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Useful nugget on top balancing...

wmills_92105

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Nov 24, 2020
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Thanks to @Steve_S for this! Excerpted from another thread.

"I am no expert, just a critical observer.
There is far too much over concern about LFP cells sitting at "FULL" SOC. 3.65V and lower will NOT hurt the cells and over time they will self-discharge albeit quite slowly. The cells never sit there as they will always settle, typically to 3.5** Volts. Where keeping Voltage Hi is a problem, is with people "FLOATING" cells to Hi State. The other problems are also if there is a runner or lazy cell playing games in the battery pack. If FLOAT has to be in the equation due to charger type then it should be set to lower than max charge value, typically around 3.4V per cell equivalent."

I was worried about my cells dropping off 3.65v overnight, but now I know that it is normal.
 
Ok another useful nugget from @Maast

"When you crimp make sure you put the connectors split against the OUTSIDE of the crimp area, you DONT want the crimper dimple pressing down on the seam, you want the crimper dimple pressing on the solid side. Freaking nobody does this right and it drives me nuts."

Thank you sir!
 
I’m not sure i follow this one, with my open barrel terminal crimpers they have a male and female anvil. The seam of the crimp faces into the female cavity- and the dimple rolls the seam inwards.

I worked for an auto manufacturer and all crimps were done this way - and we were trained to repair harness crimps this way.

See the Iwiss crimper website for an example of what i’m talking about
 

Like the guy in the video said, insulated terminals are challenging to crimp. I've been using ring terminals that come with heat shrink tubing already installed. Every solid crimp I did on those ring terminals resulted in mangling the heat shrink. It really looked bad. Part of this was because I was using the wrong die to do the crimp. I simply didn't know any better. I've corrected that and now have the right die. When I need to replenish my inventory of ring terminals, I'm switching to uninsulated. I think they'll be easier to crimp and I can visually verify that the crimp is good. I have plenty of heat shrink tubing (with adhesive) to add the insulation to the terminal. I have a heat gun and I'm not afraid to use it.
 
I absolutely and totally REFUSE to use any connectors with the plastic crap on them and NEVER EVER use clamp/guillotine type connectors.
Sometimes I have run short & had to buy the crap connectors with plastic, first thing is the plastic is pulled off then crimped on with heat-shrink over it.
Too many years of doing up Automotive Wiring Harnesses and restoring them from fools doing stupid over the decades, car audio fools being the worst auto-electric butchers out there. My hobby for many years was Auto-Restorations to show level and believe me I saw things that ... well were amazing they never caught fire... I got a 1967 Chevelle that has 22 caliber fuses, and Tin foil fixes Had to actually make an entirely new harness.

I've soldered many connections and used only proper 40/60 electronic solder with rosin core and rarely every had issues BUT then no connection that was subject to movement was soldered without a strain relief otherwise no solder.
 
Revival Cycles is just up the road in Austin from us in Houston. They do exceptional work and I have friends that have used them extensively for several Ducati restorations.... These guys know of what they speak.....
 
He said it too "put the seam in the bottom of the valley".

What got me is that isn’t the case for automotive style open barrel terminals, where the seam goes opposite the valley - and gets formed into the double barrel crimp.
 
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