[NSRCA-discussion] Big LiPo pack charging

[Adam Glatt]

The BalancePro HD 6s 10A charger sounds like a solid option, Dean, at 
$130.  That's certainly great power for your dollar.

It, too, looks to be charging through the battery power wires and then 
monitoring cell voltages for imbalance, at which point it drains and/or 
slows the charge (correct me if I'm wrong).  Couldn't this charger work 
with any brand of tapped battery via a simple adapter cable?

The other downside is no display, so only when a computer is connected 
can we know how much capacity goes back in.

-Adam

Dean Pappas wrote:
> Hi Bob,
> Good to hear from you ...
> The only chargers I know of, today, that meet the requirement I laid out in my last e-mail, are the FMA BalancePro and CellPro.
> I was on the fence as to whether to plug something on this forum.
> Dean
>
> Dean Pappas
> Sr. Design Engineer
> Kodeos Communications
> 111 Corporate Blvd.
> South Plainfield, N.J. 07080
> (908) 222-7817 phone
> (908) 222-2392 fax
> d.pappas at kodeos.com
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nsrca-discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org
> [mailto:nsrca-discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org]On Behalf Of Robert
> Mairs
> Sent: Tuesday, March 07, 2006 1:03 PM
> To: NSRCA Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] Big LiPo pack charging
>
>
> Everyone will prob disagree, but I like the approach Kokam is trying to 
> develope.  Larger cells that can be run in a 1P configuration, where each 
> cell can be monitored, not a group of parallel cells, for voltage during 
> charge as well as voltage during discharge.  Hopefully the weight and 
> performance of the cells will be within our limits.  With such a simple pack 
> configuration, I could envision even being able to replace a faulty cell, 
> instead of having to forfeit the entire pack.  I hope they succeed.
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Dean Pappas" <d.pappas at kodeos.com>
> To: <chad at f3acanada.org>; "NSRCA Mailing List" 
> <nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, March 07, 2006 10:59 AM
> Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] Big LiPo pack charging
>
>
>   
>> Hi All,
>> I hear discussions about this charger versus that, and while I am not 
>> going to try and sell my preference, I think I
>> should tell you what a proper charger, for our purposes, should do.
>>
>> I really think the important thing to remember, here, is that a real 
>> balancing charger will always be better than a charger plus an add-on 
>> balancer.
>> Why? The add on balancer and charger combo will do its job, perfectly 
>> well: until there is a problem with a battery pack.
>> Unfortunately, this is where the safety hazard happens (not to mention the 
>> premature aging of expensive battery cells).
>>
>> When there is a problem, and the imbalance between cells is not slight, or 
>> some cells have appreciably different capacities than others due to age,
>> the controlled bypass current around the higher voltage cells may not be 
>> high enough to keep things balanced.
>> That's how balancers work, they put a current "leak" across the higher 
>> voltage cells;
>> during charging this leak shunts some of the charging current around the 
>> higher voltage cells, until the lower voltage cells catch-up.
>>
>> For things to really work properly, the balancer part of the works needs 
>> to be able to throttle-back the charger current,
>> to something equal to or less than the maximum leak current, at any stage 
>> of the charge, if the imbalance isn't getting better.
>> That really requires a one-piece balancing charger, or some sort of fancy 
>> communication between the charger and balancer.
>>
>> Right now, very few companies make a real balancing charger, but this 
>> can't stay the same for long.
>> It has also been suggested that with a true balancing charger, that never 
>> charges too fast to maintain balance,
>> that 2C and 3C charges are possible, with the high C discharge packs we 
>> find necessary, in Pattern.
>>
>> later, friends,
>>
>>
>> Dean Pappas
>> Sr. Design Engineer
>> Kodeos Communications
>> 111 Corporate Blvd.
>> South Plainfield, N.J. 07080
>> (908) 222-7817 phone
>> (908) 222-2392 fax
>> d.pappas at kodeos.com
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>> NSRCA-discussion at lists.nsrca.org
>> http://lists.nsrca.org/mailman/listinfo/nsrca-discussion
>>
>>
>>     
>
>
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