What do you care about most in choosing a vape charger?

[Shenzhen XTAR]

Some mods come with built-in batteries, but many require removable batteries and offer more flexibility and longevity as a result. But not all vape chargers are created equally. Not only can the prices vary, but the charging speed and other functions can also differ substantially.
If you choose a vape charger, what is the most important reason for making the decision?

 

[Creature0069]

Simplicity, number of charging bays, Voltage monitoring and accepts multiple battery sizes.

That said, I have a VC8.

 

[Ruppy_bear]

nitecore intellicharger, D4


this should be one of the most popular brand in china and around the world. i had one, but a rat chewed up the cored. this has pretty much everything i need, which is enough for everyone and also enough to make it the most popular charger out there. heck there are even fake/clones out there that also do the job as well. currently using a crappy chinese made on one with just 2 lights on, it was prevously given to me when i bought my invader 3. then i just went and bought a d4 just that was just too crappy

 

[Rooster Cogburn]

Most important to me is safety and accuracy which go hand in hand. I want my battery voltage measured correctly and the amperage it’s charging my cells on point. Then I’d like some different charging rates, 0.25 - 0.5 - 0.75 - 1.0 - 1.5 - 2.0 - 2.5 - 3.0 amps should cover any cell I may want to charge. Roomy slots so I’m not struggling to insert and remove batteries, up to 21700’s. Finally a clear easy to read screen that displays all relevant information and a menu that is easy to maneuver and enough buttons so I’m not needing to multi-click buttons when setting up my charger to do its job. Thanks for asking and I await my new charger for testing.

 

[Carambrda]

My favorite charger right now is the Nitecore UMS4. It uses the USB QuickCharge 2.0 standard so I don't have to worry about finding a suitable replacement for the external 12V DC power supply (and cord) that can break and that other brands typically use. My Anker USB QuickCharge 3.0 wall adapter piece, which is rated to 18W 3A, also saves more space on my table when compared to such an external power supply, and, having a total of 3A across the 4 bays is enough, as the UMS4 lets me adjust the charging rate on each bay in 100mA steps so I don't have to worry about the charging rate either being too fast or being too slow to get an optimum tradeoff between faster charging and reduced cycle life of my batteries. In addition, the UMS4 does not noticeably heat itself up underneath my batteries, which is a real bonus. Also I think the internal circuitry of the Anker piece adds on an extra level of safety protection. The Anker brand is well known for its high reliability when compared to external power supplies, the latter usually being cheaply made and requiring to be put on a non flammable surface.

As for how easy it is to insert and remove 20700 and 21700 batteries. The USM4 has significantly longer bays than really is necessary to accomodate this so the struggling to insert and remove batteries is now officially a thing of the past, and, the sliders are moving completely smooth and they are sturdy enough. The UMS4 is comfortable to use, has a clear easy to read screen that displays all relevant information, and the menu system is straightforward enough for it to be set up easy and fast. I also own a SkyRC MC3000, and that I rarely use. The only real reason why I bought the MC3000 was because it allows me to set the voltage cut-off to whatever the volts that I want. I vape on mech mods with complex coil builds, I am a coil builder so, sometimes, it can happen that I require the volts to be lower than 4.2V for how I want to vape.

 

[Cosmic]

I want to be able to manually select my charging rate, if I so desire. I don't want a charger that automatically chooses the charge rate and doesn't allow me to adjust that rate lower if I wish.

 

[AnnaWatson]

I always prefer high quality chargers and buying from a trusted store or sites and always seeing the voltage and amp of both new and used matches and have stamp of authorized company and you also read reviews about the product in comment section.

 

[Train]

Might be getting one soon. Current XTAR works fine - but as a 2-bay, I find it's sometimes in nearly continuous use, lol.

What bugs me is how many come with only USB wire.
We're not charging from a USB port - are we? Seems like that would be the exception. I want a good, safe wall plug with sufficient amperage to handle the chargers maximum draw capacity...

 

[Carambrda]

Might be getting one soon. Current XTAR works fine - but as a 2-bay, I find it's sometimes in nearly continuous use, lol.

What bugs me is how many come with only USB wire.
We're not charging from a USB port - are we? Seems like that would be the exception. I want a good, safe wall plug with sufficient amperage to handle the chargers maximum draw capacity...

Anker

We created Anker® to make the smart life simpler; tackling first-world problems like low battery and slow data access to make life better.

www.anker.com

 

[Train]

Thank - but I guess what I meant, was, these battery chargers should come with (or be AC plugs in the first place...).

Anker

We created Anker® to make the smart life simpler; tackling first-world problems like low battery and slow data access to make life better.

www.anker.com

 

[Carambrda]

Thank - but I guess what I meant, was, these battery chargers should come with (or be AC plugs in the first place...).

I disagree. A lot of people already have a decent wall plug that is similar to the one I linked, and, those who don't can still always grab one in an instant because availability issues are completely nonexistent I'm sure. Another top quality brand that also is very popular is Aukey.

As for AC plugs, they certainly aren't without problems. Even if you get the type of battery charger that comes with an external AC power supply unit, finding a suitable replacement for it is cumbersome for many, in the possible event that it burns out. Moreover, such an external power supply takes up more desk space or else it will typically block the adjacent plug on a power extension box. A lot of people (myself included) already are drowning in wallwarts and AC external power supplies. And the internal ones heat up the batteries more, during the battery charging. Lithium-ion rechargeable typical round cells we use for vaping should never be charged if not within reach and within line of sight of a person who is awake─and keeping an eye on the charger till all charging is finished. A charger that operates at AC power/mains voltage adds more risk in case of an internal power supply burnout. Finally, because the USB standard is so hugely widespread, a lot of people can be freed from all the extra burden resulting from also having to carry the external power supply or wallwart with them each time when they decide to move the charger over to the next room to still be able to continue to keep an eye on the charger.

 

[LAVapesQC]

If you don't mind the slower charging time the DC adapter is the way to go. Keep the batteries charging at 4.2v or less. You can get chargers that do this on purpose, and you can test them with a tester. Prolongs the life of your batteries - on all of your devices. Only important if you are hardcore into battery life however.

Looking at test results - charging from the usb may just be the way to go for all modern devices.

 

[Carambrda]

If you don't mind the slower charging time the DC adapter is the way to go. Keep the batteries charging at 4.2v or less. You can get chargers that do this on purpose, and you can test them with a tester. Prolongs the life of your batteries - on all of your devices. Only important if you are hardcore into battery life however.

Looking at test results - charging from the usb may just be the way to go for all modern devices.

DC adapters aren't necessarily always causing slower charging. My SkyRC MC3000 also uses one, but still nevertheless goes all the way up to 4×4A charging rate. With this charger you can change the 4.2V cut-off to pretty much anything you like─it lets you dial it in accurately, down to two decimals worth of precision. But yeah... for a lay person this might also be dangerous, as every battery has its limitations when it comes to how far you can overcharge the battery above the volts that the battery is rated for. The good news about the MC3000 is that it puts the user completely in charge (lol...), but that's also the bad news: there's just far too many settings and extra featurelists on that thing for what most people will ever need or want, and that makes it expensive. What I would like to see is a simplified (but not simple) version of this charger, one that is less bulky... and more practical/convenient to use.

I agree that USB charging is the way of the future, as power delivery is thoroughly embedded into this worldwide standard. When the charging rate reaches full speed, my old Huawei P30 Pro phone charges at 5A (through Huawei's SuperCharge over USB Type-C 3.1 with a stronger cable) for real, which would be the equivalent of charging four batteries at 4×1.2A, and, I think that would be about perfect for most people. So, the technology certainly is there, and has been there, already, for a couple of years at least.

 

[jambi]

Most important to me are battery bays that are roomy enough to remove batteries without having to grow a 2 inch fingernail, a 0.5 amp charging option, and the ability to manually select charging rate, none of which is offered by the XTAR VC4S I just got (my bad, should have read the fine print!).