I'm going to recondition my IMA battery pack. I'd like to remove my IMA battery, cycle the individual subpacks, test for self-discharge and capacity, and replace any bad sticks.
Does this sound like a reasonable plan? What kind of charger, discharger, and tester do you recommend?
I'm going to recondition my IMA battery pack. I'd like to remove my IMA battery, cycle the individual subpacks, test for self-discharge and capacity, and replace any bad sticks.
Does this sound like a reasonable plan? What kind of charger, discharger, and tester do you recommend?
Thanks,
Robert
You can find a great deal of information on my DIY page here. The information is dated, but it is still valid. (Dated equipment wise in that I can't take 10 days just to cycle a pack, I need to cycle 5-10 packs per week so I have a lot more and different equipment.)
Wow, you have *20* of the Super Brain 989? Is it better than the Triton 2?
Hopefully, these chargers are fairly quiet. That way, it can double as a space heater while I sleep.
I actually have more than that, but I can only run about 30 of them on two 20 amp circuits because I also have to run pack fans. They're loud, but not nearly as loud as the monster fans on this foot long amplifier.
The Triton 2 is a recent product (and expensive). The Superbrains are better than the Triton and Triton Jr, as well as Duratrax ICE and Team Checkpoint TC-1030
The nice thing about the Superbrain is that it comes with a power supply.
I'm probably the only industrial user of any of these products and I can say that while they all fail eventually, the Superbrains are the most resilient. They have melted on me, but the others have all gone up in smoke. It helps that MRC is only 15 miles from my house. They have made custom mods to all my chargers and they now have hardwired connections, PowerPole interconnects and auxiliary fans.
I used a Triton 2 for my pack and it worked fine. I bought a low-mileage used model on EBay to save a few bucks. The downside is you need a 12V DC power supply, which I borrowed from work. The fan runs during discharge cycles and is definitely audible.
I haven't tried Triton, Triton Jr, or any of the others mentioned.
What wears out or overheats that causes these failures? I'm sure it might not be this simple but wouldn't better heat sinking save the components that fry, or possibly a thermal fuse to prevent a meltdown? A stick around 8.4 volts pushing 10 amps is about 84 watts, add a little more for charging losses and it seems that this could be dissipated easily. ...considering that they support 10 amps and cells that could push voltage above 35 volts they need to have over 350 watts of power capacity so it doesn't seem that you are running them to their duty cycle. I'm not familiar with what is inside anything other than the most basic transformer power supply type of charger but I've dealt with plenty of other electronics that carry power loads to where this makes me scratch my chin a bit. Do these ever go back to the manufacturer to possibly improve the product? ...I suppose it could be planned obsolescence too since you use these far more than pretty much anyone else would.
What wears out or overheats that causes these failures? I'm sure it might not be this simple but wouldn't better heat sinking save the components that fry, or possibly a thermal fuse to prevent a meltdown? A stick around 8.4 volts pushing 10 amps is about 84 watts, add a little more for charging losses and it seems that this could be dissipated easily. ...considering that they support 10 amps and cells that could push voltage above 35 volts they need to have over 350 watts of power capacity so it doesn't seem that you are running them to their duty cycle. I'm not familiar with what is inside anything other than the most basic transformer power supply type of charger but I've dealt with plenty of other electronics that carry power loads to where this makes me scratch my chin a bit. Do these ever go back to the manufacturer to possibly improve the product? ...I suppose it could be planned obsolescence too since you use these far more than pretty much anyone else would.
They are designed for hobbyist use. I'm running them at their limits 24/7. The oil wicks out of the fan bushings and they lock up, the plug connectors scorch, the banana plugs on the power supplies melt, etc.
But you won't be running it at 10 amps, or you'll damage your pack by overheating it. I run the pack fan and have adapted Insight fans to fit HCH's.
If you are using pack fans from the Insight on the HCH's, what is the HCH equipped with. A smaller fan? or does it limit the amperage while in use more than the Insight. I figured that with a similar pack and similar amp draws it would have cooling that is plenty capable.
If you are using pack fans from the Insight on the HCH's, what is the HCH equipped with. A smaller fan? or does it limit the amperage while in use more than the Insight. I figured that with a similar pack and similar amp draws it would have cooling that is plenty capable.
The HCH uses a single fan to cool the battery and IPU. It is located in the trunk up high against the passenger side wall. The HCH has its' IMA box located behind the back seat. Air is sucked into a vent in the middle of the rear dash (behind the center passenger's head) is ducted sideways toward the driver's side, goes down through the IMA battery (which is mounted almost vertically at about a 75 degree angle), out the bottom, across to the passenger side and up through the converter and out the fan into the trunk. They save one fan, but if there is an air leak in the IMA box...
I found a way to mount an Insight fan onto the civic pack without modifying the battery pack.
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Recommend subpack testing / cycling equipment?
