Unboxing the best charger for Top Balancing LiFePO4 battery cells

[@azzyking9286]

I used the same charger to top balance my 8s pack. It worked amazingly, though I found the volt meter on the charger to be inaccurate so I used a good multimeter while turning the screw to get actual 3.65v which showed as 3.7 on the charger.

[@offgrid_power]

Yeah, the voltmeter on the charger is sometimes a bit out. I've seen a few people confirm this.

[@azurehydra]

What is it called? Where to get it?

[@MultiJunkStuff]

You can find a multitude of them on Aliexpress if you search for 12v or 24v Lifepo4 charger 100amp or 50amp etc.

[@garygowanoffgridsolar]

I've used this type of charger for the last 2.5 years it works very well, I don't push past 35 amps it gets hot also don't modify cables much or it will have problems.

[@offgrid_power]

Nice! They're a great charger!

[@samstringo4724]

I think it is actually a modified power supply for a server to be fitted in an 1U size server chassis.

[@Dirt-Diggler]

I agree 👍 I scrapped a couple of server blades last month and apart from the beige box it's identical 👍

[@offgrid_power]

I thought that as well, but someone told me it was a spotlight PSU.

[@evil17]

This seems like a good method for an initial charge on large cells, however I would not advise to charge a LiFePo4 cell higher than 3.45v - 3.5v max for initial charge as this is where their charge curve begins to climb, 3.45v can charge a cell to 97%-98% SOC & is probably best left to rest at this voltage until put into a system with a decent BMS. While I am sure these PSU type chargers perform reasonably well, I would be sceptical to how accurate &/or reliable those cheap Chinese volt/amp meters and shunts are (because I know they generally are not), & I would leave a margin for safety here as well. LiFePo4 cells have a very flat charging curve from 3.2v - 3.4v, & it would be prudent to keep a close eye on the amps as they begin to drop at around 3.45v & stop charging when they get down to 1A-3A and use a multimeter to check cell voltages. Lithium Ion batteries have a much more linear charge curve. Andy’s “Off Grid Garage” Australia has some great information on this topic. Good vid, Cheers

[@offgrid_power]

Thanks for the good advice. I agree about keeping a sceptical outlook on some of these Chinese products especially when it comes to volt metres and shunts! :) I've had problems in the past with standard desktop charger's changing voltage part way through top balancing cells, which is very concerning!

[@aireslimadatrindade4932]

Hi. Can you, please, give the brand and model for this charger?

[@doucet2006]

Do you have a link from AliExpress for one like that ? What is the name

[@aireslimadatrindade4932]

I have the same question. Did you get the answer?

[@doucet2006]

@@aireslimadatrindade4932 no sorry

[@undercrust]

For both this version and the 75A version of this charger, are those cables that were included a heavy enough gauge to handle the full 50A or 75A for an extended period of time?

[@LackofFaithify]

It all depends on what the wire is made of (if its straight copper that's a maybe), the size of the wire (I'm just going to guess its 6mm^2) so you can find an ampacity chart and get your answer: hell no. Also assumes the temperature isn't increasing, which it would be, which means it can handle even less than the nope it already couldn't.

[@donnanorth7324]

Can this setup over charge the cell? No BMS?

[@LancashireProClean]

as long as you don't set the charger to more than 3.65volts you would be fine

[@offgrid_power]

For top balancing at 3.65, you should be fine. :)

[@diogolima5638]

thanks for leaving the name and model or link to the charger. what a joke. this is the best charger blah blah blah but im not gonna tell you what charger it actually is or where to get 1...

[@LookAroundTravel]

Tell me why my charger clicks and restarts all the time, as if it goes into a reboot all the time for protection The scheme I have is this- the charger is connected to the battery, I plug the mains cable into the outlet and it turns on and then freezes and restarts on off click on off click and so on