Can someone help me ID the pots on this charger?[solved]

[Kin]

Hi, anyone.

I found this charger in my pile-of-stuff (charger was received from cycle9 closing parting) and realized there's a chance it could be adjusted to 49v. It's right now a 42v output charger, but if it was originally adjusted down to 42v, then I suppose it might get high enough for 12S LiPo (assuming that if it was adjusted up to 42v from something lower, there's very little chance I can get it all the way to 49v).

Thing is, I'm not really sure what the three pots might do. Presumably, one of them adjusts voltage. Since it appears to be a very common charger design I was hoping maybe somewhere here has figured out the different functions.

Will it be safe (for the charger) for me to fiddle with each and see how they affect output? I just don't want to move any of them without knowing at least what they *might* be. I am somewhat curious what they might regulate besides voltage.




Solved: A very short spin later, I have a 49.2v charger. Sweet.g

 

[davidyerger]

I think this thread has the info you want

 

[Kin]

I think this thread has the info you want

Ahhh, ashamed I didn't even search this time. Not sure I would have found it if I searched, but thanks a lot. That thread has everything.

 

[Kin]

For what its worth, a repost,

Notice that there are 3 POTs; let’s call them Top-Left (TL), Top-Right (TR), and Bottom-Right (BR).
I hooked up my multimeter to the Plus/Minus of a spare length of power cord and connected the other end to the charger.
Tested charger at start-up: LED on left lights-RED, voltage ramps to 43.6, and second LED on right goes AMBER (charging mode). Current draw (Amps) not recorded.
After a few seconds, LED-AMBER goes GREEN (charging is complete). Voltage stays at 43.6. I cycled this a few times to ensure stability and accuracy of measurement; there was no drift.

Twiddling:
After start-up and right LED lights GREEN (no time to twid whilst cycling up), dialed BR POT both in CW and CCW directions: No affect perceived or recorded.
Twiddled TR in the same manner, and also received like result
Repeat with TL, and … BINGO! We have a winner:
Tuning Top-Left POT CW to limit reduces output to 36.2V consistently after several attempts.
Tuning Top-Left POT CCW to limit increases output to 50.4 consistently after several attempts.
I returned the POT adjustment to precisely 43V, concluding my effort. The setting is quite stable after repeated cycling.

Perhaps someone more skilled can ascertain the reason for the two right-side pots. I, however am quite satisfied, and I shall conduct a field charging test on one of my LiPo arrays.

Again, thanks for the show of support, KF

The other two pots should regulate current, and end of charge light

 

[Kin]

I just want to update that I isolated which pot controls current and which one controls the led indicator.

If you place the controller down (only one side is stable, the other has a bump) you have the situation of pots

X___Y
____Z

X is the voltage pot (as determined by others).

Shifting Y with an almost-full pack affected the LED indicator, and turning it to the right (clockwise) would make the end of charge turn off sooner, meaning that it increases the cutoff point (charger puts out less current as the battery approaches the final voltage). Turning it far counter-clockwise should make it more suitable for a BMS unit that wants a trickle charge.


I have not yet determined whether the "Z" increases current in the clockwise direction, or decreases it, but I turned it all the way in one direction (this pot only has a small rotational range) and will be watching if my charger gets warm quickly next time I need to charge up.

I thought I should add the words tenergy in my post. Because king pan makes the charger, and multiple people might look for the HP8204 charger to see which pot adjusts what adjustment.