Dive light from E-Bay -- Great buy!!!

[fmerkel]

You won't regret the Opus. Your ability to understand what is happening with the batteries will take a big step up.

Cautionary note - The fan is lame. I strongly suggest you lube it immediately before the bearing wears. This is the one thing some people really hate on this charger to the point they would rather use something else. Personally I don't think it's a big deal, but I don't have any problems with hands-on repair. This is a replacement video, not a lube video. Just take off the paper sticker and you can see the bearing. Good oil, NOT WD-40.
replacing noisy fan in my Opus BT-C3100

 

[stuartv]

Well THANKS @stuartv because of you I went and purchased one of the OPUS chargers yesterday. On my desk I have probably 4 or 5 chargers, some came with lights, some I bought a while ago for specific cells (Powerex AA) but then I saw this beautiful little holy grail of chargers. I will let ya know how it goes when I get it. Thanks!

LOL!! Well, I hope it doesn't turn out to be a dud!

 

[stuartv]

You won't regret the Opus. Your ability to understand what is happening with the batteries will take a big step up.

Cautionary note - The fan is lame. I strongly suggest you lube it immediately before the bearing wears. This is the one thing some people really hate on this charger to the point they would rather use something else. Personally I don't think it's a big deal, but I don't have any problems with hands-on repair. This is a replacement video, not a lube video. Just take off the paper sticker and you can see the bearing. Good oil, NOT WD-40.
replacing noisy fan in my Opus BT-C3100

Thanks for that tip! Mine is kinda loud, but it's in a room where the noise doesn't bother me, so I never thought to try and do anything about it.

What kind of oil would one use?

 

[fmerkel]

I fly RC so have some top end bearing oil, which is the first thing I tried, worked OK. What I found works best......for me....is I have some VERY high quality silicone grease for rebuilding regs (Christolube, Tribolube). I apply that with a syringe, just takes a teensie bit. The thick lumpy stuff like Trident or plumbing grease is too thick for the little fan to overcome the viscosity.

Sewing machine, 3-in-1, even low viscosity car oil are easier to apply and work fine, though don't last quite as long. I get 6+ months out of a lube. It whines because it's a tiny fan, but it always runs and never squeals. When it acts up, lube it again.

FWIW I wired an 80mm computer fan to a 12v 'wall wart, put 8 of those screws used to mount them in a PC case in the corners to make stands, and just sit the whole charger on top of that if it's doing heavy duty work like discharging, cycling, or fast charging large cells. Superior cooling and pretty quiet. I've heard of people using laptop cooling pads the same way.

 

[Doby45]

Thanks for the info @fmerkel and I have access to a ton of computer case fans, so I will proactively setup a little cooling station as well.

 

[Doby45]

Got the OPUS and lemme tell ya, I LOVE it and I HATE it.. I love how awesome it is charging and testing batteries. I HATE the fact that it shows me how crappy my batteries are.

I have some 26650 Trustfire, Ultrafire, Shitfire batteries that I thought were awesome because the wrapper says 7400mah. Those are the biggest pieces of crap. The best one of those tests out at 2200mah and another one is 1800mah.

I have a bunch of different 18650s as I use them for my backup lights and also my primary flashlight on my duty belt and duty rifle. I tested all of them and they too failed to impress. 3400mah labeled batteries testing at 2800mah. I took two laptop batteries apart and scavenged the cells out of those to see how they tested. 2100mah from the no name cells in one battery pack. 2500mah from the Samsung labeled cells in the other battery pack.

The batteries that came with my DGX600 are labeled 3000mah and they actually test out at 2800mah.

So now, much like @stuartv I am on a mission to find some GOOD, ACCURATE, INEXPENSIVE cells.. But thanks for the info on the charger Stuart. I love it..

 

[stuartv]

Got the OPUS and lemme tell ya, I LOVE it and I HATE it.. I love how awesome it is charging and testing batteries. I HATE the fact that it shows me how crappy my batteries are.

...

So now, much like @stuartv I am on a mission to find some GOOD, ACCURATE, INEXPENSIVE cells.. But thanks for the info on the charger Stuart. I love it..

Well, it's good to know...

I'm glad the charger is working out for you.

 

[stuartv]

ps. My good 18650s are plain red wrappers that were sold as Sanyo 3400mAh, IIRC. And they test around 3200 - 3300. They were about $8 or 9 each from a Canadian seller on eBay, again IIRC.

My good 26650s are Soshine and they were less than $7 each from an eBay seller.

Soshine 4pcs/lot 26650 5500mAh PCB Protected Rechargeable Li-ion Battery B4S2

 

[Doby45]

ps. My good 18650s are plain red wrappers that were sold as Sanyo 3400mAh, IIRC. And they test around 3200 - 3300. They were about $8 or 9 each from a Canadian seller on eBay, again IIRC.

My good 26650s are Soshine and they were less than $7 each from an eBay seller.

Soshine 4pcs/lot 26650 5500mAh PCB Protected Rechargeable Li-ion Battery B4S2

I was JUST looking at these..

2x PANASONIC-SANYO NCR18650GA 3500mAh 3.7V Li-ion Rechargeable Battery - JAPAN

 

[stuartv]

I was JUST looking at these..

2x PANASONIC-SANYO NCR18650GA 3500mAh 3.7V Li-ion Rechargeable Battery - JAPAN

Those look good... except that they are Unprotected. Personally, I have been trying to only buy protected cells, just to be SURE I don't have issues. It SHOULDN'T be a problem, but....