Comments on the OEM Ripvan 100 Charger
- Thread starter BigBelly
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nice website...are you a journalistic photographer?
the difference is the smart features. sure get hot one. my definition of hot could be different from yours.
there is this cool-charging feature of the smart charger and I quote from the ripvan100 website:
"Protect Your Rechargeable Battery Investment!
Heat destroys rechargeable batteries. The fast charge times found in most "rapid" rechargers produces high charging temperatures which can quickly kill optimum charge life. The Lightning Pack 4000N's "Cool-Charging" feature uses "micro bursts" of current to charge the cells, preventing overheating by not overwhelming the battery with too much current. Most rapid chargers lack this feature, consequently exposing batteries to maximum current and high temperature! (The MAHA C204F and the Rayovac 1hr Charger are two notorious examples of charger overheating.)"
i'm really not sure what temperature batteries heat up to while charging. all i know is that 52C is the temp which will cut off the power supply to the charger to protect the batteries and hence i suspect that any temperature above that will spoil the batteries and perhaps other chargers like your normal quick charger heats up the battery to more than 52C for longer periods of time. i'm really not sure.
the difference is the smart features. sure get hot one. my definition of hot could be different from yours.
there is this cool-charging feature of the smart charger and I quote from the ripvan100 website:
"Protect Your Rechargeable Battery Investment!
Heat destroys rechargeable batteries. The fast charge times found in most "rapid" rechargers produces high charging temperatures which can quickly kill optimum charge life. The Lightning Pack 4000N's "Cool-Charging" feature uses "micro bursts" of current to charge the cells, preventing overheating by not overwhelming the battery with too much current. Most rapid chargers lack this feature, consequently exposing batteries to maximum current and high temperature! (The MAHA C204F and the Rayovac 1hr Charger are two notorious examples of charger overheating.)"
i'm really not sure what temperature batteries heat up to while charging. all i know is that 52C is the temp which will cut off the power supply to the charger to protect the batteries and hence i suspect that any temperature above that will spoil the batteries and perhaps other chargers like your normal quick charger heats up the battery to more than 52C for longer periods of time. i'm really not sure.
Knighthunter
Senior Member
Hi Eastgear,Originally posted by EastGear
Isomers,
Thanks for purchasing the charger from me yesterday (Friday).
All chargers are covered by 1 year limited warranty and 14 days 1-for-1 exchange.
EastGear
When you can exchange mine? Is it possible this Sunday at CT Hall area. Try to contact you but your PM is full.
I need the charger by next week!
Contact/SMS me at 97974972
Please read BigBelly discussion to determine if your charger has a manufacture defect.
In summary, the charger is faulty if:
1) LED does not light up AT ALL during usage
2) LED of right bank switches off after about 1 minute of charger usage.
The charger is NOT faulty if:
1) LED turns off after more than 3 hours of charging
2) LED turns off after charger gets very hot (>52 degess celsius) within 1h 45mins of usage
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate contact me at 96226876.
For those who have faulty chargers for exchange:
I will be in Takashimaya, Orchard Road area from 1-3pm today (21/12 saturday). Please sms/call me at 96226876 to confirm collection. Otherwise I will arrange another collection tomorrow (sunday) near penisula plaza area.
Thanks,
EastGear
In summary, the charger is faulty if:
1) LED does not light up AT ALL during usage
2) LED of right bank switches off after about 1 minute of charger usage.
The charger is NOT faulty if:
1) LED turns off after more than 3 hours of charging
2) LED turns off after charger gets very hot (>52 degess celsius) within 1h 45mins of usage
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate contact me at 96226876.
For those who have faulty chargers for exchange:
I will be in Takashimaya, Orchard Road area from 1-3pm today (21/12 saturday). Please sms/call me at 96226876 to confirm collection. Otherwise I will arrange another collection tomorrow (sunday) near penisula plaza area.
Thanks,
EastGear
Knighthunter
Senior Member
I think mine is fall into category 2, but the LED light up more than one minute. But it switch off atfer about 10~15 minutes and never turn on again. The left bank show no sign of this behaviour. Currently I only charge my batteries with left bank only. Today I can't make it since I am working. Tomorrow at CTHall/Peninsula will be better.
Thanks for your response.
Thedi David
Your PM still full!
Thanks for your response.
Thedi David
Your PM still full!
isomers007
Senior Member
Originally posted by EastGear
Isomers,
Thanks for purchasing the charger from me yesterday (Friday).
All chargers are covered by 1 year limited warranty and 14 days 1-for-1 exchange.
EastGear
thanx...like it. didnt know it's dat compact. i checked and it's working juz fine...except the LED doesnt light up when i tried charging a freshly charged batt. supposed to do dat rite (??) in regards to ur explanation that LED turns off after charger gets very hot (>52 degess celsius) within 1h 45mins of usage...
F
faithfoo
Guest
Ay prob with recent batches RipVan100 Lightning Pack 4000N that is bought in by Eastgear ??
C
camfire
Guest
I have similar experience with the charger and have reported by email to Eastgear on 21 June which I shall list below:
1 I charged the new Sanyo 2100 AA battery set pof 4 purchased also from EG but found that the battery heated up - why is it called cold charging?
2 After being left overnight there was no trickle charging and the lights went dark and it never lit up again
3 after unplugging from mains and plugging back, the charger charges again and stopped about half an hour later at which time the batteries heated up considerably. There was no trickle charging as described in attached instruction
4 Only after 4 cycles of doing the above did the trickle charge mode appear
5 Why did the battery heat up to almost burning feeling to the finger when it is supposed to be cold charging?
6 It is unfortunate that the manufacturer does not seem to have a reasonable quality control as so many have reported "faults"
7 How can we confidently use the charger as the battery might even be overcharged and affect the digicam which will be a real problem?
8 Can the manufacturer explain all these reported happenings to the charger?
9 Would it not be in the interest of East Gear to test out a random number of the chargers and see for themselves in order to address the problem more realistically?
10 I am glad that a 1 to 1 change is offered but hope this will not recur on the new units. BTW, I did not get a receipt for the purchase. How does EG track the warranty procedure to make sure the product is purchased from them and not elsewhere?
1 I charged the new Sanyo 2100 AA battery set pof 4 purchased also from EG but found that the battery heated up - why is it called cold charging?
2 After being left overnight there was no trickle charging and the lights went dark and it never lit up again
3 after unplugging from mains and plugging back, the charger charges again and stopped about half an hour later at which time the batteries heated up considerably. There was no trickle charging as described in attached instruction
4 Only after 4 cycles of doing the above did the trickle charge mode appear
5 Why did the battery heat up to almost burning feeling to the finger when it is supposed to be cold charging?
6 It is unfortunate that the manufacturer does not seem to have a reasonable quality control as so many have reported "faults"
7 How can we confidently use the charger as the battery might even be overcharged and affect the digicam which will be a real problem?
8 Can the manufacturer explain all these reported happenings to the charger?
9 Would it not be in the interest of East Gear to test out a random number of the chargers and see for themselves in order to address the problem more realistically?
10 I am glad that a 1 to 1 change is offered but hope this will not recur on the new units. BTW, I did not get a receipt for the purchase. How does EG track the warranty procedure to make sure the product is purchased from them and not elsewhere?
Dear WF Chew,
Allow me to reply on behalf of Eastgear.
The OEM Ripvan charger was imported into Singapore as it met certain criteria. First it is a travel friendly charger. Second, it employed the new cut off techniques. Third, it has a discharge function. Fourth, it has trickle charge mode. There was no knowledge that the charger was an OEM of the Ripvan until pointed out by some CS members. Mostly importantly, it is an affordable charger with all the functions available.
Most if not all chargers currently in the market claim to have the dV cut off and trickle charge but there is no indication from the charger that the batteries are indeed in trickle charge mode or have been cut off due to overheating. Hence how would you know your GP or Sanyo charger is indeed in trickle charge mode or how would you know that the charging was not cut off due to overheating or exceeding the timer? There is no way to tell.
The OEM Ripvan charger however tries to give an indication to the user on the status of the battery and hence the different light signals. This is where its "weakness" is also as users tend to get frustrated when what is stated in the manual does not happen physically. In short, it is trying to provide additional information to the user but while doing so creates problems.
If the batteries do not go into trickle charge mode, it is either due to the thermal or timer safety cut off kicking in.
We admit that this is a major fault of the charger and we have reported this inconsistency to the manufacturer.
Overheating issue: Indeed the batteries charged by the charger is hot to the touch and not 'cool' as claimed by the manufacturer and Ripvan. The explanation given was that due to the high charging currently, it is inevitable that the high temperature occurs. The reasoning is to our opinion insufficient and misleading. However this heating is present in every quick charger I have used except the Maha 100 minute charger.
The warranty is provided by the manufacturer and hence we pass them to the consumer. Currently this model is only brought in by Eastgear.
We have reported your feedback and dissatisfaction to the manufacturer and hope that they take serious consideration into this matter.
Thank you for your feedback.
Allow me to reply on behalf of Eastgear.
The OEM Ripvan charger was imported into Singapore as it met certain criteria. First it is a travel friendly charger. Second, it employed the new cut off techniques. Third, it has a discharge function. Fourth, it has trickle charge mode. There was no knowledge that the charger was an OEM of the Ripvan until pointed out by some CS members. Mostly importantly, it is an affordable charger with all the functions available.
Most if not all chargers currently in the market claim to have the dV cut off and trickle charge but there is no indication from the charger that the batteries are indeed in trickle charge mode or have been cut off due to overheating. Hence how would you know your GP or Sanyo charger is indeed in trickle charge mode or how would you know that the charging was not cut off due to overheating or exceeding the timer? There is no way to tell.
The OEM Ripvan charger however tries to give an indication to the user on the status of the battery and hence the different light signals. This is where its "weakness" is also as users tend to get frustrated when what is stated in the manual does not happen physically. In short, it is trying to provide additional information to the user but while doing so creates problems.
If the batteries do not go into trickle charge mode, it is either due to the thermal or timer safety cut off kicking in.
We admit that this is a major fault of the charger and we have reported this inconsistency to the manufacturer.
Overheating issue: Indeed the batteries charged by the charger is hot to the touch and not 'cool' as claimed by the manufacturer and Ripvan. The explanation given was that due to the high charging currently, it is inevitable that the high temperature occurs. The reasoning is to our opinion insufficient and misleading. However this heating is present in every quick charger I have used except the Maha 100 minute charger.
The warranty is provided by the manufacturer and hence we pass them to the consumer. Currently this model is only brought in by Eastgear.
We have reported your feedback and dissatisfaction to the manufacturer and hope that they take serious consideration into this matter.
Thank you for your feedback.
C
camfire
Guest
Thanks Belly for your reply and for refering the matter to the OEM manufacturer for their investigation and correction. I would emphasize some points which may escape their attention:
Fully understand that it is good value if they provide the 3 key features as below as these are the very reasons I bought it although I have a Sanyo quick charge NC-MQR01 that was bundled with the digicam purchase.
1 COOL CHARGING the heat generated in charging a new or aexhausted battery is apparently no less than my Sanyo charger. Perhaps the RV100 cutoff would prevent prolonged heating provided the charger starts again after "timer shutoff" but it did not - probably due to defect in manufacture I hope the replacement unit would be able to restart after "cooling" or timer cutoff. I think we can live with the heated (but not too long) battery but the charging should restart after timing out.
2 Trickle charging seems to work although its ability is clouded by the timer/restart trouble
3 Discharging seems to work and the battery did start charging after discharging.
Thanks again for your attention.
Fully understand that it is good value if they provide the 3 key features as below as these are the very reasons I bought it although I have a Sanyo quick charge NC-MQR01 that was bundled with the digicam purchase.
1 COOL CHARGING the heat generated in charging a new or aexhausted battery is apparently no less than my Sanyo charger. Perhaps the RV100 cutoff would prevent prolonged heating provided the charger starts again after "timer shutoff" but it did not - probably due to defect in manufacture I hope the replacement unit would be able to restart after "cooling" or timer cutoff. I think we can live with the heated (but not too long) battery but the charging should restart after timing out.
2 Trickle charging seems to work although its ability is clouded by the timer/restart trouble
3 Discharging seems to work and the battery did start charging after discharging.
Thanks again for your attention.
C
camfire
Guest
Hi East Gear,
I called and SMS your advertised cell number 96226876 to arrange for the swap today after 3 pm but did not get acknowledgement for over one hour. Pls confirm goods ready.
I called and SMS your advertised cell number 96226876 to arrange for the swap today after 3 pm but did not get acknowledgement for over one hour. Pls confirm goods ready.
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