My adventure with Chargery appears to be done .

[grizzzman]

I went to cycle the pack to compare it to the AH readings between the Chargery and the Bogart TM2030 Battery monitor. I noticed that the charger screen was on. I could change pages but could not assess the main menu or get the stop button to work. A power cycle did not correct it. the main unit was real hot. Disassembled, put a fan on it. Still no go. Tried to reflash. Was unable due to the comm port was not seeing the main unit.

 

[curiouscarbon]

hoping the rest of system is all good otherwise. spooky.

 

[Cdkipp]

A bit off topic but that Bogart TM2030 Battery monitor seems like old technology now but that thing is really really good.

 

[grizzzman]

hoping the rest of system is all good otherwise. spooky.

looks like everything else is good.

 

[Steve_S]

Geez that sux. Did you have some passive balancing going on which results in heat ?
Any possibility of a short, power contacting the casing or other leads. I poofed one instantly by accidentally contacting a relay control lead.

Point to note for all, IF you are using the Passive Balancing feature, that can generate a lot of heat the BMS casing has to dissipate. It NEEDS Airflow to do so.

My BMS' are attached to the battery boxes with 2-way velcro so I can remove them if needed (was a good idea too). I worried about heat but as I do not use the passive balancing due to having Active Balancers, I don't have to worry about the temps. When I did try the Passive, the heat kinda freaked me out.

 

[Factory400]

I went to cycle the pack to compare it to the AH readings between the Chargery and the Bogart TM2030 Battery monitor. I noticed that the charger screen was on. I could change pages but could not assess the main menu or get the stop button to work. A power cycle did not correct it. the main unit was real hot. Disassembled, put a fan on it. Still no go. Tried to reflash. Was unable due to the comm port was not seeing the main unit.

I am not surprised to hear this after taking a detailed look at the circuits yesterday. Very little effort made in the way of self destruct prevention.

I am also wondering if the promised new version will be enough of a step up.

 

[grizzzman]

Update: It is the main Controller that is producing all the heat. You can see the discoloration due to the heat.

 

[Bob B]

I'm kinda wondering if Chargery is going to get their product improved just about the time most people have moved on to something else.
I'm actually still liking mine for what I am doing with it. If it self destructs ... not sure what I will do.

 

[Factory400]

I still have not found a BMS that I trust for a cost that makes sense for what I am doing. Maybe I will mod my Chargery, build my own, or bite the bullet and get a commercial unit of some kind.

My biggest requirement is reliability as is probably many others. What I have seen at this level gives me no reason to trust the BMS.

 

[grizzzman]

Geez that sux. Did you have some passive balancing going on which results in heat ?
Any possibility of a short, power contacting the casing or other leads. I poofed one instantly by accidentally contacting a relay control lead.

Point to note for all, IF you are using the Passive Balancing feature, that can generate a lot of heat the BMS casing has to dissipate. It NEEDS Airflow to do so.

My BMS' are attached to the battery boxes with 2-way velcro so I can remove them if needed (was a good idea too). I worried about heat but as I do not use the passive balancing due to having Active Balancers, I don't have to worry about the temps. When I did try the Passive, the heat kinda freaked me out.

The screen was on. In storage mode. No active balancer hooked up. I had stopped passively balancing due to the incorrect voltages causing cell "imbalance" As far as heat from passive balancing goes I turned the main unit upside down so the heatsink would be right side up so less heat would go through the board it's self and had a fan on the unit so it would not shut down due to heat build-up and a large heatsink on the bottom side to encourage air flow.

 

[Steve_S]

The screen was on. In storage mode. No active balancer hooked up. I had stopped passively balancing due to the incorrect voltages causing cell "imbalance" As far as heat from passive balancing goes I turned the main unit upside down so the heatsink would be right side up so less heat would go through the board it's self and had a fan on the unit so it would not shut down due to heat build-up and a large heatsink on the bottom side to encourage air flow.

IMO, you went Above & Beyond to accommodate the possibilities. can't imagine doing any more than that... unless you extract the board and build a different casing with cooling fans etc.... no answer there.

One of the reasons I was attracted to the Chargery is the format / setup partly, not having any exposed PCB and modularity (being able to pop the LCD off).

Factory400 wants that cooked 8T I have to "examine it" hopefully good will come of that.