High Quality Charger

[jameswalker]

Hi All,

My BMS battery charger has just gone pop. I was using it at 66.4V to charge an a123 pack at around 5A charge current, so fairly slow and safe. No BMS required.

I would like to replace it with a more robust charger of similar (or perhaps better) spec but from searching these forums, there only seems to exist decent chargers upward of 1.2KW. This is a bit excessive for me, so was wondering if anyone could recommend a less powerful charger? If this area in the market has a bit of a gap, then which of those higher power chargers should I go for? $500 is an absolute upper limit, would much rather pay no more than $250. The BMS one was around $50, so I am expecting to pay a lot more, but hopefully not 10 times more.

I have read about mean well PSU's, but these require some work / multiple packs to reach 66V, then also revolectrix. there is another make beginning with Q that seemed OK, but again these were all a bit over kill.

Anyone able to help?
Thanks,

 

[dogman dan]

Maybe just turn the amps down a tad on the next 5 amps one, and it will last better? Running a similar charger at 350w or less, I've had them last 4 years.

 

[jameswalker]

I thought the only way to adjust current was to alter the voltage? Do the 400W chargers have both adjustable voltage AND current? I tuned the voltage to my needs... hadn't realised the current was configurable too.

I have no problem running it at say 75%. In fact, I would rather do that than run it at 100% anyway.

I knew that the chinese 900W chargers had this facility... but I am amlost convinced to buy a better one.

Thanks,

 

[dilkes]

Soneil seems to have a good reputation.
http://soneil.com/content/lithium-chargers

 

[dnmun]

i doubt if he is gonna pay up for a soniel charger if he is too cheap to use a BMS. i think he has the EMC-1000 charger since he posted up on the other guys thread already.

 

[jameswalker]

Too cheap? if you read OP, i said max $500. How is that too cheap? And there is no need to use a BMS on A123 cells. read.

 

[dnmun]

i never read where it said you can use A123 cells without a BMS. where did you find that info?

 

[jameswalker]

rc groups threads people argue about pros and cons of balancing. lots of people have fine results without balancing, so i took the risk as it is one complication less.

i may be buying a lipo pack in the future... and for that i will of course balance charge it. but for a123, i am risking not. anyway... back to chargers. i have had a look at evassemble, they seem to do a few decent offerings. i have sent an email but they look pretty good!

 

[cal3thousand]

i doubt if he is gonna pay up for a soniel charger if he is too cheap to use a BMS. i think he has the EMC-1000 charger since he posted up on the other guys thread already.

Maybe the choice wasn't completely about the cost when choosing against a BMS.

 

[dnmun]

no, it always is.

 

[dogman dan]

Let's argue about chargers hmm?

Sorry I don't have a link to chargers not made from parts made in china. It is important though, I think, to realize that if you tweak voltage up on a charger, the wattage goes up too.

You might find something longer lasting if you look to heavy chargers intended for golf carts or something. But they would surely need some hacking to convert to lithium use.

Or just keep buying, "charger lotto tickets" till you get winners. My collection of chargers that work just kind of evolved by selection from those that didn't. They weren't a better kind or anything, they just accumulated by not conking out.

 

[jameswalker]

I have narrowed it down to 2 choices: beefier chinese charger "lottery" running at ~50%, or start playing with mean well supplies. Still haven't chosen my path yet!