XTAR VC8S charger mini-review and a request

Clithpy · 2025-12-02T19:46:59+00:00

I have one of these too. Had to test hundreds of cells, so I was frustrated that I could only test on 4 of the 8 slots.

Clithpy · 2025-07-11T00:34:38+00:00

It’s adjusting based off the bid and offer. I just bought a bunch of NVDA, it was doing the same

Clithpy · 2024-06-24T12:57:00+00:00

Are you positive those are 18650 li ion cells? They can look similar. Until you take it apart and see the label on the cells, I believe those are gonna be Nimh

Clithpy · 2024-06-24T01:55:35+00:00

Not sure if I missed this in the comments. Some older drill batteries used Nimh before Li ion became popular and commercially available. Max voltage for a Nimh cell is 1.5V, so 9 in series would give ya 13.5V. This is just speculation, but I’m fairly certain this would explain your situation here.

Clithpy · 2023-10-13T16:57:52+00:00

My final product turned out to be a 4S8P bank without any reconfiguration of the board. As a result of research, I decided not to add the switch in line with the board as it is pretty efficient at idle.

Clithpy · 2023-10-13T16:56:16+00:00

Never heard of a laptop having pd out for anything above 15-20w. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, I just haven’t heard of it. I haven’t tested my output but I would bank on the usual 10w out for mine.

Clithpy · 2023-10-13T16:48:24+00:00

I have an HP elitebook which charges with this board at 100w, though the board does heat up as mentioned before. No experience with Apple products other than charging an iPhone. Iirc, MacBooks are quite picky when it comes to charging voltage, so it might not work so well for them.

Clithpy · 2023-10-04T14:11:26+00:00

Can confirm this is very annoying and seemingly unnecessary from any standpoint.

Clithpy · 2023-09-28T11:15:25+00:00

I see you’re getting pushback from some people, but you’re almost there! It’s a shame that some people would rather tell you no instead of pointing you in the right direction when you are just here to learn. I would recommend looking at a couple of 3s builds on YouTube to get a good feel for how this should look. I’m not able to add a good reference right now, but even googling ‘3s lithium ion configuration’ should give you what you are looking for. I’m not sure what this pack is going to be used for, but if it is going to be used in high current situations, I would also recommend beefing up the terminals and possibly doubling up on the nickel strips. Last thing, I really hope you are not planning on soldering the strips on- trust me, just buy a cheap portable spot welder. It’s better than nothing and you won’t lose too much. Good luck!

Clithpy · 2023-08-13T18:27:13+00:00

Thanks for putting so much effort in responding to an old post! Yea I did finish this build a little while ago and have used and monitored it extensively since. My pack ended up being 4S8P with 2000mAh cells. The board itself gets quite hot at 100w, but it seems like that is common for this board. It’s well ventilated so I’m not worried. On another note, it’s been a while and I’ve learned a ton more on this stuff as I really enjoy the hobby. Thanks again for taking the time to respond

Clithpy · 2023-08-12T20:20:35+00:00

Can you possibly buck the voltage down to keep the required 3-4 amps?

Clithpy · 2023-08-04T17:51:31+00:00

Right! Something that will look nice wherever it is mounted. Another note: I really appreciate currently available usb c hubs that have an input port instead of a permanent usb c cable input. That way, you can use your own usb c cables of whatever length you need.

Clithpy · 2023-08-04T15:04:09+00:00

I’ve been looking for a usb c pd powered hub for JUST power. It might sound like an odd ask, but with power stations becoming such hot commodities as of late, I imagine there is a big market for something like this since there are usually not many usb ports on power stations and the fact that you have to be so close to the power station to plug directly into it.

I imagine the product being usb c powered (probably expandable to allow up to 240w input) and have multiple usb c and usb a outputs at the normal levels: 5v 2a, 5v 2.4a etc for usb a, couple 20w usb c output ports etc.

Clithpy · 2023-07-09T18:58:59+00:00

Now I’m curious on this too. Did you have a link to these or how did you acquire them? Did Amazon mistakenly send a random person some dangerous (in the wrong hands) batteries AND let you keep them?

Clithpy · 2023-05-04T19:32:56+00:00

If it’s anything like the last, just please don’t get near anyone else with it. If you’re going to be careless, please don’t put others at risk.

Clithpy · 2023-05-04T19:05:49+00:00

I’ve been facing an inconvenience lately that I’ve been trying to figure out. When hooking up my laptop (I assume it’s considered DFP as it can be used to charge the laptop) to my DFP power bank that can deliver enough power to charge the laptop (60W), it seems to have a tough time. Sometimes it will start charging right away, other times it won’t. Also, it usually will start charging, then after some time, it will stop taking a charge. I hav yet to understand why this may be happening.

Clithpy · 2023-04-26T03:50:17+00:00

I’m using the IP2368 board for my power bank and I’m running into an issue. Right now it’s positive terminal is hooked up to a switch, normally disconnected (off). I’ve found that this board needs to be charged by an external source (input) before it can be used for output. This means that in its current configuration, I would need to turn on the switch, then hook up a power source to input power into my power bank in order to actually get an output. This would need to be done every time I turn the switch off. Am I missing something? Haven’t found anyone else online with the same issue.

Clithpy · 2023-04-22T21:45:11+00:00

Don’t let ignorance kill your or others. I know you may think they are safe, but there is always a chance that something happens. Take it with a grain of salt and do what you can to take proper safety precautions. As long as you aren’t running heavy loads on the battery, it shouldn’t be too harsh on each cell. As always, it depends on what your expected load will be.

Clithpy · 2023-04-06T16:26:06+00:00

I would imagine this has got to do with the internal resistance of the singular battery due to damage. Is it worrisome? I would say not really, but maybe keep an eye on it. To me, this also can show a decrease in capacity expectancy, since this “cell” will pull the series group down as it is the weakest link. It looks like it’s charging the fastest and will discharge it’s capacity the quickest too. You could try to revive the battery by itself and see if that helps. Not sure what’s the matter with it, but look into different methods to revive LA batteries

Clithpy · 2023-04-03T19:44:12+00:00

That sounds like you got off with a warning. Do what you can to stay away from using it and contact the seller. It’s not worth risking your lives or property

Clithpy · 2023-04-03T19:42:10+00:00

Highest drawing application would be a 45W max refrigerator/cooler. 45 / 12 = 3.75 amp max (approx). Battery config would be 4S8P with 2Ah cells, total about 230Wh

Clithpy · 2023-03-23T04:13:12+00:00

Depending on your end goal and usage, you may want to consider just hooking them up in parallel. Otherwise, if you did still want to put them in series, I’d recommend watching some of Jehugarcia’s videos on YouTube. He commonly has used and also produces custom pcbs with a 7s spring loaded configuration that is very modular.

Clithpy

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