Good charger for 18350 cells

[Coby]

Hello everyone! Don't be fooled by my low post count as I have been lurking for quite some time now!

I have a question regarding a charger, I have two UltraFire 18350s and a charger (some Chinese charger) that can charge one battery at a time. It seems though that the charger has died (and possibly took a battery with it).
I can't seem to get the charger to charge anymore and one of the cells has a voltage of 2.6v even though the cut-off discharge is 2.75v according to the battery.

So, I have two questions concerning this:

1) Is the battery really dead? Both batteries seem to have a small indent on the - side (where the pin of the charger touches the battery) which wasn't there before.
2) Is this ultrafire 138A charger (<== it's a link ) the right one? I am looking for a quick charge (if possible!) and I need to be sure they are good. Also, on that charger I guess I would have to chose the 3.6v option to charge my 18350s? And does it come with a European plug?

If someone can point me in the direction of a cheaper/better charger that would be nice too

:thanks: in advance guys :wave:

P.S. Sorry if this is the wrong forum! I didn't see a forum that would be more fitting :\

 

[Blord]

You can try this charger, UltraFire 3.6/3.7V Battery Charger - Free Shipping - DealExtreme. It comes with the EU plug.

 

[Cyparagon]

Many chargers that charge 16340s/CR123s will also charge 18350s since it's only a slight size difference.

 

[Coby]

You can try this charger, UltraFire 3.6/3.7V Battery Charger - Free Shipping - DealExtreme. It comes with the EU plug.

Ok thanks! I ordered it Came cheaper than I had expected so that's a good thing



@Cyparagon: But isn't that dangerous? As in, won't it stop charging too late/too soon? Or is only the physical size different?

 

[Cyparagon]

Chargers charge until the cell is full. You can charge almost any lithium ion cell with a lithium ion charger. I, myself, have charged cell phone and camera lithium cells with an "18650 charger."

If they charged for, say, 2 hours every time instead of reading the battery voltage, putting in a battery that wasn't empty would kill it with overcharge every time.

 

[Coby]

Chargers charge until the cell is full. You can charge almost any lithium ion cell with a lithium ion charger. I, myself, have charged cell phone and camera lithium cells with an "18650 charger."

If they charged for, say, 2 hours every time instead of reading the battery voltage, putting in a battery that wasn't empty would kill it with overcharge every time.

Ok yeah that does make sense. But how does the charger know what the limit of the battery is? Do all li-ion batteries have something built in to tell the charger?

 

[Blord]

A good charger stops charging when the voltage of the battery is 4.20volt. This voltage is the same for li-ion batteries based on 3.7volt
There are other chemistries but they need other chargers. We use mostly 3.7v batteries for laser building.

 

[Coby]

A good charger stops charging when the voltage of the battery is 4.20volt. This voltage is the same for li-ion batteries based on 3.7volt
There are other chemistries but they need other chargers. We use mostly 3.7v batteries for laser building.

Ok that's clear! Thanks for explaining that

 

[Coby]

You can try this charger, UltraFire 3.6/3.7V Battery Charger - Free Shipping - DealExtreme. It comes with the EU plug.

Hey Blord, the charger shipped yesterday

Too bad though that the plug isn't European (it's English, but that's not such a big deal I can get a converter) but the 18350's don't fit

They are too small to touch both the positive and negative charging pins :\
I have read on dx.com that some people put paperclips in there to make the opening smaller? Will that work? Or can I maybe put the two batteries behind eachother (so -+-+), like as if they were being used in the laser.

Edit: This charger states that it should fit 18350s but it also doesn't come with a European plug :\ The price is alright I guess.

Would Dealextreme do a refund if I tell them I accidentally ordered the wrong model? Of course I would ship the other charger back to them.

 

[Blord]

The 18350 are just the shorter version of the 18650 cells.
Looking at the picture of the charger I would think they will fit just fine. The negative pole is handled with a spring and it will adjust to the shorter length.

 

[Coby]

The 18350 are just the shorter version of the 18650 cells.
Looking at the picture of the charger I would think they will fit just fine. The negative pole is handled with a spring and it will adjust to the shorter length.

They're about 1cm too short I've tried yesterday, the negative pole can only be moved down to make the opening bigger, not smaller sadly enough

If I put a piece of metal inbetween the negative pole and the battery will that melt the piece of metal and possibly break the charger + battery or can it work?

I know it's only 3.7V but I don't know how much amp it is and how thick the piece of metal would have to be

Or would putting them "in serie" work?

 

[Blord]

No don't put it in series. The voltage drop will change the charging process.

Use neodymium magnets to make the batteries longer.

 

[Coby]

Alright, but where would I be able to get these? Does an eletronics store have these? And how expensive are they? Because if I have to order them online or they're pretty expensive then I might as well just order the other charger

Edit: Ok online they are cheap as dirt so if I just fill it up with magnets that won't harm the battery or the charger? I always thought it was dangerous to play with magnets and current

Edit2: Ok no physical stores nearby sell these as it seems Can I use another piece of metal for the time being? I'm thinking it might be best to just RMA the old charger and order the other one with a convertor for the plug.

Edit3: On the site of dealextreme someone posted a picture on how to activate the horizontal charging poles (they have been deactivated by Ultrafire for unknown reasons). I guess the 18350's fit horizontal I will have a look this evening
link: => click here

Edit4: Ok so I managed to use the charger by extending the negative pole so they do make contact with the batteries. Both are charged now and I can finally play with my laser again