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JBD 200ah Heated Model

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mullamr

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Mar 11, 2021
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Wondering if there is anybody has any experience using the new JBD heated output model? Can't seem to find a manual anywhere. I would be interested to get some opinions on the reliability, amp draw, programmability, etc. This will certainly be a game changer for us in the northern climates
 
Just replaced a Daly 200a Smart BMS with a JBD 200a BMS with the heating pad terminal a few days ago. Nice upgrade. Can't speak about reliability ref this particular model, but JBD in general seems to have an excellent rep. Tested all the low/high voltage/current/temp cut-offs, plus the heating pad terminal and all seem to work perfectly. If either of the two external temp sensors reach the low-temp cut-off with charge current present, charge current is diverted from the cells and applied to the heating pad terminal. Supposedly the terminal is rated for 8a, but some have reported problems with heating pad current over 4-5a. Our heating pads draw 2.2a (26w) which heats our 4s 200ah cell pack just fine--even with temps <0f. The basic xiaoxiang BMS iOS app allows monitoring. Costs 6-7 dollars to activate the programming option. All-in-all very pleased with this unit. So nice to get all that crazy quirkiness of the Daly behind us.

Note, one of the online manuals for the JBD 200a heating pad model (with color pics) has the B- and C- terminals labeled in reverse. Be sure to wire it according to the B-/C- labels on the BMS circuit board itself.
 
Diverting the charge for heating means lost time for charging the battery. That is not a solution I would want. However, the simplicity of not needing a separate thermostat controller is nice.
 
This sounds like an awkward design by JBD. I'm a little disappointed. You should be able to set the heat-on temperature (as well as the heat-off temperature) in the app. The idea that the heat doesn't turn on until the BMS does a low temperature cutoff seems like a pretty bad choice. The heat should turn on well before, so that the BMS doesn't ever have to do the cutoff.
 
Horsefly said:
This sounds like an awkward design by JBD. I'm a little disappointed. You should be able to set the heat-on temperature (as well as the heat-off temperature) in the app. The idea that the heat doesn't turn on until the BMS does a low temperature cutoff seems like a pretty bad choice. The heat should turn on well before, so that the BMS doesn't ever have to do the cutoff.
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It will only come on when being charged and below the set temperature.
If it was always on while below a set temperature, you stand a good chance of draining the battery. So, it only comes on when below the temperature and a charging current is there. It won't allow charging the battery until it gets above 0.

There is logic to it, if you think about it. It doesn't need to be warm to discharge, that won't harm the battery.
 
Just John said:
It will only come on when being charged and below the set temperature.
If it was always on while below a set temperature, you stand a good chance of draining the battery. So, it only comes on when below the temperature and a charging current is there. It won't allow charging the battery until it gets above 0.

There is logic to it, if you think about it. It doesn't need to be warm to discharge, that won't harm the battery.
Click to expand...
Ok, so I understand the idea of not using the battery power to heat. It's probably just me, but I think that the various cut-offs of the BMS (low voltage, high voltage, over-current, low/high temperature, etc.) are the last line of defense. If you trigger one of them, you have something wrong in your system or its design. Having to hit low-temp cut-off to turn on the heat seems bad. Like I said, it's just me.

In my setup, I don't wait for the battery to get into the danger zone to do something. The heat is turned on at 50°F and off at 60°F. If the battery voltage ever gets below 25.8V (3.225V/cell), the heating is disabled. If the SCC wakes up and starts trying to charge, the battery voltage will pretty quickly show higher than 25.8V so the heating will be re-enabled. My heater runs for about 3 hours to heat the pack to 60°F, and depending on the temperature outside the battery box, it will take 9-15 hours for it to fall back to 50°F. The heater only pulls 1.2A.

I just think that if they would have better if they had allowed the heat turn-on (and turn-off) temperature to be programmable.
 
HRTKD said:
Diverting the charge for heating means lost time for charging the battery. That is not a solution I would want. However, the simplicity of not needing a separate thermostat controller is nice.
Click to expand...
Power is power. Whether you divert from charging, or charge batteries, then use that power to run heaters, you're still using power. In fact, heating your bank directly off the solar, rather than off the bank is more efficient, I would think. So your power diverts momentarily, while your bank maintains heat, then it switches right back to charging. I have to wonder, though, if a 40 watt heater load(for example) would cause your entire pv output to stop dead? Seems unlikely. Perhaps it only diverts the required power, and allows the remainder to be used normally? Idk. This is the first I'm hearing of this BMS. I've not yet done any research.
 
another drawback to self heating batteries is the time it takes to warm the battery to charging temps, especially in my area where I can see -40.
By the time the battery warms enough to charge you may have lost up to 3 hours of "charging time"

A Chins self heated:
heated from 0°C (32°F) to 10°C (50°F) for 1.5-2 hours.
If you heat it from -10°C (15°F) to +10°C (50°F), it will take 2-3 hours.

Without a box with high insulation value I can see a vicious cycle of warming then a bit of charging and then repeating the next day.

I'm with
Horsefly said:
In my setup, I don't wait for the battery to get into the danger zone to do something. The heat is turned on at 50°F and off at 60°F.
Click to expand...
I like to keep my batteries nice and comfy using a well insulated battery box and a simple seed starting heating pad between my pair of batteries.

The option of a self heating battery would be nice in case my heating pad fails but the premium price can't compare to having enough space to throw in a 40w light bulb if that happened
 
Yurtdweller said:
Power is power. Whether you divert from charging, or charge batteries, then use that power to run heaters, you're still using power. In fact, heating your bank directly off the solar, rather than off the bank is more efficient, I would think. So your power diverts momentarily, while your bank maintains heat, then it switches right back to charging. I have to wonder, though, if a 40 watt heater load(for example) would cause your entire pv output to stop dead? Seems unlikely. Perhaps it only diverts the required power, and allows the remainder to be used normally? Idk. This is the first I'm hearing of this BMS. I've not yet done any research.
Click to expand...

I think you're wrong. The amount of power I'm using to maintain the batteries at a "warm" temperature isn't much. The charging time lost to having to first heat the batteries could be significant. A battery at 0 F takes a long time to come up above 32 F. While it's warming, you may be trying to use power from the battery, further depleting the charge. In the winter you have limited sun exposure (less time and less insulation) so you have to be as efficient with that as you can.
 
HRTKD said:
I think you're wrong. The amount of power I'm using to maintain the batteries at a "warm" temperature isn't much. The charging time lost to having to first heat the batteries could be significant. A battery at 0 F takes a long time to come up above 32 F. While it's warming, you may be trying to use power from the battery, further depleting the charge. In the winter you have limited sun exposure (less time and less insulation) so you have to be as efficient with that as you can.
Click to expand...
Yes, but you do not want to charge when you are below freezing, anyway, right? So, if your pack is frozen, and your bms has shut off charging, then you are not losing charging. You MUST raise the temp above freezing before you can charge. That does raise the question, however, does that bms heat the pack when the sun doesn't shine? At night? I don't let my pack freeze. If it looks like cold weather, I keep my pack warm all night. I use a seedling heater that runs off my inverter. I only connect it to power when there is a possibility of freeze, and I am near Houston, Tx, so I only use mine on rare occasions, but it does not draw much juice when it is idle.

One further point: In winter, it's true there's less sunlight, however, cold solar panels work much better than hot ones. You get epic power boosts in cold weather:)

Edited to add: I just reread your comment, and I see we are actually of the same mind. Better to keep the pack warm and functioning properly, than to allow it to freeze overnight, then try to rewarm it. . The bms is, as intended, a Fail-safe. This implies that your bank stores enough power to do heat constantly. Mine does. This also implies that you have two heat pads. One for 'maintenance' and one as a 'last-ditch effort'.

I suppose, in off-grid, occasional use cabins, etc, it would be better to let this bms function unattended, than to leave a heater running full time, and potentially drain your battery. In an occasional-use scenario, losing a few hours of charging would be a non-issue.
 
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I may be misunderstanding some of the conversation here. You guys are talking about the time and energy to get the battery from some really cold temperature to something warmer where it can take a charge. I don't see any reason to ever allow it to get cold in the first place. The heater cycles on and back off again once or twice per day, and the cells stay warm.

I guess this BMS feature does allow the cells to get too cold so maybe that's my disconnect. I guess that is my confusion.
 
Horsefly said:
I may be misunderstanding some of the conversation here. You guys are talking about the time and energy to get the battery from some really cold temperature to something warmer where it can take a charge. I don't see any reason to ever allow it to get cold in the first place. The heater cycles on and back off again once or twice per day, and the cells stay warm.

I guess this BMS feature does allow the cells to get too cold so maybe that's my disconnect. I guess that is my confusion.
Click to expand...
Agreed. As I said, in my climate, it is mostly a non-issue, but I agree. Keep 'em warm, for best effect. It's just possible that in some scenarios, this bms may be useful. Not really sure what scenario, and I'm perfectly happy with the way mine is set up with the seedling heater. I've never had a cold-weather charging stoppage.
 
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