Riden 6006 bench power hack

[wmills_92105]

This is my set up for top balancing my battery pack. It is a Riden 6006 power supply Being driven by the battery charger that I will use for the whole system that is putting out 14.4 volts. The Riden is set to 3.65V and max 6 amps.

The cells are 8x Fortune 60Ah cells starting at 3.3V. Using 16ga for this since the amps are limited by the Riden. The Progressive Dynamics charger is also fused.

 

[snoobler]

Best to connect the main charge leads to opposite ends of the pack.

 

[wmills_92105]

Best to connect the main charge leads to opposite ends of the pack.

Ah! Will do.

Thanks!

 

[wmills_92105]

Ok, this is taking a LONG time. DIY savings in cash sure, but this is showing me why commercial packs are spending. If I was on a schedule I would need a lot more or better gear.

 

[snoobler]

Are you actually getting 6A?

I would expect completion around 48 hr if yes, but if it's tapering amps due to the PS reading 3.65 while the cells read a lower voltage, then yeah... might take a really long time.

 

[wmills_92105]

Well it says 6, or did. Tapering now.

 

[wmills_92105]

Are you actually getting 6A?

I would expect completion around 48 hr if yes, but if it's tapering amps due to the PS reading 3.65 while the cells read a lower voltage, then yeah... might take a really long time.

I don't want to set constant current with a higher voltage right. Seems like the CV set to 3.65 is the safest path?

 

[snoobler]

Safest. You can confirm it's voltage drop by directly measuring the cell voltage.

 

[wmills_92105]

Well all right. Once the pack starts to get nearcthe top things move fast. One 8p pack is now at 3.59v and was taking in 1.35 amps or so from a 3.65v source. For 8 cells that seems pretty close to good. According to the Riden it took in about 358Ah in a 480Ah pack.

First post on this was Monday and it's Friday now so call it 12h+ per day charging at 6 amps. Numbers seem ok on the Riden so about 60 hours.

Swapped the charger to the other bank since I know it will take many hours for that bank and I'll check it but let it run for a couple of days.

I'm just kind of blogging here. Hopefully useful for other rookies.

 

[Gazoo]

Any reason you are not using the charging feature of the Riden as opposed to using it as a regular power supply? Not saying there is anything wrong with what you are doing, but one of the main reasons I bought the Riden was for it's charging feature.

 

[wmills_92105]

Any reason you are not using the charging feature of the Riden as opposed to using it as a regular power supply? Not saying there is anything wrong with what you are doing, but one of the main reasons I bought the Riden was for it's charging feature.

I guess I need to find and read the manual....

 

[wmills_92105]

Any reason you are not using the charging feature of the Riden as opposed to using it as a regular power supply? Not saying there is anything wrong with what you are doing, but one of the main reasons I bought the Riden was for it's charging feature.

Will 10mA ever be reached for a bigger pack? I thought I read that at 3.65v that lfp will continue to take a bit of current an you don't want to leave it with a 3.65v source attached.

 

[Gazoo]

Will 10mA ever be reached for a bigger pack? I thought I read that at 3.65v that lfp will continue to take a bit of current an you don't want to leave it with a 3.65v source attached.

I forgot the 6006 cuts off at 10ma's. I have the 6012 and it cuts off at 100ma's.

 

[wmills_92105]

I forgot the 6006 cuts off at 10ma's. I have the 6012 and it cuts off at 100ma's.

Yeah 100mA seems reasonable. The 12 or 18 seems a better choice but the 06 was cheap.

 

[Gazoo]

It has been suggested to Riden to make the cut off programmable. Personally I would like to be able to set it higher...500ma's. If using it as a charger it is reliable enough to stay in CC mode until the voltage on the display reaches the set voltage. Once the set voltage is reached it switches to CV mode and the current begins to taper off.

I have found with mine it likes to switch to CV mode about a half a volt before it's supposed to. But it still manages to charge the pack properly and does cut off at 100ma's. I really like it with the OVP and OCP settings and all the other settings. It would be very hard to overcharge a cell or a pack if the settings are entered properly by the user whether using it as a charger or power supply. In fact I had enough confidence in mine to sleep through my top balancing. I was happy I was awake when it finished just so I could see what it did as it approached the top. All fun...all good except for the waiting...lol. I did test it on a 12 volt battery before I top balanced.

 

[snoobler]

280Ah cell is full at 3.65V and 14A charging.

Once your CELLS hit 3.65V with these low current power supplies, they are full. Period. No need to wait until some arbitrary cut off current.

 

[Gazoo]

280Ah cell is full at 3.65V and 14A charging.

I think that depends on where the voltage is being measured. If the voltage is measured directly at the cells....then yes. If going by the Riden display...then no because of the voltage drop.

So when charging with the Riden, when the display indicates 3.65 volts, it switches from CC to CV mode. In my case the voltage measured at the cells was 3.443 volts when the Riden displayed 3.65 volts and switched to CV mode.

The Riden continued to display 3.65 volts in CV mode while the current was tapering off. The voltage measured at the cells increased until the the cells voltages measured at the cells was 3.65 volts. At that point the Riden cut off the charge.

Since I have the Riden 6012 it cut off the charge when the current displayed was 90ma's. It was in CV mode for apx 4 hours. I would prefer to be able to set the tail current higher but that's not possible unless Riden can make it possible with a firmware update. I still have found the Riden to be reliable and very safe to use for parallel top balancing and charging my batteries.

I tested the Riden when I received it, I charged my Valence batteries and it did the trick. It fully charges the cells/batteries without over charging them.

 

[snoobler]

That's why I said "cell measures".

Perhaps I should have said, "cell open circuit voltage measures 3.65V"...

 

[Gazoo]

Yes you did and you shouted it ..lol. I just wanted to explain my experience with this contraption. Once I get my inverter/charger everything will change with charging and then I will have something else to explain based on my experience providing I don't screw up...but then that would require some explaining as well.

 

[wmills_92105]

That's why I said "cell measures".

Perhaps I should have said, "cell open circuit voltage measures 3.65V"...

What I have set is max voltage delivered from the device at 3.65. It isn't measuring the open circuit voltage?

Sounds like I can just let that run and it will be safe because it will never exceed 3.65.