Using a very cheap single cell lithium battery charger module based on the TP4056. For less than £1 you can make a safe and effective lipo battery charger. The UltraFire cell used has a very low energy capacity (much lower than the stated 3000mAh) so charging should have been quick, but an interesting side-effect of its high internal resistance may have slowed down the charge time.

By Julian

Youtuber, shed dweller, solar charge controller aficionado

14 thoughts on “Charging a lithium 18650 cell using the tp4056”
  1. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars KRYPTO CAT says:

    Can i charge 2 parallel lithium ion cells of 2500mAh each through a single TP4056 module

  2. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Captain Prototype says:

    With s ome batteries that are shady , the module, right away displays a very small blue (or red, cant remember which) led when you plug it in to charge. The last lion cell that I tried had a stable voltage of 0.86 volts. Is the small blue led a signal that the voltage is too low too charge or that there is a short in the cell? I use the cells inside the electronics cigarettes.

  3. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars AgentL3r says:

    What a poor name for a battery brand, haha

  4. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Yigal B says:

    Can the battery be used while charging? Is there a spike when switching from charging mode to fully charged mode?

  5. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars IHT sarl says:

    Thank you for posting this very good video. I have bought 10 of these chargers, but the charging current terminates when the Li battery voltage reaches 3.97 dropping down to 1.5ma only, and never reaches 4.2 as claimed and also charging current never reaches 1000mA . Can yo explain why. I will be grateful if you share your feedback.

  6. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Rahul Don says:

    Hwo much time takes to charge a 18650 rechargeable cell with this tp4056 plz tell me ??

  7. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Jason Pap says:

    What? How can you say that the cell is only about 600mAH? Is it just a standard thing for all 18650s to not be even close to the specified capacity?

  8. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars tre bushett says:

    THE PLURAL OF PENNY, IS NOT P OR PEE. PENCE, PLEASE.

  9. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars 50 shades of the dominator says:

    Essentially it's similar to the little board you would find in a power bank, which also take USB to charge. It makes me wonder why a person would need to buy this piece separately, because it isn't like this charger is heavy duty, therefore all you could use it for, is to make your own DIY power bank. 1 amp at 3.7-4.2v or so isn't much power, meaning it can only put out around 3.7-4.2w of power. It's good to charge 1 cell, maybe 2 in parallel possibly, but no more.
    The best way to charge 18650's is to have a bunch in parallel, then have 3 sets of those in series, then charge them with a charger and set to 3s (which means 3 series I think), and then you have a balance lead also going into the charger from each of the 3 series, in case one gets low the charger can fix it by putting a bit more or less power into that section.

    This is simply the best way to charge them, because you can make a large battery. The only time a single 18650 is useful, is in a flashlight or something like that. However to power anything proper, you want a large battery. At minimum you want 3 sets of 6 cells, so 18x 18650, if you have 2.5Ah cells then you have a 166Wh battery, which is pretty useful. Also being 3s at lithium it's very close to pure 12v, fully charged it's around 12.6v, and depleted it's 11.1v. This is within the tolerance range of most 12v items, meaning in theory you can power it direct with just a fuse in line for safety.

    A battery of this size can power lights, small computer, speaker, small desk fan, and it can also cook about 2 meals in those 12v camping ovens, or it can make hot water in those 12v camping mugs about 8 times before it needs to be recharged. Of course while camping you would normally use a fire, however this would be handy if you couldn't find wood or it had recently rained and wood was wet. You can easily charge it with a portable 25-40w solar panel as well.

  10. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Zebra Paw says:

    those ultrafire batteries are fake. I mean, their capacity is much lower than advertised, usually about 500mAh

  11. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Billy Hartley says:

    Thanks for the video. I bought a pack of rechargeable batteries on Amazon and the seller promo gave 6 of these for free.
    (Which is weird because the batteries were ni-mh.)

  12. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Larry G says:

    which side of the battery is positive terminal?

  13. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Arvind says:

    Why are you using this ic what is the reason

  14. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Neil Gower says:

    Poundland and comes with the battery just to let you know

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.