A bargain battery charger? The NiteCore UM4
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- čas přidán 9. 06. 2019
- Good Chargers dont need to be expensive.
A quick review of the Nitecore UM4, I got this at £15 but prices can fluctuate quite a bit.
UM4 Charger
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Ravpower Power Supply
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Extremely thorough dive into the bones of the object. Well presented!
I have this exact UM4 charger to replace my 12 year old MAHA PowerEx C9000 charger analyzer that's been gathering dust. I use it for my NiMH AA batteries but haven't any lithium ion cells to test yet.
The Nitecore UM4 is much simpler to use than the MAHA C9000 although the latter provides discharging and refresh functions for aging NiMH batteries. If there's something that a Nitecore UM series owner should be aware of, it's that the internal battery resistance reading also depends on the electrical contacts with the charger's terminals.
I've almost discarded a few old Sanyo Eneloops because my UM4 pronounced them as "poor". It seems that cleaning the battery poles and reseating the battery a few times can change the initial internal resistance values from poor to good.
I guess the UM4's built in Ohm meter also takes into account of the battery's external resistance and not just the internal resistance. If a battery has truly gone bad then repeated reseatings of the cell will indicate a high resistance consistently. Hope this helps!
Thanks, great review, I was considering buying it but it seems it would go to the landfill rather sooner than expected, not keen on poor quality rubbish
Very informative video, thank you!
I have the Nitecore D2 charger and want to upgrade to a 4 cell charger. Can you tell me your thoughts on having a charger with a USB power cable vs having a direct wall charger (pros/cons)?
For me there really is no downside, especially as I can charge batteries for other USB devices. Solar panels, USB battery packs etc. Also it means I can use any USB power supply. I also don’t have to worry about finding the exact dedicated power supply if I loose or misplace it.
How does this compare to the Nitecore UMS4 4 or Xstar VC4SL?
Hey there - thanks for the review! How were you able to check the authenticity of your unit on Nitecore's website?
There’s a scratch off sticker on the box which reveals a 2D bar code also a 16 digit code which can be entered into the website.
But the most important for me, can I plug it into (for example) to my laptop and charge 1xAA?
Yes it can
Is it better then LiitoKala's Lii-500 Engineer charger ? 🤔
Sorry don’t know not familiar with that one
For quick charge do you just require the wall plug in with QC, will the supplied usb cord suffice for QC with that?
It did work initially with the supplied cable but I can’t double check as it’s long since become enshrined in my ‘drawer of
...many cables’!
But you do need a QC specific charger
@@knewideas3860 Thanks for the quick response, replacing my D4 that finally pooped out on me, was looking at the SC4 but can't justify dropping that much $ and the ability to charge VIA usb with a power bank appeals to me. By QC specific charger you just mean the block right?
The mains to usb plug in QC charger that’s doesn’t come with it.
Very dissapointwd about this charger... please help me in order to better understand how to find the total capacity of the battery; it's the value displayed at the end of the charge? or to that value I should add the initial value is displayed when inserting the battery? Thank you so much!
This is complicated. You never see the true capacity, the best you will get is the value after the charge has finished, but this only works if the battery is exhausted when it is inserted.
Thank you! @@knewideas3860
Wich better betwen nitecore UM4 vs Nitecore SC4 ??
Haven’t tried the SC4 looks good but much more expensive.
what's the difference between this UM4 and UMS4?? which is better and more up to date?
Hi James, I think the difference is that the UMS4 can charge a single battery at up to 4000ma using a QC 9v 2a power supply. The UM4 doesn’t offer that feature topping out at 1500ma for a single or dual slot charge.
@@knewideas3860 who or why would anyone want to charge at 4000amp speed , doesn't it shortens life of a battery ? the fastest safe speed isn't 1000amp? should i wait for a usb C charger or wait for more advanced battery tech that could handle faster charging speed, right now can't think of any more improvements for chargers to advance
Hi James, just to point’s out that it’s not 4000 amp it’s 4000mah, wouldn’t want you to make some current based mistake!
Some li-ion cells are designed to be charged at 1C which can be anything from around 1000mah to 3500mah with 18650 batteries.
@@knewideas3860 good no know , just wish they would state that on the battery or if they came in with a product description , i have thrunite and olight 18650 batteries i don't want to risk damaging them since they are 25 dollars each so i 'll just stay on the safe side doing 1000mah max and just buy more batteries i guess, but i got a feeling those 21700 ones can take 3500mah no prob
They should state the capacity on the battery. I have a few 3100 and 3500mAh batteries and have charged them at 2000mAh with no problems
Can you take ur battery out while the thing is on
Yes you can
$40 now lol. Better to go with Panasonic for the same price.