Author Topic: How does a Battery Management System work when charging?  (Read 6442 times)

Offline Thuktun

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How does a Battery Management System work when charging?
« on: June 21, 2016, 08:53:12 AM »
I know what it does, but how? Does it allow all the cells to charge fully and then when and if one of them reaches 4.2v it starts dumping current or does it attempt to keep all the cells at the same level as they charge?

I ask because I have so much capacity I don't need to charge my battery to 100%. Not charging to 100% can double the life your battery. Currently I'm charging my 14s10p battery half at time with a balance charger. It keeps all the cells at the same voltage as it charges so I keep an eye on it and when it reaches 4.1v per cell I shut it off. When my BMS arrives in the mail I'm going to build a charger to charge the whole thing at once. If I set it to cut off at 57.4v will it charge all the cells to 4.1v or will some of them end up at 4.2, some at 3.9, some at 4.0? Or does this vary by BMS?

Offline Bikemad

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Re: How does a Battery Management System work when charging?
« Reply #1 on: June 21, 2016, 01:08:10 PM »
I know what it does, but how? Does it allow all the cells to charge fully and then when and if one of them reaches 4.2v it starts dumping current or does it attempt to keep all the cells at the same level as they charge?

Most typical BMS units used in eBike batteries use the "Top balance" technique which only begins balancing the cells when the battery is almost fully charged and any one of the individual cells reaches ~4.2V (~3.65V for LiFePO4 cells).

As the first cell reaches its maximum target voltage of ~4.2V, a resistance is automatically placed in parallel with the individual cell to bleed off excess current and prevent the cell from being overcharged.
Unfortunately, due to size limitations and limited heat dissipation, the resistance can only absorb a very low current (usually around 85mA) so the BMS has to limit the available charging current to a constant 85mA or less to ensure the maximum cell voltage isn't exceeded.

As further cells reach their 4.2V target voltage, the process continues until all of the cells reach their target voltage.
It's around this stage that the constant voltage charging cuts in and the current slowly decreases until it falls below a certain level where the BMS then completely disconnects the charging current (usually accompanied by the green LED lighting up on the charger).

Unfortunately, the only way the BMS can fully balance the 14 cells is to charge them to the target voltage of 4.2V per cell from a 58.8V power source.

You could set your power supply to 58.8V and use 3 diodes in series to drop the voltage to ~57V (~4.07V per cell) for the majority of charges and simply bypass the diodes to perform an occasional fully balanced charge if required.

You could also occasionally balance them to 4.1V per cell with your iMax B8 charger by selecting "LiIo 3.6V" instead of "LiPo 3.7V" and charging half the pack at a time (or both halves in parallel if you disconnect the bms :o).
This might balance them a lot quicker as the iMax B8 has a much higher 300mA balance current. ;)

Alan
 

Offline Thuktun

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Re: How does a Battery Management System work when charging?
« Reply #2 on: June 22, 2016, 12:15:16 PM »
I went back and reread the description for the BMS I ordered, it specifically says it doesn't balance until the end.

 Hmmmmm. Maybe I won't bother to use it. My commute is 6kms each way, my 20Ah battery should get me about 50kms. I'm not worried about over discharging lol. I have 8s cell monitors coming in the mail anyway, should be here any day now, they'll cover me for the few times I go further.

I use about 5Ah to and from work each day, I've been setting the cutoff when charging with the balance charger to that amount. On windier days I set it to 5.5Ah. It cuts out around the same 4.1v per cell each day, never thought to change the battery type. Thanks!

Offline Bikemad

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Re: How does a Battery Management System work when charging?
« Reply #3 on: June 22, 2016, 01:18:04 PM »
My commute is 6kms each way, my 20Ah battery should get me about 50kms. I'm not worried about over discharging lol. I have 8s cell monitors coming in the mail anyway, should be here any day now, they'll cover me for the few times I go further.

Over discharging can also happen when you accidentally put your bike away for several days without remembering to disconnect the battery. ::)

I was awakened in the middle of the night by a very loud constant beeping coming from my battery monitor when I did this once.  :-[

Alan
 

Offline Thuktun

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Re: How does a Battery Management System work when charging?
« Reply #4 on: June 23, 2016, 10:59:57 AM »
Possible but not likely. There's a bright blue LED voltmeter on my handlebars. I would notice it passing the bike in my kitchen.