fmerkel
Contributor
The Opus gets a lot of grief about the little fan. It's easy to lube, and you can change it out for better if you want. I've had one for years, probably overall my best charger, and I have a mess of them. The fan helps cool the charge allowing higher charge and discharge settings than similar chargers, most of which don't have a fan, so are limited to 0.5A discharge.
Even so, when working hard I point a small fan at ANY charger I have. Heat is the enemy of batteries.
There is a small switch inside the Opus allowing various setting that can be quite useful, like for storage of Li-on. I cut a hole in the bottom of mine so I could access it with a small screwdriver.
You can do the same with the charger you have by charging Li-on as LiFe.
For steel round cells I don't bother with a lipo bag. The probability of catastrophic fire with GOOD cells, is extremely low. So, knowing with some reliability that your cells ARE good is one of the main functions of an analyzing charger. The bag would also trap heat, which you do not want. Lipo bags were designed for lipoly cells which you charge externally on a wire lead, not in the charger itself. I do have a smoke alarm close by
The Xtar Dragon is an excellent charger, but expensive. Internal resistance check is superior.
LitoKala Li-500 is a bit more limited but fine. I have a couple. The newer 500S is not quite as good. Unfortunately the internal resistance function is faulty, but otherwise a good charger.
Zanflare C4 is essentially identical to the Li-500 but the internal resistance works better than most. Possibly my 2nd favorite charger. It's harder to get though. Amazon has been out of stock for a long time.
Review - Review of Charger Zanflare C4
https://lygte-info.dk/review/Review%20Charger%20LiitoKala%20Lii-500%20UK.html
(Note - ANY charger testing internal resistance using slide holders is subject to the resistance of the holding circuit and readings that are not completely reliable, but they are way better than nothing.)
Even so, when working hard I point a small fan at ANY charger I have. Heat is the enemy of batteries.
There is a small switch inside the Opus allowing various setting that can be quite useful, like for storage of Li-on. I cut a hole in the bottom of mine so I could access it with a small screwdriver.
You can do the same with the charger you have by charging Li-on as LiFe.
For steel round cells I don't bother with a lipo bag. The probability of catastrophic fire with GOOD cells, is extremely low. So, knowing with some reliability that your cells ARE good is one of the main functions of an analyzing charger. The bag would also trap heat, which you do not want. Lipo bags were designed for lipoly cells which you charge externally on a wire lead, not in the charger itself. I do have a smoke alarm close by
The Xtar Dragon is an excellent charger, but expensive. Internal resistance check is superior.
LitoKala Li-500 is a bit more limited but fine. I have a couple. The newer 500S is not quite as good. Unfortunately the internal resistance function is faulty, but otherwise a good charger.
Zanflare C4 is essentially identical to the Li-500 but the internal resistance works better than most. Possibly my 2nd favorite charger. It's harder to get though. Amazon has been out of stock for a long time.
Review - Review of Charger Zanflare C4
https://lygte-info.dk/review/Review%20Charger%20LiitoKala%20Lii-500%20UK.html
(Note - ANY charger testing internal resistance using slide holders is subject to the resistance of the holding circuit and readings that are not completely reliable, but they are way better than nothing.)
