OF
Well-Known Member
Does anyone know of a good, cheaper alternative to the Air Dual Battery Charger on arizer.com? $45 dollars seems expensive for a charger. Maybe if it came with two batteries it would be worth it, but it doesn't.
While there are some (often strongly expressed) opinions, I think nobody knows. Many think they do, evidently, but we've been specifically warned by Arizer not to substitute (either battery or charger) for undefined 'safety reasons'. It will also violate the warranty, although some expressed a willingness to ignore/not mention it should a problem develop.
Based on the photo, some 'experts' identified the charger as being 'a cheap $8 charger from China. Indeed there's reason to think that might be the case. Consider these two under ten dollar chargers from China, two 'peas in a pod'? Just like the one from Arizer?
Even a very careful inspection fails to find any appearance differences. The line cords seem identical, molding details of the cases as well. It's only when you turn them over, a difference appears:
Notice a HUGE difference there? 4.2 Volts as opposed to 4.35 Volts in the case of the version with the sticker. Which do you suppose Arizer is really using? Perhaps even something different again?
Centizen and Pipes were looking into the charger/battery deal. I suspect they'll find that 'there's nothing special going on advice' so common is not solid. My guess is Air pushes the battery performance envelope past normal values. Selecting a battery and charging level suitable for the extended performance. Use of 'normal batteries' could lead to early damage/failure due to higher and lower discharge levels (remember, these are unprotected batteries). Likewise, I fear that the factory charger could be very hard on other 18650s not suitable to the over charge and use of a 'normal charger', while it would not hurt the factory battery probably, would lead to less run time?
For now the safest advice is, I think, to use the factory battery (a spare isn't all that expensive, reallly) and charge in the Air until we know more. Someone reporting the nameplate information from the factory charger would be most welcome.......
OF