Charging 44v 10ah lipo pack? 4x 22.2v HK batts

[cajunjay]

Hi guys

Got 4x 22.2v 5ah batteries connected up to make a 44v 10ah pack.

Got the cheapest £20 charger off HK but finding it a pain having to charge each battery one by one. Is there any other quicker way to do this without buying an expensive charger?

Thanks

 

[ian.mich]

Hi guys

Got 4x 22.2v 5ah batteries connected up to make a 44v 10ah pack.

Got the cheapest £20 charger off HK but finding it a pain having to charge each battery one by one. Is there any other quicker way to do this without buying an expensive charger?

Thanks

Parallel the JST connectors, get a battery medic or 2, and get a 12S bulk charger or a single s-350-48.

 

[docnjoj]

Or get a Thunder 1220 and not have to rework serial/parallel at all. $90. It needs a 12-15 volt power supply, preferably 10 amps or so. That will cost $30-40. No other expenses. So i depends on what you want and what you want to spend.
otherDoc

 

[wesnewell]

Is that Leicester NC USA. Leicester MA USA, Leicester UK, or some other Leicester? Please enter country in location. Most cheap 6s charges are 50w max. You can get parallel charge and balance cables to parallel them and balance charge them all at once but it's still going to take ~8 hours to charge them with a 50W charger. With a thunder 1220 you could charge the whole pack without having to take it apart in a little over an hour. You'll need a 350W power supply for the charger. Many people use old spare computer PSU's

 

[wayover13]

Parallel the JST connectors, get a battery medic or 2, and get a 12S bulk charger or a single s-350-48.

I apologize if it appears I am sidetracking this discussion, but can someone please define for me what "12S" means or stands for in this context? Since I see this abbreviation used here frequently I thought I might add that definition to the electric assist acronym/abbreviation dictionary thread I started today. Thanks. And now, back to your previously scheduled programming . . .

 

[cajunjay]

I will consider a thunder 1220 once I have more funds as that is ideal.

For now I dont mind it taking 8 hours, that is fine as I can just leave it to charge without having to come back every two hours to swap over.

So I need parallel charge and balance cables to parallel them and balance charge them all at once where can I buy these from and the work involved isnt too taxing?


Thanks guys

 

[wesnewell]

12s means 12 battery cells in series. You bought 6s packs. 2 of them in series is 12s. With 4 6s packs you can make 2 12s packs. Parallel the 2 12s together and you have a 12s2p battery pack. 44.4V nominal. 50.4V fully charged to 4.2V per cell.

 

[ian.mich]

Or get a Thunder 1220 and not have to rework serial/parallel at all. $90. It needs a 12-15 volt power supply, preferably 10 amps or so. That will cost $30-40. No other expenses. So i depends on what you want and what you want to spend.
otherDoc

Huh? one must parallel the JST connectors even if using a balance charger? For a balance charger the easiest way to do it is get a $80 BC168 that is isolated and charges 6S 5A only through the balance ports, and a meanwell can be sourced for $30. With the JSTs in parallel with about $30-40 worth of stuff from Methods (2x 6S parallel boards and 2x jumpers), you would have only 2 balance charger ports, the two JST connectors that paralleling produces. Could invest in two BC168s. But ultimately the cheapest is to parallel the JST connectors with Methods stuff, get an $11 battery medic or 2, and a $45 s-350-48 for bulk charging to 50V.

 

[wayover13]

12s means 12 battery cells in series. You bought 6s packs. 2 of them in series is 12s. With 4 6s packs you can make 2 12s packs. Parallel the 2 12s together and you have a 12s2p battery pack. 44.4V nominal. 50.4V fully charged to 4.2V per cell.

Thanks for the clarification. So the "s" stands for "series" and the "p" stands for "parallel?"

 

[ronnbot]

The cheapest way to charge all 4 is to use a balance board: http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__24230__Parallel_charging_Board_for_6_packs_2_6S_T_Connector_.html

HK has other versions so get the one that matches your connectors. I have one of these to balance charge 6 x 4s lipos at once.

 

[ian.mich]

The cheapest way to charge all 4 is to use a balance board: http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__24230__Parallel_charging_Board_for_6_packs_2_6S_T_Connector_.html

HK has other versions so get the one that matches your connectors. I have one of these to balance charge 6 x 4s lipos at once.

This http://www.methtek.com/2012/05/04/parallel-boards-6s-5s-4s/
with a jumper and a BC168 is far far simpler.

 

[ronnbot]

This http://www.methtek.com/2012/05/04/parallel-boards-6s-5s-4s/
with a jumper and a BC168 is far far simpler.

Those seem like parallel boards for balance taps only. Its not ideal to charger through the balance taps only as you shouldn't run high current through those taps - around 1-2A only. Its better to balance charge with both main discharge leads and balance taps from the battery pack connected.

 

[jbalat]

Guys I'm in exactly the same boat with lipos. 12s 8000mah with 2 off 5s and 1 off 2s. I have looked at the thunder power and the Hyperion 1420i which are both good but not ideal since I still need to get to the balance ports which are in a closed cartridge.
Then I came across the smart bms from bmsbattery and it looks like it will do the job. I can put it in the battery case and it will balance and prevent overcharge while charging and cut off the voltage before the cells get too low. All you need then is a cheap brick charger which is also available from bmsbattery. Cost Will be cheaper than the other chargers.
Will this work ????

 

[ian.mich]

This http://www.methtek.com/2012/05/04/parallel-boards-6s-5s-4s/
with a jumper and a BC168 is far far simpler.

Those seem like parallel boards for balance taps only. Its not ideal to charger through the balance taps only as you shouldn't run high current through those taps - around 1-2A only. Its better to balance charge with both main discharge leads and balance taps from the battery pack connected.

Hyena would beg to differ... unseriesing is completely impractical anyway, bulk charging is ultimately the best.

 

[skeetab5780]

hey thats funny, if you really do live in leicester MA that 1 town over from me. And i got plenty of LIPO chargers. let me know if you need anything

 

[MadRhino]

Just quick bulk charge them with a power supply, or a combination of power supplies that is giving 50v. Lipos don't need to be balanced often, I bulk charge mine very fast twice a day for 6 weeks at least before even thinking of balancing. I have lipos here. that had been balanced only 2 or 3 times in 500 cycles.
RC chargers are good for balancing and testing batteries, but for everyday charging most of them are way too slow.

 

[Drunkskunk]

A couple of BC168 is the way to go, along with a good bulk charger.
I've been running Lipo on my bikes for 6 years, and with RC for 9. While sometimes I can go for a long time between banance charges, other times the same pack will need balancing every charge. A lot depends on how matched the cells where to begine with, but they can also discharge and recharge at diffrent rates depending on the temp. on a big pack, the inner cells can get hotter and keep their heat longer than the outer cells, which can distort the voltage levels and balances. If you bulk charge, check the balance of the cells before each charge.

No worries about dumping 8 amps through the HK balance taps. I was hesitant of the same issue, but have tested it and found at even 8 amps, the wires stay cool.

 

[mxer]

Same set up as me 12s2p, I use a 400w alloy shell charger from bms battery had it set at factory 50v never looked back 1hr 10mins fully chargered, Been nearly two years (12miles 3times a week) now and only ballanced once Amazing they have stayed so ballanced all cells still within 0.03 mv in two years ....discharged at 30 amps (3c)

I watch my lipo's like a hawk (A MUST!!) always checked before bulked Cellog 8s (great toy!!!). As they have done soooooo well i am thinking of ritireing them and getting some new ones.....

 

[jbalat]

But what about using the 400w 50v charger with the smart bms.. At least you have low voltage protection ? You can order it preconfigured so you shouldn't need the expensive usb cable

 

[ronnbot]

Hyena would beg to differ... unseriesing is completely impractical anyway, bulk charging is ultimately the best.

True enough. Besides, the OP's charger probably can't charge a 6S at high enough current via the balance taps only to be an issue. A moot point on my part.

At any rate, cajunjay doesn't need to buy an expensive charger to charge all 4 6s pack at once. All he needs to do is buy a balance board. The down side is it's gonna take a long time; up to 8 hrs from almost fully discharged, assuming the cheap charger is only capable of 50W

 

[dnmun]

you can buy a 600 watt EMC bulk charger for 36V lifepo4 and adjust it to the 49.8V final voltage and then use a 12S BMS for lipo like one of these to monitor it and keep it balanced all the time.

http://www.bestekpower.com/444v12spcmbmspcbforli-ionli-polymerbatterypack/

i like the 15S D126 for lipo now most of all.

 

[icecube57]

Hmmmm intresting... V----------Look Below...