XTAR VC8 Plus Fast LCD Display Rechargeable Battery Charger with DC36W Adapter max 3A 1 Slots/8 Slots 1A Fast Charge 10400 14500 18650 20700 21700 26650 or 1.2V Ni-MH Ni-Cd AA AAA

I find that long term reviews with updates are the ones I find most useful, so I hope updating here helps others.December 9th, 2024 (1st post) ( actually ◆◆◆◈◇ 3.5 of 5 )==============================My previous 'semi-smart' (one that has the capability to cycle through discharging and charging to get capacity info) charger died.It was much simpler than this, and only housed 4 batteries.This one, is nice.Each half has its own controls - 2 buttons.With the left side having the 'Grad.' mode which can handle the charge-discharge-charge cycle and measure capacity.The display is a bit annoying, always flashing between status and measurements.Took me a while to learn that pressing both buttons will turn off the display - which is a great little feature.I really like the charging current selection, allowing to push current fast or slow (3000 mAh to 250mAh) - helps with old finicky batteries that error out on other 'dumber' chargers.I purchased this one almost a year ago (Dec 31st, 2023 at $45.99 pre-tax).This past week, I noticed one of the battery slots isn't getting to 'done' mode, regardless of which battery I'm placing there.Also, the voltage on that spot, after every other battery is done, is higher than the others.This indicates to me that some control-circuit/logic is crapped out - which is a shame.I'm going to try and reach out to the seller and see if they will replace (I'm ok with sending it for a repair, if that's an option).If the warranty is properly respected, I'll come back and update.UPDATE: December 30th, 2024==============================XTAR support were prompt, even with the holiday season, very courteous and clear in their communication over email. They offered the option to purchase a new one at %50 or a repair, which would have taken a long time (they claimed months).I insisted on a repair (as I see it, I don't want to pay for another potential malfunction, even if it is %50 chance).Eventually, they decided to send me a replacement charger (without the Power Supply), and the one that arrived looked brand new.Although I had to be persistent, it was a quick a pleasant exchange and completely on point, as their support probably is tasked with weeding out fraud.I was genuinely expecting a repair process, and was very pleased with the replacement.The replacement is working, and I have a spare one for troubleshooting in case something goes wrong.tl;dr:====I would recommend this for the price ($45.99 pre-tax).Although I had a malfunction within the first year, their support was great and they respected the Warranty - although this is supposed to be the 'bare minimum', it is still not the norm - so they get points for that.TIP - pressing button pair shuts down the display (trust me, it's important for your sanity, especially if it's in your line of sight)

This thing is awesome. Can rate your 18650s and 21800 (or whatever the bigger ones are) in terms of mAh’s. However only 4 out of the 8 spaces have the rating functionality.

Charges fast and complete with overcharge protections. Multiple features for charging, discharging, reading capacities, etc.BONUS: I had 3 different 18650 batteries that would not charge any linger in my old charger. In this VC8 PLUS charger it was able to completely charge/discharge/charge 2 of the 3 batteries back to life. I will note that the labeled capacity of the old batteries was 3000mAh, and 3300mAh, while recharged capacity was 2700mAh and 2850mAh. Just saying!Truly, these batteries may have lost some of their capacity or they may have been over rated from the beginning. Idk!What I do know, positively, is these were useless 3 year old batteries until I used the VC8 PLUS to "repair/recharge" them.Great investment, in my opinion.I would highly recommend this over JUST A CHARGER of any type!Great product already saving me money!!!

I use this for vape, batteries, and flashlight batteries, and this charger is awesome. It actually shows you the levels of the battery charge unlike other chargers and is way worth it. You get much more bang for your buck with this thing. Highly recommend.

Product works great at showing activity with colorful LED display.My issue is it isn't reliably accurate to measure capacity of batteries and often incorrectly tries to charge beyond capacity causing batteries to be very warm. I wouldn't leave it unsupervised in case of a battery rupture just to be safe.It does work as advertised to charge a variety of types of rechargeables at various sized except for 9 volt. I had to buy a separate charger for 9 volt rechargeables.

Maybe I got a defective unit, what I received was previously opened and returned.I have 3 NiteCores, an i4, a D2 and a D4. I am unhappy that NiteCore is providing no support for a few year old D4 that a capacitor obviously failed in the AC power regulator, so decided to try an XTAR.First, when I try to put AAA batteries in, the tabs are too high to connect. This is a design flaw. You have to put something under a AAA to get it to contact and charge.Second, this is not "Activating" overdischarged NiMH batteries. They say that works for 3V batteries. That feature may by causing the third issue.Third, it is mis-identifying some NiMH as Li-ion, and charging them at 385mA at >2.4V. THIS IS A FIRE HAZARD!!!Finally, 26650s do fit in alternate slots, but when I put a 26650 or 18650 in slot 1, automatic mode charges at 500mA unless you use button presses to override the charge current to 1A, 2A or 3A.This one goes back. I will try a different brand based un the fire hazard potential of mis-identifying NiMH batteries.

After several years of using Sanyo Enloops and EBL rechargeable AA and AAA batteries, some didn't seem to be lasting as long in equipment. I purchased the the XTAR VC8 for the grading feature to test the battery capacities. Note on this model, only the first 4 positions have the grading feature. This is important if you are testing many batteries, because it takes several hours to run the grading feature.From the testing, I found many batteries had a diminished capacity. Those batteries were discarded and I purchased new Amazon rechargeable batteries to replace them.

What I liked:- So far works wellDon't like:- It's HUGE - check the dimensions- Price seems really high for an rechargeable battery charger