Chargery BMS now with Low Temp Cutoff

[Steve_S]

And how much do they cost

I have just perused their site, max of 160A is all hey have. Really GOOD Specs though and NOT Cheap ! Well I guess it's relative, I've seen others that are far more.
HDC100D160H Sensata / Crydom
Relay SSR 45mA 32V DC-IN 160A 72V DC-OUT 4-Pin
1 pc $160.46 3 pcs$152.23 5 + pcs $150.30

Something else I found through that site... Hold onto your bippy when you see the $ for some.

https://www.onlinecomponents.com/productsearch/relays/electromechanical-relays/contactors/

 

[DW SD]

There is no real link as I'm testing them still testing.
How many amps are you planning on running through this thing?

Craig - the control circuit for me uses .5A initially and then .13A at steady state. Very small load. The load is just the Gigavac control solenoid.

I might just buy the one Will pointed out. For $20 it should work fine. Not sure I'd spend $80 to save .1A.

Thanks for your efforts!

Doug

 

[Craig]

Craig - the control circuit for me uses .5A initially and then .13A at steady state. Very small load. The load is just the Gigavac control solenoid.

I might just buy the one Will pointed out. For $20 it should work fine. Not sure I'd spend $80 to save .1A.

Thanks for your efforts!

Doug

That's was why I asked if you are only using it as a "switch" any decent 5a SSR should work.

 

[chevymike]

Man, what would really be nice is if someone could design this to use latching relays that draw 0 other then when switching. That's the type of "add-on" relay board we need.

 

[Craig]

Man, what would really be nice is if someone could design this to use latching relays that draw 0 other then when switching. That's the type of "add-on" relay board we need.

Latching relays would seem to be the answer if you can find one big enough. One thing I wonder about is if there is system failure are they stuck on or closed. With a non latching relay control voltage goes out the systems fails off or open

 

[BiduleOhm]

One thing I wonder about is if there is system failure are they stuck on or closed. With a non latching relay control voltage goes out the systems fails off or open

Yep, the only thing I see who can prevent that is a backup supply with capacitors and a circuit monitoring the main system (can be as simple as a small relay), if it fails then the circuit uses the backup supply to open the relay.

 

[jaffadog]

I think the Blue Sea 7713 has that behavior. while positive voltage is on the control cable, the relay remains "on". When positive voltage on the control cable is lost, the relay shifts to "off". It is a mechanical latching relay - and I recon it is using power from the protected battery to actuate the relay. So if you're failure is loss of + signal from the BMS, then it fails open. @greyghost is about to try this combo. volunteering him for first hand info .

500A rating
13ma continuous draw when "on"
$180 ish

 

[DW SD]

That Blue Sea Systems Manual switch looks like it will work well!
Pricey, but not much more $ than the Gigavac GV200M which I ordered. ($130 shipped).
I noticed Sterling Power makes some latching relays for manual battery combiner switches, also.

Doug

 

[greyghost]

The Blue Sea 7713 does have this behavior. I've done some brief bench testing here, and had a short conversation with Blue Sea tech support. The power for the latching actuation comes from whichever of the main power leads at one of its base terminals is active. Doesn't matter which. Now, even when the latch is released there is a small current draw between the active power lead at the base terminal and ground via the black (ground) wire from the internal controller. So, to completely turn this relay off and remove any parasitic draw while away for extended periods, one must also ensure that the black lead from the 7713 is disconnected from ground. Not having the Chargery BMS in hand (China deliveries from FedEx seem to have fallen into a black hole at the moment) I cannot say if simply unplugging the power lead from the BMS will open this circuit or not. If not, of course, a simple in-line switch should accommodate. It would be friendly if simply unplugging the BMS would also kill any parasitic loads from the 7713. Does anyone using the Chargery know the answer to this? I will follow up when I recieve my BMS and have had a chance to test this feature.

 

[Craig]

If you unplug the BMS by its lead wires it will shut off. The relays are powered from the BMS so they would be dead as well. But I suspect you wuld need to unplug all of the leads. I will make a test later though just unhooking the first Negative lead.

 

[Steve_S]

There is a power switch on the main control module, external / internal power, just flip that to external if using battery power and it shuts off the BMS.

17). In case the battery pack is not to be charged / discharged and put into storage mode, Press STOP button enter into Sleep Mode to save energy consumption, Charge / Discharge are disabled and the LCD back light is turned off. Press any key to resume normal work mode.

 

[Craig]

There is a power switch on the main control module, external / internal power, just flip that to external if using battery power and it shuts off the BMS.

Lol Duh don't know why I didn't think of that

 

[jaffadog]

17). In case the battery pack is not to be charged / discharged and put into storage mode, Press STOP button enter into Sleep Mode to save energy consumption, Charge / Discharge are disabled and the LCD back light is turned off. Press any key to resume normal work mode.

That's a pretty important switch on a boat. Accidentally press that switch and ALL you DC is offline. All you navigation equipment, nav lights, interior lighting, etc... that panel probably belongs under a protective cover.

 

[DW SD]

The STOP switch will only work to put the BMS in sleep mode ONLY if current draw or charge is <1.0 amp.
The external power switch will indeed kill BMS (assuming external power isn't wired.)
The small sliding external power switch would be hard to bump.
In my case the main BMS body is hidden inside the battery case I built; so that switch couldn't be accidentally moved.

Design accordingly your kill mechanism so it isn't accidentally hit, I guess.

Doug

 

[Steve_S]

The STOP switch will only work to put the BMS in sleep mode ONLY if current draw or charge is <1.0 amp.
The external power switch will indeed kill BMS (assuming external power isn't wired.)
The small sliding external power switch would be hard to bump.
In my case the main BMS body is hidden inside the battery case I built; so that switch couldn't be accidentally moved.

Design accordingly your kill mechanism so it isn't accidentally hit, I guess.

Doug

You can also wire up a KILL Switch if inclined. Simply use the External Power plug and wire a switch between the plug & the battery pack and you still power it from the pack, then mount the kill switch somewhere you want it.

 

[tim0shel]

Couldnt you also kill it with the switch on the delay board? This switch is a kill switch for the relays though I think?

 

[Tobi17]

Hello,

as promised the source of Chargery BMS driver for the Venus OS devices: https://github.com/Tobi177/venus-chargerybms

I will add more documentation if I will find more time.

Bye
Tobi

 

[Craig]

Hello,

as promised the source of Chargery BMS driver for the Venus OS devices: https://github.com/Tobi177/venus-chargerybms

I will add more documentation if I will find more time.

Bye
Tobi

Very Nice!

 

[Bob B]

Probably a dumb question ..... are there devices other Raspberry Pi that use the Venus OS?

Would one of you knowledgeable guys consider doing a YouTube video of how to use that driver to get data into a computer and view it?

 

[Craig]

Probably a dumb question ..... are there devices other Raspberry Pi that use the Venus OS?

Would one of you knowledgeable guys consider doing a YouTube video of how to use that driver to get data into a computer and view it?

I use a raspberry pi with this USR IOT rs232 to ethernet converter. I am willing to share code and make some instructions. Im not so good at Videos lol

 

[Bob B]

I use a raspberry pi with this USR IOT rs232 to ethernet converter. I am willing to share code and make some instructions. Im not so good at Videos lol

Thanks Craig ... I think you are already pretty busy doing things to help people on this forum ...... but any info you can provide would be welcome. Maybe even some good learning links.

I've been wanting to get into Raspberry Pi and Arduino. With a quick look at Arduino, it looks VERY similar to other control software I have used. I don't want to sidetrack this thread too bad .... maybe there could be another thread on "Chargery BMS communications" with a link to it on here.

 

[bostonbuzz]

The Blue Sea 7713 does have this behavior. I've done some brief bench testing here, and had a short conversation with Blue Sea tech support. The power for the latching actuation comes from whichever of the main power leads at one of its base terminals is active. Doesn't matter which. Now, even when the latch is released there is a small current draw between the active power lead at the base terminal and ground via the black (ground) wire from the internal controller. So, to completely turn this relay off and remove any parasitic draw while away for extended periods, one must also ensure that the black lead from the 7713 is disconnected from ground. Not having the Chargery BMS in hand (China deliveries from FedEx seem to have fallen into a black hole at the moment) I cannot say if simply unplugging the power lead from the BMS will open this circuit or not. If not, of course, a simple in-line switch should accommodate. It would be friendly if simply unplugging the BMS would also kill any parasitic loads from the 7713. Does anyone using the Chargery know the answer to this? I will follow up when I recieve my BMS and have had a chance to test this feature.

Are you sure that wiring up the bluesea to the chargery will have it operate with the chargery correctly (powered and closed, no power and open)? If so I’ll get one.

 

[DW SD]

The Blue Sea 7713 does have this behavior. I've done some brief bench testing here, and had a short conversation with Blue Sea tech support. The power for the latching actuation comes from whichever of the main power leads at one of its base terminals is active. Doesn't matter which. Now, even when the latch is released there is a small current draw between the active power lead at the base terminal and ground via the black (ground) wire from the internal controller. So, to completely turn this relay off and remove any parasitic draw while away for extended periods, one must also ensure that the black lead from the 7713 is disconnected from ground. Not having the Chargery BMS in hand (China deliveries from FedEx seem to have fallen into a black hole at the moment) I cannot say if simply unplugging the power lead from the BMS will open this circuit or not. If not, of course, a simple in-line switch should accommodate. It would be friendly if simply unplugging the BMS would also kill any parasitic loads from the 7713. Does anyone using the Chargery know the answer to this? I will follow up when I recieve my BMS and have had a chance to test this feature.

I'm confused because I read their documentation stating you just need to kill 12V+ to the control side to kill the battery connect.

My concern would be if you need to disconnect the ground, how would the Chargery then protect the battery if one or more of the battery disconnect triggers is met? Then you'd need to ensure both positive and ground were disconnected in such an event(s).

Doug

 

[greyghost]

Doug, your confusion may arise from the particular situation I am seeking to resolve. I leave my boat unattended for extended periods of time, either exterior covered or in indoor winter storage for instance, during which time my batteries (and their BMSs) are turned off and no solar is available to charge them. With lfps, leaving them 50% discharged is optimum. I'm interested in removing any parasitic loads which might drain any of my batteries over this long term. In this case, it means making sure the BMSs as well as the 7713s (and any similar devices) are completely turned off. I know 13mA/7713 is quite small but, in my instance, is not the only such parasitic load which might be left on to drain the batteries while their respective BMSs are shut down.

In normal operation, I've plenty of solar and/or dockside charging available, and many larger parasitic loads are lost in the noise of daily use.

 

[DW SD]

I relate well, I have the same scenario with my camper.
It sits unattended and totally moth-balled for weeks or even a month or two, also. And under a car-port type cover, so no solar to recharge. So my batteries are completely disconnected.
I plan to leave LFP @ 13.2-ish. But 13.1 to 13.3 should be 30% to 70%. According to the CEO of Battleborn, they aren't concerned at what SOC it is left, as long as it isn't terribly low. So, I don't plan to be too picky as long as I'm in that window.

I think you saw the circuit diagram I created in another thread. I interrupt the ground of control side of the heavy duty contactor relay with a manual switch. That manually disables the relay and eliminates any charge or load. Then, I put the BMS in sleep mode (red STOP button).
I've left for a week and taken photos of the Chargery voltage screen before and after. The pack voltage actually went up by 20mV, I guess since it was at rest for a while.
Jason from Chargery said the draw was 5mA in sleep mode. So, I can't leave it indefinitely.

My total parasitic load when the battery active is around 140mA to 150mA. So 3-4 Ah / day. My solar is 900W (max), so I figure this is pretty nominal. This translates to maybe 200Ah to 300Ah total collected.
You could get the parasitic down with an SSR - only based solution. I'm only using one SSR and a Gigavac GV200M (documented 130mA draw.)

Obviously, your numbers and sensitivity to acceptable parasitic load may vary.

Cheers,

Doug