Xtar VC 8 Battery Charger/Tester: Review
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ส.ค. 2024
- Amazon UK/USA - amzn.to/37ZOEZu
Xtar have a new 8 bay battery charger - this time it also incorporates testing functions (capacity test/internal resistance)
I take a look at the charger and see how it performs using a variety of batteries.
Sample supplied via Xtar for unbiased review and testing
Details:
0V Activation Function revives over-discharged batteries
Internal Resistance Testing
Automatically chooses the best charging current
USB Type-C input port
Specifications:
Input: QC3.0 (5V 2A / 9V 2A)
Adjustable Constant Current: 3Ax1 / 2Ax2 / 1Ax4 / 0.5Ax8
End-of Charge Voltage: 4.20±0.05V / 1.45±0.1V
End-of Charge Current: 120mA
Operating Temperature: 0-40° C
Compatible Batteries:
3.6V/3.7V Li-ion/IMR/INR/ICR: 10440, 14500, 14650, 16340, 17500, 17670, 18350, 18500, 18650, 18700, 20700, 21700, 22650, 25500, 26650
Can charge protected 20700/21700 batteries
1.2V NiMH/Ni-Cd: AAAA, AAA, AA, A, SC, C
Amazon UK/USA - amzn.to/37ZOEZu
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I have many Xtar chargers but none that could charge 21700 protected Fenix batteries (PD36R - PD36 TAC flashlights) because they are too long.
With the VC8 it is possible to charge these batteries, I tried, no problem with insertion. Thanks for review.
Yup selection is limited for the protected 21700 cells, it does cover that side of things fairly well
Hi from Aussie easily one of the best review channels ......😎.. thanks..👍 liked and subscribed
Wow, thanks! Appreciate the support very much
I have 3 chargers now started with xtar vc4 went through several cables the USB port went on both
And have Been using an opus bt3100 for past couple years but now the left slot one of fast charger ports is only charging at 35mah, the other 3 still work and use them for charge tests now takes 24hrs or so to do this. So I have just picked up the xtar vc8 charger not used yet but since I now have 18500/18650/26650/21700 cells and multiple cells I thought a larger bay charger was needed worked out at 22£ with the fast charger USBC UK wall plug on black Friday along with some newer cells Molicel P42A p26A,
It's an OK charger just some places I'd change things. The Opus is pretty popular
Which one would you recommended for a first charger?
Thank you for your review. Is there a charger you would give a 10 of 10 or 9.5 maybe? Does Amazon sell the quick charger you spoke of and what's the quick charger ID number? Is this overall much better than the Zanflare C4 other than it can charge 8 and larger sized? I'm using this stuff in USA
It's not a bad charger I'm just puzzled why Xtar can't get the default charging right when using quick charge. If using a normal 5V it's fine. Not as bad as the VC4S or VC2S, still I think it could be better -and doesn't quite have the charging speed some would want using all 8 bays. It's worth considering if those are not big issues, and it can test cells (albeit only 4) I've never used one I'd rate with no quirks at 10/10 I rarely give 9/10 it's just a guideline.
The Zanflare is pretty good for the price, it can test and it isn't expensive.
I do have a SKYRC3000 coming in, this is an advanced charger/tester though quite pricey
Bought it for mainly charging 21700 protected cells and some aa and aaa. First charging seemed to be ok but after 4 uses it would say full charge yet the charge volts were well below the batteries max volts used it more and it got worse. Thought maybe I got a bad one so started researching more reviews and found others complaining of the same issue. Contacted XTAR which was good replying but offering no solutions except to return it for refund or exchange. I returned it for refund. My old Miboxer still charges to full voltage after years of use.
It depends which cells were below voltage. Ni-MH drops voltage after it's charged, quite quickly down to under 1.40V, Li-ion should be over 4.15V and under 4.20V. Some chargers trickle charge for Ni-MH and that holds the voltage level better, some don't. I can't say I saw obvious issues with this one, but Xtar's QC isn't what it used to be, I don't even bother looking at their products - they made an awful mess of the VC2 and VC4 with the S versions. Miboxer also don't send chargers in, they're not a company I would entertain at all, very shady IMO. Trickle charge on Li-ion, what a disaster the first gen C4 was
@@MrBazReviews The Miboxer isn't prefect the IR is way off but the voltages were fairly consistent when fully charging the batteries but had to be removed at full charge or that would drop if batteries left in it. Got it cheap on an amazon deal but the Xtar I paid full price and it was the worst of all my chargers . My multi meter is accurate so I always use that to check out the perfomance of chargers. The Xtar failed with honours. I could have had another sent but Xtar's customer service was iffy at best...could be the language barrier. EBL is no better and I sent back their charger for other reasons and bought the Xtar. I'm kind of discouraged at this point so not buying anymore chargers until I can find one worth getting . I trust Fenix products but their charges have limited features that I would want so I've resisted buying one. Their Flashlights etc first rate and charger reviews are all good. Thanks for the info and I will continue my quest once I get some hope back. lol
Thanks for the review. Does the charger have a "condition" function to charge, then discharge, and then charge the battery again automatically?
It has the grading function that's about it ie capacity test that does the same thing except well it's shown in detail in the video
I have a Xtar Dragon charger and have tried a few others. My personal opinion is that Xtar does not make reliable chargers with good charging features.
I wasn't happy with the VC4S, that also undercharged at times. Bar that I've not had one fail or do odd things, but experiences can vary. I'm a bit disappointed they can't get some basic things looked at (like the default charging speed)
Which charger to test and repair batteries would you recommend? I'm looking for one but none give me confidence
Ah, that is to bad only 4 slots are used for capacity testing for me that is a deal-breaker. Nice video answered questions I had about the unit. Thank you.
Yeah it might bother some, I'd be OK with the 4 slots. I'm more bothered about the default charging speed/lack of individual charging currents.
It's also fairly slow at 300mA, will take a good while to work with larger capacity cells. Glad it was of use
Between this and the Gyrfalcon All-88 which would you choose?
I've not used that one, from what I can see it doesn't have testing capabilities if that's important
Mr Baz Reviews thank you
I have a 4 bay xtar (vc4 I think?) charger that I swear has killed a few pairs of my 18650's. Granted I left some of them just in the charger for weeks instead of taking them out when full, but it still shouldn't be a problem...
Shouldn't do that I've not seen it myself, charger should terminate and not trickle charge. Unless there is a problem I never saw an issue on the VC4's I have had.
Beautiful!👍👍👍
Thank you! Cheers!
I read a review on Amazon stating the unit lacks reverse polarity protection. Upon reading the manual and specs I see no mention of reverse polarity protection. I would hate to ask you to ruin your unit to test this, but it seems like a major flaw and may change peoples opinion on the unit. Its pretty easy to insert a flat top cell backwards if you're not paying attention.
6:08 well I tested it and it does have polarity protection
@@MrBazReviews totally missed that! Thanks for clarifying.
Keen to hear update video. Is the D cell issue just down to be too big?
They won't fit too big
Thanks for the review. Have you any IFR 32700 cells and will it fit in Xtar VC 8 bays? It's not advertised as such. I'm just questioning because 32700 cell chargers are hard to find. Thanks.
I don't have any of those, not so common cells. Most chargers they won't fit might on the Dragon it has wider bays but it's not listed
@@MrBazReviews Thanks for the prompt feedback
Absolutely amazing review 🔥👍🏻
Quick question I’m using the vc8 to charge 4x ebl 1100mah aaa what is the best charge current speed it keeps going to 1amp but I reduce it to 0.25 is it safe to charge them at 0.50 or 1amp please
Up to 0.5amp for AAA usually they can take more but that's a safe charge
@@MrBazReviews good morning you so much, amazing channel mate so much useful and to the point reviews. Will definitely binge watch your videos this weekend, thank you again so much 🇬🇧👍🏻🔥
@@DarkStormPhoenix no worries lol binge away it all helps a bit!
Hi how long will to charge 8 AA 2300mah rechargable battery ? This charger have refreshing, discharge and test option ? Thank you
The video tells you everything charging speeds and the testing function I suggest watching it if you are curious
Which one better, Xtar vc8 or mibox C8?
I don't like either maker being blunt
I'm a bit confused. The specifications on the box say it can charge 4 cells in 1 amp max. But I see you can adjust the current in 4 different levels of 2-1-0,5-0,25 amps in bays 5-8. So can you actually charge 4 cells in 2 amps if you want to?? What am I not getting?
2 cells at 2A, 4A is max output. If you are using quick charge adapter
@@MrBazReviews so apart the thing that it takes more cells, the basic specs and the charging speed currents per slot are exactly the same as the 4-bay vc4s. Im i right?
Which two chargers do you think are the best?
1. the best according to you
2. best at a low price
What batteries are you charging? Li-ion or Ni-MH?
@@MrBazReviews Eneloop so Ni-MH.
@@WindsdoomPatriot The VC4 was pretty good, the Nitecore D4, they are affodable ones there are others
@@MrBazReviews Thank you. What about Nitecore i8 vs XTAR VC8 they are good? What is your choice between these two?
@@WindsdoomPatriot They are quite different, I prefer the Nitecore in most ways, though the Xtar has some testing abilities.
Alright, just bought him at local webstore.. everything loox ok but when i connected my usb multimeter i saw a very strange current behaviour, the same as my other charger yonii-d2 (thought it was defective, that was why i went after vc8). The current fluctuates (i have 6 AA ni-mh in) with voltage at 9.06V when charged with 500mA about 0.29A to 0.62A.. it changes rapidly.. is this normal behaviour?? I thought that ni-mh is charged CC-CV (constant current constant voltage)
Li-ion CC/CV, Ni-MH is normally pulse charging so you will see it vary on those cells (perfectly normal)
How long does the capacity test(grad) take? 21700 seem to take forever on mine
5:29 discharge rate is 300mA - so yes that is why it takes a long time with 21700 cells
@@MrBazReviews thanks I assume it has to take a long time to be accurate. I'm testing it with some new 21700 cells to see how accurate it is. Ok charger so like it so far
I placed a Duracell Alkaline battery, just wanted to see if the charger would show in the screen that it was charging the battery. It did showed that the battery was charging but i removed it as soon as i saw the charging battery status on the screen. I just wanted to ask that if there is some possibility that i caused damage to my charger?
Won't damage it (the charger) recharged Alkaline cells often leak though!
@@MrBazReviews That's good to know, i was scared that i could have caused some damage to the charger by doing such thing.
Thank you very much for answering and keep uploading good content
How does this compare to the Mibixer 8 bay version of this Xtar VC8?
I don't know as Miboxer don't send in review items anymore. You can try a few other review sites to see how they compare. This is OK, but doesn't quite go far enough IMO for user control (ie individual channels is needed). Testing is useful, but only for the first 4 bays. It's not bad, just not quite as good as I had hoped
Very nice review, thanks.
I try
Hi what's the best power adapter to buy for use with this please?
A quick charge compatible one Ankey do some as well as other makers
Hi so what's the best battery charger to buy for all of these types of batteries... because I'm looking to buy one. thanks
I can't say I did a video of chargers top picks, this is alright, but there are potentially better ones for users
@@MrBazReviews ok thanks... but can you say which is if the better ones
@@BIGGBULLxxx Watch the video battery chargers top picks, those are the ones I recommend, simple as. Define better? Better for what? I break it into categories testers, simple, fast etc etc.
@@MrBazReviews ok thanks 👍
What is your favorite charger under 50 dollars?
The Opus is probably the best value, it has it's own pros and cons
Hello :-) Would you prefer buying Xtar vc8 or 2x Xtar Vc4 for 8 slots battery, Thank you :-)
If you need the 8 slots then just get this it make more sense. The VC4 is still good for a normal charger if 4 slots is all that's needed
I ordered 2x vc4's, didnt know there were 8 slot battery charger from Xtar until now when i found your video. Should i send back those 2x vc4's and buy this one? Thank you for fast reply!!
is this better than the nitecore i8?
They are quite different, the VC8 has more control over charging speed and testing options and it can take protected 21700 cells. The i8 unprotected 21700's
Nitecore has better default charging speeds (ie via slot length) it is just a charger. Depends what you want this is pretty good, just wish Xtar got the default charging speeds better
It's worth getting maybe, the Nitecore is the one for those who just want to load up cells and not worry about settings - and for that it works well enough
Did you ever try alkaline.. I did and it came up as NiMH battery
Don't try to charge alkaline, they will leak if charged
Don't try to charge alkaline, they will leak if charged
anybody tried charging D cell NIMH on this?
They don't fit simple as, C cells are the largest that work.
VC4 can charge D cells
But it's usb. You have to run all that through. Phone charger? Charging a phone makes them hot.
Depends on the USB source some get hot some don't so much
Hi Mr Baz. Does VC8 work with unprotected 21700 ?
2:02
Xtar vc4 or vc8 or opus st 3000.mr baz your suggestion please as i found opus is more expensive than xtar vc4 and 8.
Thank you
VC8 is better than the VC4 that's for certain there are limitations as the review shows
@@MrBazReviews i will be charging mostly li-ion batteries 18650,21700 protected and unprotected etc.
@@ziarehman2357 It does protected 21700 cells many don't it's an OK charger it's just they missed a chance to give individual bay charging control which might be annoying if you charge a lot of smaller cells
@@MrBazReviews nah i will be only charging 18650 and 21700s mostly
@@MrBazReviews thank you
Man…you’re telling me you would buy this crap over an Efest?! I’d say that makes you a smart man.
I don't remember saying that, Xtar is hit and miss these days. Evidently more miss than hit
@@MrBazReviews oh wow…I was being facetious…it’s sad to hear that. I remember when they were one of the best brands to go with.
The worst design contacts ever. Why positive rounded? AAA batteries just slip off..
Xtar has some issues on design yes the contacts should be flatter. They have raised positive ones for flat top cells, but they could improve it a bit
If they can not fit a full eight 26650 cells then they should only market it as a four cell charger.
Someone should gift their engineering department some dial calipers.
Perhaps though it would make the charger even larger, it's alright but didn't blow me away, Of course if you are using 26650's then it's not 8 cell for those
@@MrBazReviews It would not be that much wider. Are you old enough to recall "Benson and Hedges 101s" ?
Their advertising line was "A silly little millimeter longer". They do not need much more that a silly little millimeter wider per cell. The problem is it would require retooling everything in China because every manufacture is using the same dimensions ... no one thought to check them before they went into production,
@@Bonjour-World I just look at products from makers and give my thoughts/information. 26650's are large, it seems most are moving to 21700 cells there are not many large bay chargers for 26650's so perhaps that is something for a maker to address
Thanks for the review. Does the charger have a "condition" function to charge, then discharge, and then charge the battery again automatically?
See my other reply
See my other reply
@@MrBazReviews Got it - thanks!