LiPo bulk charging with LiFe charger

[Mondy]

I have searched the forum and I haven't got the answers I'm looking for. Since this is a LiPo question, I want to be sure, as I would like my house not to burn down

My battery is a 18s3p zippy 15Ah pack. I'm going to use Methods LVC/HVC boards with the HVC cutoff breaker, and now I am looking for a bulk charger.
Can I use this one: http://www.bmsbattery.com/alloy-she...po4li-ionlead-acid-battery-ebike-charger.html ? I think the specs on the site are a bit vague. It says 72V6A, and this would bring my cells to 4 volts each, this is a bit under the potential 4,15V, is this going to be an annoyance for me? Is it even possible to use this charger with lipos? Any other recommendation for a bulk lipo charger?

I hope someone can help me with these questions, as I won't take any chances when it comes to lipo.

 

[dnmun]

you should get the kingpan lipo charger which still has the latching output shutoff daughterboard intact. that will stop the charger when it reaches the fully charged voltage. you can adjust the output voltage to the exact voltage you wish to charge the cells up to. i think 4.12V is the preferred fully charged voltage.

 

[dogman dan]

Can't you order those bms battery chargers to stop at the voltage of your choice?

I'd ask for 73.8v, for a 4.1v per cell stopping point.

 

[dnmun]

the BMS battery charger does not have the latching shutoff output. you have to see if you can buy one from ping.

 

[Mondy]

Why do I need a latching shutoff when I have HVC cutoff? It should be sufficient that the charger reduces current when voltage is reached, or? 3 replies to my post, is the experience really this limited around bulk charging of lipos? The wiki tells very little also.

 

[amberwolf]

Unless you have a BMS that uses bleed resistors to drain off the excess charge current/voltage once a charger goes into low-current mode (rather than cutoff), then that trickle current will continue to charge already-full cells. With RC-LiPo, that could result in a fire. It might not, but it could.

Methods' HVC should cut off the charge current before that happens, but it is not intended to be an every-day cutoff for either HVC or LVC, rather an emergency "ooops something went wrong" setup so you don't get a fire. You would want the charger to be designed to stop charging on it's own before it ever reaches that point.

 

[Mondy]

Unless you have a BMS that uses bleed resistors to drain off the excess charge current/voltage once a charger goes into low-current mode (rather than cutoff), then that trickle current will continue to charge already-full cells. With RC-LiPo, that could result in a fire. It might not, but it could.

Methods' HVC should cut off the charge current before that happens, but it is not intended to be an every-day cutoff for either HVC or LVC, rather an emergency "ooops something went wrong" setup so you don't get a fire. You would want the charger to be designed to stop charging on it's own before it ever reaches that point.

Aha, good to know. Thanks!
So, are there any recommendations for a LiPo bulk charger with shutoff for 18s that does not cost an arm or a leg?