Reliable 48V Charger

[HyenaFuzz]

Hi, the charger for my ebike has died after 5 years of use, and I'm looking for a replacement. Biggest priorities are reliability, getting something that won't start a fire or damage the battery if I forget to unplug it once the battery is fully charged, and is under $200. Fan or fanless is fine, don't care about charging the battery super fast, but having options to trickle charge or charge at a normal rate would be nice.

Battery is a Jumbo Shark 48V 17.5Ah, Samsung 35E cells, uses a 5.5mm barrel connector. Old charger was a UY180 rated at 3A.

Options I am currently aware of:
A local shop has a FTH power charger for $60. Sounds like a basic 3A charger with a plastic case that may or may not have a fan.

MeanWell power supply looks like a solid option, but there are so many different options available, and it sounds like an extra device might need to be paired with it when using it as a charger. Any advice on picking out which power supply to get and what to pair it with?

Luna Advanced charger looks like it would do exactly what I want, but might not be any more reliable than some other cheap charger. Any opinions?

Are there any other options worth considering?

 

[Apartunis]

I much prefer chargers without fans. Fans fail and then your charger dies.

Meanwell HLG-240H-54A would do great for your battery. It does not need anything added except a 5.5mm plug on the output wires. You will have to set the adjustable voltage using a multimeter. You can set the voltage to something less than 100% state of charge to extend the lifespan of the battery. I use 52.6V for my 48V packs. For a pack as big as yours you might as well turn the current all the way up, which would give about 4.5A. I would not jump up to a bigger Meanwell unless you change the charge plug to one with higher current rating.

 

[Papa]

I much prefer chargers without fans.

With or without fans, I always mount chargers vertically (the PCB vertical) - with air intake at the bottom and output opening on top. My failure rate has diminished noticeably since.
I'm not fond of budget chargers housed in plastic, absent of cooling ports.

 

[99t4]

I'm not fond of budget chargers housed in plastic, absent of cooling ports.

Agree, they seem to get unreasonably hot which can't be good for the internal components. And the cheap plastic chargers with fans usually come with short-lived fans, I've even received some with fans DOA (looking at you, aliexpress).

 

[HyenaFuzz]

Good to hear the Meanwell doesn't need much extra, I've already got a multimeter. Thanks for the advice!

I think I can count my old charger among those that have died from the fan failing. About a year ago the fan started making some unpleasant noise, I lubricated it, the noise went away. It kept working up until a few weeks ago, when the fan seemed to shut off earlier than normal when charging, and I didn't stop to think that it might still be charging and generating heat.

 

[A-DamW]

Good to hear the Meanwell doesn't need much extra, I've already got a multimeter. Thanks for the advice!

I think I can count my old charger among those that have died from the fan failing. About a year ago the fan started making some unpleasant noise, I lubricated it, the noise went away. It kept working up until a few weeks ago, when the fan seemed to shut off earlier than normal when charging, and I didn't stop to think that it might still be charging and generating heat.

I can vouch for, and highly reccomend Meanwell HLG series power supplies, I have 4 of them.

They have an MTBF(mean time between failure) in excess of 50,000 hours.

I usually adjust the amperage to about half the rated output, just so it runs comfortably hot to the touch in the summertime.

Meanwell HLG-240H-54A would do great for your battery.

This^

The first number(240) is the rated wattage, second number(54) is the nominal voltage.

Make sure you get a model ending with a singular "A", some of their other models are not adjustable.

Datasheet:

HLG-240H-LED Driver Power Supply Solution - MEAN WELL

Finding suitable LED drivers for LED lighting? A complete range of 8~1000W drivers featuring dimmable, IP67 with global safety certificates and ship from stock.

led.meanwell.com