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I bought a single cell Li-Po battery and two different charger modules (one without protective circuit and one with protective circuit) from AliExpress.

The Li-Po battery has a protection circuit board.

Both charger modules have the TP4056 chip. I found a datasheet for the TP4056 chip, in which the chip is described as "1A Standalone Linear Li-lon Battery Charger with Thermal Regulation in SOP-8". The datasheet only mentions Li-Ion batteries, but not Li-Po batteries.

The product description of the charger module without protective circuit says that the module is for Li-Po batteries: "This linear charger board allows you to charge lipo battery using either a Mini USB connector or a 4.5V - 5.5V input." However I'm not sure how accurate this description is.

The product description of the charger module with protective circuit says that the module is for 18650 batteries, which if I understand correctly are Li-Ion batteries: "5 V Micro USB 1A 18650 Lithium-Batterie Ladebordlader Module Neue Heiße Weltweit".

My questions are:

  • Can I safely use these charger modules with the TP4056 chip (or at least one of them) to charge the single cell Li-Po battery?
  • If both modules are ok, which one is preferable (Li-Po battery has it's own protection circuit board)?
  • If none of the modules are ok, which module can I use instead?
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    \$\begingroup\$ There isn't really any difference between LiPo and LiIon batteries when it comes to charging. They use the same algorithm and voltage thresholds. You just need to make sure the capacity is reasonable. 2Ah for an 18650 charger should be OK. I can't comment on whether the chargers you purchased are safe to use because not enough information. Personally, I would only buy name-brand chargers from reasonably reputable companies. Same goes for the battery itself. For help with choosing a charger, try candlepower forums. \$\endgroup\$
    – user57037
    Commented Mar 3, 2016 at 20:07

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Take a look at Microchip parts: MCP73841/2/3/4. I've been using a MCP73844 in comercial products for more than 3 years and they work great! Unfortunately they do not have protection circuit for cut-off, but you can implement one with some resistors, an op-amp, a shunt and a MOSFET.

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