diy solar

diy solar

first charge LiFePo SOK 12v

e67

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Jul 7, 2022
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Most newer lipos ship at 30 %,no? If you get one but don't have a stand alone lithium capable charger can you just let the solar panels do the first
charge before you adjust the battery monitor...? cheers..
 
Any suitable charger will do. Never charge without BMS protection.

You plan to top balance?

 
I have 1 SOK 100ah. Its at 11.5v Can I use my Noco genius 3500 on the slow .9 amp setting 12v to charge it the first time?It doesn't have a lithium specific setting.
If so then what voltage should I unplug it? It will be solar charged from then on...
 
Ah... battery, not DIY. yeah. Knock yourself out. Any 12V charger is better than none. The battery will protect itself if needed.

If it gets to 14.4V measured at the battery terminals with a voltmeter for 30 minutes, you're charged.
 
I canceled that one also. I will just use the Noco 3500 to 14v and then go solar. The SOK doesn't have the bulk and float specs on the sticker...?THey only say charged is 14.6v.
do you know what bulk and float specs are for the 12v 100 ah....? I am using a Midnite Solar KID controller ....
 
I got the SOK 12v at 11.5 volts when delivered. I put it on the Noco at 1 amp but only till it got to 13.3v. Now I have it on the solar and its staying in float at about 10 amps charging and 13.8 volts so far. Per signature solar tech support I set the bulk rate at 14.7/float13.8... but should I put a time value in there also like 10 minutes or something?That would hold it at 14.7 for 10 min.,no? Right now its 0 minutes. Maybe that's why it is in float continually?
 
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The Noco tech DOES know something and is trying to protect you and your investment.

You know that many smart chargers designed for FLA/AGM, when they see a terminal voltage less than say 10.7 volts will apply a "desulfation pulse" of about 16 to 22v rapidly in an attempt to desulfate just a bit to allow that chemistry to accept a normal charge. It all depends on the charger, but many have this or other "fla resuscitation or optimization" type features.

Oh sure, your bms should protect itself upon seeing the first desulfation pulse. Will it continue to do so when the 3000th pulse finally kills it or damages it?

Maybe. Maybe not. The Noco's are designed to have a CC of 14.6v. But did you know that with the typical clamp-type connections, and a bit of high resistance, you may never reach beyond 14.4v (which is cool). AND that the CV is "ramped", ie dropping from say a max of 5A, down to 2A, and then down to 1A to allow for finer bms balancing with the typical on-board bms bleeders?

Not *everything* is a conspiracy in the battery world. :)
 
Luckily it was over 11v when I unboxed it. I have been trying to get it to 14.5 and keep it there via solar. But it won't go past 14.2
before it goes to float and 13.8. Maybe if it was heavily discharged it might go up to 14.5...??otherwise it probably has cells that
aren't perfect. But you can rebuild the SOK with new cells...I will save some money someday by that feature..
 
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