I assume that this is a "smart charger" and that it goes into a trickle charge mode when the battery is fully charged.As you can tell, I'm new at this. I want to get a good charger as the 3400mAH batteries are not cheap. I have a Nitecore Intellicharger i2. Some batteries get hot.Thanks, Walt I assume that this is a "smart charger" and that it goes into a trickle charge mode when the battery is fully charged.As you can tell, I'm new at this. I want to get a good... » Read More I assume that this is a "smart charger" and that it goes into a trickle charge mode when the battery is fully charged.As you can tell, I'm new at this. I want to get a good charger as the 3400mAH batteries are not cheap. I have a Nitecore Intellicharger i2. Some batteries get hot.Thanks, Walt « Show Less
1575362
Do some research..... It will pay off with a better understanding on their capabilities http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_polymer_battery
977116
Yes, it does charge lipos the correct way. It is a wonderful charger and I'm happy I spent the extra bucks. It's nice to know what you voltage is when you put the battery to charge. It's also pretty quick!
978729
Allen: after using this charger a few times I am disappointed in it. One of the charging stations actually heats up the battery and it starts to leak acid. I stopped using it all together. I was standing next to it and heard a pop after not relizing what it was it took a bit to open the charger and find this is what made the noise. This charges very well but that one station kills the battery. I'm sorry to say I am disappointed to say the least. To answer your querstion it has lights above each charging station and they go from red to green when the batteries ar charged.
666650
The charger will accept a programmed limit by the device it is charging as h,s has noted. I tested the actual charging values and it varies at the demand of the device. The charger will not overheat compared to other chargers. Provided the charging chip of the our devices chip is designed correctly, the charger will trickle charge correctly.
896853
No, it is a trickle charger (compared to a "smart" charger that automatically turns off) and will overcharge. Please read the instructions, which clearly state not to leave it charging for more than 8 hours. Only charge until the light turns green, then stop. They also state to recharge immediately after use, and every 30 days if not used, to keep it topped up. Apparently they don't want you to leave it in a discharged state. The battery seems to be the weak link in these rather crappy quality lights. I would do everything I can to follow the instructions and not do anything that might damage the battery or shorten its life...
332623
I love mine, in fact purchased two of them. I would assume there is something wrong with the charger. I leave my battery in the charger all the time and only pull it out when I use the scrubber. I use it quite often. I would suggest that you contact the seller and get a different one. I'm certain you will enjoy it.
1955077
According to the manual, "If the green indicator light is 'ON', the charger is plugged in but the battery pack is not inserted, or the battery pack is fully charged and is being trickle charged."Since these are Lithium-ion batteries, my experience is that they hold a charge very well so keeping one in the charger isn't necessary. Ni-Cad batteries do not hold a charge as long.
115119
Check on the battery occassionally while it's charging. Some times if the battery is to old, it will overheat and melt itself to the charger. I had it happen. If it hasn't been charged in quite awhile, the hot pack signal will come on. I took the battery out and let it sit for awhile. Put in back in the charger the next day and it fully charged.
1583493
I think the easiest way to tell would be to time the charging of a set of batteries that you know is mostly charged vs. a set of batteries that is totally dead. If they both take the same amount of time before the light indicates they're done, then you have a dumb charger. If the almost-charged batteries take much less time, your charger is smart.
918110
I actually use an Energizer charger for my Eneloops. And, yes, it is a smart charger in that it stops charging when the battery is "full".And, as far as shelf life. My kids use them for their gaming controllers and swap the batt's in charger when it's time. I use them in my digital camera and don't have to worry about the battery being dead after sitting for month. I keep a new set in the bag just in case they do die on me. I also use them in my remote controls.I would not recommend their use in smoke detectors, clock radios, or anything that will put a continual and uninterrupted drain on them. Those are what alkaline batteries are for. I actually use an Energizer charger for my Eneloops. And, yes, it is a smart charger in that it stops charging when the battery is "full".And, as far as shelf life. My kids use them for their gaming controllers and swap the batt's in charger when it's time. I use them in my digital camera and don't have to worry about the battery being dead after sitting for month. I keep a new set in the bag just in case they do die on me. I also use them in my remote controls.I would not recommend their use in smoke detectors, clock radios, or anything that will put a... » Read More I actually use an Energizer charger for my Eneloops. And, yes, it is a smart charger in that it stops charging when the battery is "full".And, as far as shelf life. My kids use them for their gaming controllers and swap the batt's in charger when it's time. I use them in my digital camera and don't have to worry about the battery being dead after sitting for month. I keep a new set in the bag just in case they do die on me. I also use them in my remote controls.I would not recommend their use in smoke detectors, clock radios, or anything that will put a continual and uninterrupted drain on them. Those are what alkaline batteries are for. « Show Less
2211643
I too have an Intellicharger i2, and I liked it SOOO much, I bought an i4. SUPER charger. Works fine with all my Li-Ion batteries, including the Tenergy.
770555
This charger is quite smart. It knows when to stop charging. If the red light goes off after a few minutes, that means the battery in that charging channel is already fully charged. Do you have any reason to suspect that the battery is not fully charged? Only a dumb charger will continue to charge a battery for 6-8 hours even if the battery is already full.
82101
It is a smart charger in that it uses a "proprietary Multi-phase charging process". According to the packaging, it's a 7 phase charging process where some phases are constant current and some are constant voltage. In one of the phases (phase 6) it does out a load on the battery and then recharges it. It also has a soft start mode to recover deeply discharged batteries and a battery recondition mode, which I assume is to restore sulphate batteries. I'm not familiar with the 12/16 amp chargers so I can only assume that the difference is the maximum charging current. The PL2320 is a very nice charger. I mainly use it as a maintenance charger on one of my lesser used cars and it works great. It is a smart charger in that it uses a "proprietary Multi-phase charging process". According to the packaging, it's a 7 phase charging process where some phases are constant current and some are constant voltage. In one of the phases (phase 6) it does out a load on the battery and then recharges it. It also has a soft start mode to recover deeply discharged batteries and a battery recondition mode, which I assume is to restore sulphate batteries. I'm not familiar with the 12/16 amp chargers so I can only assume that the difference is the maximum charging current. The PL2320 is a... » Read More It is a smart charger in that it uses a "proprietary Multi-phase charging process". According to the packaging, it's a 7 phase charging process where some phases are constant current and some are constant voltage. In one of the phases (phase 6) it does out a load on the battery and then recharges it. It also has a soft start mode to recover deeply discharged batteries and a battery recondition mode, which I assume is to restore sulphate batteries. I'm not familiar with the 12/16 amp chargers so I can only assume that the difference is the maximum charging current. The PL2320 is a very nice charger. I mainly use it as a maintenance charger on one of my lesser used cars and it works great. « Show Less
1792489
I'm not sure, similar to other chargers it has a red blinking light while charging and a solid red light when charged. I have assumed that when the solid red light is on it stops the charge mode and doesn't continuously keep feeding juice to the battery. I've left several batteries on the charger for a week or two before and when I grabbed the battery it was not warm at all and I've not had any problems with the batteries.
1490669
The Nitecore charger is actually a great charger, it just sounds like you got a unit that was bad. As far batteries, the research I've done suggests that a lot of them are actually the same - just branded with whatever company is selling them. I'm not sure if they sell on Amazon, but I have had excellent service with a place called Orbtronic. The Orbtronic batteries work very well and I've never had a problem with them not charging fully. I also have a couple of EagleTac branded batteries for my EagleTac flashlight. I honestly can not tell a difference.
576701
I believe so. According to the manual, "after 24 hours, the charger automatically turns off and a Green light is lit for each bank to indicate the battery is in long term Maintenance Mode and ready to use. The charger will automatically turn on when the battery voltage drops below 12.6V." If you are using batteries that are "water filled", make sure water covers the plates inside the battery. If not, you need to add distilled water to the batteries and make sure it just covers the plates inside. I would check the batteries on occasion to make sure they are not hot to the touch. I am very pleased with the MK 315D and keep it plugged in after every trip and only disconnect it when I go out again. I believe so. According to the manual, "after 24 hours, the charger automatically turns off and a Green light is lit for each bank to indicate the battery is in long term Maintenance Mode and ready to use. The charger will automatically turn on when the battery voltage drops below 12.6V." If you are using batteries that are "water filled", make sure water covers the plates inside the battery. If not, you need to add distilled water to the batteries and make sure it just covers the plates inside. I would check the batteries on occasion to make sure they are not hot to the... » Read More I believe so. According to the manual, "after 24 hours, the charger automatically turns off and a Green light is lit for each bank to indicate the battery is in long term Maintenance Mode and ready to use. The charger will automatically turn on when the battery voltage drops below 12.6V." If you are using batteries that are "water filled", make sure water covers the plates inside the battery. If not, you need to add distilled water to the batteries and make sure it just covers the plates inside. I would check the batteries on occasion to make sure they are not hot to the touch. I am very pleased with the MK 315D and keep it plugged in after every trip and only disconnect it when I go out again. « Show Less
860794
In theory, the charger with which it comes includes an internal voltage-sensing cut-off switch: so the battery stops receiving charge current once it's capacity is filled. That said, it's never good practice to leave any battery on charge longer than necessary - especially LiPos. This generation of batteries are infinitely more performant than previous generations: yet they are also more delicate. They may swell and seemingly heat-up on use. Never start charging a cell that is even slightly hot - such as it may well be immediately after using it: allow a few minutes for it to cool. Be careful of shorting the connectors whilst storing during Travel... Isolate from potential sharp objects that could puncture the skin... (Keep away from pet's teeth..!!) If not using for some time, recharge to filled capacity and then use for 2 minutes prior to storage (80% full)... I store mine coddled in fine sand, three to a sardine-can sized old metal chewing tobacco tin: in the event of a fire, these cells burn at very high temperatures and need to be starved of all oxygen - and even then, the damage that can be caused in even a short time, may be significant... Bottom line : RESPECT the integrity of these cells and they will give great service.
1074687
There is an issue with the charger I have discovered. It is necessary to unplug the charger unit and plug it in again each time you want to charge. When you don't do this it seems to charge, but really does not. In some fashion unplugging refreshes the unit. I operate two batteries and they charge up fully when I do this. I know, sounds weird, but it works. Can do the whole downstairs on two batteries. Amazing how much more expensive the batteries are now though.