12VDC, 30A Smart Battery Charger for $40.

[cypher2001]

@carlos1w how is it we can fix this... Today i found out my RV panel supplier has a replacement model for the panel RVs use... WF-8950L2-MBA. Is a plug and play version for LifePo model batteries. charge profile, i have not heard back from them. It shows as 50a output. mind you this is depend on input current and wire capability. However, my RV has a 30 connector cable, so that is my judge. Given that, my 30a input will give my 280ah batteries full charge at .... 9hr? 30ah / 280 batteries = 9hr. Is my math correct? yes there might be some loss. Have not used the RV with the new battery monitor yet so I don't know how long it will take to deplete the batteries. I might not use all the capacity in a given weened.. So could recharge when we get back home.

Don't confuse a 30A /120V with a 50A/12V. A 50A/12V converter should pull ~5amps at 120V. (It will be a little more because of losses, but its still small at 120V)

If you have a 50A LIFEPO4 converter, you can still use that on a 30A 120V line to pull a full 50A/12V.

On the original topic - I still ahve not had a chance to play with the unit to see if I can increase the voltage with the IQ removed. Hope to test that soon.

 

[jvbutter01]

thanks @cypher2001 yes I know the load can pull more than the supply... hello fuse / breaker trip. your supply should always be more than the load.

 

[cypher2001]

thanks @cypher2001 yes I know the load can pull more than the supply... hello fuse / breaker trip. your supply should always be more than the load.

Just so I’m clear, I’m saying the voltage matters. A 50amp 12v battery charger only pulls -5-6amps from a 120v AC line. Your 30amp 120v AC shore power should handle that with no problem and no tripped breakers.

 

[HRTKD]

@carlos1w how is it we can fix this... Today i found out my RV panel supplier has a replacement model for the panel RVs use... WF-8950L2-MBA. Is a plug and play version for LifePo model batteries. charge profile, i have not heard back from them. It shows as 50a output. mind you this is depend on input current and wire capability. However, my RV has a 30 connector cable, so that is my judge. Given that, my 30a input will give my 280ah batteries full charge at .... 9hr? 30ah / 280 batteries = 9hr. Is my math correct? yes there might be some loss. Have not used the RV with the new battery monitor yet so I don't know how long it will take to deplete the batteries. I might not use all the capacity in a given weened.. So could recharge when we get back home.

You can use just about any converter in that panel. Converters are usually built to a common size. My main distribution panel enclosure is from WFCO. The IOTA Engineering converter fit just fine, though the screw mounting holes were a bit off.

 

[jvbutter01]

Just so I’m clear, I’m saying the voltage matters. A 50amp 12v battery charger only pulls -5-6amps from a 120v AC line. Your 30amp 120v AC shore power should handle that with no problem and no tripped breakers.

yes I think were on same page.

You can use just about any converter in that panel. Converters are usually built to a common size. My main distribution panel enclosure is from WFCO. The IOTA Engineering converter fit just fine, though the screw mounting holes were a bit off.

WFCO would be a direct fit. however, IOTA if it was good for my LifePo4 batterie, i could go there. screw holes... bahhhh no problem. I do mods on million dollar semi equipment for a living, just not use to the engineering side.

 

[Bob142]

So far so good on this charger for me on my 12V 4S EVE 280Ah pack as long as I use the dual voltage plug to bring the charger voltage up to 14.2V (thanks Carlos). I've been testing it with my modified Goal Zero Yeti 1250 and I'm happy enough with it that I've ordered three more units (UPS shipping for the three brings the cost to about $51 per unit). The 14.2V absorption is a voltage I'm comfortable with as I don't need to wring out every last bit of capacity from these cells every time I charge from the grid/generator.

Please note that my use case is attended charging, so I won't be leaving the chargers connected very long after the packs reach absorption voltage. If you want unattended charging, I don't recommend doing what I'm doing unless you DIY some smarts to disconnect the dual voltage plug circuit when charging is complete to drop the voltage back down to 13.6V. (If someone does that, please share!)

Next up when I get the additional three units:

1. I plan on trying two IOTAs in parallel to the Yeti 12V battery pack.
2. I've also got more EVE 280s coming that I'm going to put into a 24V 8S pack and I'll try two IOTAs in series on that pack.
3. If I get real crazy, I might try 4 IOTAs in series/parallel to the 24V pack (don't hold your breath on this one).

I believe the first two configs should be fine since I'm not using the "smart" modules to turn them into multi-stage chargers. IOTA reference doc on the subject is here.

 

[carlos1w]

So far so good on this charger for me on my 12V 4S EVE 280Ah pack as long as I use the dual voltage plug to bring the charger voltage up to 14.2V (thanks Carlos). I've been testing it with my modified Goal Zero Yeti 1250 and I'm happy enough with it that I've ordered three more units (UPS shipping for the three brings the cost to about $51 per unit). The 14.2V absorption is a voltage I'm comfortable with as I don't need to wring out every last bit of capacity from these cells every time I charge from the grid/generator.

Please note that my use case is attended charging, so I won't be leaving the chargers connected very long after the packs reach absorption voltage. If you want unattended charging, I don't recommend doing what I'm doing unless you DIY some smarts to disconnect the dual voltage plug circuit when charging is complete to drop the voltage back down to 13.6V. (If someone does that, please share!)

Next up when I get the additional three units:

1. I plan on trying two IOTAs in parallel to the Yeti 12V battery pack.
2. I've also got more EVE 280s coming that I'm going to put into a 24V 8S pack and I'll try two IOTAs in series on that pack.
3. If I get real crazy, I might try 4 IOTAs in series/parallel to the 24V pack (don't hold your breath on this one).

I believe the first two configs should be fine since I'm not using the "smart" modules to turn them into multi-stage chargers. IOTA reference doc on the subject is here.

Would a BMS set to stop charging when the system reaches 4*3.4 = 13.6 V be sufficient protection with the plug in all the time?

 

[Bob142]

Would a BMS set to stop charging when the system reaches 4*3.4 = 13.6 V be sufficient protection with the plug in all the time?

Wouldn’t that be the same as no plug and leaving the charger at its default 13.6V? If the BMS cuts off charging at 13.6V you wouldn’t ever get the pack up to the absorption voltage of 14.2V that the plug provides.

But if the BMS allows you to cut off charging at 14.2V... I hadn’t thought of using the BMS in that way.

 

[carlos1w]

Wouldn’t that be the same as no plug and leaving the charger at its default 13.6V? If the BMS cuts off charging at 13.6V you wouldn’t ever get the pack up to the absorption voltage of 14.2V that the plug provides.

But if the BMS allows you to cut off charging at 14.2V... I hadn’t thought of using the BMS in that way.

Charging becomes very slow at 13.6

 

[Bob142]

Next up when I get the additional three units:

1. I plan on trying two IOTAs in parallel to the Yeti 12V battery pack.

Finally got to work on this. I put together a rig that would allow me to easily use one or two of the IOTAs for 12V charging. Just fired it up to continue a recharge of a 4S pack of 280Ah EVE cells I'm capacity testing. So far so good. It's nice to be able to get 800W into the pack to bring the charge time way down.

I put Anderson SB50 connectors on the IOTAs and both have the dual voltage plug installed. Each IOTA is fused with an ANL fuse on the scrap board rig. I'll probably add an Anderson SB120 on the output side of the board, but for now just went with some unused short battery cables and a spare dual power post to make the battery connection.

 

[sshibly]

FYI:
I picked up one of these and it has connection for wires, you don't need the ground connector thing they are suggesting. The connection is pretty beefy. Pics attached.

 

[sshibly]

Update:

1) what the IQ4 kit does is it sets the max V to 14.7V for ~2 hours (max. I is always 30A) and then drops it to 13.6V. There is some extra intelligence to check periodically if the voltage drops, etc. (so you can fool it by disconnecting from the battery for a while and then it will kick in the 14.7V again)

2) An alternative is to simply put the "plug" that comes with the PSU (mine did not have one but it is easy to make: just use a headset cord and wire cables 1+3 together). This makes the max V to be 14.2V permanently (but max I still 30A, of course) which is 3.55V per cell and may be perfectly fine.

So not all is lost, having paid only ~$30 for the psu and ~$20 for the IQ module this is still not bad. But I really think they should not have put the time limit, it makes no sense for LiFePO4. Maybe some day I will open the module and see if I can mod it.

For the moment I still don't have a BMS so I need to be extra careful with the cells. Once I have the BMS I may be able to push the PSU limits more.

looking at the socket, is the left most one the 1st position?

 

[carlos1w]

looking at the socket, is the left most one the 1st position?

 

[HRTKD]

sshibly, do you have the tools and supplies already to make this? If not, I think I have everything on hand to do a one-off build if you need it. The only question is what size wire. I would likely use solid wire from some CAT5 cable I have laying around.

 

[sshibly]

sshibly, do you have the tools and supplies already to make this? If not, I think I have everything on hand to do a one-off build if you need it. The only question is what size wire. I would likely use solid wire from some CAT5 cable I have laying around.

HRTKD, Yes Sir I cut off the plug off a plantronics headset I had from 20 years back
Thanks for offering, I appreciate it, let's see if mine works, else I will definitely use your help.

I measured twisted 1 and 3 and twisted together and added a dab of solder.

I measured the ohms across pin 1 and 3 for continuity and I get .3x Ohms, so I have a shorty short.

I plugged it in to the IOTA, powered it up WITHOUT any load.
The output is still at 13.56v
hmm, same as before, what I am I missing?

 

[HRTKD]

My recollection of the "jumper" that came with my DLS-55 is that there was a single wire used. My quickie research says that pins 2 and 3 are to be jumpered together. The image in the prior post indicates that pin 1 is not used.

See this post:

IOTA DLS-30 Battery Charger / Power Converter

I just checked All Electronics (Van Nuys, CA), these Used/Pulled IOTA DLS-90 units are still available at $125.00 each. 13.4VDC, 90A POWER SUPPLY /...

forums.qrz.com

 

[sshibly]

Danke,
I have tag ends as I cut off a plug, I will short pin 2 and 3, not sure I why I went for pin 1 and 3

 

[carlos1w]

Tech support at IOTA told me specifically to short 1 - 3.

 

[sshibly]

Update:

I shorted 2 - 3
with plug in I get - 11.56 v
with plug out I get - 13.56 v

so 2-4 did not work,

Carlos1w, oh,
1 and 3
I did that and I did not get any change in volts, it remained the same, but I did not have a battery connected.
Do I need to have a battery connected aka load to test this?

 

[HRTKD]

I think my "dual voltage jack" plug (the official term for it from IOTA, I believe) is still taped to the back of my converter. I scanned through images from the Internet. There aren't a lot of plugs to look at. One that I did find seems to agree with what carlos1w posted.

I would connect the battery to verify. Otherwise, the converter would act like a benchtop power supply and default to the lower voltage. That's my less than experienced guess.