Great chargers from xtar - mine are running perfect years later, never had any issues with them. I also like that they're starting to bung USB-C in their newer models - well done Xtar 👍
@@TrailTrek ok no big deal thanks. I had a little issue where slot 2 would work intermittently with protected 18650s but it eventually fixed itself. Never had problems with xtar. Thought I ordered the plus but I didn't. So now the plus is on the way. .5 amp is a little slow for me lol
WOW thank you so much. I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know you enjoy my content, my main aim is to be relaxed and fun. I also try to be informative and honest, its all the things i want out of a review channel so im extremely happy that you enjoy my content. Have a great day :-)
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.
Thanks for this I have never had this myself yet. I've used amazon, LADDA, Eneloop pro and normal and duracell AA/AAA and no issues for me so far. I cant think why it would do that but thanks for pointing this out I wasn't aware.
Hi mate no its only on some slots. I have been been testing a prototype of the new version though and I can use that function on all slots along with grading function. that wont be out for sale until next month I think.
I have not had good luck with Xtar chargers, for me they don't last very long. What I rely on now is Nitecore chargers. (UMS series). Not as versatile but very reliable.
Cheers for this info, I love it when we can share this kind of info to potential buyers. I can say all of the nitecore chargers I've bought are still going although a few of them get a very slight whine noise when charging but it isn't a problem for me. I've been lucky with Xtar never had an issue myself so far.
@@TrailTrek I still have a Nitecore D4 that I have had for 6 or 7 years, and it works flawlessly, but old tech. Another brand I’m very fond of is Miboxer. The C2, C4 (version 3) or C8. Excellent chargers that perform very well. The termination voltages with the C4 have been the closest of any charger I have ever used. However did not detect the battery temp and shut off charging of dangerously hot batteries. This was corrected in the newer C4-12 which also charges at 3amps max. The Nitecore UMS4 has more features and therefore gets more use.
Just realized I purchased the first version and not the plus. Oh well not like I’m in a hurry to recharge my batteries. Still like it a lot compared to the Zanflare I had. That charger just didn’t seem very accurate at all.
OK I've come up with 2 basic questions that I am hoping you will be kind enough to answer for me. 1) With the VC8-PLUS, can you use usb Quick Charge to power the charger (without the included A/C wall adapter) to charge eight 18650 batteries at 1 Amp charging rate OR must you plug the VC8-PLUS into the wall through the included wall A/C power adapter to get the 1Amp per 8 cell charge rate. I am wondering if I can use Quick Charge power option for the VC8-PLUS off of my Solar Generator (free electricity) to charge at the increased 1 amp per 8 cells (which the VC8 original does not offer) The 1 amp 8 cell charging feature that is only available on the VC8-PLUS is not really worth it to me if I cannot use it without having to pay the light company. I could plug the included A/C adapter into the solar generator A/C outlet but it is less efficient as there is energy loss converting the solar generator's DC electricity to 120 volts. 2) Is there any meaningful difference (such as the amount of time it takes to complete the tests OR quality of the tests) when conducting capacity tests on 18650 cells with the VC8 versus the VC8-PLUS?
Not sure if I missed it in the video but will it cope with charging both LiIon 18650 and NiMH AAA/AA batteries at the same time? Looked like it would since it changed the label just for the slot you put the AAA in, but not sure if you tested that.
Yes mate I tried doing x4 AA ni-mh and then 2 18650 and a 21700 and it was fine. It seems to detect the cell type (per slot). So I didn't get any errors or issues.
Hi sorry for late reply. I made a measurement and I don't think it will work. once you take off the space taken up by the small contact at the top then add in the slider I don't see an 800mm length fitting sorry.
Safety note: better not to charge batteries overnight, even if the display dims. Put them on something fireproof if you do. I had a genuine Samsung phone charger start to smoulder recently!!
Totally agree, my opus charger catched fire during the night after I charged about 80 18650 cells on it. Luckily the cells taht were on charge at the moment did not catch fire.
can the xtar vc8 plus able to run off of QC3.0 3A Fast Charging? OR are you required to run off the included a/c adapter? i want to charge and test my 18650's using free electricity from the sun with the usb QC3.0 3A Fast Charging and avoid the loss the 120v transformer brings
Yes this is correct. In the manual for the grading function it doesn't mention this. But near the start it mentioned that slots 1-4 have more functions than all 8 slots. :-)
with the quickcharge only as the power supply can you charge 8 cells at 1 amp each with the vc8 plus? Have you tried using both the quick charge and the included dc adapter at the same time?
Good question. because you only have the two sets of buttons you have to set each set of 4 so the first current button lets you change the output on bays 1 to 4. the second current button on the right hand side controls output for bays 5 to 8. Hope that helps.
Hi there. if you have a USB in the car then yes. if you dont have a USB outlet in the car you can buy many different adapters which go into the 12v output in most cars.
No I didn't but I think I will. Don't laugh but I had a family member try to charge a set of 4 alkaline on a 4 bay xtar I bought for them! Thankfully nothing burst or burned!
tidak, bahkan pada amp tinggi sel tidak terlalu panas bagi saya. saya juga memiliki vc8 juga ya. (No I don't get any super hot cells even at high amp. I also own and use the vc8 which has been great since I bought it.
it seems the NiMH is limited to 140mah, as I saw in another review.....that is stupid slow, for me a reason to skip this one and get a better universal charger that supports 21700 for NiMH it's useless (so not all-in-one really) for li-ion it's a good charger, but not the best. The LiitoKala Lii-600 can do 4x3A so 3 times the speed of this one if you need to charge 4 cells at once (which is what I need). And if you really want 8 slots then the Lii-S8 is better too since it can do 4x2A and 8x1A where this only does 2A on 2 channels does the prototype version you are talking about in some comment improve the NiMH? I would be willing to forgive it the not-so-great 4slot speed compared to Lii-600 if I could use this for NiMH and replace my XTAR WP6 and Voltcraft IPC-1 with this unit. But strange that more then 6 months later there is no better 8slot then the VC8+ so maybe they ditched the prototype idea
I wasn't aware of those chargers so thanks for letting everyone know about them. The new version which still isn't out they just changed it so you have grading etc. on more channels. 140mah does sound a little low to me. I just used a AA nimh on the VC8 and it started at 419MAH I then took the same cell and put it in the VC8 Plus and it started charging at 440 mah. I'm not sure what the other review is doing there, can you send me the link il have a look and see what is going on.
At timeline 7:40, you attempt to charge a battery at 3000mA and it failed. It appears you must place a battery in either the far left bay (CH1) or the far right bay (CH8) which are the only bays labeled "Max. 3.1A." Give that a try.
It will charge all 8 slots at 1 amp. And will do a single slot at 3 amps. So it will charge pretty fast. If you have any other questions let me know I'll do my best to help. 😁
Yes this is usually the case with most cells, I have charged 26650 and a 21700 at 3a and they both get got warm but seemed ok. But I would guess that extremely fast charging will over time slightly reduced life cycles. I'm comfortable doing it as I have loads of cells and not enough time. But general users should avoid. You are right mate
@@TrailTrek I use a lot of 10440 and 14500 size batteries. What I don’t understand with these fast chargers is what happens if I only charge 1 or 2 small batteries at a time? Does it recognize that and only charge them at 0.5A, or will it make a mistake and charge 1 14500 at 3A?
Dam I'm so sorry to hear this! What did it so just die? I have 3 of the 8 bays and a few hand held and over all working hard so far. Thanks for the feedback on this one and so sorry yours was short lived
![Buy THIS Charger! [XTAR VC4 Plus]](/img/n.gif)
Great chargers from xtar - mine are running perfect years later, never had any issues with them.
I also like that they're starting to bung USB-C in their newer models - well done Xtar 👍
I agree I own 4 and the family have multiple units also. None have ever missed a beat yet after years.
@@TrailTrek just got a VC8. Nice video. Can you run the grade mode in all 8 slots or just 4? Thanks
It's just some of them unfortunately. They did do a prototype where it was all of them but never released it as far as I can see.
@@TrailTrek ok no big deal thanks. I had a little issue where slot 2 would work intermittently with protected 18650s but it eventually fixed itself. Never had problems with xtar. Thought I ordered the plus but I didn't. So now the plus is on the way. .5 amp is a little slow for me lol
Enjoy. I have 2 of the xtar 8 bays on my table here. Love them.
This channel is criminally underrated. Wish I could subscribe twice. Keep up the awesome reviews man!
WOW thank you so much. I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know you enjoy my content, my main aim is to be relaxed and fun. I also try to be informative and honest, its all the things i want out of a review channel so im extremely happy that you enjoy my content. Have a great day :-)
Great but not available on Amazon! I only see the lesser XTAR VC8. I need the DC input.
Yeah its very new mate just wait a bit and resellers will get it on there.
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.
Thanks for this I have never had this myself yet. I've used amazon, LADDA, Eneloop pro and normal and duracell AA/AAA and no issues for me so far. I cant think why it would do that but thanks for pointing this out I wasn't aware.
Excellent video mate, I have a question about the storage function, is it active in all 8 slots?
Hi mate no its only on some slots. I have been been testing a prototype of the new version though and I can use that function on all slots along with grading function. that wont be out for sale until next month I think.
I've got one and it's fantastic. The only way it could be better is if all 8 slots had the grading ability.,It would be nice to find one that did
Good point, I think they could do it, maybe it would raise costs or something im not sure why they wouldn't do that. I love mine 😁👍.
I was under the impression it will grade on all eight slots, please explain?
Sorry for late reply for all slot grading you will need to wait for the new version. I have tested it and works but they still have not released it.
@@TrailTrek I ordered mine from Amazon two weeks ago, I wonder if it will be a newer version. Will arrive next month.
@@TrailTrek what's the model number of the new model?
I have not had good luck with Xtar chargers, for me they don't last very long. What I rely on now is Nitecore chargers. (UMS series). Not as versatile but very reliable.
Cheers for this info, I love it when we can share this kind of info to potential buyers. I can say all of the nitecore chargers I've bought are still going although a few of them get a very slight whine noise when charging but it isn't a problem for me. I've been lucky with Xtar never had an issue myself so far.
@@TrailTrek I still have a Nitecore D4 that I have had for 6 or 7 years, and it works flawlessly, but old tech. Another brand I’m very fond of is Miboxer. The C2, C4 (version 3) or C8. Excellent chargers that perform very well. The termination voltages with the C4 have been the closest of any charger I have ever used. However did not detect the battery temp and shut off charging of dangerously hot batteries. This was corrected in the newer C4-12 which also charges at 3amps max. The Nitecore UMS4 has more features and therefore gets more use.
Great review. BTW I really like those battery holders, where can I buy them? Cheers
Where are you living, Amazon and eBay are usually the quickest options to get them.
I think they’re called Powerpax Storacell (after much hunting to find them)
@@edge306uk Thanks!!
Just realized I purchased the first version and not the plus. Oh well not like I’m in a hurry to recharge my batteries. Still like it a lot compared to the Zanflare I had. That charger just didn’t seem very accurate at all.
Exactly as you say it wont make much difference. You will still end up with nicely charged cells :-) I hope you enjoy it mate.
OK I've come up with 2 basic questions that I am hoping you will be kind enough to answer for me.
1) With the VC8-PLUS, can you use usb Quick Charge to power the charger (without the included A/C wall adapter) to charge eight 18650 batteries at 1 Amp charging rate OR must you plug the VC8-PLUS into the wall through the included wall A/C power adapter to get the 1Amp per 8 cell charge rate. I am wondering if I can use Quick Charge power option for the VC8-PLUS off of my Solar Generator (free electricity) to charge at the increased 1 amp per 8 cells (which the VC8 original does not offer)
The 1 amp 8 cell charging feature that is only available on the VC8-PLUS is not really worth it to me if I cannot use it without having to pay the light company. I could plug the included A/C adapter into the solar generator A/C outlet but it is less efficient as there is energy loss converting the solar generator's DC electricity to 120 volts.
2) Is there any meaningful difference (such as the amount of time it takes to complete the tests OR quality of the tests) when conducting capacity tests on 18650 cells with the VC8 versus the VC8-PLUS?
Not sure if I missed it in the video but will it cope with charging both LiIon 18650 and NiMH AAA/AA batteries at the same time? Looked like it would since it changed the label just for the slot you put the AAA in, but not sure if you tested that.
The box said ni-mh so I assume so most of them will
@@james10739 yeah Richy showed it charging them, but not as the same time as lithium batteries
Yes mate I tried doing x4 AA ni-mh and then 2 18650 and a 21700 and it was fine. It seems to detect the cell type (per slot). So I didn't get any errors or issues.
Yeah it detects per slot for me, I did a handful of AA with some lithium ion in as well and it didn't cause any issues for me.
Yeah I should have covered that, it will detect per slot 😁👍
Can i ask for the measurement if you fully drag the slider to the bottom? Hoping it would fit a 26800 cell
Hi sorry for late reply. I made a measurement and I don't think it will work. once you take off the space taken up by the small contact at the top then add in the slider I don't see an 800mm length fitting sorry.
@@TrailTrek Thank you
Safety note: better not to charge batteries overnight, even if the display dims. Put them on something fireproof if you do. I had a genuine Samsung phone charger start to smoulder recently!!
Completely agree mate, i never leave an cells charging overnight i always do them when im there to keep an eye on them.
This is always good advice, always.
Totally agree, my opus charger catched fire during the night after I charged about 80 18650 cells on it. Luckily the cells taht were on charge at the moment did not catch fire.
Wow I hope nothing else got damaged. Say safe 👍😁
@@TrailTrek i need to select good from bad cells to build packs occasionally, would you reccomend the vc8 plus as a replacement for my opus?
can the xtar vc8 plus able to run off of QC3.0 3A Fast Charging? OR are you required to run off the included a/c adapter?
i want to charge and test my 18650's using free electricity from the sun with the usb QC3.0 3A Fast Charging and avoid the loss the 120v transformer brings
Hello.thr Grad function works only on 4 ports,like the old one?thx
Yes this is correct. In the manual for the grading function it doesn't mention this. But near the start it mentioned that slots 1-4 have more functions than all 8 slots. :-)
with the quickcharge only as the power supply can you charge 8 cells at 1 amp each with the vc8 plus? Have you tried using both the quick charge and the included dc adapter at the same time?
Can you individually control each bay for different settings? Example, 1 bay at 2amp and 3rd bay at1amp or do they all have to be the same?
Good question. because you only have the two sets of buttons you have to set each set of 4 so the first current button lets you change the output on bays 1 to 4. the second current button on the right hand side controls output for bays 5 to 8. Hope that helps.
Hi,
Can I use this via usb c in the car?
Thanks
Hi there. if you have a USB in the car then yes. if you dont have a USB outlet in the car you can buy many different adapters which go into the 12v output in most cars.
@@TrailTrek thanks 🙏
Did you ever try alkaline batteries... I did and it came up with ni mh
No I didn't but I think I will. Don't laugh but I had a family member try to charge a set of 4 alkaline on a 4 bay xtar I bought for them! Thankfully nothing burst or burned!
batrenya panas ga om pas di charger pakai xstar vc8?
tidak, bahkan pada amp tinggi sel tidak terlalu panas bagi saya. saya juga memiliki vc8 juga ya.
(No I don't get any super hot cells even at high amp. I also own and use the vc8 which has been great since I bought it.
it seems the NiMH is limited to 140mah, as I saw in another review.....that is stupid slow, for me a reason to skip this one and get a better universal charger that supports 21700
for NiMH it's useless (so not all-in-one really)
for li-ion it's a good charger, but not the best. The LiitoKala Lii-600 can do 4x3A so 3 times the speed of this one if you need to charge 4 cells at once (which is what I need). And if you really want 8 slots then the Lii-S8 is better too since it can do 4x2A and 8x1A where this only does 2A on 2 channels
does the prototype version you are talking about in some comment improve the NiMH?
I would be willing to forgive it the not-so-great 4slot speed compared to Lii-600 if I could use this for NiMH and replace my XTAR WP6 and Voltcraft IPC-1 with this unit.
But strange that more then 6 months later there is no better 8slot then the VC8+ so maybe they ditched the prototype idea
I wasn't aware of those chargers so thanks for letting everyone know about them. The new version which still isn't out they just changed it so you have grading etc. on more channels. 140mah does sound a little low to me. I just used a AA nimh on the VC8 and it started at 419MAH I then took the same cell and put it in the VC8 Plus and it started charging at 440 mah. I'm not sure what the other review is doing there, can you send me the link il have a look and see what is going on.
great video!!!! thanks
Very welcome thanks. 😃👍
At timeline 7:40, you attempt to charge a battery at 3000mA and it failed. It appears you must place a battery in either the far left bay (CH1) or the far right bay (CH8) which are the only bays labeled "Max. 3.1A." Give that a try.
Yes cheers this is right I have to use those slots. I think they need to add some white ink to the denoted slot text as at first it's hard to see.
20 minute review??!? Are you ok mate? 😲😄😄
I know this startled me as well. When I was editing I saw the timeline and thought I mist have lost some footage! ha ha ha
So 3A divide 8 =😂 long changing 🤷♂️
It will charge all 8 slots at 1 amp. And will do a single slot at 3 amps.
So it will charge pretty fast.
If you have any other questions let me know I'll do my best to help. 😁
The package come with 12V 3A adapter,so it can max 3A for 1slot, and 1A for 8 slot
3A is really only for emergency fast charging anyway, right Richy? As I understand it the cells won't last as long if you make a habit of it.
Yes this is usually the case with most cells, I have charged 26650 and a 21700 at 3a and they both get got warm but seemed ok. But I would guess that extremely fast charging will over time slightly reduced life cycles. I'm comfortable doing it as I have loads of cells and not enough time. But general users should avoid. You are right mate
@@TrailTrek I use a lot of 10440 and 14500 size batteries. What I don’t understand with these fast chargers is what happens if I only charge 1 or 2 small batteries at a time? Does it recognize that and only charge them at 0.5A, or will it make a mistake and charge 1 14500 at 3A?
junk mine last for 12 days zero support
Dam I'm so sorry to hear this! What did it so just die? I have 3 of the 8 bays and a few hand held and over all working hard so far.
Thanks for the feedback on this one and so sorry yours was short lived
@@TrailTrek 4 of the cell stations right side stopped working just after 90 days the left side is active
@@FredDunham Thats terrible mate, are you based in the UK?