How to go about Charging 12 packs of 4s1p Lipos?

[tomtom123]

Seriously thinking about getting Lipos now, i want at least 48v and 15ah so i'm getting 12 of these lipos pack. putting them in series and pararrel for 59.2 v and 15ah. Each lipo pack is 4s1p:

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__15521__Turnigy_5000mAh_4S1P_14_8v_20C_hardcase_pack.html


The only question is how do i safely charge 12 of these packs at a time? Charging them one by one is too slow. Charging them Individually simultaneously means i have to waste money on more charging equipments. I looked up parallel balance charging online and that seemed OK, but i've only seen people parallel charge 6 packs at a time. the most ports i've seen on a parallel charging adapter is 6:
http://www.progressiverc.com/parallel-6x-balance-adapter.html.

I've seen some guy made his own parallel balance adapter board with like 8 ports, but i don't know how to do that, nor do i trust myself to do it safely.

So question still remains, how do i safely balance charge 12 packs of Lipos? could i just buy 3 of the parallel 6x adapter i've listed above, then connect one of the adapter head to the 6th port of another adapter? giving me 11 ports in total and then do the same thing for a 3 one and get 16 balance ports?
Anyone can share anyone methods they use to charge large amounts of lipos at the same time?

 

[999zip999]

Start with a big barbaque for a safe spot.

 

[Wishes]

Seriously thinking about getting Lipos now, i want at least 48v and 15ah so i'm getting 12 of these lipos pack. putting them in series and pararrel for 59.2 v and 15ah. Each lipo pack is 4s1p:

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__15521__Turnigy_5000mAh_4S1P_14_8v_20C_hardcase_pack.html


The only question is how do i safely charge 12 of these packs at a time? Charging them one by one is too slow. Charging them Individually simultaneously means i have to waste money on more charging equipments. I looked up parallel balance charging online and that seemed OK, but i've only seen people parallel charge 6 packs at a time. the most ports i've seen on a parallel charging adapter is 6:
http://www.progressiverc.com/parallel-6x-balance-adapter.html.

I've seen some guy made his own parallel balance adapter board with like 8 ports, but i don't know how to do that, nor do i trust myself to do it safely.

So question still remains, how do i safely balance charge 12 packs of Lipos? could i just buy 3 of the parallel 6x adapter i've listed above, then connect one of the adapter head to the 6th port of another adapter? giving me 11 ports in total and then do the same thing for a 3 one and get 16 balance ports?
Anyone can share anyone methods they use to charge large amounts of lipos at the same time?

You can charge more than just 6. With these https://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking...llel_Charge_Board_for_4_Packs_2_6S_XT60_.html
They can be connected in parallel and are fused protected at every point.

But you still shouldn't charge that many packs in parallel. Keep in mind, that the cell voltage the charger will read for cell 1, will be the average of the voltage for cell 1 of all 12 packs. If you have that many packs, there is the possibility that one of them can be low or too high, and the charger will not see it because it will be averaged out by so many others. And cell imbalance during parallel charging is what causes 90% of fires associated to Lipos.

I would charge only 4 at a time at most using one of these fuse protected boards.

Wishes

 

[wesnewell]

There's all kinds of ways to charge a 16s3p pack made of 4s packs all at once. An rc charger as 4s12p or 8s6p. A 16s bms. Take your pick. Easiest would be with a bms, but you would have more control charging as 8s6p with an rc charger.

 

[drsolly]

I use exactly these batteries (14 of them). They are excellent value for money.

You can get 6-way parallel boards; I use one of those, and another two that I made myself. You would need to buy two of them. You'll also need two chargers. Hobbyking chargers can be pretty cheap; I use the 7 amp ones, and I power them from old PC power supplies (zero cost to me, I already had a few).

To do this, you need to unplug the batteries from whatever harness you've plugged them into, and plug them into your charger (and also plug in the balance ports). I've set up a system that makes it easy for me to do it; I have a charging harness and a driving harness, and I just swap from one to the other for driving or charging.

I'm sure everyone has already told you about lipos being potentially hazardous. Charge them in a place where you could have a bonfire, don't let them charge overnight or out of sight. I run with beepers that beep if any cell drops below 3.2v (bought from Hobbyking). I charge up to 4.2v and no more (the charger ensures that).

 

[999zip999]

You should charge and discharge each pack to weed out the packs that don't balance first. With H.K. lipo it would be good to buy two extras so 14 packs. These way if a dud you can still build your pack.
Icecube57 may build you the harness for charging and discharging for use.
Do your reading at top of page on lipo and many many other theads on E.S. There is a lot of stored energy in each cell and 48 cells or so for your pack.
What are your plan for use ?

 

[tomtom123]

Keep in mind, that the cell voltage the charger will read for cell 1, will be the average of the voltage for cell 1 of all 12 packs. If you have that many packs, there is the possibility that one of them can be low or too high, and the charger will not see it because it will be averaged out by so many others.

Wishes

I see what you mean, after looking at the how the parallel balance adapter cables work.

but a solution is i can just buy a couple of Battery medics, hook them up and balance using the battery medic right, that would work and they battery medic would be more accurate since it will check the voltage of each cell in each pack, rather than the average of each cell in all the packs?

 

[Wishes]

Keep in mind, that the cell voltage the charger will read for cell 1, will be the average of the voltage for cell 1 of all 12 packs. If you have that many packs, there is the possibility that one of them can be low or too high, and the charger will not see it because it will be averaged out by so many others.

Wishes

I see what you mean, after looking at the how the parallel balance adapter cables work.

but a solution is i can just buy a couple of Battery medics, hook them up and balance using the battery medic right, that would work and they battery medic would be more accurate since it will check the voltage of each cell in each pack, rather than the average of each cell in all the packs?

Yes and no. You have to keep in mind that the balancing current of the battery medic is minimal compared to your charger's ability to balance. I don't know what your charger is spec'd at, but mine does 4amps on the balance leads. The battery medic will handle 50 ma at best. Will that be enough to bring back cells that are out of balance during a charge? Maybe, maybe not, depends at what current you are charging at and how much unbalance there is. Although in theory it might work, you will have to sit there and keep an eye on all the cells because it will not report it back to your charger and make it stop if one spikes.

Wishes

 

[dogman dan]

Just to throw a monkey wrench into the planning, you do know that 16s lico is too high a voltage for the typical 48v controller?

16s lifepo4 charges to 58v or so

16s RC packs charge to 67v. 14s is optimal if you have a 48v controller. And, you can buy a 14s charger if you like.

Lots of people run 44v 12s packs because it can be more convenient to charge on smaller chargers.