LiitoKala Lii-600 vs Powerex MH-C9000PRO Battery Chargers
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- čas přidán 24. 07. 2024
- Previously I made a video about the Powerex MH-C9000PRO battery charger, which I'm still pleased with, however, I needed a second charger and following some negative comments I received about the Powerex charger I decided to take a look at the LiitoKala Lii-600.
Both chargers offer the same basic functionality and have four modes - charge/discharge/test/repair. The LiitoKala can charge Li-Ion batteries in addition to Ni-CD and Ni-MH, which the Powerex can't, and it can also charge many sizes of cylindrical battery. It was also cheaper.
In this video you will find out how they compare and which one I would recommend buying.
LiitoKala Lii-600 from ALI Express
s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_98xNmQ
LiitoKala Lii-600 from Amazon
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Powerex MH-C9000PRO from Amazon
amzn.to/2WNLC5d
"As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases." Amazon requires me to make this statement, but I only recommend products that I own, use and/or endorse. I receive a small commission if you use my affiliate link, but your purchase price remains the same. - Věda a technologie
Thank you for the review. You can keep the display ON permanently on the Liitokala by long-pressing Slot 1 button to change display mode.
The Liitokala can also revive discharged or undercharged cells that some other chargers can't charge due to too low voltage - my other charger could not handle this hence I recently bought the Liitokala as a second unit.
Thank you, I couldn't find out how to do this in the user manua! The only problem I've encountered with the Liitokala is repair mode. It charges and discharges, but the stops at 0% and doesn't do a final charge. Will need to try again with some different batteries.
@@PhilUKNet I found out watching some other videos.
A Russian video also said that if you leave charged batteries overnight and pull the mains plug from the charger, they will lose quite a bit of charge overnight or within a few days as the charger discharges them apparently. My charger has not arrived yet, a few more days to go. Just wondering if this is the case; did you notice anything strange in this regard? This was from one guy, most people seem to be happy with the charger.
Many thanks.
@@valentinjuhasz8640 When the operation has finished I always remove the batteries and then pull the plug, so even if this problem exists I wouldn't have seen it. The only problem I've seen is the one I mentioned and I've seen on-line that other people have seen the problem. However, if it stops in repair mode and doesn't do the final charge you can just do a manual charge at low power.
Thanks for the detailed review. I have a LK Lii 600. I was initially impressed with this charger, but I found a major issue with it after some use. When used to discharge fully charged AA NiMh 2500mAh batteries, I noted that channel 2 shows the highest discharge capacity, and channel 3 shows the lowest discharge capacity for all four channels. Also, the highest reported discharge capacity is higher than the rated capacity. Testing was done at 500mA current with 1-hour rest between consecutive charge and discharge. Tests were done four times using 12 batteries to ensure repeatability and reproducibility. So, I am disappointed with this charger when it comes to measuring NiMH battery capacities accurately. The typical charging function is fine, but that is not what this charger stood out for.
Thanks for the comment and observations! When I first got my smart battery chargers (I have three now), I became quite obsessive about how they performed and noticed several things that weren't quite right, or things that I didn't understand. You have obviously carried out some very thorough testing and, to be honest, I think you will would have found similar problems with other brands of tester doing such rigorous testing.
The bottom line is that these things are sold cheaply, therefore the manufacturing costs are very low and they are not precision instruments. I also believe that slots 1 and 4 are different electrically to slots 2 and 3. However, this wouldn't account for why you are seeing differences between slots 2 and 3.
I am past the obsessive stage now! I no longer perform an analysis on every battery that I charge. I tend to just do normal charging, and occasionally I need to do a repair on a battery that has developed a fault and show an error while charging. The chargers I have work fine for this kind of basic function.
Incidentally, when I perform a repair I use my Powerex charger because I have never been able to complete repair mode with the Liitokala. I think the Powerex is a better charger, but if I were to perform the kind of rigorous testing that you have done, I think there would also be issue regarding repeatability and reproducibility.
@@PhilUKNet Thanks for offering your insights. Given your experience with NiMH chargers, is there one that you found to be more accurate than others? IMO, the main purpose of these chargers is not really to charge the batteries but to analyze them (measure capacity, etc.). Otherwise, a
@adotahuja Thanks. The problem regarding accuracy is that I have no calibrated reference to compare the chargers against. They are all fairly similar. The Liitokala and Vapcell models are more flexible with regard to battery types and sizes, and they also display more information. However, for repair capability, accuracy, and charge/discharge current settings, I have a bit more faith in the Powerex.
I take your point about cheap, basic chargers. They will work most of the time, but if a battery is faulty, they won't show that it has a fault or provide a way to fix it. The smart chargers allow you to analyse batteries and use batteries together that have a similar mAh capacity. For doing this, any of the models should be good enough, but, as I said, I have a slight preference for the Powerex based on my experience.
I have a Powerex MH-C9000 (Wizard One) which I bought many many years ago it's still fine today in 2022. I have 2 Powerex chargers the smaller one is MH-C401FS which I use regularly until now. I bought this one before the MH-C9000 (not pro version it's the earlier version before the pro existed). I bought these 2 Powerex chargers way back 18650 batteries were heard. No regrets on buying these. I'm planning to buy the Liitokala lii-600 since I bought flashlights that are powered with 18650 batteries. When I bought my 2 Powerex chargers white led lights were just beginning to be used & there were no flashlights that were powered by 18650 batteries. So I guess my Powerex chargers have been around for a long long time already as I'm old already compared to when I bought my Powerex 😁
The Powerex has served you well! I still use both chargers regularly and they are both doing well. The Liitokala is more flexible and will charge more types of battery, but I only have standard NiMH AA and AAA cells at the moment. Thanks for sharing your experience!
@@PhilUKNet By the way my Powerex MH-C9000 Wizard One charger's LCD doesn't turn off while in use, I don't see in the manual that it can be turned off automatically after a few minutes of unused like the Liitokala you have. Does your Powerex Pro turns off it's LCD by itself when left untouched while charging?
@@PhilUKNet Yes both my Powerex chargers served me well specially the small one which is my favorite because it's pretty simple, all you need to do is decide if you want FAST or SLOW CHARGE then install the batteries & wait till the 4 red lights turn green when FULL. The LEDs are pretty big so I can see them even from very far away so I never miss it when the battery is FULL. It's funny how my 2 Powerex chargers have grown old with me. I think my smaller Powerex charger will last forever compared to the MH-9000 because it has no LCD.
@@bernardtan1 I can see the LED all the time and it can't be turned off. I can only turn the backlight on and off.
@@bernardtan1 There's a lot to be said for simplicity! It seems that with every new generation of technology they just add more that can go wrong. The simpler something is, the less chance there is of something going wrong!
Apparently if you press and hold the channel 1 button, the screen will flash once and then stay on without turning off. The downside of LiitoKala are the touch buttons. They're terrible and cause many unintended inputs!
Someone else did point that out to me, but thanks anyway! I haven't had any problems with the buttons ... yet. However, I most use my Powerex, and the Liitokala doesn't get used much these days.
I have an Opus BT-C3100 which I really like and I’m looking for a second charger. I like the Liitokala 600 from what I’ve seen, and will probably be getting it soon. :)
I've not heard of the Opus. I have Powerex, Vapcell and Liitokala chargers. Most of the time, I just use the Liitokala. The one problem I have with it is that the repair mode won't work. It just stops during the charge-discharge-charge cycle. I use the Powerex for repairs. I think you'll be pleased with the Liitokala!
I just got my Lii-600. I cannot adjust charging current independently. Seems if I change to manual, it changes all slots to manual which ruins any existing tests. The charging current in Auto has been great, probably depending on the internal resistance value. My issues is the discharge rate, which is always 500 ma which is too high for small cells, or too low for high capacity cells. Can I choose just one to manual and/or control only the discharge rate?
I'm away from home at the moment, so can't check my charger, but you should be able to set each slot independently. There's a time limit (8 seconds, I think) before it will revert to automatic settings and set all the slots automatically. In test mode, the discharge current is determined by the charge current you set. 250mA discharge for 500mA charge, 500mA for 500mA and 1000mA charge, 750mA discharge for any charge rate above 1000mA. One of the nice things about the Powerex charger is being able to set the charge and discharge rates separately. Compared to my Liitokala and Vapcell chargers, the Powerex is more flexible regarding charge and discharge rates. To get more control over your discharge current, you could run separate charge and discharge cycles.
Hi Phil, thank you for your review. I want to ask if you get a hissing noise from the power adapter of the LiitoKala Lii-600 while charging? Mine is very noisy.
Thanks for your comment! No noise at all; it's completely silent.
Thanks for the prompt reply. I sent a message to the seller on AliExpress (liitokala Official Store) and they replied to me (That's the sound of electricity! We will improve. Thanks for reminding). Do you think I think I have a defective power adapter?
@showmak I'm really not sure if it's defective or not. Where I am in Thailand there are lots of overhead power cables, and you can hear them buzzing. This is normal, apparently, but electricity doesn't have a sound as far as I know. Like you, I wouldn't be happy about the buzzing, but functionally it may be perfectly OK.
Thank you Phil, I will contact the seller again and will insist it not normal.
@@showmak Good luck!
my experience after some months with the Powerex.
+ Fine adjustable charge/discharge currents
+ dicharge with 1A and fanless, very rare
+ batteries have best contact, with slider-mechanism of different chargers I have more problems
- awful display: even on low angles almost impossible to read. Only one value at once
- problematic with problematic cells: measured around 55° Celsius at charge with some cells
- buttons or charger don´t react always, have to do some presses till it reacts
Conclusion: Not good enough for the price I paid. Still recommending the Vapcell S4+ for LiIon and NiMH, do a better job especially on problematic cells.
Good summary. I agree. Thanks for the Vapcell S4+ recommendation. My Powerex is tied up for a couple of days at the moment as I'm doing a Break-In on four batteries, trying to recover some of their performance. The 1/10th charge level means it takes a very long time. I also have my Liitokala charger, but could use another one. I might try the Vapcell if I can get hold of one in Thailand. Thanks for your feedback!
Where did you get the liitokala for 1000 baht? Its twice that on Aliexpress.
Lazada Thailand from a vendor called Smarttech Shop. I paid Bt990 + Bt30 postage in August 2021. The current price is Bt1,100. www.lazada.co.th/products/i1934398847-s6119424082.html?urlFlag=true&mp=1&tradePath=omItm
On the 600, can you switch from Celsius to Fahrenheit ?
The documentation only talks about Celsius. As far as I'm aware, there is no option to display temperature in Centigrade.
Are the liitokala show battery internal resistance accurate ?
I don't know! I guess I would have to use a multimeter at the same time and compare, which I haven't done. The other readings are what I would expect so I think it is fairly accurate.
Does the Powerex measure resistance?
It does - in milliohms.
Thank you !
Pleasure!
From zero to ten, how do you rate the Lii - 600 and the Powerex MH-C9000PRO?
It's not as easy as simply giving each one a score!
Lii-600: Pros: Also charges Li-ion, handles larger battery sizes, better display, more information (resistance, temp, % full), sets charge/discharge current automatically. Cons: I can't get the Repair function to work.
Powerex: Pros: Larger range of charge/discharge current settings and Break-In mode (repair) works very well. Cons: Not as flexible as the Lii-600.
Basic functions on both chargers work well - charge, discharge, test/analyse. I thought the Lii-600 gave a more accurate mAh reading, but it was my lack of understanding. They both seem to be fairly accurate. If I could get the Lii-600 repair function to work it would be the winner, but for repairs I have to use the Powerex. I like them both and because of the one problem with the Lii-600 I would rate them equally!
@@PhilUKNet Does the lii600 charge use pulse pwm or constant current?
@@MACYNET323 The honest answer is that I don't know, but I think it is constant. My car battery charger has a pulse repair mode, but that is to remove lead sulfate crystals from the plates inside. I'm not sure there would be any benefit pulse charging a NiMH battery.
@@PhilUKNetmost of chargers for ni-mh works with pwm like Opus3100(2,5A peaks).High pulse not good for small cells like AAA
@@MACYNET323 Thanks for the info. I haven't got an oscilloscope or looked into the details of how it works.
may u try charger Isdt c4 evo or N8
I haven't tried those ones.
Have a new Lii-600. Works fine but charging in slot 4 only gives an annoying buzzing noise (pulsed noise in synch with charging). Prob from an inductor. Annoys me so much I don't use slot 4. Anyone else have this issue?.
I don't know if anyone else will answer, but I don't have this problem. All 4 slots are fine. As it is new, can you get a replacement?
It happens to me too
Yea it does beep randomly, there is fix by changing some part conductor I think
Probably just coil whine. Nothing bad but anoying for those who have it.
I had a Powerex MH-C8000S which lasted for 3 years. Maha sent me another one. It lasted 2 years then the slots 1 and 2 went nuts. That's about the point where I stopped trusting this brand.
As with every product nowadays when you read online reviews, it's a mixture of good and bad. I've heard both negative and positive feedback about this charger. I've had mine now for almost two years, and no problems so far. Hopefully, that will continue to be the case, but maybe not! Time will tell. Thanks for your feedback.
who the best sir?
I like both. The Liitokala is more flexible (accepts more battery types and sizes) and gives more information. However, I've never been able to get the repair mode to work. It just stops halfway through and doesn't do anything. On the other hand, the Powerex has repaired batteries that appear to be completely dead.
Both chargers have been reliable and I still use both regularly. At one time I thought there was an accuracy problem with the Powerex, but I misunderstood something. So, not much in it really. If you just have NiMH AA and AAA batteries, use either model. If you want to charge Li-ion batteries and have various sizes (eg. 26650, 21700, 18650, 18350, 20650, 14500) go for the Liitokala.
@@PhilUKNet thank you sir for all the answers that really helped me, I really appreciate your answers and have taken the time for my comments, I hope you are always healthy and more successful...
greetings from Indonesia😊👍
@@kuurocat You too, thank you! Greetings from Thailand!