12 Volt Supply Needed.

[Learner]

9 minutes ago, MattyB said:

I’ve only done it a few times, but it can charge 6x 6S 5000s simultaneously in parallel (three per side) at around 1.6C. Useful at a site like Buckminster where I will have travelled a long way, there is a mains supply and i don’t want to travel with a large number of high capacity fully charged packs.

 

I take it you use parallel board, I cant seem to get consistent results when parallel charging, so tend to stop around 90% and finish each battery individually although it is a relatively cheap charger.

Edited June 20, 2023 by Learner
Touchscreen typing

[MattyB]

Yes, I use a good quality parallel board and check all cell voltages are within 0.05V before connecting (always the main connector first, never the balance lead!). The bigger packs I do tend to charge individually when indoors at home though, as that way all the cell voltages are being individually monitored which is a bit safer. I’ve never had a parallel charging incident in thousands of charges, though.

Edited June 20, 2023 by MattyB

[Peter Jenkins]

David

 

I bought one of these refurbished HP server PSUs and the power board which is a neat way of switching on the PSU.  The board comes with a voltage readout. The PSU is capable of 1,100 watts output at between 13.5 V ish.  I just joined the wires from the 6 outputs on each side and hey presto the thing works and powers my Fusion Emperor charger.  I've only used one set of the 6 outputs but the other set is there waiting for the other Fusion PSU to die.  I also have an older HP Server PSU that needed a resistor soldered across two of the lands at the of the server but this little fix doesn't always work with the newer PSUs whereas the plug in board seems to work with all of them.  See this link.   At £40 for the pair I'm tempted to get another except that I still have a spare PSU in the shed!

[Learner]

1 minute ago, MattyB said:

Yes, I use a good quality parallel board and check all cell voltages are within 0.05V before connecting (always the main connector first, not the balance lead!). The bigger packs I do tend to charge individually when indoors at home though, as that way all the cell voltages are being individually monitored which is a bit safer. I’ve never had a parallel charging incident in thousands of charges, though.

Thanks, never had major problems just final balance doesnt seem as accurate when parallel charging

[Learner]

5 minutes ago, MattyB said:

 The bigger packs I do tend to charge individually when indoors at home though, as that way all the cell voltages are being individually monitored which is a bit safer. 

Ah you dont mind blowing up buckminster but not home then!(joke/tongue in cheek/attempt at humour sorry to all offended)

[MattyB]

2 minutes ago, Learner said:

Thanks, never had major problems just final balance doesnt seem as accurate when parallel charging

If you look at the specs on the better chargers you will see they tend to allow higher balance currents, from memory the 406 can do around 1.2A, though I’ve never seen it get that close to those values on the display. Either way, it delivers consistently well balanced packs even when charging in parallel.

[MattyB]

8 minutes ago, Learner said:

Ah you dont mind blowing up buckminster but not home then!(joke/tongue in cheek/attempt at humour sorry to all offended)

Buckminster now has outdoor charging facilities, hence the difference in approach.
 

 

I do parallel charge big packs at home sometimes, but only when conditions allow me to do so outside.
 

Edited June 20, 2023 by MattyB

[buster prop]

Matty, it's great that there are outdoor charging facilities at Buckminster. Are those outlets in the picture mains or 12 Volts? I ask because I'm going up there very soon on an ISA awayday. I'm taking my RC-8S Pro charger which has a 12 Volt input not mains. At home I plug it into a Maplin PSU intended for CB rigs, a bit heavy to take with me and I don't want to charge off the car's battery either so an outside 12 V outlet would be just what I need.

[Graham Bowers]

1 hour ago, buster prop said:

Matty, it's great that there are outdoor charging facilities at Buckminster. Are those outlets in the picture mains or 12 Volts? I ask because I'm going up there very soon on an ISA awayday. I'm taking my RC-8S Pro charger which has a 12 Volt input not mains. At home I plug it into a Maplin PSU intended for CB rigs, a bit heavy to take with me and I don't want to charge off the car's battery either so an outside 12 V outlet would be just what I need.

240 volt mains supply. You'll be pleased, no doubt, to learn an open lean-to structure with a roof has been built since that photo was taken.

[buster prop]

Thanks Graham. I will take a small 1 Amp p s u. Enough for my glider batteries. 

[Frank Skilbeck]

On 20/06/2023 at 09:22, MattyB said:

Buckminster now has outdoor charging facilities, hence the difference in approach.
 

 

I do parallel charge big packs at home sometimes, but only when conditions allow me to do so outside.
 

I like how they've got the defib right next to the charging station, maybe a risk assessment recommendation 😉

[Philip Lewis 3]

On 20/06/2023 at 08:41, Learner said:

Just out of interest, what batteries and how many at a time do you charge needing to use full power on a charger like that?

I regularly (virually all the time) charge 8 X 5 cell 5,000 packs of one PSU (not parallel charged, individually charged) and 4 of the same plus the RX packs of another. all only ever at 1C, one limiting factor is the wire gauge between the PSU and the charger which can get rather warm but that's just using 12 volt output as I don't need any more.

[Philip Lewis 3]

On 20/06/2023 at 08:41, Learner said:

Just out of interest, what batteries and how many at a time do you charge needing to use full power on a charger like that?

I regularly (virually all the time) charge 8 X 5 cell 5,000 packs of one PSU (not parallel charged, individually charged) and 4 of the same plus the RX packs of another. all only ever at 1C, one limiting factor is the wire gauge between the PSU and the charger which can get rather warm but that's just using 12 volt output as I don't need any more.

[Philip Lewis 3]

Double posted by accident.

Edited June 21, 2023 by Philip Lewis 3

[Phil Green]

17 hours ago, Philip Lewis 3 said:

I regularly (virually all the time) charge 8 X 5 cell 5,000 packs of one PSU (not parallel charged, individually charged) and 4 of the same plus the RX packs of another. all only ever at 1C, one limiting factor is the wire gauge between the PSU and the charger which can get rather warm but that's just using 12 volt output as I don't need any more.

 

Theres no wonder it gets hot, charging 5S from a 12v supply, everything is working overtime, the PSU, the charger, the cabling...

both the PSU and the charger have switch-mode regulators that pass double the current at half the voltage.

You'd give everything a breather if you ran 24 volts  🙂

Cheers

Phil