cable and use the adapter to charge other items, e.g. powerbank (145 W/25 Ah), handy etc. ...

 

What specs. should a line to USB-C adapter have to power the Nitcore sufficiently and in addition also other items (from Notebook to handy), when acquiring an additional power adapter?

 

 

Wolfgang

Most likely yes. Make sure your charger supports the USB PD (power delivery) spec. Most of them do. 

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Chris Ross Leviathan

Chris Ross

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17 hours ago, Architeuthis said:

Thank you all for the interesting contributions...👍

 

I am currently using a "DlyFull A4" that is very similar to the Nitcore Ci4, but it is powered by regular line voltage. I am considering now acquiring the Nitcore, powered just by USB-C,  no extra adapter, in order to save weight for travel...

 

Could I use the charger of my Notebook, that I have with me anyhow, to power the Nitcore charger?

It is for Macbook Pro M1, has USB-C out with 96 W. Already now I often exchange the USB-C to MagSafe cable with a regular USB-C cable and use the adapter to charge other items, e.g. powerbank (145 W/25 Ah), handy etc. ...

 

What specs. should a line to USB-C adapter have to power the Nitcore sufficiently and in addition also other items (from Notebook to handy), when acquiring an additional power adapter?

 

 

Wolfgang

When you say regular line voltage, do you mean a 220V cord plugs directly into the charger?  Doesn't seem like it would be that much saving to not pack a short 220V cord?  For me I look for a solution that allows me to charge flash batteries and camera batteries at the same time, as well as potentially having the laptop on charge.  Normally they are done by the time I finish downloading and an initial cull is done and I don't need to leave them unattended.  I hear also some liveaboards these days some don't allow Li-ion charging unattended in your room so it's crowded at the battery charging station.

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Architeuthis Orca

Architeuthis

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5 hours ago, Chris Ross said:

When you say regular line voltage, do you mean a 220V cord plugs directly into the charger?  Doesn't seem like it would be that much saving to not pack a short 220V cord?  For me I look for a solution that allows me to charge flash batteries and camera batteries at the same time, as well as potentially having the laptop on charge.  Normally they are done by the time I finish downloading and an initial cull is done and I don't need to leave them unattended.  I hear also some liveaboards these days some don't allow Li-ion charging unattended in your room so it's crowded at the battery charging station.

 

 

Yes, 220V (or lower) directly plugged into the charger. The charger has its own line adapter. The weight of the line adapter could be saved when using USB connection and a separate adapter (e.g. notebook charger, but I would go for another powerfull USB adapter as a spare then). Line cord is replaced by USB-C, so not such saving if any (anyhow the cords weigth very little), but USB cord can be used for several applications...

 

=> All in all mostly a more symbolic saving of weight (few power adapters and one, maybe two, power strips), but I try to do my best...:classic_laugh:

 

 

The accus of our cameras (Sony A7R5 and Oly EM1II) and the accupacks of our focus and night lights (WeeFine)  are charged via line voltage as well. I do not see much possibility how to charge them via USB (maybe buy other Focuslights that are powered by AA or Li batteries, but we are not going to invest a lot of money into this little weight savings (teh WeFine lamps are working very well))...

 

Our liveaboards are mostly in Egypt (Egypt and Red Sea are close to Austria). Since years charging in the cabin is forbidden and all liveaboards have special charging areas on the deck. Even on Alex's workshops, when everybody on board is an UW-photographer, the space is enough (but of course, it is crowded)...

 

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Chris Ross Leviathan

Chris Ross

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4 hours ago, Architeuthis said:

Our liveaboards are mostly in Egypt (Egypt and Red Sea are close to Austria). Since years charging in the cabin is forbidden and all liveaboards have special charging areas on the deck. Even on Alex's workshops, when everybody on board is an UW-photographer, the space is enough (but of course, it is crowded)...

 

Good to sea this, after all charging Li-ion is said to the cause of some liveaboard fires.  If you really want a USB-C battery charger you could always upgrade to an OM-1 it has a twin USB-charger🤣.  But seriously I really don't see the attraction to power everything off USB-C.  I'm quite happy with my 8-cell MAHA charger and the little camera battery charger.

 

Though last trip I installed a USB-C bulkhead on my OM-1 housing and could download images with the camera in the housing, then switch over and charge the battery in there as well.  The Nauticam bulkhead is vacuum tight.  The download speed is a touch slow compared to a card reader and battery charge is a little slow too.  But it means I don't need to pull off the front port, remove the Canon 8-15 to pull the camera body to charge/download and then put it all back together again every night  Not an option for the EM-1 II as it won't charge over USB-C though.

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hellhole Barracuda

hellhole

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I prefer the xtar ones . They are type c. The previous nitecore ones i got were not type c.

 

Plus... the xtar ones are able to do a lot more imo verses the nitecore ones i got. Battery real capacity test, storage function, etc

 

Maybe the new nitecore ones does that now...

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Mark H Seahorse

Mark H

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My wife and I have been using LiitoKala Lii-600 battery chargers for over a year now and have been really happy with them for both 18700, 21700, 26650, AAA and AA batteries. I really like ours and have recommended them to other diving friends. 

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