The second most important improvement is current distribution. How this works is pretty straightforward; when you place 4 cells in the Nitecore i4, each cell is identified and calculations are made to optimize the charge, but more than that, when a battery is fully charged the Nitecore i4 diverts the current from that ‘slot’ and sends it to other slots. As each one becomes fully charged, the maximum current continues to be distributed to the remaining cells, speeding up the charge time even more. This is a major deal, and when combined with the increase in current to 1500mA, that’s all I needed to hear before buying one for each member of the staff.

A key point to specs above is that while the i2 has two independent channels (for 500mA), the i4 also only has two channels (but for up to 750mA). Since the i4 actually has four wells, that means that current needs to be shared between two wells. While the charger label reports this as "0.375A*4", in actual fact the charger remains at 750mA for each bay – but it alternates charging by cycling off/on about once every second for each battery. This effectively results in the same thing, but the cell is actually being charged at 750mA for a 1sec on, 1sec off, cycle. As I mentioned above, the Nitecore i4 has been optimized for batteries that Vapers use most often. IMR batteries can be overcharged by shoddy battery chargers because of the chemistry of the battery. The new Nitecore i4 monitors the charging process and will safely make sure that our IMR cells do not overcharge. Note: I didn't have the unit plugged in for these shots, which is why you don't see any of the indicator lights lit up. The NEW i4 charger from Nitecore improves upon the original model and can charge more batteries than the Nitecore i2 with six new features:

Shipping, Delivery & Returns

Active current distribution (ACD) technology allows for the dynamic distribution of the NEW i4's charging power. For example, if two batteries are being charged in the NEW i4 and one of them completes charging, all charging power will automatically go to the other slot and charge the battery at the fastest speed. Being in the vape industry myself, as someone that is exposed to at least a hundred new mods each year, I can’t but wonder how many box mods the average vaping enthusiast owns, and how often the enthusiasts upgrade or replace their mods. I’m told the average number is 3 mods per Vaper, and in 2017 at least half of them will own a dual 18650 box mod, while larger and larger numbers of Vapers will own mods that require three and four 18650 cells. Any way you slice it, that’s a lot of batteries to care for, and keep charged. The i2 2014 similarly has a good CC/CV charging algorithm. While the charging current is not as high as the i4 2014 in the CC phase, it doesn't seem to drop off as rapidly in the CV phase (although that could be a bit of battery variability). Again, the current run above seems the most representative of what you can expect for this unit (i.e., it takes longer to fully charge an 18650 than the i4). Termination level is again good. Because of the nature of the chemistry in Lithium Manganese batteries, once they drain completely they become useless, unable to be charged again successfully. If you’ve been a Vaper for a while no doubt you’ve allowed a battery to drain out and when you placed it in a battery charger it just sat there. You probably thought that 3-month-old battery died an early death, and with just about every charger, you’d be right. But not anymore.

Fast forward to today and I wake up to it just not even working. No lights turn on, it doesn't charge - nothing. To examine the performance of the chargers, I have directly monitored charging current and voltage with a data-logging DMM - but on separate runs. While plotted together, these means the voltage and current traces may not exactly correspond in time. The Nitecore i4 Intellicharger comes with individual slots for 4 batteries. The special slots allow the charger to handle almost any round rechargeable battery. The great thing about the Nitecore i4 is that each slot is charged independently. You can even charge 4 different battery types – all at the same time. The Nitecore i4 also has a timeout feature that will allow a battery to charge for up to 20 hours. Once that 20 hours expires the charger stops charging that slot, and displays a full charge status. Without it, those of us that leave our batteries in our chargers could experience a possible explosion, especially if the battery we’re charging is of low quality, like the tens of thousands of counterfeit batteries.Each battery is individually monitored by its own intelligent charge circuit. The charger senses the battery type, then automatically selects the correct charge cycle. Simple flashing LED’s above each slot show charging progress. When a battery is fully charged, all three LED’s show steady orange. As well as letting you know that charging is complete, the i4 Intellicharger automatically ends the charge cycle. This prolongs the life of your 18650 batteries and significantly reduces the risk of a battery failure or fire. There are three yellow lights located over each charging bay, and a blue power indicator at the top right hand side of the unit (lights up when AC/DC power is supplied). IMR battery restoration will restore 0V depleted cells by pressing and holding both the C and V buttons simultaneously.

Stay safe by investing in this Nitecore i4 Intellicharger – widely regarded as one of the best, low-cost 18650 battery chargers currently available. When working with Li-ion (Lithium-ion), LiPo (Lithium-ion Polymer) and any rechargeable cells, please be cautious and carefully use as they are very sensitive to charging characteristics and may explode or burn if mishandled. Please make sure that you have great knowledge on all rechargeable batteries before you use them. Always charge batteries at the clean and fire-proof surface. Never leave charging batteries unattended. If you see that there are visible damages on the batteries, please do not use. Always keep, store and transport the rechargeable cells in a safe, non-conductive container in controlled environment. And, Im guessing illumination supply is a good place to buy? I hear good things about them. You can PM me if its not ok to talk about vendors here. For the purpose of this post, the chargers are orientated with the counterfeit on the left, and the genuine article on the right. Anyways, does anyone actually use their chargers in the car? I don't hear about anyone really doing it any other way but in the wall.From the underside of the board we can immediately see that they're different boards. This in itself isn't hugely unusual, manufacturers do make occasional changes however given how close together these were supposedly manufactured, it's an unlikely coincidence. As mentioned above, the quality of the soldering is very poor. It's functional, but not as tidy as you would expect. NitecoreIntellicharger i4 is a smart and universal charger that can charge several types or rechargeable batteries.

The Nitecore Intellicharger line has been popular here since their initial release – likely due to their dual support of both Li-ions and NiMH batteries. Physically, I can only see the improved battery rail in each well, but I can infer internal circuit changes as well. The new rail is definitely an improvement over the older springs – I found the slide action noticeably smoother now. :thumbsup: Flipping over to the topside of the board, we are presented with more differences. Every single component is different. Even though the capacitors on the board on the non-genuine charger have Nitecore wraps on them and are the same (purportedly, basing this on the wrap only) rating/values, they're not the same components underneath which leads me to think that the counterfeiting goes down to component level too. The first thing that caught my eye was the low voltage input power side of the board. The genuine charger uses a single 1500uF capacity next to the transformer. The non-genuine one uses two 470uF ones instead. The transformer itself is different too. While the fake one doesn't have the previously seen "NITECOKE" wrap, it's marking is on the wrong side and its notably smaller. I've not stripped it further as there's no real need. The New i4 can charge up to 1.5A in one slot, making the maximum output 1500mA, double the output of the old i4 at 750mA. Compatible with 1.2V, 3.7V, 4.2V and 4.35V batteries, the Nitecore charger can be set using the 'V' button to select the desired voltage in each bay. Notice anything? I immediately spotted a few things in customer photos posted on social media before i even had one to play with. The positive posts on the charger are too far sunk into the casing and don't sit flush with it either. There are gaps all around them, the genuine ones are a tight fit. On arrival, it's more pronounced than i thought. They're also very uneven wobbly. We'll see why later... Li-ion/IMR/LiFePO4: 10340, 10350, 10440, 10500, 12340, 12500, 12650, 13450, 13500, 13650, 14350, 14430, 14500, 14650, 16500, 16340(RCR123), 16650, 17350, 17500, 17650, 17670, 18350, 18490, 18500,18650, 22500, 22650, 25500, 26500, 26650At the end of the day, these are incremental upgrades to the Intellicharger line from Nitecore. I think these chargers still offer good value for the money - especially compared to discount "budget" chargers that cost almost as much, but with unknown charging algorithms. They are also particularly useful for less sophisticated users who are just starting to use Li-ions (and may thus inadvertently try to charge NiMH and Li-ion on the same device - a real no-no on just about every other charger!). Note* Although the Nitecore i4 is the charger of choice for ALL rechargeable batteries, I’m going to focus on the features that Vapers depend on. I understand that we all use our chargers for more than just the 18650 batteries we have, so I’ll include the litany of battery types the Nitecore i4 can charge at the end of this review Active current distribution (ACD) technology allows for the dynamic distribution of the NEW i4’s charging power. For example, if two batteries are being charged in the NEW i4 and one of them completes charging, all charging power will automatically go to the other slot and charge the battery at the fastest speed.