Nitecore vs Opus C3100 charger

It still doesn't specify if he's in his boxers or his mother's basement. Sorry, couldn't resist @Scuba Vaper

 

Yup, this is true Mr @Lotta ... I don't actually see any credentials or where testing is carried out, so could be a pristine lab with shiny new equipment him all dressed up in white lab coat or could be a damp musty basement wearing Y fronts with a beer belly hanging out picking his nose ... we dunno ... other than the prestigious facilities aren't mentioned, so we can probably assume they don't exist.

I was unable to find even a name for whoever this person is, so no identity information at all. Not really turning out to be someone who makes it easy to trust his results, no name, no credentials. Perhaps that's on yet another page on his website ...

Quite interesting - "The actual precision on this type of equipment is not very high (Within a few °C).", when referring to the temperature imaging gun. My further research on this type equipment indicated that if not expertly interpreted, temperature imaging photos can be misleading at best.

For temperature imaging - no mention of controlling ambient temperature (and other things environmentally such as humidity), using the same batteries cross chargers (and varying batteries cross chargers) and multiple charging cycles, and so on. Was unclear if he warmed batteries to 40 to 45 deg C before charging them, or that is the ambient temperature in the area where batteries/chargers are tested - "Batteries are usual rated for a maximum charge temperature of 40°C to 45°C, this is the temperature when starting the charge.". Variables like ambient temperature should be removed from the testing equation for accuracy, and more repetitive testing be carried out to rule out "one-offs".

Also no tests for 1, 2 and 3 batteries (or combinations of lion, nimh, nicad) on 4-bay chargers on temperature images. More scenarios should be tested prior to assessing temperature characteristics of charger/battery combinations.

He does include a temperature plot on his graphs, which is useful to see the temperature of one of the batteries over the whole charging cycle. But, I only see one sensor for one battery with that equipment, and he doesn't state which slot he measures temperature of. Sensor and a plot for each battery, would be more accurate, but even then it only measures temperature at single small spot on the battery.

I can't see any mention of the measuring equipment being regularly independently calibrated, which is a requirement for most professional's measuring equipment, in some cases a legal requirement. Without those calibration certificates, the accuracy of any data obtained can't be trusted.

So, to have accurately and scientifically assessed, more testing, probably professionally in a lab, by professionals, would be necessary. More I think he presents an "expert opinion", which may (or may not) be an indicator in a cross charger comparison, or in a decision on a purchase choice.

If he's popular and well regarded on other forums, doesn't make him an expert, or his information factual, just an indicator of popularity.

Within the above, I believe he's doing best efforts to give as accurate and unbiased information as possible, and the site is one of the best information sources out there, and I will continue to refer to it, and (perhaps) cite it.

Thermal runaway isn't (as far as I know) a widely reported fault on either nitecore D4 or I4. Presumably we'd see it all over forums if it were, and probably the product recalled or withdrawn from sale. Nor does "Mr lygte" say that he thinks it's a concern on his review ...

In his own words, on review of I4 - "Inside the charger there is some warm electronic, as long as the electronic and box is designed for this temperature, it is not a problem."

So, it's not a problem, if you believe Mr lygte, or I for that matter.

 

Just to clarify, I never meant to state the Nitecore was un-safe. I've used them for quite a few years and they are good basic chargers. My point was that any charger (Nitecore included) with an internal power supply will be hotter than a charger with an external power supply. Let's say that the battery heat measurements are correct. According to how often you charge your batteries, 10 C will make a difference over time in the life of the battery. Will it explode? Of course not. Will the life of the battery be shorter in the long run? Possibly.

 

LOL, you've got a good sense of humour

Let's say thermal images aren't "correct" and the difference was that he did xtars in the winter in his basement with an ambient temperature of 4 deg C, and the nitecores in the summer on mom's kitchen table whilst she was baking cakes with an ambient temperature of 35 deg C, a 26 dec C difference. In this case, the xtars would be running 16 degrees hotter than the nitecores.

Also, he says his measuring equipment for thermal images can be incorrect by several degrees. Several degrees one way error on the camera with nitecore, several degrees error the other way on the camera with xtar, plus an ambient temperature difference between tests, and voila we have 10 deg C difference.

I very much doubt my above scenarios are the real ones, but we no proof otherwise from the site, so we can't rule it out.

Will the life of the battery be shorter in the long run? We dunno @Lotta, no one tested that scenario on Nitecores in any kind of scientific way, as far as I know. Could be that xtars shorten battery life for some other unknown factor. Could be that Nitecores extend battery life because of another unknown factor. Or vice versa. I dunno, it's a useful/interesting opinion, which may or may not be true.

Mr lygte doesn't think there's a problem with these chargers due to heat, many trust him. I don't see any mention of shortened battery life alongside with the thermal images you posted from his site. In fact, he doesn't mention the heat issue *at all* in either of the conclusions for Nitecore I4 V2 and D4, so presumably deems it relatively unimportant to the reviews and ultimately to someone making a buying choice based on an "expert" opinion.

I use both authentic Nitecore and Xtar, and don't have an issue (yet) with either. Sure there's pros and cons, neither is spot on exactly what I wanted, but both do the job, consistently well day-in day-out and were relatively inexpensive.

 

There is no sense in continuing this conversation. You want multiple controlled tests in a multi-million dollar laboratory using every possible combination of circumstances to have results that you consider conclusive. I really don't believe that will happen. So we just have the inconclusive results of a possible madman to go on. I know there will be at least one more post on this subject because you will have the need to get last the word in. Congrats. The floor is yours.

 

"inconclusive results of a possible madman to go on" = no operational problem with heat, "madman" says = relatively conclusive. Odd you should mention last word, as you keep replying to my comments.