NITECORE UM2/UMS2 One of The Best Universal USB Battery Chargers Review and Disassembly
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ต.ค. 2024
- NITECORE UM2 The Best Universal USB Battery Charger Review and Disassembly. Nitecore UM2 charger. Nitecore UMS2 charger. NITECORE UM2 USB dual-slot charger.
Compatible with IMR/Li-ion/LiFePO4: 10440, 14500, 14650, 16500, 16340(RCR123), 16650, 17350, 17500, 17650, 17670, 17700, 18350, 18490, 18500, 18650, 18700, 20700, 21700, 22500, 22650, 25500, 26500, 26650, 26700, Ni-MH/Ni-Cd: AA, AAA, AAAA, C, D
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I just bought this (UM2) too, and it really is a nice little charger. The only *better* 2-cell multi-chemistry charger that I know of is the UMS2, which has a few minor improvements, (ie: UMS2 can use QC3 input so can output at 3A per cell when only charging one, or 2A per cell when charging two at the same time. UMS2 tests the cells for internal resistance and displays the result and whether the battery health is "good" or "poor". When charging NiMH chemistry cells, after -dV/dT termination, UMS2 does a 10 minute low current (250mA) top off charge (that the UM2 doesn't do), which is really good, because it tops up the NiMH cells to 100%, whereas purely -dV/dT termination charges to about 95% (which is fine, but I like the addition of the 10 minute top off charge. It is pretty much the perfect NiMH charging algorithm without harming the cell due to temps.) )
Super helpful info. Thanks
I was looking for the difference between UM2 and UMS2 and this is what I was looking for! Thanks!!!
Hi. Friend, i searched the Nitecore website. I did not find any diference between UM2 UMS2, but the total current (amps). UM2 = 3000mh , UMS2 =4000mh. Can you find another diference on the website ? Thank you bro, from Brazil here.
@Samgab My UMS2 cooks the Eneloop Pro AA 2500 mAh at 1000 mA charge rate (which I set manually instead of the 500 mA default). It terminates way too late at around 2800-2900 mAh and gets the batteries hot very quickly after it passes the 2500 mAh charged capacity.
Pretty good charger but it has one big flaw, the micro-usb port is really flimsy. Basically no solder and the pins that carry the current are just resting on copper of the pcb, mine broke off after 1 year with only gentle use.
Ouch, thanks for the heads up.
That was very educational video. I always charged my batteries at a higher current rate than what should be used and they died pretty fast. so 20-30% current of a battery capacity is optimal
Thank you for the comment!
@@ElectronicsComputers Does the UMS2's LCD screen turn off after 10 minutes ?
@@bernardtan1 No, it only dims the screen brightness after about 10 min.
Thank you so much my friend. Thanks for disassembly.
I'm happy to help!
Thank you so much my friend
Thanks for the video friend, I was looking for some review of this charger in Portuguese but I found nothing.
My question was if I could use the samsung charger on my smartphone on it, and the video you used one.
Thanks again, hugs from Brazil!
You can use any USB port to charge your batteries: laptop, powerbank, solar charger, USB port in your car, whatever.
Very interesting product, thank you for sharing!
Thank you for the comment! I'm just tired of replacing a bunch of AA, AAA batteries from my mouse, keyboard, toothbrush etc. And I need a tool for testing Li-ion 18650 cells.
I know how you feel. I've stopped buying disposable batteries and instead replace them with rechargeable and it's so much better.
Nice review. I have a couple of questions:
1. Does the charger show the internal resistances of the batteries?
2. Are the charging current and voltage settings volatile or permanent? That is, are the charging current and voltage values preserved across power cycles of the charger? For instance, if the external power to the charger is switched off and switched back on, will the charger lose the manually configured charging current value and go back to its default charging current value?
Thanks.
Sorry for the late reply I didn't receive any notification from TH-cam. This is very simple charger which has good quality and provides only basic features. It doesn't show the internal resistance but it can determine the batteries which are in very bad condition. You can manually set current for each slot and it's not permanent. If you remove the battery from the slot it will go back to auto mode. If you loose the power during charging then charger will go back to auto settings. This device totally covers my needs and I never had any problems with it. But I think you need more advanced charger.
@@ElectronicsComputers Thanks, and sorry for my late reply too. According to the user manuals available on Nitecore website, Nitecore UMS2 shows the value of the internal resistance of a battery, but Nitecore UM2 won't.
My UMS2 cooks the Eneloop Pro AA 2500 mAh at 1000 mA charge rate (which I set manually instead of the 500 mA default). It terminates way too late at around 2800-2900 mAh charged capacity and gets the batteries hot very quickly after it passes the 2500 mAh value.
Should I perhaps try to charge them at a lower rate, let's say 700 mA? 500 mA might miss the charge termination.
Sure! 1amp for NiMH battery is a lot, I'd say it's even dangerous. For NiMH batteries the charging current normally should be 10% of the rated capacity per hour bur 205 is fine. So never go above 500mAh for 2500mAh batteries.
For NiMh I set my UMS4 to 500 mah max, I recommend u if u r not in a hurry set it to the lowest, I think it's 300 mah I'm not sure. And if u r in a hurry, 500 mah top. When u r using HC battery, like 30 to 40 A discharge current, u can set it to 2 A, I normally set my 18650 and 21700 HC batteries to 300 Mah and that slow charge gives them more useful life. But the advantage of the HC batteries is that u can set them between 2 to 3 A in a hurry, just don't leave them without supervision, even if they r the top brand or model like Samsung 21700 30 or 40T, or Sony Vtc5A 18650, (these r Li-ion batteries) with fast charge I never let them without supervision, but 90% of the times I set it to 300 Mah like I said before. I hope this comment help more than 1. See ya 😉
@@mikestudmuffin4549 Not the case. My Eneloop Pros are basically new and IR is about 50-70 mOhms, which is not high at all. Charging them at 600 mA is much better now, only warming them up a bit and charging stops around 2700 mAh.
This is basically just a battery carrier with a digital display. You would actually have to provide the actual charging adapter to connect to.
NO! It's the device with charge controller which does the job. You can connect it to any USB power source or by this charger as an option with its dedicated power supply.
@@ElectronicsComputers Does this work without plugging in a USB power adapter? Will this device work plugging in directly to the wall socket like the Nitecore D2/D4? It's just that I did not see any other input other than just the micro USB.
You're stating that all of the technology built into this charger that gives it the ability to detect what battery you're using and apply optimal settings for charging said battery. Along with the option to manually set charging current so you can choose to use or not use 3A quick charging. On top of the fact that utilizing a micro-USB to USB-A connector for your choice of power supply adds versatility and portability, as opposed to a bulky wall brick with essentially the same capability, is nothing but a glorified "battery carrier" because you need a USB adapter to power it from a wall outlet?... Interesting.
I have the USM2, for some reason if I try to put in both batteries at the same time the mA doesn’t go up for either of them, but if I put one in then wait a second and put the other in, it shows mA going up for both. Not sure yet if it’s merely a problem of the device not showing the mA going up or if it’s the batteries not charging at all.
I have 2 Sony VTC4 that have been sitting idle in a box for about 4 years. When I plug my batteries into the charger, it shows 4.19/4.20 V and 100-150 mA. It will charge up in about 3 hours but when applied load, it says Voltage too Low and battery discharges to less than 50% in 5 minutes. What should I do? I'm charging the batteries on default settings in my Nitecore UM2.
Most likely, those 18650 cells are dead after such prolonged storage without any use. You can try to refresh them by giving them a few cycles of charge-discharge, but they're never going to be like new.
Hi nice review. Btw can I fit 2 26650 batteries at the same time? thanks
Sure!
Hi cool video. What's the difference between UM and UMS models? Both looks the same to me!
UMS2 has higher charging current in QC mode up to 3000mA when UM2 only 2000mA
hi can i asked question. if im using 18650( sony vtc5d) battery if im going to set it manually how many amp and current should i input in nitecore? is it .5a or 1a? thanks hopefully you can help me🙂🙂🙂
800-1000mA will be fine
im looking into UMS2 and SC2, what should i buy? what is the most "charge and forget-type"
i use mostly for 18650 and 21700 batteries for vape mod.
Between those two, I'd choose the UMS2. Also, consider the UM2 version. The difference is only in the output current. But nobody in his right mind would charge batteries with 2 amp current.
@@ElectronicsComputers appreciate for reply, thanks. i will test it out that ums2.
God, still using micro USB?
Hello
you said rule of thumb to choose half mA of the full mAh
that's for 3.7V batteries right?
so example for a 16340 with 540 mAh i need to select 200 mA?
It refers for all batteries but for Li-ion batteries it's not that critical. 300mAh will be fine for that battery.
Nice review man!
Thanks!
This charger only shows me the amps that it has charged in the battery, right?
That means if I want to test how much capacity my battery has, do I have to empty it completely and then recharge it with the device?
That's right but by "completely empty" I hope you don't mean 0 volts. Minimum Discharge Voltage for 18650 cells is usually 3V. So basically when your device shows that the battery is dead put it in the charger and check how much current it will consume.
@@ElectronicsComputers Is the capacity also calculated correctly with this type of determination? I should actually measure what goes out of the battery and not what comes in. I am not an electronics technician but we do not discharge the battery completely to prevent it from dying prematurely, so my measurement is not correct, right?
I want to build a Battery so all need to have more or less the same capacity.
Hello,
I have a doubt that I would like to clarify.
I generally use my UM2 to charge Ni-MH battery types, recently I purchased a few USB rechargeable 650mAh 14500s and I observed that the batteries charge in almost 2hrs 40mins using a 5V 1A power supply with USB cable and nearly 2hrs with the UM2 charger but after the charge reaches 650mAh the charger doesn't stop unless it reaches 4.2V. So is it ok to charge the 14500s till they reach 650mAh because I thought charging the USB rechargeable batteries with an Intelligent charger would likely extend the life of the battery compared to a constant power supply when every possible and while traveling I use the USB cable way. So which is the preferred method to charge USB rechargeable batteries to extend the life.
All Li-ion batteries will charge until they reach 4.2V and their capacity has nothing to do with charging. There's no difference between this charger and your USB charger because all charge controllers operate in the same way. Your battery is fully charged when it reaches 1.42V for Ni-MH and 4.2V for Li-ion batteries.
@@ElectronicsComputers Got it, Thank you for the clarification.🙏
Does the UMS2's LCD screen turn off after 10 minutes of inactivity ?
Only the backlight but you can still see the information on the screen.
I can't get mine to charge above 1A with 1 cell installed using 2.5A usb power supply...Any ideas about that?
Is your USB power supply QuickCharge 2.0 compatible?
So... what's the difference between the UM2 and UMS2?
The max charging current for UM2 is 1.5 amps and for UMS2 is 3 amps.
@@ElectronicsComputers Ah, glad I picked up the UMS2
I have 3200mAh batteries. Can you recommended battery charger setting please?
500-600mAh is totally safe for NiMH batteries. With higher current settings the batteries capacity and lifespan will start to drop very fast.
@@ElectronicsComputers if you went with a lower and slower charge rate of e.g 300-400mAh would that also help with battery longevity?
What is the purpose of the validation?
to check if it's original product or fake
Thanks!!
You're welcome!
hi. can we see fully charged battery capacity on this cahrger?
If you want to insert a fully charged battery to measure its capacity then no. But if you fully charge the battery with this charger it will show how many mAh your battery consumed.
does this product have an auto cut off feature when the battery is full?
Sure! It has a bunch of protections! I'm very happy with this charger. Totally recommend!
How do tell if a battery is full charge? Which status on the device to look at?
When you see 5 bars and they don't blink the battery is full. It's pretty straightforward just like on your smartphone.
@@ElectronicsComputers thanks but what about about the display? Such as the chg status, quick charge? I was told the display will go dim after 10 min? My battery was charging and i did not see it turn off or go dim? After i took out the battery and put it back it seem to be down 1 bar?
@@sorrowinchrist3387 If there is no action to the buttons or batteries in 10 minutes, the screen will automatically go dim to save energy. It never turns off completely.
If I charge a NiMh battery, after it's fully charged, if I take it out from the UM2 charger and then put it back in, it starts charging again. Is this normal? I mean, the UM2 chargher doesn't recognize a fully charged battery?
It may charge for a few seconds and stop. Fully charged NiMh battery should have 1.42volts at this point the charger stops charging the battery. When you put your batteries back into the charger what voltage does it show on those cells? If the voltage drops rapidly on freshly charged batteries that means they are not in good condition.
@@ElectronicsComputers thanks for the answer.The charger stops charging the NiMh batteries at 1.47 volts.But if I take the battery out and put it back in the charger it shows 1.42 or 1.41 volts and in a couple of seconds jumps to 1.44, 1.46, 1.47. And keeps on charging for 15 to 20 minutes, not seconds. A brand new 700 mAh battery after it was fully cherged, when I put it back in the carger the UM2 charges it for 14 minutes with 114 mAh. I take the battery out and put it back in and the same thing happens again, with a small variation of time and mAh charged. I also charged an old battery of 2100 mAh and the UM2 charged it with 2460 mAh in 4 and a half hours. I wonder if my brand new UM2 is broken or something.
@@nacnac1231 I don't see any problems here. The battery always gets more mAh to fully charge it than the battery rated itself. I have never seen any chargers that would not charge for a few second or mints freshly charged battery.
@@ElectronicsComputers ok. Thanks for clearing up this for me.
Is it has discharge feature?
No.
bro I tried to fully charge the li-ion 21700 battery, then I tried to insert the battery back into the slot, and the battery recharges again, is that normal?
If it will charge again for a few seconds or minutes and then stop then it's totally normal.
because the battery does not have a memory system, so it will continue to charge when it is full
What's the difference between UM2 and UMS2?
UMS2 has higher charging current in QC mode up to 3000mA when UM2 only 2000mA.
@@ElectronicsComputers Thank you. So it's a good idea to buy the UMS2 if I can get it at the same price as the UM2? :) Or are there any better options for charging 4 x 18650 batteries?
@@Robert.K Technically it's better but again I never set maximum charge current even on UM2 (for 18650 cells I never set current higher than 1 amp). But if you need a quick charger and you don't care about battery life then UMS2 is good choice.
Can it tell me the capacity of my battery? How do I check that?
Yes, it shows the capacity after the battery is fully charged. Technically it shows how much current the battery took to be fully charged but anyway it give you the idea about its capacity.
@@ElectronicsComputers OK thanks
Amazing!
Thank you for the comment!
Hi Great video. I just have a question, what is the difference between UM2 and UMS2?
UMS2 has higher charging current in QC mode up to 3000mA when UM2 only 2000mA.
@@ElectronicsComputers that's great. Thanks for the info! Cheers..
@@niknnaik Another difference is that the Nitecore UMS2 shows the value of the internal resistance of a battery, but Nitecore UM2 won't -according to the user manuals available on Nitecore website,.
From day one my UM2 dont work well.On 5V/3A wall charger, on selected 1000mA he charge with 470mA.If I use QC2 and UM2 go to "quick charge" and 1000mA , but charge with 470mA /9.12V from Wall charger.On selected 1500mA he charge with 750mA.And when is on QC2 sometime dont want to start charging showing 0mA / 0mAh. On QC3 wall charger always start charging but shut down for no reason sometime after 1 min, sometime after 1 or 2 hour. Voltage and current is measured with Rui Deng UM24.I have few other Nitecore chargers and New i2 is for me the best.UM2 is
naked shit.
We have a few UM2 and UMS2 chargers in our office and we've never experienced such issues.
@@ElectronicsComputers Maybe my is defective, but the value of current on UM2 and measurement device is very different, and there is the issue with QC2 Samsung charger /same as one in your video/.I have UM2 about one year and use it often but is very slow I am mad on it.
@@JosipKerecki The voltage shown by the device is with charging current off. So every 1 second, it switches the charging off temporarily to measure the voltage. Basically, in my experience with the UMS2 I see about 0.05V difference between what's displayed on LCD and my external measuring device: e.g. 1.40V on LCD and 1.45V on voltmeter. The voltmeter measures the average voltage when charging.
nitecore um2 display light keeps ON all the time. how can i close it ?
It's impossible to enable or disable that feature.Are you sure that you bought an original product?
@@ElectronicsComputers yes I am definitely sure all functions work. Perfectly. Just that it's light gets dim after almost 10min stays in that way all the time
I have 3500mah 18650 vapcell and it's charging at 1000mA. I haven't changed current. Nitecore itself chooses this current setting.
@@zubairyamin6044 The same, but only when I use quick charge adapter. With a regular one it starts with 500mA
@@ElectronicsComputers yeah you are right thanks
crappy product, 1st slot stoped working after a few uses.
No adapter included? shit.
You can connect it to any USB port.
crappy product, AA/14500 dont fit well, 1st slot died after a few uses.
nitecore lost me forever.