Integrating Lipo Charger into E-Board

Tombombadil1988 · Aug 13, 2015

Hey guys,

for my second build I want to get things as convenient as possible. Therefor I would like to integrate a Lipo Balancer/Charger right into the board. Have you guys done this before?

So here's what I plan to do:
1. Wire the two 3s in series, including balance leads like seen in the attached image
2. Split the power leads and connect them to the ESC (VESC) and charger
3. Turn off the ESC, plugin the charger whenever I get home and let it charge

I'm not sure whether having the balance leads plugged in is going to be a problem?

Best, Tom

Gregory · Aug 14, 2015

I think a 6S BMS would be more rugged/reliable, smaller and offer extra features like LVC.

killisch · Aug 14, 2015

I'm thinking of using this as my onboard charger for the next board i build.
not sure how it'll turn out.
I only plan on connecting it up in parallel for charging. not placing any load on it.
I'll let the esc use it's LVC limit to protect over discharge. and with any luck the bms will maintain balancing and overvoltage between charges.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/301603860494?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

mccloed · Aug 14, 2015

Tombombadil1988 said:
Hey guys,

for my second build I want to get things as convenient as possible. Therefor I would like to integrate a Lipo Balancer/Charger right into the board. Have you guys done this before?

So here's what I plan to do:
1. Wire the two 3s in series, including balance leads like seen in the attached image
2. Split the power leads and connect them to the ESC (VESC) and charger
3. Turn off the ESC, plugin the charger whenever I get home and let it charge

I'm not sure whether having the balance leads plugged in is going to be a problem?

Best, Tom

As long as you wire it like this:
View attachment 1
Otherwise you'll fry the balance leads. I learned this the hard way.
Not sure about the rest of the wiring as I have only used the balance leads for charging. Like this:

bandaro · Aug 15, 2015

All above images will work, they are essentially the same. Two are identical, and one is charging through balance leads only. I would check the outer balance leads (true pos and neg) are able to handle the max charge amperage first. They take the bulk of the current, if not all at times.

Alternatively, as stated above, a bms wired in would be more rugged and most likely smaller. Some chargers don't handle the vibrations that the board has whereas a BMS is designed to. You could also use a multiple pin plug like an AV one, and wire it up similar to the images you have. That would be a single plug to charge too, and leave the board lighter/durable.

Tombombadil1988 · Aug 15, 2015

Thanks for your input guys!

The BMS would just be a replacement for the charger in the images, so the wiring would be the same right? The BMSs I found available in Germany are pretty expensive and seem to differ in the amount of cells they can take and the max A they can handle. Would 10A be sufficient?

http://shop.lipopower.de/PCB-10-A-6-Zellen-Lipo-Li-ION-mit-Balancer-D103-6

ProxRB · Aug 15, 2015

Why not just make the wiring loom from the second photo, leave the charger off-board, and plug in the primary serial-charging leads when you get home? It's what I did since I didnt want the extra weight of the charger on-board. The plan was also to only balance charge when necessary (I've got a cell voltage checker plugged into the balance charging loom to measure the cell discrepancy). This way, its usually a one-plug solution, except once in a while when I go to balance charge it.

Now I've been having other issues so I havent been able to test the long term viability of this solution...

Tombombadil1988 · Aug 16, 2015

I'll consider that ProxRB! Would save some space and weight indeed.

garrettgajewski · Aug 25, 2015

ProxRb, are you referring to mccloeds second photo? This photo...

dashimsta · Aug 31, 2015

you need 50-60 amps 10 will pop as soon as you pull the throttle

dnmun · Aug 31, 2015

the first diagram showing the red sense wire on the lower pack connected to the black sense wire of the upper pack is ok. you do not have to cut out the sense wire but is not needed but wiring them together as in the first diagram should not affect charging or balancing.

Integrating Lipo Charger into E-Board

Tombombadil1988

1 mW

Attachments

Gregory

100 kW

killisch

100 mW

mccloed

100 W

Attachments

bandaro

10 kW

Tombombadil1988

1 mW

ProxRB

10 mW

Tombombadil1988

1 mW

garrettgajewski

1 mW

dashimsta

100 mW

dnmun

1 PW

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