16S Capable Hobby Charger for LiFeP04

[BVH]

Does anyone know of a hobby charger (able to adjust Voltage and current) that will charge a 16S LiFeP04 battery? If not, is there a "plug-n-go" type charger that has a POT on the PC board to adjust cut-off Voltage? I have high-end hobby chargers but they max out at 10S. There are others that max at 14S but that's the highest I can find.

 

[wesnewell]

AFAIK there's no balance chargers that do more than 14s. I just split my 24s2p pack and then charge it as a 12s4p pack. You could split your 16s pack to 8s and do the same with your 10s charger. Or you could use separate balancer boards with a bulk charger/ Or you could use a 16s bms with a bulk charger.

 

[BVH]

If I want to maintain my 2-year warranty, then I can't split the case and do any mods. The pack uses a BMS with end-of-charge balance function (drain to equalize) already so I'm told so I don't need a 16S charger with balance function. Just a settable 16S. So close, yet so far...

 

[dnmun]

you can use a regular 48V lifepo4 charger made by kingpan or other manufacturers. your BMS will have a 3.60V/cell balancing voltage so you only need 16x3.60V=57.6V DC but it reaches full charge when you charge up to 58.40V DC. charging above 3.60V/cell shortens cycle life by causing lithium metal to plate out away from the anode so it is lost to the charging cycle.

 

[BVH]

you can use a regular 48V lifepo4 charger made by kingpan or other manufacturers. your BMS will have a 3.60V/cell balancing voltage so you only need 16x3.60V=57.6V DC but it reaches full charge when you charge up to 58.40V DC. charging above 3.60V/cell shortens cycle life by causing lithium metal to plate out away from the anode so it is lost to the charging cycle.

I understand the benefits of charging to less than 3.65 Volts per cell and that is what I want to do. I'm not sure what you're trying to tell me?

 

[dnmun]

i told you that you can use a regular 48V lifepo4 charger for a 16S lifepo4 pack.

 

[BVH]

i told you that you can use a regular 48V lifepo4 charger for a 16S lifepo4 pack.

Yes, I know that and that's what I have been doing. But unless I'm standing right there ready to unplug the charger at 56.08 Volts, then using either of my standard 48V chargers is not going to give me what I want - a 3.50 VPC termination. So I was hoping someone might know of a standard 48V, POT adjustable charger capable of about 4 Amps.

 

[dnmun]

never heard of someone wanting to stop charging at 50% charged. did not realize that was what you were doing.

 

[BVH]

Not sure how you're coming up with 3.50 VPC charge termination is only charging 50% of capacity. It's much closer to between 90 and 95%.

 

[bowlofsalad]

http://www.ebikes.ca/shop/ebike-parts/chargers/satiator608.html
I have heard of chargers with the adjustable voltage through a potentiometer you mention, but I've never utilized such a feature and I have no idea which would have them and which do not. I imagine someone around here does for certain though.

http://em3ev.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=37&product_id=120 I know this charger says 14s, but pay attention to the output voltage, it has two settings for maximum voltage that may be somewhat ideal for you.

The only other option that I currently imagine, though I don't know if it would work or not, is http://www.amazon.com/KORAD-KA6003P-Programmable-Precision-Adjustable/dp/B00AXL7UJA/ something like this. Adjustable power supply are the keywords I used to find it.

 

[999zip999]

The 5a charger from Ping was set at 58.6v there is a pot inside that I Was able to adjust to 72v. I don't know how far you can turn it down to. I think to be kingpan. Vendors order chargers for there needs so it depends what they want inside. So not all kingpan 48v lifepo4 chargers are the same.
So what battery are we talking about ?

 

[BVH]

It's the "Prodeco" brand (probably made for them by someone else) of 51.2 V Nominal, 12 Amp hour pack housed in a plastic case with tamper stickers across the seams.

Not the best view but...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ProdecoTech-LiFEPO4-Li-Ion-48V-12AH-Electric-Bike-Bicycle-E-bike-Lithium-Battery-/281497637827?pt=Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item418a9113c3

 

[bowlofsalad]

It's the "Prodeco" brand (probably made for them by someone else) of 51.2 V Nominal, 12 Amp hour pack housed in a plastic case with tamper stickers across the seams.

Not the best view but...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ProdecoTech-LiFEPO4-Li-Ion-48V-12AH-Electric-Bike-Bicycle-E-bike-Lithium-Battery-/281497637827?pt=Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item418a9113c3

I am not sure what you are trying to say by this.

Does your pack charge to something other than 58.4V, 57.4V, or 53.2V?

Did you check out the satiator? It's very ideal for what you call for, but it might exceed your budget.

 

[BVH]

Bowlofsalad - the Satiator is EXACTLY what I am looking for!!! Out of 4 different forums, you are the only one to come up with this! THANK YOU! Thank you!! I totally missed your first link in your first post. It's basically a hobby charger capable of 16S, exactly what I am looking for. Purchase made.

My previous post was in answer to 999zip.

 

[tmho]

Take a look at this post: http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=62886
I think it meets your need. Tell me if it works for you. I also want to buy one if it really works.

 

[BVH]

Those are just variable power supplies, not chargers so you'd need to feed some other charging logic device from those supplies or not as accurately, add some protective Diodes to the PS output but then you're not using a CC-CV algorithm. The Satiator works perfectly for my application.

 

[cwah]

Those are just variable power supplies, not chargers so you'd need to feed some other charging logic device from those supplies or not as accurately, add some protective Diodes to the PS output but then you're not using a CC-CV algorithm. The Satiator works perfectly for my application.

I've been using this power supply for 3 months now:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Precision-Compact-DC-60V-3A-Adjustable-Digital-Switching-Power-Supply-110-220V-/141389291960?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Test_Measurement_Equipment_ET&hash=item20eb7561b8

It's way cheaper than the satiator. It's also smaller. And perfectly silent.

It charges my battery perfectly to desired voltage. At desired power. It does CC/CV as current does not decrease over time. My only wish is that if it was a bit smaller, I would be able to carry it permanently with me on my bike, but it's already smaller than the satiator...

So, what else?

 

[dnmun]

i have never had much trouble adjusting the output voltage of a charger. even the Vpower chargers can be hacked to a different output voltage.