Ping LiFePO4 Chargers.

[Patriot]

I talked to Ping, and he said he'd sell me a charger for my 48v/20ah pack. He has two kinds, a 5a, and 2a.

However, I actually would prefer getting the small 2 amp charger he has.

Basic math tells me that to fully charge a 20ah battery would take 10 hours. I don't need super fast charging.

Is it a problem, other than a long charge time, to use a 2 amp charger for such a big battery?

 

[dogman dan]

Nope. Theoreticaly slow is better for the battery, but even the 5 amp is like 1/4 c for a 20 ah, so I doubt there is much difference between the two in terms of battery life. Only the bms keeps you from charging these cells at 1c.

 

[jha07]

I have both 2A and 5A chargers. The 5A seems to be made much better. The 2A charge makes a high pitch noise when it's charging. The 5A is very quite.
What are the cost of the chargers? I would go with 5A if it's not too much more.

 

[Patriot]

I have both 2A and 5A chargers. The 5A seems to be made much better. The 2A charge makes a high pitch noise when it's charging. The 5A is very quite.
What are the cost of the chargers? I would go with 5A if it's not too much more.

It is a bit more expensive. They are $91 vs. $57 shipped for the 2A charger.

The main reason I went with the 2A, is because I have to carry it in my box, and I have limitted space. It's very small and compact. I can even stuff a few more things in there with it if necessary. The bigger one appears that it may fit, but just barely. I'm not wanting to risk it.

Also, I think the little 2A doesn't even have a fan. Does it?

If so, that's fine. One less thing to break down.

 

[jha07]

I'm not sure if he's selling you the same chargers I got from him. But if there are the same, both chargers are the same size. The 5A charger weighs a lot more though. Both chargers have fans. I find the noise from the 2A charger very annoying. When I use it overnight, I have to use it in my bathroom with the door closed so I don't hear it while I sleep.

 

[Patriot]

No, I think it might be a newer one. I asked him for dimensions, to make sure it would fit in my bike, and he said the 2A is much smaller than his current 5A charger. He emphasized that it was "very small" compared to the 5A charger.

Dimensions-

5A charger- 170 x 90 x 60mm

2A charger- 133 x 57 x 36mm

So, the little 2A is roughly 5.25" x 2.25" x 1.5". That's really small.

So small in fact, I'm almost thinking it may be a sealed unit, and may not even have a fan.

My guess is, he's going with a newer, smaller version that costs less for use in his smaller AH batteries.

 

[dogman dan]

Keep the ping charger at home, so you don't rattle it to death on the road. I broke two that way before I started just leaving one at work. On the road, just carry a super cheap charger from ebay. It will shut off a couple volts short of the full ping charger charge, but it will NOT harm your pack. You DO NOT have to get balanced every single charge. My battery went 100 cycles on this type of charger before I got one that could be adjusted up to a higher voltage. You need a second charger around anyway, you don't want to have to wait weeks to ride again when good weather is happening if a charger blows. If you need faster charging, try to find a way to stash the expensive 5 amp charger so you don't have to carry it. These things are not designed to be carried around like your controller is. If you must carry, put it in a backpack or messenger bag to minimize the vibrations.

 

[snowranger]

I've opened up the 5 amp one to fix a inrush thermistor. The fan at the rear tends to rattle around since it is just resting in place. It's a good idea to keep them stationary.

 

[Patriot]

Keep the ping charger at home, so you don't rattle it to death on the road. I broke two that way before I started just leaving one at work. On the road, just carry a super cheap charger from ebay. It will shut off a couple volts short of the full ping charger charge, but it will NOT harm your pack. You DO NOT have to get balanced every single charge. My battery went 100 cycles on this type of charger before I got one that could be adjusted up to a higher voltage. You need a second charger around anyway, you don't want to have to wait weeks to ride again when good weather is happening if a charger blows. If you need faster charging, try to find a way to stash the expensive 5 amp charger so you don't have to carry it. These things are not designed to be carried around like your controller is. If you must carry, put it in a backpack or messenger bag to minimize the vibrations.

WOW!!!

That's a really good idea. It never even dawned on me to do that. DUH!!!

My battery box is well insulated with foam rubber to prevent vibration, but why risk it?

I actually tried to save myself some money, and bought a cheap 48v/3a SLA charger off ebay for $25.00. However, it only puts out 53-54v. And, it has a small fan. I can use this one, and leave the balancing charger at home.

I suppose, since my only long distance riding will be to work, I can just leave it at work, as well. Heck, for only $25.00, I can buy another one.

I never even thought of using it, since it won't balance. But, you're right, you really only need to balance the battery every few charges, or even less if you have good cells.

But, it will charge. GREAT IDEA!!!

I'm going to leave the Ping at home, where it belongs.

 

[dogman dan]

For a dumbass, I sometimes have some of that not so common, commonsense. My wife is the same way. She worked at the chem dept, and occasionally would have to show a phd that the big expensive machine worked better if plugged in. I think the janitors liked to mess with thier minds and unplug stuff randomly.

 

[nomad85]

There are 2 different 2 amp chargers, I have both, the smaller one is really nice, quiet and small. the larger one is a loud big easy to break thing, but it works, these are included with his batteries for free. I also have a 5 amp charger, it is very quiet as well, same size as the large 2 amp charger, but heavier. All the chargers have a fan.

 

[monster]

this is the ping charger i got. it makes too much fan noise. has anyone opened one of these up to put a bigger higher voltage fan in? should be an easy mod. i've done it with annoying laptop fans.

 

[monster]

I've opened up the 5 amp one to fix a inrush thermistor. The fan at the rear tends to rattle around since it is just resting in place. It's a good idea to keep them stationary.

so does that prevent arching when you plug in ? would be nice to have this on controllers as well but it would reduce efficiency surely.

 

[snowranger]

I don't notice any arcing when plugging in.

 

[monster]

i hear a crackle when i plug my charger in and i assume its the caps filling up the same as with controllers. i've never seen any arc but i know its happening.

my charger sometimes does a weird sound when starting up. sounds like the fan is reving like a motor bike for about 6 short bursts then charges as normal.

is this normal?

 

[fechter]

Many of the cheap SLA chargers have a trim pot inside where you can adjust the voltage.

 

[Patriot]

Yes, some do. I already opened this one up, and it doesn't have one. My guess is it will only get up to about 54v or so. I can use it at work, since it's cheap. I can charge my cells for 8 hours at work, then ride home. Good enough. Then balance with my better 60v charger when I get home.