I just received my set of 16, 280 AH lifepo4 batteries, and the first thing I want to do is top balance. I’ve checked them all and they are within 2 mV of each other, but I still wanna go through the exercise… Does anyone have a suggestion for a heavy duty, reliable, 120 V battery charger? TIA
Best 120v charger for lifepo4?
- Thread starter SolarRay
- Start date
MisterSandals
Participation Medalist
I didn't look but this has to have been asked and answered hundreds of times:
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MisterSandals
Participation Medalist
Did you find something you fancy? If you post it here (with link) I'm sure you'll get enough opinions to re-confuse you!
For top balancing, any benchtop power supply that can be dialed to 3.65v will work.
But if you're asking for a AC-DC charger that has a LiFePO4 charge profile, that's a different question.
But if you're asking for a AC-DC charger that has a LiFePO4 charge profile, that's a different question.
Thank you for responding - here's my biggest concern: Until I have my solar panels, charge controller, etc. purchased and set up, I just want to be able to connect my 16 Litium batteries to my 10k inverter and start using it daily. It will be powering (1) portable A/C unit, (1) upright refrigerator, and (1) small chest freezer. All 3 of these appliances will run 24/7 off the inverter. For now, I want to have my batteries near a full state of charge all the time (obviously). To do that during the interim, I will need a large, reliable battery charger. What I am unable to find is "any" 120v charger on the market that will be able to charge 16 280AH Lithium batteries in a 24v configuration fast enough to keep up with my daily load requirements...
MisterSandals
Participation Medalist
If you have 120v AC available, why do you want to use it to charge DC batteries and then use an inverter to convert it back to 120v AC?
Most of us don't even bother trying to run air conditioning off of batteries.
There has been a lot of discussion of AC-DC converters in the past on the forum. A lot of that has resulted in disappointment in what's available from the typical vendors that make converters for lead acid batteries. The LiFePO4 charge profile isn't that great.
If you have access to a stout 120v source with plenty of amps, you can stack converters in parallel to increase the number of amps pushed into the battery bank.
There has been a lot of discussion of AC-DC converters in the past on the forum. A lot of that has resulted in disappointment in what's available from the typical vendors that make converters for lead acid batteries. The LiFePO4 charge profile isn't that great.
If you have access to a stout 120v source with plenty of amps, you can stack converters in parallel to increase the number of amps pushed into the battery bank.
I'm working on a process - it's going to be a long time before I have a complete set up with solar, charge controler, all of it. In the mean time, I plan on doing more than just watching my batteries grow old and my inverter collect dust. Yes, it's redundant - but it will give me an opportunity to learn and "do" instead of just wait and watch... I'm playing - it's how I learn.
Thank you - that's an interesting comment and I will research more on the parallel stacking of converters. I have my reasons why I want to try this set up for awhile, and I will learn from the experience. Again, appreicate the response.
PD9100L - Progressive Dynamics
The Mighty Mini Compact All-In-One System offers an AC/DC Power Distribution Panel and Inteli-Power Converter with Charge Wizard battery charging technology.
www.progressivedyn.com
schmism
Solar Addict
Its not recommended that you "test" with your battery pack without both a BMS hooked up and a regular source to monitor and charge the battery. There are a number of posts you can find on the forum of people trying to ballance or otherwise "test" with their new cells only to under discharge or overcharge new cells because they were just in the "testing phase" and didnt have all the "normal" limiting devices built in.
you can use the link in my sig for how to converter server power supplies into chargers. Otherwise you can visit the battery section for the hundreds of threads on amazon/aliexpress bench top power supplies people have bought to charge LFP cells.
for non-standard chargers I would recommend you run the input into your solar charge controller. This would have prevented Will's 48v battery pack failure from charging with a "dumb" charger.
IMHO if your not going to have a minimum a BMS and MPPT charge controller to "play" with your new battery pack. then just let it sit on a shelf. It will be happy sitting at 80% charge for many months.
you can use the link in my sig for how to converter server power supplies into chargers. Otherwise you can visit the battery section for the hundreds of threads on amazon/aliexpress bench top power supplies people have bought to charge LFP cells.
for non-standard chargers I would recommend you run the input into your solar charge controller. This would have prevented Will's 48v battery pack failure from charging with a "dumb" charger.
IMHO if your not going to have a minimum a BMS and MPPT charge controller to "play" with your new battery pack. then just let it sit on a shelf. It will be happy sitting at 80% charge for many months.
