Blog Review: Kimberley Karavan Lithium Battery Conversion

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Hi Frank,
Just a question about the Xantrex charger , the higher voltage on the Gel / cold setting is (14.2 + 0.6 = 14.8v) how long do you hit the battery bank with this higher voltage ? or do you just let them fully charge at that rate until full?
your blog is excellent ..
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Reply By: Frank P (NSW) - Tuesday, May 10, 2016 at 09:48

Tuesday, May 10, 2016 at 09:48
Hi Dave,

Thanks for your question and kind remarks.

With experience, I have found that the balancing charge at 14.8 volts can be done less often than I said in the blog. I do it only when needed now.

The battery management system has two LEDs one red, one green on each cell. A balanced pack will have all LEDs the same colour at full charge. Normally they are all green. If one is red after a normal charge (14.4 volts) I charge at 14.8 until all LEDs are red. That does not take long. When an LED on a cell goes red while charging it means the cell is charged and the charging current to that cell is dumped. Other cells continue to get charge until, in turn, all the LEDS are red, meaning all cells are at the same SOC and therefore balanced.

A balanced battery pack stays balanced for a long time.

Different manufacturers do it differently, but that's how mine works.

Cheers

Frank
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Follow Up By: PhilD - Tuesday, May 10, 2016 at 22:13

Tuesday, May 10, 2016 at 22:13
I have a 400 Ahr Winston Lithium pack, and find once balanced it is staying that way. However, if I need to, I can use my 3.5 volt charger (as the cells are nominally 3.2 volts) to bring the charge up on the offending cell/s. With the Winston cells I don't charge above 14.4 volts to maintain longevity of the cells. It all depends on the brand and specific charging profile.
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Reply By: Dave A1 - Tuesday, May 10, 2016 at 09:53

Tuesday, May 10, 2016 at 09:53
Perfect, thanks again for sharing your knowledge.
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