Which battery charger is worth buying?

[jana]

Then the 65 dollar ebay option seems a bit more interesting.

I am anyway not so much concerned with effieciency, but i am concerned with reliability and safety.Is the ebay one likely to be of low quality and have a very short life? And how likely is a low quality charger to actually start a fire in my garage?

How much is your Customs Fees for the $65 charger?

To me, once you pay Customs Fees, then you aren't saving much money directly vs your other concerns. I say "hell yes" buy the PS Charger I recommended for your 48v application, and I would *not* buy "the cheaper" charger you ask about. Don't buy that junk, IMO.

HK always set value very low so no fees I already have a bulk charging sollution so I will wait and see what new products comes available.

[deVries]

And few days after, if I want to change my lipo configuration to 100V, I adjust the same charger, plug the battery. Forget it.

Not a problem at all if it's only 80% efficient as long as it saves my time

IMO, you're wasting A LOT of time doing this, and that piece of crap charger is not designed for you to adjust back and forth as you describe. It will die probably shocking you too (if not always alert) at some point opening the charger to adjust it. (You fried your controller & wiring on Guinness or ? )

Still, the charger is not designed to be adjusted often as you intend to misuse it.

Also, please time that entire event of adjustment from 74v to 100v "adjustment" AND back to 74v again. Also measure how accurate your voltage "adjustments" are over time. I promise you that you have wasted time doing this, imo, and the charger is going to fail much sooner with you doing this too. IMO.

Skip the Hyperion. There are better solutions than using the Hyperion too.

[deVries]

HK always set value very low so no fees.

Then please do what I suggested and buy the PS Charger I referenced from Hong Kong.

[deVries]

I already have a bulk charging sollution...

What is it exactly? Model? Amps? Volts? Brand?

[cwah]

ok, let say I want to get 2 meanwell to charge at 74V and 100V.

Where can I find such a meanwell?

[motomech]

And few days after, if I want to change my lipo configuration to 100V, I adjust the same charger, plug the battery. Forget it.

Not a problem at all if it's only 80% efficient as long as it saves my time

IMO, you're wasting A LOT of time doing this, and that piece of crap charger is not designed for you to adjust back and forth as you describe. It will die probably shocking you too (if not always alert) at some point opening the charger to adjust it. (You fried your controller & wiring on Guinness or ? )

Still, the charger is not designed to be adjusted often as you intend to misuse it.

Also, please time that entire event of adjustment from 74v to 100v "adjustment" AND back to 74v again. Also measure how accurate your voltage "adjustments" are over time. I promise you that you have wasted time doing this, imo, and the charger is going to fail much sooner with you doing this too. IMO.

Skip the Hyperion. There are better solutions than using the Hyperion too.

Skip the Hyperion. There are better solutions than using the Hyperion too.

Like...?
Up to 14S, the Hyperion 1420i remains the most convienent, safest and the best value for the home charging station.
What makes them a great value[aside from their modest price] is the unlimited supply of 600 Watt Server PS's delivered to your door for $15 You know what Gary, healthyoung and Doc. think of these power supplies. It's just a matter of how to use them.
Convienent for a lot of reasons. I seldom balance charge, but if I need to, everything is right there. Different Voltages can be handled with a push a a button and I can read a bunch of info. on the display.
Safe, because there are a bunch of safeguards built in.
Bottom line, because of these almost free, quality power supplies, you end of with a bulk charger that will charge with any "dumb" bulk charger for very little more money and have a whole lot of extras that are handy when you need them.

[deVries]

ok, let say I want to get 2 meanwell to charge at 74V and 100V.

Where can I find such a meanwell?

You own it already!

Use the BMS Charger you bought for the 74v. Then adjust & setup your 24v Meanwell to add the volts you need in series with BMS Charger to get you your 100v.

For other people that need to charge at two different High Voltages both above 70v with more than 20% difference in voltage settings, then buying the BMSBattery charger(s) is a decent solution. Only very very very few people will need to do this vs the average ebike user. You seem to be the exception. Congratulations.

[deVries]

Up to 14S, the Hyperion 1420i remains the most convienent, safest and the best value for the home charging station.
What makes them a great value[aside from their modest price] is the unlimited supply of 600 Watt Server PS's delivered to your door for $15 You know what Gary, healthyoung and Doc. think of these power supplies. It's just a matter of how to use them.
Convienent for a lot of reasons. I seldom balance charge, but if I need to, everything is right there. Different Voltages can be handled with a push a a button and I can read a bunch of info. on the display.
Safe, because there are a bunch of safeguards built in.
Bottom line, because of these almost free, quality power supplies, you end of with a bulk charger that will charge with any "dumb" bulk charger for very little more money and have a whole lot of extras that are handy when you need them.

I totally agree with you. Excellent points...

cwah, is unique in his requirements, which was all I was addressing, just, cwah!

I own 2 Hyperion chargers. These are very high quality & excellent products using the computer software too.

If BMSBattery would do cheap Sea Shipping at cost, then you would get some good value using their chargers too. Just be certain to buy 2 chargers for every one you need to depend on. My main gripe w/BMSBattery is the waayyy toooo expensive shipping costs.

I should add the online customer service at BMSBattery was excellent for me. I give BMSBattery a very high rating for the customer service I received. Advice & order changes were carried out perfectly & accurately.

I also have read several posts about BMSBattery replacing defective chargers upon receipt or within several weeks (maybe months) or less of receiving the charger. There are also repair threads & one guy (dunhm) has been very active about giving repair advice/help too. If you don't mind doing repairs, then you can get help to do the repair too.

[motomech]

Still. I'm looking for a viable on-board charger, so this thread is relevant to me.
It looks like it will be a long while till we get any feed-back on the 500 and 600 Watt Meanwell clones that Doc. pointed out. Didn't you have a Title posted about those?
I found some pics that I posted on Doc's thread that will be interesting when somebody who know what they are looking at, takes a peek.

[deVries]

Still. I'm looking for a viable on-board charger, so this thread is relevant to me.
It looks like it will be a long while till we get any feed-back on the 500 and 600 Watt Meanwell clones that Doc. pointed out. Didn't you have a Title posted about those?

Doc started that 600w MW-clone thread that you know of, but I did a thread not long ago about the best travel charger.

What volts, amps, budget range, weight limits do you have?

For the best travel charger for opportunity charging too, then the Meanwell RSP-1000 for $265 (or less if you want to bid/search) is very hard to beat.

You can do some exotic mods to it too that Doctorbass has pioneered if you need to bump the voltage up a bit.

Here's a thread I did: Best Portable Most Efficient Most Powerful Chargers

[cwah]

For other people that need to charge at two different High Voltages both above 70v with more than 20% difference in voltage settings, then buying the BMSBattery charger(s) is a decent solution. Only very very very few people will need to do this vs the average ebike user. You seem to be the exception. Congratulations.

My point is that this meanwell is only good for:
- People that have 1 voltage setup and don't play with lipo. If you're a lipo guy and play with multiple voltage setting, you're screwed. I have now 2x 24V meanwells and not being able to bulk charge my 4s and 5s lipo is really annoying
- People that have battery voltage lower than 60V as the meanwells are limited to 54V

And that the meanwell is perfect for case in which you only use, for example 36V battery.

[deVries]

For other people that need to charge at two different High Voltages both above 70v with more than 20% difference in voltage settings, then buying the BMSBattery charger(s) is a decent solution. Only very very very few people will need to do this vs the average ebike user. You seem to be the exception. Congratulations.

My point is that this meanwell is only good for:
- People that have 1 voltage setup and don't play with lipo. If you're a lipo guy and play with multiple voltage setting, you're screwed. I have now 2x 24V meanwells and not being able to bulk charge my 4s and 5s lipo is really annoying
- People that have battery voltage lower than 60V as the meanwells are limited to 54V

And that the meanwell is perfect for case in which you only use, for example 36V battery.

Before your criteria was using two MW, but now you switch-a-rued to just one??? Two of the chargers I recommend will handle 2 different voltage ranges except for your weird criteria, which very very very few people will need. In your case, since you already have 2 x 24v, then all you needed was one 48v charger that I recommended to series "bulk charge" with the one or two 24v MW + 48v. You didn't need the 74v charger, but you have it already so what is done is done. Fin. You have a solution. Enjoy it.

You and I do not need to waste more time debating theoretical dual voltages that very few people will use. Let's stop. This is pointless to continue.

[eva-michael]

One time my vote the aliumiun case bmsbattery 5a. Like Dogman said Ok. All charges have a failure fate. %. King pan is the maker. I think. JUst give them the spec's and hope it comes out allright check befor plug in.

KP-J(240W) 36V 12S LiFePO4 5A Charger
KP-J(240W) 36V 12S LiFePO4 5A Charger
Shipping via express delivery is 24-29USD. Right now there are several manufacturers are making chargers with similar appearance as King pan. They all start in the recent two years. The EMC is not KP charger. This can be confirmed by the appearance also. KP is the model code of Kingpan charger.

[cwah]

One time my vote the aliumiun case bmsbattery 5a. Like Dogman said Ok. All charges have a failure fate. %. King pan is the maker. I think. JUst give them the spec's and hope it comes out allright check befor plug in.

KP-J(240W) 36V 12S LiFePO4 5A Charger
KP-J(240W) 36V 12S LiFePO4 5A Charger
Shipping via express delivery is 24-29USD. Right now there are several manufacturers are making chargers with similar appearance as King pan. They all start in the recent two years. The EMC is not KP charger. This can be confirmed by the appearance also. KP is the model code of Kingpan charger.

Your link isn't working.

I decided not to purchase from you as you didn't answer the question I sent in your shop. And also from the bad feedback you received from this forum.

Are these charger any better than the one from BMSBattery? Is it possible for example to adjust the voltage?

[deVries]

Shipping via express delivery is 24-29USD. Right now there are several manufacturers are making chargers with similar appearance as King pan. They all start in the recent two years. The EMC is not KP charger. This can be confirmed by the appearance also. KP is the model code of Kingpan charger.

This is a big positive that your shipping price is reasonable. Thank you.

I will also say some of your higher quality chargers are more efficient too. This is also very good. Here is one I found that you list as very efficient... KP-F(900W) Charger $139.00 Shipping Weight: 3.5KG

What is the lowest cost shipping to USA for this charger above? 14v-88v What is the highest voltage it can be set at?

I think it is very good that you post to this forum and are reading customer problems and opinions.

Kingpan 900w Chargers Very Good Efficiency Rated

[eva-michael]

Shipping via express delivery is 24-29USD. Right now there are several manufacturers are making chargers with similar appearance as King pan. They all start in the recent two years. The EMC is not KP charger. This can be confirmed by the appearance also. KP is the model code of Kingpan charger.

This is a big positive that your shipping price is reasonable. Thank you.

I will also say some of your higher quality chargers are more efficient too. This is also very good. Here is one I found that you list as very efficient... KP-F(900W) Charger $139.00 Shipping Weight: 3.5KG

What is the lowest cost shipping to USA for this charger above? 14v-88v What is the highest voltage it can be set at?

I think it is very good that you post to this forum and are reading customer problems and opinions.

Kingpan 900w Chargers Very Good Efficiency Rated

It's very important that we can listen the opinion of everyone.
The 36V charger link above has been updated.
The model KP-B can set up to 180V. Below is some rage for your reference.
Model Power(max) 15V 30V 45V 60V 75V 180V
KP-B 900w 40A 25A 18A 15A 10A 5A
It's just like the data of the link you attached regarding 14V-88V.
3.5KG cargo is a bit expensive. It's 48USD to US destination via Fedex. 2 pcs via Fedex is 73USD. 3 pcs is 88USD

[eva-michael]

Your link isn't working.

I decided not to purchase from you as you didn't answer the question I sent in your shop. And also from the bad feedback you received from this forum.

Are these charger any better than the one from BMSBattery? Is it possible for example to adjust the voltage?

Need to check which email is it? I'm sorry if I miss any email. Can you resent it and tell me that I miss your email? My email is ev.assemble@gmail.com. You can also reach my coleague Irene by evassemble.irene@gmail.com.
KP charger are trusted by many old user as they already use long time ago. KP chargers' long time experience make their chargers reliable and reduce and control fault rate well. There are also some thread here that is about adjusting kp charger voltage via internal pot. But generally we don't provide support of adjust voltage if it does not very necesary. Because it will require some skill and checking to make sure the adjustment via internal pot will be as per your setting plan.
Anyway, we did ever provide guideline of adjust voltage several times to clients. It's out of warranty service.

[deVries]

The model KP-B can set up to 180V. Below is some range for your reference.
Model Power(max) 15V 30V 45V 60V 75V 180V
KP-B 900w 40A 25A 18A 15A 10A 5A

Is this KP-F or KP-B ? I can not find KP-B, so I'm guessing this is just a typo. You really mean KP-F, yes?

Your shipping price is good & fair. Thanks.

I shall be buying from you, since you participate here to help too. Very good, imo.

[eva-michael]

The model KP-B can set up to 180V. Below is some range for your reference.
Model Power(max) 15V 30V 45V 60V 75V 180V
KP-B 900w 40A 25A 18A 15A 10A 5A

Is this KP-F or KP-B ? I can not find KP-B, so I'm guessing this is just a typo. You really mean KP-F, yes?

Your shipping price is good & fair. Thanks.

I shall be buying from you, since you participate here to help too. Very good, imo.

The setting above is KP-F.
Model Power(max) 15V 30V 45V 60V 75V 180V
KP-F 900w 40A 25A 18A 15A 10A 5A
The setting of KP-B and KP-F almost are same. KP-B is 1000W with voltage indicator. The cost is high 192USD and almost reach the price of KP-C(1200W) Charger, So if you need voltage indicator, KP-C(1200W) Charger will be a good option.
Anyway, KP-F is really a good sale. And I will recomand KP-F better.

[cwah]

Need to check which email is it? I'm sorry if I miss any email. Can you resent it and tell me that I miss your email? My email is ev.assemble@gmail.com. You can also reach my coleague Irene by evassemble.irene@gmail.com.
KP charger are trusted by many old user as they already use long time ago. KP chargers' long time experience make their chargers reliable and reduce and control fault rate well. There are also some thread here that is about adjusting kp charger voltage via internal pot. But generally we don't provide support of adjust voltage if it does not very necesary. Because it will require some skill and checking to make sure the adjustment via internal pot will be as per your setting plan.
Anyway, we did ever provide guideline of adjust voltage several times to clients. It's out of warranty service.

I sent you an email on your "chat system" few months ago already. Never had an answer. Since then, I purchased multiple times from other suppliers.

I'm looking for power supply for which I can easily tweak the voltage. Is it possible for you to share the guideline on it? For now, the only power supply with guideline to tweak the voltage is the one from BMSBattery. Maybe if you provide guideline for newbie, that would allow us to also get power supply from you for this feature?

[deVries]

I'm looking for power supply for which I can easily tweak the voltage. Is it possible for you to share the guideline on it? For now, the only power supply with guideline to tweak the voltage is the one from BMSBattery. Maybe if you provide guideline for newbie, that would allow us to also get power supply from you for this feature?

He already indicated there were threads on ES about this, and he said this is "out of warranty" non-supported. You can't expect him to directly help you break the warranty of this product from his supplier! That could get him into serious trouble!

[motomech]

Shipping via express delivery is 24-29USD. Right now there are several manufacturers are making chargers with similar appearance as King pan. They all start in the recent two years. The EMC is not KP charger. This can be confirmed by the appearance also. KP is the model code of Kingpan charger.

This is a big positive that your shipping price is reasonable. Thank you.

I will also say some of your higher quality chargers are more efficient too. This is also very good. Here is one I found that you list as very efficient... KP-F(900W) Charger $139.00 Shipping Weight: 3.5KG

What is the lowest cost shipping to USA for this charger above? 14v-88v What is the highest voltage it can be set at?

I think it is very good that you post to this forum and are reading customer problems and opinions.

Kingpan 900w Chargers Very Good Efficiency Rated

It's very important that we can listen the opinion of everyone.
The 36V charger link above has been updated.
The model KP-B can set up to 180V. Below is some rage for your reference.
Model Power(max) 15V 30V 45V 60V 75V 180V
KP-B 900w 40A 25A 18A 15A 10A 5A
It's just like the data of the link you attached regarding 14V-88V.
3.5KG cargo is a bit expensive. It's 48USD to US destination via Fedex. 2 pcs via Fedex is 73USD. 3 pcs is 88USD

eva-michael

I too am impressed by you taking the time to talk with us.
I would like to order one KP-E 600 Watt charger to be used to charge 12S Lipo(50.1 Volts).
My only concern is; " For this model, Setting will need 10-14 days".
Can this be done any faster?
Thank you for your time to read this.

[deVries]

eva-michael

I too am impressed by you taking the time to talk with us.
I would like to order one KP-E 600 Watt charger to be used to charge 12S Lipo(50.1 Volts).
My only concern is; " For this model, Setting will need 10-14 days".
Can this be done any faster?
Thank you for your time to read this.

You might email him direct to get faster service. See his previous post for 2 contacts.

I'm looking for power supply for which I can easily tweak the voltage. Is it possible for you to share the guideline on it? For now, the only power supply with guideline to tweak the voltage is the one from BMSBattery. Maybe if you provide guideline for newbie, that would allow us to also get power supply from you for this feature?

Cwah, most of these chargers can be adjusted, but you have to learn how to do this safely. You have no experience & little understanding, IMO, and I think you need to read more & study more based on some of your posts I've read recently. You FIRST need to decide on the bulk charger(s) you want and the voltage(s) you will use. You are "crazy" if you think you can go inside and change the voltage up/down quickly/easily to do two different batteries at different voltages & current settings on a whim using one bulk charger, and you're sadly mistaken this will save you time or money. But you might get the added bonus of a high voltage shock.

You already have a charger for your A123 battery. You also can bulk charge easily and safely with your 2 Hyperion chargers at the High Voltages you want to charge at... 12s x 2 or 14s x 2. I don't think you even understand yet how easy this is to do! It is easy peasy with the 2 MW PS & 2 Hyperion you already have... but go ahead and buy another KP charger if you want to... it's your wasted/extra money & wasted/extra time... but wait, you posted in other threads you've already ordered "multiple" BMSBattery chargers too!!!

I ordered multiple 74V chargers from BMSbattery, but I expect them to arrive in at least 1 month time.

You do realize you don't have/own more than one small folding eBike, yet you already have 2 powerful battery setups. (But only one battery can be used on such a small bike.) You can charge both batteries already with what you own now! Yet you have "multiple" BMSBattery chargers on the way too, according to your post elsewhere, and now you're considering King Pan too??? You are the Don Quixote of battery charging...

Maybe you are setting-up charge stations, and/or are building another eBike too. In that case, I'm overreacting wondering why all the chargers & two big battery setups. No doubt you will have plenty of spare parts at least...

Here is the old King Pan thread about adjusting voltages...

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=13571&hilit=kingpower

[dnmun]

that was the thread with the link to that pdf for the On-Bright 2269 current mode PWM IC controller used in the old headway charger.

the old technology is using the TL494 and driving the high voltage npn transistors in the front end to switch the current through the transformer to get it into the back end.

the ob2269 was neat because it eliminated all that feed back circuitry used in the TL494 designs.

this charger has two twin op amp IC for charge control and uses the everbright 817 for the opto transistor for feedback to the front end. none of the mass of stuff on the daughterboard and coils and surface mount on the daughter board and through hole resistors in those old tight boxes. the headway charger was so simple, the power switching mosfet for the front end was nothing special.

i was able to coax an extra 10% power out of the one i sent back to mark.

if you notice the sense lead pin on the 2269 comes off the source leg of the mosfet so it senses how much current the mosfet is pumping into the coil, and so i added a resistor in parallel with the source shunt resistor to ground in that pdf, to drop the value a little more so it allowed the mosfet to pump an extra 10%.

simple hot rod hacking because the feedback to the sense pin is the same voltage with the an equivalent resistor 10% lower in value but pushing 10% more current through the mosfet each cycle.

in that pdf you can see how the anode of the voltage reference zener diode is tied to the anode of the opto so the reference voltage coming from the resistor divider bridge to the output voltage directly controls the feedback through the opto.

anyway this is a diagram of how simple the circuit is using this chip. the parts count versus these older technology for the small power charger. this is from on-bright marketing but the pdf is better, but you can see how simple it is as a controller:

http://www.on-bright.com/cn/english/pro ... OB2269.htm

[eva-michael]

eva-michael

I too am impressed by you taking the time to talk with us.
I would like to order one KP-E 600 Watt charger to be used to charge 12S Lipo(50.1 Volts).
My only concern is; " For this model, Setting will need 10-14 days".
Can this be done any faster?
Thank you for your time to read this.

Hello motomech,
Sorry that rigith now any lipo setting will take some time according to our sale plan.
I can try to let it ready in 7-8 days anyway. You can email me or pm me the delivery details or any other details.