PaulRainbow
Well-Known Member
The supplier is talking rubbish Nigel, i would not deal with him.
Iron X 100Ah LiFePo4 battery with BMS and Heater
- Thread starter Refueler
- Start date
Refueler
Well-Known Member
Oh - I'm not taking his advice !! But the battery is good ... shame about the seller !!
I've just ordered a Viron Charger .. dedicated LiFePo4 charger 20A
Sea Change
Well-Known Member
If it's one of the IP ones then you've chosen well. Excellent chargers, and the ability to see in the app how many Ah the battery took on each cycle is really useful.
William_H
Well-Known Member
Hello Nigel. Yes now you have ordered a specific charger for lithium (I presume powered from 240v AC) you should have no worries and should get a pretty fast charge.
I have recently moved to LiFE 50AH batteries for my mobility scooter. (AKA dinghy tractor) According to the instructions any battery charger should be suitable. Provided it supplies enough voltage 14.6v and is current limited the BMS should handle the charge cut off when cells are charged.
I charge these Life from solar panels 2x 10w in series to charge batteries in series. The charge current is quite low and voltage is high like 19v pulled down to battery voltage by current. I can't see a problem in this arrangement.
However that link to Vision batteries talks of a minimum charge current. I can't imagine this being a concern. (just longer charge time) (not a concern for me)
Yes I am aware lithium should not be trickle charged. However I assume BMS should stop all charge when full.
I get the impression commenters are confused between lithium with built in BMS compared to providing and setting up your own BMS.
Then I have a charger for 24v LA batteries at about 4A max. (not adjustable) But this has bulk then trickle charge stepped charging. I don't imagine a higher bulk charge voltage would concern the BMS and battery because voltage will fall with current drain. Main concern is charge voltage falling when charger thinks the battery is charged. I will set up an amp meter to monitor charge current and see what happens (which I recommend you do)
Or alternatively I will consider building a 24v charger (set at 33v output and current limited. Still relying on BMS to halt charge when it is full.
All very confusing ol'will
I have recently moved to LiFE 50AH batteries for my mobility scooter. (AKA dinghy tractor) According to the instructions any battery charger should be suitable. Provided it supplies enough voltage 14.6v and is current limited the BMS should handle the charge cut off when cells are charged.
I charge these Life from solar panels 2x 10w in series to charge batteries in series. The charge current is quite low and voltage is high like 19v pulled down to battery voltage by current. I can't see a problem in this arrangement.
However that link to Vision batteries talks of a minimum charge current. I can't imagine this being a concern. (just longer charge time) (not a concern for me)
Yes I am aware lithium should not be trickle charged. However I assume BMS should stop all charge when full.
I get the impression commenters are confused between lithium with built in BMS compared to providing and setting up your own BMS.
Then I have a charger for 24v LA batteries at about 4A max. (not adjustable) But this has bulk then trickle charge stepped charging. I don't imagine a higher bulk charge voltage would concern the BMS and battery because voltage will fall with current drain. Main concern is charge voltage falling when charger thinks the battery is charged. I will set up an amp meter to monitor charge current and see what happens (which I recommend you do)
Or alternatively I will consider building a 24v charger (set at 33v output and current limited. Still relying on BMS to halt charge when it is full.
All very confusing ol'will
Sea Change
Well-Known Member
It's generally not recommended to rely on the BMS to terminate charging. Doing this leaves you vulnerable to a BMS fault, overcharged battery, and subsequent possible damage to the battery and even outgassing and fire.
You'll probably get away with it for ages... but it's one of these things where the consequences could be very bad.
You'll probably get away with it for ages... but it's one of these things where the consequences could be very bad.
PaulRainbow
Well-Known Member
Bad, bad advice, sorry. Charging at 14.6V will shorten the batteries life and relying on the BMS to cut the charging is an absolute no-no.
No, the BMS is not there to regulate charging.
This is all ridiculous, anyone reading this should ignore it all. Sorry Will.
Refueler
Well-Known Member
I can easily insert one of my voltage cut-offs that are user settable between charger and battery ... they work by monitoring battery voltage and switching on / off the mains input to the charger.
I understand what you say Paul and I do not disagree ... but the matter is that so much of main stream LiFePo4 chargers are set at 14.6v .... very few at lower.
For my use - in truth - I would be charging this battery only a handful of times a year literally with the Viron charger. If I charge at home - I have user programmable chargers that I can easily set voltages / amps as needed.
I have Solar Panels in boxes ... that I planned to use on my boats that actually were not needed ... they can be used with a controller set for LiFePo4 at home ....
I understand what you say Paul and I do not disagree ... but the matter is that so much of main stream LiFePo4 chargers are set at 14.6v .... very few at lower.
For my use - in truth - I would be charging this battery only a handful of times a year literally with the Viron charger. If I charge at home - I have user programmable chargers that I can easily set voltages / amps as needed.
I have Solar Panels in boxes ... that I planned to use on my boats that actually were not needed ... they can be used with a controller set for LiFePo4 at home ....
