14S LiFePO4 Chargers?

[andyshinn]

Struggling to find a 14S LiFePO4 charger that will can start without voltage applied. The new battery pack I built is 14S LiFePO4 with Ennoid XLITE BMS and the BMS will not enter charge mode without voltage applied and my charger (Chargery C10325) won't start charging when it detects zero volts.
The usual places (Amaon and Ali) seem to have plenty of 15S or 16S but never 14S.

Did I just build an unusual LiFePO4 pack size?

 

[eee291]

Most vendors on Ali can change the voltage on their chargers for you. A few chargers also have internal potentiometers.
Another option would be Meanwell HLG series LED drivers, I'm using one right now to charge a 15S Life pack.

 

[A-DamW]

The only chargers I have experience with, is the Meanwell HLG series led drivers:
HLG-240H-LED Driver Power Supply Solution - MEAN WELL

They come in lower and higher wattage variants, so the HLG-240H-54A(red text) is rated for 240 watts output.

Here is a search of ES for "Meanwell":
Search results for query: meanwell

These are switch mode power supplies, for driving led's, as such, they have an
adjustable CC/CV(constant current/constant voltage) output, perfect for charging lithium batteries.

IP65/IP67 rated, no fan, you could leave it out in the rain!(not while charging, of course)
Typical lifetime >62000Hr.

Caveats, you have to adjust the output voltage to match the terminating voltage of your pack before using it the first time!
So LiFePO4, 3.6v per cell, X 14 = 50.4v
Or for a conservative ~80% charge of 3.4v per cell, 47.6v.

The HLG-240H-54A has a DC range of ~27-54v, that is the last two numbers in the model number(HLG-240H-54A)
Oh, and make sure you get an "A" model(last char in the model name), they have the adjustable CC/CV.

I run mine at about 50-75% of the rated output current, just so they run cooler.
You can set the current/voltage with multimeter.

 

[eee291]

Also, 12S lipo matches exactly with 14S life, so looking for 12S chargers on Ali will give you what you want.

 

[andyshinn]

So, in the case that I have a BMS to cut-off when I reach desired pack / per cell voltage, is it usually the case a 12S LiPo is the same as a 14S LiFePO4 and wouldn't cause issues?

 

[andyshinn]

The only chargers I have experience with, is the Meanwell HLG series led drivers:
HLG-240H-LED Driver Power Supply Solution - MEAN WELL

They come in lower and higher wattage variants, so the HLG-240H-54A(red text) is rated for 240 watts output.

Here is a search of ES for "Meanwell":
Search results for query: meanwell

These are switch mode power supplies, for driving led's, as such, they have an
adjustable CC/CV(constant current/constant voltage) output, perfect for charging lithium batteries.

IP65/IP67 rated, no fan, you could leave it out in the rain!(not while charging, of course)
Typical lifetime >62000Hr.

Caveats, you have to adjust the output voltage to match the terminating voltage of your pack before using it the first time!
So LiFePO4, 3.6v per cell, X 14 = 50.4v
Or for a conservative ~80% charge of 3.4v per cell, 47.6v.

The HLG-240H-54A has a DC range of ~27-54v, that is the last two numbers in the model number(HLG-240H-54A)
Oh, and make sure you get an "A" model(last char in the model name), they have the adjustable CC/CV.

I run mine at about 50-75% of the rated output current, just so they run cooler.
You can set the current/voltage with multimeter.

This looks interesting. But I thought chargers specifically had circuitry for different charging stages. Does using a power supply like that essentially make it a single-stage charger that always outputs its rated wattage (or however much my batteries can sink)? When you say "A" type do you mean the "AB" type as that one appears to be able to adjust both the voltage and have the dimming (variable load) option?

 

[andyshinn]

Ah, my mistake. Reading the datasheet more closely I can see that only the "A" type has both the current and voltage adjustments. The "AB" type only does current adjustments from the DIM leads.

 

[andyshinn]

For future people and search engines I am going to post that the Chargery C10325 charger _actually_ has a power supply mode that I did not realize it had. This makes it work like a CV/CC power supply and doesn't try to detect the battery voltage or shut off when done.

On the battery chemistry selection screen you need to scroll down past the last selection (I didn't realize it scrolled further down) and there is a "power supply" option. Once you select this it will let you select the voltage and constant current. Then hold down the button for 3 seconds like you normally would and it turns on the power supply and doesn't turn off until you click the button again.

With this mode the battery is taking a charge and the XLITE is cutting it off when the cells reach the soft OVP.

 

[thepronghorn]

Struggling to find a 14S LiFePO4 charger that will can start without voltage applied. The new battery pack I built is 14S LiFePO4 with Ennoid XLITE BMS and the BMS will not enter charge mode without voltage applied and my charger (Chargery C10325) won't start charging when it detects zero volts.
The usual places (Amaon and Ali) seem to have plenty of 15S or 16S but never 14S.

Did I just build an unusual LiFePO4 pack size?

And yes 14S LiFePo4 is not the most common pack configuration. The nominal voltage is only ~44.8V which is why people usually go 15S to get right to 48V nominal or 16S to get a little extra speed and still stay under the 60V safety threshold/63V capacitor voltage rating.