My continuing tale of woe.... no charger means I'm idle again. No way to use my LiFePO4
Thinking of selling off all the parts but what a waste. Especially, the battery. This whole experience can best be summed up as an expensive experiment or a tragic comedy.
Need any 36V balancing charger
Thu, 01/15/2009 - 04:51
#1
Need any 36V balancing charger
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Support V is for Voltage
All the bad luck seems stuck to you. I know the feeling. I just had a 3 year, can't win streak myself. Never had one that long before. Any sla charger of close to the right voltage can charge a lifepo4 pack. Usually the lifepo4 charger is just a sla charger that outputs slightly higher voltage. The higher voltage at the end of the charge cycle is needed by the bms to trigger the balancing function, but balancing is not required of a pack that has not become unbalanced. Last summer I stupidly put AC into the dc side of my ping charger, so I ended up using a charger from my sla pack to charge the ping. All it did was very slightly undercharge the battery. Since my pack was fine, this worked with no problems for about 1000 miles, or at least 100 cycles. Snag a sla charger, wherever it is cheapest, like ebay. Later, if funds aren't a problem, get a replacement charger from a lifepo4 supplier. Since I depend on my bike, I will never be without a second charger on hand.
The soneil brand chargers can usually have the voltage adjusted by turning up a screw inside. The one I did it to was a 36v. See the endless sphere thread, tweaking a soniel for details.
Be the pack leader.
36 volt sla schwinn beach cruiser
36 volt lifepo4 mongoose mtb
24 volt sla + nicad EV Global
Sorry for the plug, alnvilma, but I have one HighPower 36V4A LiFePO4 smart charger in my store. I think it's the lowest price around for a solid LiFePO4 charger. If not - please let me know. It's set for 3.65V per cell now, but can be adjusted easily to allow for a BMS (37V thru 49V).
I hope your year starts turning around starting at 5AM on the 16th of Jan!
Andy
www.rechargeablelithiumpower.com
Andy,
Don't be sorry for the plug, you made my [Birth]day! I ordered the product moments ago. For the same $ as a 'tweaked' Soneil, I might do better for my pack with (1) kind-of-weak cell. (one cell always lagged a little on the charger but ultimately always works fine). I found that goldenmotor sells my exact charger or did, but they don't respond and the Zane/Foxxpower/Aten group should receive no further promotion or business as far as I'm concerned.
Aside: dogman, you are a credit to the forum, too humble but, thanks for the knowledge and support!
If I get two more years out of this rig, I'll be one happy, retired puppy.
Thanks again
Alan in Portland
Nice, that oughta do the trick. I still say, if you depend on the bike, get a spare charger, cheap as you can find one. Only unbalanced lithium needs balancing, so you oughta be ok to use the cheapie for awhile if this ever happens again. The best way to avoid needing a spare is to have one sometimes.
Be the pack leader.
36 volt sla schwinn beach cruiser
36 volt lifepo4 mongoose mtb
24 volt sla + nicad EV Global