LiPoBalancer Operating Instructions, Software V1
Contents
1. rte wes IMG ooo Operating Instructions Sofware Vi andlater LiPoBalancer Operating Instructions Software V1 and later operating Instructions LiPoBalancer Operating Instructions Software V1 and later Issue 02 06 Page 2 Safety circuit is active conductive when Safety sockets for loo 1 Introduction green EIN LED is glowing ped through charge lead Dear customer ch iead ited Congratulations on your choice of the Schulze LiPoBalancer which is an outstanding device for monitoring and 8 14 red cell count LEDs Charge lead red maintaining your valuable Lithium batteries Oe eomeeta eae The Schulze LiPoBal is primarily intended f tching balanci lizing th It f individual cell adi e Schulze LiPoBalancer is primarily intended for matching balancing equalizing the voltages of individual cells Indicate balancing process in a Lithium battery pack Li Fe Li lo Li Po consisting of series wired battery cells This cable must be The purpose of the Schulze LiPoBalancer is to ensure that the cell voltages at the end of the charge process are plugged intothe virtually identical this guarantees that the battery s maximum capacity is available subsequently for discharging At socket on the batte the same time the process minimises the negative effects caused by slight variations in cell capacity in the pack as a Battery type select ry charger whole cell ageing and minor damage caused by cell overloadi2. battery black Hint A detailled description of the pinout and the mounting instructions are in the balancer cable kits 12 3 Pin assignment of the 7 pin standard balancing cable with JST socket for up to 6 cells i Ae P etic w pene 13 5 RS232 Verl 13 6 RS232 USB Adapt Cable for connecting the Schulze LiPoBal Cable for connecting the Schulze LiPoBalanc cell 6 ancer to the RS232 port of a PC or laptop er to the USB port of a PC or laptop cell 5 cell 4 cell 3 Two examples cell 2 from the extensive cell 1 cell 1 neg battery Common GND Pin 1 of the JST connector aan battery pack range 13 7 Schulze LiPoPerfekt Akkupack 13 8 Schulze LiPoPerfekt Akkupack 3s1p 3200 pack with pre configured 10 pin 3s2p 4000 pack with pre configured 20 pin socket for the Schulze BalCab10 Verl socket for the Schulze BalCab20 Verl extension cable extension cable Operating Instructions ____ rene seo M iancer Operating Instructions Sofware Vi andlater LiPoBalancer Operating Instructions Software V1 and later LiPoBalancer Operating Instructions Software V1 and later 11 Legal matters 15 Specifications Issue 02 06 Page 16e 11 1 Warranty All Schulze LiPoBalancers are carefully checked and tested before dispatch If you have a complaint send the unit back to us with a clear description of the fault A message such as doesn t work properly or software error doesn t help us
3. instructions our prescribed conditions and methods for installation connection usage and maintenance of our battery chargers For this reason we cannot accept liability for loss damage or costs which arise through the inappropriate use of our products or are connected in any way with such use Within the normal legal limits our obligation to provide compensation for whatever legal reason is limited to the invoice value of that quan tity of product immediately involved in the event which caused the damage This does not apply if we are obliged to accept unlimited liability in accordance with mandatory law due to our deliberate or serious negligence 11 3 CE approval All Schulze LiPoBalancer units satisfy all relevant and mandatory EC directives these are the EMF directives 89 336 EWG 91 263 EWG und 92 31 EWG The product meets the following basic technical standards Interference radiation EN 50 081 1 1992 Interference susceptibility EN 50 082 1 1992 and or EN 50 082 2 1995 You are the owner of a product whose design and construction fulfil the safety aims of the EC for the safe operation of devices The procedure also includes a test of interfer ence susceptibility i e the extent to which the charger is vulnerable to interference from other devices The test involves subjecting the charger to RF signals similar to those produced by an RC transmitter or a radio telephone Cell count range LiPoBal 08 2 8 Li Poly Li lon Li
4. much Before you send your Schulze LiPoBalancer back to us please test the unit carefully as it costs us money to test a charger and if it turns out to be in working order we have to recover those costs from you In this case it makes no difference whether the fully functional charger is returned within the warranty period or not Approved warranty claims are pro cessed in accordance with our currently valid General Conditions of Business which are printed in our catalogue resp on our homepage One further note if a problem arises with any Schulze product send it directly to us without interfering with it in any way This ensures that we can repair the unit quickly pick up warranty faults without any dispute and keep costs to a minimum You can also be sure that we will fit genuine replacement parts which will work properly in your unit Unfortunately we have had bad experience with third party Service Centres which claim technical competence Note also that any out side interference with our products invalidates the warranty e g the original pole clamps omitted or replaced Incompetent attempts at repair can cause further damage We often find it impossible to estimate the repair cost of devices in such condition and in certain circumstances we are then obliged to decline to repair it altogether 11 2 Limited liability compensation We at Schulze Elektronik GmbH are unable to monitor the observance of our assembly and operation
5. on about 25 cm 10 cable Data Interface Serial RS232 opto coupled DC insulated for status reports cell voltage display balancing data reports and firmware upgrades Miscellaneous Heat shrink sleeve case Schulze Elektronik GmbH Prenzlauer Weg 6 64331 Weiterstadt Fon 49 6150 1306 5 Fax 1306 99 www schulze elektronik gmbh com e Germany hotline schulze elektronik gmbh com
6. 8 3 4 Missed cell if a cell in the middle of a pack is accidentally not connected i e there is a dry solder joint in the balancer cable then the LEDs will indicate both a defective cell and also an over voltage cell the next cell The LED assigned to the cable with the dry solder joint shows a defective cell as 8 3 1 the LED flashes twice continuously with a slightly longer interval The LED assigned to the next higher cell even though connected correctly to the positive terminal of the balancer cable shows an over voltage cell as 8 1 the LED then flashes four times continuously with a slightly longer interval 8 3 5 Cells with wrong polarity balancer leads soldered crossed software version 4 and later When a measuring input mesures a negative voltage then the correspondent LED flash continously 5 times with a slightly longer interval The pack has to be disconnected immedia tely to avoid a damage of the balancer or the balancing cable If cell one is connected with wrong polarity the balancer sisplays for technical reasons a missing cell as shown in chapter 8 3 2 Hint All cell voltages are displayed on the RS232 serial interface see chapter 9 so that you can analyze any problem the balancer shows on the LEDs Pe wees IMA ace Operating Instructions Sofware Vi andlater LiPoBalancer Operating Instructions Software V1 and later LiPoBalancer Operating Instructions Software V1 and later 9 The serial RS232 inte
7. PC interface see also Chapter 9 4 only for a pro 7 2 Typical examples in practice 7 2 1 The charger charges a Li Po battery with a Ni Cd charge program selected The safety circuit cuts off the charge current in the looped in charge cable at the precise moment when the maximum permissible cell voltage of at least one cell is exceeded The battery is then almost full in any case unless the cell concerned is actually defective or has much lower capacity than the other cells in the pack Once the safety circuit has cut off the charge current the Schulze charger detects the battery disconnected state followed by ready or GO Foreign chargers may react different Wenn die Sicherheitseinrichtung den Ladestrom unterbrochen hat The green EIN LED on the Schulze LiPoBalancer goes out and an error code is generated i e the cell or cells whose voltage is excessive cause the associated red cell LED or LEDs to flash four times Disconnecting the balancing cable battery makes the Schulze LiPoBalancer ready for use again 7 2 2 A You wish to discharge a Ni Cd pack at high current using car headlight bulbs Bilux bulbs at up to 15 A The voltage of the cells max 8 or max 14 cells is to be recorded and analysed on the PC in order to select the cells The Schulze LiPoBalancer does not need to be configured in any special way for this If you remove the battery type configuration jumper the balancer sets itself automatically to Nicke
8. Sets the maximum voltage limit for Li Fe batteries SetNiXXUmaxnnnn 00 02008 nnnn 1800 Sets the maximum voltage limit for Ni Cd NiMH batteries SetBalDiff nnnn Software version4orlater nnnn 5 Sets the balancing precision to the typed value max default 3300 3000 2500 1000 4300 4250 4200 2200 200 2 00 N Oo jo oO NO aD aD j gt gt gt N amp 00 aD e e e e N NO e au unit mV mV mV mV mV mV mV mV mV To avoid a superfluous adjustment work we recommend to set this parameter to auto or 0 zero auto This leads to a gliding funnel shaped contracting of the allowed balancing deviation of about 200 mV at empty cells down to about 5 mV at fully charged cells 10 Supplementary notes on using the Schulze LiPoBalancers 10 1 In the NiXX battery type mode at least eight cells must be connected 10 2 If the balancing process cannot be completed during the charge process due to over voltage of one cell caused by a severely unbalanced pack the safety circuit trios and cuts off the charge circuit The green LED goes out and the charger sees a disconnected battery If this should happen especially if the pack has previously been problem free in operation it is important that you examine the battery to determine whether damage has occurred for example one of the cells in a parallel wired pac
9. alCabxx Verl extension cables and naturally are configured correctly by us When the balancer cable is connected current is fed to the Schulze LiPoBalancer and the system starts to work 5 3 Connecting a battery fitted with a conventional balancer cable 5 3 1 Before connecting such a cable you must first configure the Schulze LiPoBalancer to suit the battery type either using the jumper see Chapter 4 8 for more details on this This is necessary since the conventional balancer sockets attached to Lithium batteries i e those used by Graupner and Robbe contain no information at all about the battery type 5 3 2 After you have set the cell type correctly and after you have checked with great care that the negative terminal of the pack negative cell 1 is located at the left outer pin of the balancer cable socket voltage sensor cable it is safe to connect the balancer cable to the 7 pin socket for conventional balancer cables you must connect it flush with the left hand side 1 When the balancer cable is connected current is fed to the Schulze LiPoBalancer and the system starts to work Hints for pros The working strategy of the cell equalization process can be changed by a Set command chapter 9 Note If the jumper is not plugged in the cell type has to be configured via the RS232 port Please see Chapter 9 for more details Note the red connectors used by other manufacturers e g Orbit KD and Tanic do
10. arger discharger if the pack exceeds or falls below the battery specific limit values thereby preventing overcharging or deep discharging at high current The battery specific limit values are configured automatically when you connect the battery using a Schulze balancer cable If you are using a conventional balancer cable without battery type information the battery specific limit values must be configured manually This is carried out using the 3 pin socket at the side of the balancer which is fitted with a jumper as standard The jumper should be fitted flush left to config ure the balancer for Li Po flush right for Li lo and removed completely for Li Fe In any case this must be done before you connect the balancer cable Hint The Li Fe mode will be automatically switched to the Ni XX nickel battery mode when all connected cells have a voltage below 2 0 volts Important even if you do not use the safety circuit the versatility of the Schulze LiPoBal ancer i e its ability to work in conjunction with all battery types used in modelling makes it absolutely essential to configure the battery type correctly as the configuration also sets up the balancing process to match the characteristics of each battery type accurately this avoids unnecessary shunting of energy to and fro during the balancing process An alternative method of setting the limit values and or the strategy of the balancing procedure is to use the SET command via the
11. ated by the fire e If the chemicals make contact with your eyes immediately wash it off using plenty of water and seek the assistance of a specialist doctor e The manufacturer s stated maximum discharge rates may be greatly exceeded when the cells are in use typical of RC usage which means that the cells are working under experimental conditions As a result the manufacturer the importer and the dealer are not liable for any claim under guarantee in respect of capacity useful life storage and discharge characteristics 11 4 Disposal e Discharge the cells slowly ideally using a1 10 kOhm resistor which you can leave attached to the empty cells e Take the dead discharged cells to your local battery collection point packs purchased from us can also be returned to us Pte seo IVA Bance Operating Instructions Sofware Vi andlater LiPoBalancer Operating Instructions Software V1 and later Operating Instructions LiPoBalancer Operating Instructions Software V1 and later Issue 02 06 Page 14 RC SE 12 1 Pin assignment of the 10 pin balancing cable of the Schulze BalCab10 Set resp of the BalCab10 Verl for the Schulze LiPoPerfekt battery packs up to 4 cells Pin assignment BalCab10 e g on the balancer plug of the LiPoCard Cable colour Assignment Pin a Pin Assignment Cable colour brown battery 10 9 batt last cell 1 2 3 or 4 red orange cell type 8 7 cell 3 no connect at 2s pack yellow green charge
12. battery pack and connect this to the Schulze LiPoBalancer using a BalCabxx Verl extension lead 4 8 3 You only need to configure the battery type manually if you use a conventional balancer connector The balancer is fitted with a 3 pin socket with a bridging plug jumper for this purpose or you can configure it from your PC please read Chapter 9 for details of this Ah mAh unit of measurement for the capacity of a battery Amperes x time unit h hour If a pack is charged for one hour at a current of 2 A it has been fed 2 Ah of energy It receives the same quantity of charge 2 Ah if it is charged for 4 hours at 0 5 A or 15 minutes 1 4 h at 8 A Page De Issue 02 06 LiPoBalancer Operating Instructions Software V1 and later ___ Fase Be oo IY LiPoBalancer Operating Instructions Software V1 and later 5 Connections using the Balancer for the first time 5 1 Looping in the build in safety circuit maximum permissible charge discharge current 15 Amps Connect your charge lead to the battery pack Ensure that the charger is correctly configured battery type cell count charge current Take the 4 mm banana plug attached to the negative charge cable black and plug it into the corresponding 4 mm socket on your battery charger Take the 4 mm banana plug attached to the positive charge cable red and plug it into the Li battery socket on the Schulze LiPoBalancer Take the 4 mm banana plug on the Li c
13. carrying capacity up to 15 it is the following experiment and actually detected no damage at all also suited for motor loads A 3s Li Fe pack replaces 8 nickel cells We left a flat 6S2p 4000 2 pack connected to the balancer overnight It was then disconnected from the balancer and recharged using a very low current 1 20 C 250 mA the charger s lowest output rate from around 3 V overall voltage Under continuous observation we recharged the pack to slightly more than 3 V per cell using a Ni Cd fixed current program i e until the total pack 4 2 Asdifferences between types is generally not made clear in the modelling world we provide the following definitions 4 2 1 Nominal voltage Li lo 3 6 V cell SAFT Li lo Li Po 3 7 V cell SANYO KOKAM Li Fe 3 2 V cell SAPHION ek 2 Li lo 4 1 V 40mV Il SAFT voltage was around 19 V At this point it was again connected to the balancer and then recharged SEE ERIE OGA T 42V Eee ey abealite lintaaW call completely at 1 C 4 Amps using the Li Po program Despite the deep discharge the battery was Li Fe 365 V for longest life up to 4 2 V cell possible found to have the same capacity and was capable of delivering the same currents under load 4 2 3 Min discharge voltage Li lo 2 5 V cell MoliCel 2 7V Zelle SANYO Li Po 3 0 V cell KOKAM absolute limit 2 3 V cell 3 Commonly used terms Li Fe 2 0 V cell SAPHION Final charge voltage the voltage at wh
14. curr 2 6 5 Cell 2 no connect at 1s pack blue 13 1 Schulze BalCab10 Set 13 2 BalCab20 Set lilac charge curr 1 4 3 cell 1 grey Balancer cable kit for fitting to existing battery Balancer cable kit for fitting to existing battery white battery 2 1 cell 1 battery black packs packs Hint 10 pin for two to four cells in series 20 pin for two to fourteen cells in series A detailled description of the pinout and the mounting instructions are in the balancer cable kits 12 2 Pin assignment of the 20 pin balancing cable of the Schulze BalCab20 Set resp of the BalCab20 Verl for the Schulze LiPoPerfekt battery packs up to 14 cells Cable colour Assignment Pin Pin Assignment Cable colour brown battery cell1 20 19 battery red orange cell type 18 17 charge curr 1 yellow green charge curr 2 16 15 14 resp batt blue 13 3 Schulze BalCab10 Verl 13 4 BalCab20 Verl lilac cell 13 14 13 gt cell 12 grey Ready made balancer cable for connecting Ready made balancer cable for connecting white cell 11 12 11 cell 10 black Schulze LiPoPerfekt battery packs Schulze LiPoPerfekt battery packs brown cell 9 10 9 cell 8 red 10 pin for two to four cells in series 20 pin for two to fourteen cells in series orange cell 7 8 7 cell 6 yellow green cell 5 6 5 cell 4 blue lilac cell 3 4 3 cell2 grey white cell 1 2 1 cell 1
15. during the charge process The LED s of the cell s with excess voltage flash continuously four times with a slightly longer interval 8 2 Low voltage error Under voltage of one or more cells usually during the discharge process The LED s of the cell s with low voltage flash continuously three times with a slightly longer interval 8 3 Wiring error 8 3 1 Missing cell s if there is a fault at the balancer connector in the wiring of the lowest cell s the LED s for the cell s flash continuously twice with a slightly longer interval this indicates that one or more defective cells are at the bottom limit of operating voltage 8 3 2 Missing cell s if a cell in the middle of a pack is accidentally or intentionally wired double for example if two balancer cables are assigned to one cell a defective cell will also be detected as described under 8 3 1 but with this difference the LEDs will indicate an incorrect total cell count one cell higher and the incorrectly wired LED will not show up in the LED row In this special case the Schulze LiPoBalancer works normally as if there is no wiring error 8 3 3 Skipped Cell if a cell in the middle of a pack is accidentally skipped i e two balancer cables are assigned to one cell then that cell will be detected with double voltage over voltage This will trigger an error indicator exactly as described under 8 1 i e continuous quadruple flashing with a slightly longer interval
16. ed the responsibility once he opens the sales package Thereafter he has no claim against the manufacturer the importer the dealer or the employees of those companies if an accident occurs in which personal injury or property damage result 11 3 Cell handling e The voltage of brand new cells and discharged cells is not zero it is generally more than 3 Volts Short circuit hazard e Never place cells or batteries on a conductive surface Note that carbon fibre fuselages and carbon fibre spars are conductive e Do not place batteries in a micro wave oven e Schulze LiPoPerfekt battery packs are protected at many points against accidental short circuit using cover plates silicone fabric tape and heat shrink sleeving Take care to avoid short circuits at any unprotected points and keep an eye open for abraded areas of the heat shrink sleeving if you discover a weak point insulate it thoroughly e Keep individual cells and battery packs well away from youngsters and store them out of the reach of children at all times Many cells look rather like chewing gum or chocolate bars and this is potentially confusing and dangerous e Do not open cells The internal chemicals react with oxygen in the air and or water and in some circumstanc es the reaction can be violent If a cell should catch fire and you have no suitable extinguishing agent to hand sand extinguisher powder allow it to burn out taking care not to breathe in the vapours gener
17. ee up that port so that you can assign the USB adaptor to it 9 3 Generating data graphs using winsoft 9 3 1 To obtain best results when generating graphs of individual cell voltages run winsoft and select 4 x cell voltage if the number of cells connected is up to four or 7 x cell voltage with up to seven cells If the pack contains more than seven cells the Schulze LiPoBalancer generates data for the eighth to the fourteenth cells as the voltage of the battery 2 pack To depict the eighth to fourteenth individual voltages you have to use a little trick open the battery 2 window and then when the serial data arrives click the right mouse button add battery 2 online data then select 7 x cell voltage 9 4 For Pros Configuring the Schulze LiPoBalancer The Schulze LiPoBalancer understands a series of commands given via e g the HyperTerminal included in the windows oerating system which you can use to adjust the standard configuration to meet your personal requirements The first letter of a command S must be entered within five seconds after the terminal program shows the version number of the balancer on its display as this switches the Schulze LiPoBalancer to configuration mode We have to differentiate between three groups of commands 9 4 1 Commands which affect the LED indicators the RS232 interface signal and the conclusion of the configuration process 9 4 2 Commands which define the bat
18. format have been in existence for many years they were originally stated to have a nominal voltage of 3 6 V witha maximum charge voltage of 4 1 V Some distribution companies now state a maximum charge voltage of 4 2 V for the Li lo cells which have must stand on a non inflammable heat resistant and electrically non conducting surface e Inflammable objects and volatile gases must be kept well clear of the device s e Protect the unit from dust dirt damp liquid vibration shock and pressure loads been developed more recently In our opinion we should always rely upon the voltages stated by the cell e Do not subject the device to excessively high or low temperatures manufacturer i e the company which designed the cell e When a cell voltage balancing process is concluded and in particular when a discharge As abasic rule the Li lo cells stated to be safe at 4 2 V can also be charged to 4 1 V If you do this you can process is finished with the Schulze LiPoBalancer connected the battery must be disconnected usually depending on the cell design expect a slight extension of useful battery life combined with a from the Schulze LiPoBalancer within a short time This is especially important if the battery reduction in usable capacity Capacity is small and the cell count low with a 2s1p 350 mAh pack this means within 10 minutes in 4 1 2 Li Po Lithium Polymer cells derive their designation from the polymer foil which was originally used as
19. harger cable attached to the Schulze LiPoBalancer red and connect it to the corresponding 4 mm socket on your charger At this point there is no operating voltage to the Schulze LiPoBalancer so the charger does not notice that there is a battery connected The integrated safety circuit therefore cannot work yet 5 2 Connecting a battery fitted with a Schulze BalCab10 or BalCab20 The Schulze LiPoBalancer simply needs to be connected to the balancer cable attached to the battery pack Two sockets are available according to the cell count and the balancer cable type 5 2 1 the 10 pin socket for Schulze BalCab 10 and 2 4 cell battery packs 5 2 2 the 20 pin socket for Schulze BalCab 20 and 2 8 or 2 14 cell battery packs Provided that the balancer cable is correctly configured connecting the LiPoBalancer in this way automatically optimises it and the cell voltage balancing process will be carried out with the minimum possible superfluous adjustment work i e minimal energy interchange between individual cells The balancing process is energy saving and is therefore completed more quickly Pros can change the working procedure of the automatic sliding cell equalization process by a Set command see chapter 9 The method of configuring the balancer cable correctly is described in the Operating Instructions provided with the BalCabxxx set Schulze LiPoPerfekt packs are designed specifically for connection to B
20. ich the battery s charge limit or capacity limit is reached 4 3 Selecting the fast charge current if the manufacturer does not specify other values When the Schulze LiPoCard is in use the current is reduced to less than 8 of the config Charge current 1 C SANYO KOKAM or less 0 7 C PANASONIC up to 2 C SAPHION ured value at this point The charger then switches off and displays the battery full indicator 4 4 Maximum continous discharge current when used as a drive battery Final discharge voltage the voltage at which the battery s discharge limit is reached The chemical pep nag one Penn ber aise 7 colony cUnenE composition of the batteries determines the level of this voltage Below this voltage the battery 4 5 Long time storage Empty i e discharged to the discharge voltage cut off level see maintenance at low temperature 20 C bis 10 C Li Fe SAPHION Up to 6 months between 30 50 full at 23 C 4 6 Maintenance Discharge up to 1 C down to the above listed discharge voltages 10 allowed Always store these cells in the discharged state If stored fully charged over a longer period the result can be a permanent reduction in capacity enters the deep discharge zone Deep discharged cells can cause permanent damage Power On reset the status of the Schulze LiPoBalancer after it has been connected to the car battery Ready display the charger is ready batteries disconnected to operate at the current
21. k may exhibit an internal or external break 10 3 If you suffer an over voltage safety shut down 10 2 but a thorough inspection shows up no obvious problem it is best to connect the pack to the Schulze LiPoBalancer again without the charger and wait until the LiPoBal indicates no further balancing activity As soon as possible after this it should be fully charged again before being re used Alternatively disconnect the pack from the Schulze LiPoBalancer so that the idle current does not discharge it to a dangerous level 11 General tips on using Lithium batteries e Read the instructions in the supplementary handling precautions carefully and observe them at all times e Do not disassemble modify heat or short circuit the battery e Do not burn the battery or store it in a hot area e Do not drop the battery and or apply excessive mechanical stress to it e Do not allow the battery to get wet e Do not use chargers other than those recommended by Schulze e Maintain the charging discharging conditions specified in the handling precautions e During charging use the safety feature s to protect the battery 11 1 Charging instructions e Litnium batteries must not be charged and or operated in any combination with primary cells dry cells or other types of rechargeable battery Nickel Lead acid batteries or other types of Lithium cells e g Li lo with Li Po with cells of different capacity and or make and with cells of differe
22. l batteries provided that all the connected balancer voltage tags indicate a cell voltage of less than 2 Volts see above Chapter 7 1 Hint The safety circuit will cut off the discharge current in the looped in cable to the Bilux bulbs at the precise moment when the voltage of at least one cell falls below the minimum permissible value If the safety circuit is wired across a high current guard for example then it is also possible to analyse battery behaviour at higher currents The current at which the battery is discharged makes no difference to the balancer inputs outputs as their only function is to measure the process In Nickel battery mode the balancing function of the Schulze LiPoBalancer is switched off in any case Operating Instructions Issue 02 06 Page 8e When the green EIN LED is glowing you can be sure that the balancer is operating normally However if the green LED is off this indicates the presence of an error Since the LED indicator is coupled constantly to the safety circuit an extinguished LED also means that no charge or discharge current is passing through the safety circuit If the balancer detects an error when you initially connect the battery using the balancer cable then the green ON LED does NOT come on in the usual way after fifteen seconds When any of the following events occurs the balancer enters error mode 8 1 Excess voltage error Over voltage of one or more cells usually
23. lron Li Fe Cell count range LiPoBal 14 2 14 Li Poly Li lon Li lron Li Fe Cell count with nickel batteries 8 resp 8 14 Ni Cd Ni MH Power supply voltage range 6 58 8 V DC see cell count range Min power consumption 10 mA 14 Li Po cells Max power consumption 40 mA 2 Li Po cells rote LED min Stromaufnahme 1 mA 14 Li Po cells rote LED max Stromaufnahme 5 mA 2 Li Po cells gr ne LED Halbleiterrelais min 2 5 mA safety circuit conductive 14 Li Po s grune LED Halbleiterrelais max 12 mA safety circuit conductive 2 Li Po s Balancer socket 1 7 pin JST no current and battery type coding Balancer socket 2 Balancer socket 3 10 pin Schulze with current and battery type coding 20 pin Schulze with current and battery type coding Battery type setting automatically when Schulze balancer cables are used manually via jumper and or serial interface Balancing current up to 1 Amps peak charge current Max total balancing power 12 14 W depending on input and pack voltage Balancing precision typical 5 10 mV fully charged amp auto difference Dimensions approx 120 102 17 mm Weight approx 145 g Operational mode display LiPoBal 08 via 8 1 LEDs Operational mode display LiPoBal 14 via 14 1 LEDs Safety cut off equipment bipolar DC insulated solid state relay maximum permissible voltage up to 75 volts current up to 15 amps Connectors for the safety equipment 4 mm gold plated socket 4 mm safety plug
24. ly selected When stored at 40 C or more charge them additionally a little bit every two months configuration When in this state the unit displays the set configuration by means of continu Li Fe SAPHION Discharge after 6 month and charge in 50 of the capacity ously glowing LEDs 4 7 Setting the cell count with the LiPoBalancer Charge Quantity Capacity see C and Ah resp mAh Since cell voltages can only be balanced using balancer cables BalCabxx there is no need to set or adjust C Coulomb or capacity Unit of measurement relating to the quantity of charged energy In the cell count the Schulze LiPoBalancer automatically detects the cell count conjunction with charge current data this unit is used to determine the recommended 4 8 Selecting the battery type with the LiPoBalancer prescribed charge curran of a battery of 2 given capacity Example if the charge current of a 4 8 1 If you have fitted your battery pack with a correctly configured balancer cable BalCabxx the Schulze 1100 mAh battery is 2 2 A we refer to this as a charge of 2 C LiPoBalancer will automatically detect the battery type The method of configuring the balancer cable A mA unit of measurement relating to charge or dis charge current 1000 mA 1 A A Ampere correctly is described in the Operating Instructions supplied with the BalCabxx set mA Milliampere Do not mix up with 4 8 2 The battery type is also detected automatically if you use a Schulze LiPoPerfekt
25. ng which can lead to loss of battery capacity and Jumper load capacity The net result is that your batteries have the highest possible discharge voltage Li Po Although the Schulze LiPoBalancer is designed primarily for use with Lithium batteries it can also be connected to Li lo Nickel batteries Ni Cd Ni MH and used as a means of documenting discharge curves _ Schulze BalCab20 no jumper Li Fe bal ket In this mode the Schulze LiPoBalancer does not balance cell voltages it acts as a measuring system for selecting or as configured p ge I ae be nae nae cells under high load current conditions via RS232 F resp 2s 14s packs The Schulze LiPoBal 08 2 8 cells and Schulze LiPoBal 14 2 14 cells are balancing devices which start I adjusting the cell voltages to each other right from the first minute at up to 1 Amp peak current As such they really T ideal for deserve the title of genuine balancers or equalizers i e they balance cell voltages constantly when a battery is E F Schulze LiPoPerfekt connected instead of just limiting the cell voltage at the end of the charge process when the batteries are full i battery packs Schulze LiPoBalancers exploit a completely new method of cell balancing a method which is extremely efficient It works virtually by transferring energy from cells with high voltage to cells with low voltage No energy is wasted boiled away so the LiPoBalancer remains cool The net re
26. not provide this battery type information either but please note that their own balancer cables can and must not be connected directly to the Schulze LiPoBalancer as they do not feature fixed connector assignment in the rising sequence of the cell count this can be likened to the levels in a multi storey building In antiquated systems which use limiter electronics fallaciously sold as balancers the limiter electronics connected individually to each cell generally have no idea of the voltage of the adjacent cell This means that the circuit is completely incapable of balancing the cell voltages it just acts on the one cell to which it is connected If you wish to use a Schulze LiPoBalancer to balance packs fitted with this type of connector you should use the carefully designed concept of our BalCabxx set and solder the coloured wires directly in the pack in the appropriate sequence alternatively solder them directly to the contacts of the individual cell tags outside the pack In either case you must ensure that you maintain the correct sequence of the cells For this reason adaptor leads are not permissible and must not be used When you have equipped your Lithium pack with the Schulze system please turn to Chapter 5 2 for information on using the system for the first time Operating Instructions Issue 02 06 Page 6e cham leon 5a The wiring to your charger should now look as shown in Fig 5 above 6 The LED ope
27. nt maximum load capacity e Lithium batteries must not be charged using any charger or charge program which was intended for Nickel batteries Ni Cd or NiMH These batteries must only be charged using a specialised unit such as the Schulze LiPoCard or a charger such as the Schulze isl 6 or isl 8 series these devices include programs for charging Lithium batteries FIRE HAZARD if you do not observe the battery manufacturer s charging instructions you risk damaging and even ruining the batteries swelling explosion this can result in fire In particular please remember that the number of cells in the pack must be set correctly on the charger note this applies only to the number of cells wired in series Parallel wired cells are seen by the charger simply as one 1 cell of large capacity e Before charging the cells it is essential to check the cell count setting and the maximum charge voltage on the charger e Before charging the cells it is essential to check the maximum charge current setting e Keep the battery well away from inflammable materials and volatile gases e During any charge discharge process the balancer the charger discharger and the connected batteries must be placed on a non inflammable heat resistant and electrically non conductive surface Such surfaces include ceramic dishes and flower pots and special fireproof plastic or aluminium cases these must be insulated e g using plaster sheets e Don
28. r connecting the battery teh balancer detects discharging when the battery voltage drops pack is not charging SetRS232CurrentOn In the interface data for winsoft shows the resistance value as a current value which is built into the Schulze BalCabxx set or which is built into the Schulze LiPoPerfekt battery pack SetRS232CurrentOff Always shows no current in the Winsoft data i e 0 zero is displayed SetTypLiPo Sets the balancer to Li Po mode if no configuration is present BalCab SetTypLilo Sets the balancer to Li lo mode if no configuration is present BalCab SetTypLiFe Sets the balancer to Li Fe mode if no configuration is present BalCab SetTypNiXX Sets the balancer to Nickel mode if no configuration is present BalCab Command min SetLiPoUminnnnn 2 02 002 es nnnn 2500 Sets the minimum voltage limit for Li Po batteries SetLiloUminnnnn 2 000000 2 nnnn 2500 Sets the minimum voltage limit for Li lon batteries SetLiFeUminnnnn 2 00000 eee nnnn 1800 Sets the minimum voltage limit for Li Fe batteries SetNiXXUminnnnn 22008 nnnn 600 Sets the minimum voltage limit for Ni Cd Ni MH batteries SetLiPoUmaxnnnn 020008 nnnn 4200 Sets the maximum voltage limit for Li Po batteries SetLiloUmaxnnnn 0 000054 nnnn 4100 Sets the maximum voltage limit for Li lon batteries SetLiFeUmaxnnnn 00 0008 2 ae nnnn 3700
29. r voltage differences within the pack to be balanced you will see one or more LEDs flashing continuously The set indicator mode is maintained until you disconnect the battery from the Schulze LiPoBalancer regardless of any battery full or battery discharged message unless the safety cut off trips and isolates the battery from the charger The green EIN LED goes out see also the LED error indicators Chapter 8 If one or more LEDs are even blinking after the full detection then you connected a pack with too much difference in the cell voltages and you charged it in that case with too much current Let the pack remain for a short time on the LiPoBalancer to get a better equalization After the balancing has finished resp latest after the green EIN LED goes out you have to disconnect your pack to avoid deep discharging rae Te wees M siancer Operating Instructions Sofware Vi andlater LiPoBalancer Operating Instructions Software V1 and later LiPoBalancer Operating Instructions Software V1 and later 8 The LED error indicators 7 The safety circuit 7 1 The safety circuit consists of a bi polar galvanically separated semi conductor solid state relay circuit which can switch very high currents up to 15 A It should always be looped into the charge lead see Chapter 5 1 if your battery is to be balanced in conjunction with a charger or discharger The safety circuit isolates your valuable battery from the ch
30. rating indicators The Schulze LiPoBalancer starts to work as soon as the balancer cable is connected as it receives its operating voltage via the balancer cable Initially all the red LEDs on the Schulze LiPoBalancer will light up for about three seconds There are eight or fourteen LEDs depending on the variant you have purchased This is followed by a moving sequence of LEDs from cell 1 to cell 8 or from 1 to 14 All the LEDs are then extinguished briefly after which they come on again to indicate the connected cell count After about 15 seconds after connecting the battery the green EIN LED on the Schulze LiPoBalancer will light up The appearance of the green EIN LED also indicates that the safety circuit is armed If you are using a Schulze charger as shown above the charger starts automatically if you are using a different charger you may need to initiate the process by pressing the Start button After a further minute all the red LEDs go out assuming that the LED display is working in current saving mode LED indicator mode configuration for pros via Set commands see Chapter 9 At this point the balancer starts balancing the cell voltages if necessary In LED current saving mode the LEDs only light up when a balancing process is in progress In LED cell count display mode the LEDs constantly indicate the connected cell count and only go out when a balancing process is in progress If there are majo
31. rents e Lithium cells lose a small amount of capacity every time they are charged but the loss is much higher if they are overloaded e Make sure your batteries are protected from short circuit at all times Whether the short is caused by a screwdriver in your toolbox or by a house key in your trouser pocket the result is the same overloaded cells and possibly a fire e If you deep discharge a battery at a high current to a point below 1 V cell the result is invariably irreparable damage In any application where high motor currents are used the discharge limit for packs of identical cells must be in the range 2 4 3 0 V cell If the pack includes cells in different conditions the discharge limit should be set even higher to avoid the danger that the weakest cell might fall below the critical 1 V point when being discharged Our own experience shows that deep discharges are not so critical if they are caused by the idle currents of electronic circuits speed controller not disconnected from the flight battery after the flight balancer powered by the battery and not removed after discharging the pack However if you discover a battery in this condition charge it initially using a very low current 1 20C or less until it reaches a voltage within the working window of the cells for Li Po cells that is 3 0 4 2 Volts e Since we are notin a position to ensure the proper use of the cells the user is deemed to have accept
32. rface 9 1 General information The Schulze LiPoBalancer generates status messages at the serial interface when the battery pack is connected software version cell count balancer cable configuration etc When the balancer is operating i e during the balancing process the interface supplies data which can be used to generate graphs of each cell s voltage curves on a PC as well as the pack s total voltage the data is compatible with Schulze winsotft The serial port can also be used to update the firmware of the Schulze LiPoBalancer Serial transfer parameters 9600 baud no parity 1 start bit 1 stop bit no flow control 9 2 Connections The port is optically coupled to i e galvanically isolated from the Schulze Li PoBalancer and is powered via the RS2382 interface cable 9 2 1 For example the 9 pin socket of the RS232 port can be connected to a PC s RS232 port using an RS232 extension lead RS232 Verl 1 1 no crossed wires 9 2 2 The 9 pin socket of the RS232 interface can be connected to the USB port of a PC or laptop using an RS232 USB Adaptor If the USB adaptor is supplied with a USB extension lead then you do not need an RS232 Verl extension lead Note to install the USB RS232 driver please follow the instructions on the installation CD Note also that the winsoft program can only address four COM ports In some cases an IR port is assigned to COM2 and you may need to change the system settings via device manager to fr
33. sult is this cell voltages are balanced faster the RS232 interface COM port Conventional balancer socket Schulze BalCab10 charger detects a full pack more quickly and there is no danger of the balancer burning out for exporting charge data and 7 pin JST connector for 2s 6s packs balancer socket An integral safety cut off circuit works on the charge or discharge current and protects the battery connected to the importing firmware updates Graupner and Robbe compatible for 2s 4s packs system if for example you set the charger incorrectly for that pack e g if you select a NiCd charge program For the safety cut off circuit to work all you have to do is loop it into the existing connections in your battery s charge lead Schulze balancer cable sets BalCab10 xxx and BalCab20 xx offer one very special feature the safety circuit is Contents configured automatically when the battery is connected using the Schulze specific cable sets and the optimum method of working of the balancing circuit is also selected automatically there is no scope for user error This is possible because these cables contain three more cores than usual and the circuitry of the Schulze LiPoBalancer Chapter Subject Page uses this additional information to detect the type of battery connected and the maximum permissible charge current 1 Introduction 2 for this battery type the latter information is currently not used 2 Warnings 3 The make
34. t charge batteries in the car the seats burn very well e Supervise the charge process constantly if the battery swells up disconnect it from the charger immediately e Burning batteries should be extinguished with dry sand or a powder fire extinguisher never with water explosion hazard e Never attempt to recharge dead or damaged cells this can have particularly disastrous results if these cells are part of a pack which also includes healthy cells e Protect the cells from mechanical loads ne sees IA Bance Operating Instructions Sofware Vi andlater LiPoBalancer Operating Instructions Software V1 and later VV LiPoBalancer Operating Instructions Software V1 and later Issue 02 06 Page 12e 11 2 Useful life e Observe the charge current and discharge current limits stated by the battery manufacturer Do not exceed the maximum values as this brings a risk of drastic reduction in the pack s useful life e Contrary to much published information the professional protective circuit for Kokam cells defines the lower and upper limits as 1 0 and 4 5 Volts per cell http www kokam com english biz care html The most common cause of unbalanced battery packs is not deep discharging to below 3 V cell but overloading through excessive discharge currents e Be cautious with dealers statements such as maximum load currents of 15C or 20C often this refers to peak load values and not continuous cur
35. tery type these are only effective if the balancer cable is not fitted with a configuration resistor priority over the jumper and if the jumper is fitted priority over PC configuration 9 4 3 Commands which set the limit values for the various battery types If you enter an invalid SET command the balancer responds with illegal command If you enter an invalid value the response is illegal value in this case the old value continues to apply The commands may be written in capitals or lower case 9 4 1 0 9 4 1 1 9 4 1 2 9 4 1 3 9 4 1 4 9 4 1 5 9 4 1 6 9 4 1 7 9 4 1 8 9 4 2 1 9 4 2 2 9 4 2 3 9 4 2 4 9 4 3 1 9 4 3 2 9 4 3 3 9 4 3 4 9 4 3 5 9 4 3 6 9 4 3 7 9 4 3 8 9 4 3 9 Set or Set or Set Software version 3 resp 4 or later Displays all available Set commands Exit oder SetExit Concludes configuration mode no parameters required SetDefault Sets all values to default settings no parameters SetShowBalancing oder SetLowPower Operating Instructions Issue 02 06 Page 10e Current saving mode The red cell count LEDs are off they only glow during balancing SetShowCells The red LEDs show the cell count during balancing the corresponding LED goes out SetD BalancingOn oder SetDBalancingOn Balancer also active during discharging SetD BalancingOff oder SetD BalancingOff Balancer inactive during discharging Hint About 60 seconds afte
36. the LED cell count display mode and within 15 minutes in LED current saving mode electrolyte This solid electrolyte was only capable of supplying current at temperatures of around 60 C or a l ea Apa higher later the electrolyte was enriched with various supplement materials to provide improved conductivity at Reason since the electronic circuitry of the Schulze LiPoBalancer is powered by the battery to which it is lower temperatures connected the current drain of the balancer would completely flatten the battery if left connected For the The characteristics of these new cells made it possible to house them in a lightweight foil pack flat pack same reason you should also disconnect the speed controller from the drive battery after use these cells provide a high performance at room temp although they still have slightly more to offer at 42 C The integral switching section of the Schulze LiPoBalancer places a much lower load on battery packs with The uniform nominal voltage of these cells is stated as 3 7 V the maximum charge voltage as 4 2 V high cell counts which means that the residual energy in an almost discharged pack lasts longer in normal use 4 1 3 Li Fe Lithium lron Phosphate Saphion cells have a voltage range which makes this cell ideal for a There is a danger that the battery will be damaged if deep discharged To test this we carried out replacement of a 5 cell Ni Cd receiver battery By means of its high current
37. up of these balancer cables and the correct configuration of the three extra terminals is described in the 3 Commonly used terms 3 Nene it AAAA E the a A to enable you to assemble your own connecting leads etween the battery and the balancer quickly and easily 4 Useful information about batteries and maintenance 4 i p k j i PN rE e situation is even more straightforward if you use our Schulze LiPoPerfekt battery packs which are fitted with a 5 Connections using the balancer for the first time 5 socket correctly configured to the battery All you have to do with these packs is connect them to a ready made 6 The LED operating indicators 6 balancer extension lead BalCab10 Verl or BalCab20 Verl T7 The safety circuit T If you are using conventional balancer leads the LiPoBalancer must be configured manually using a jumper or via 8 The LED error display 8 the PC connection RS232 port 9 The serial RS232 interface af 9 Although the main purpose of the Schulze LiPoBalancer is to provide accurate intelligent balancing of cell voltages h L iP B ja 11 in battery packs consisting of 2 8 or 2 14 cells it can also be used for analysing and documenting the quality of 10 Supplementary notes on the use of t e Lirobalancer your Nickel or Lithium battery packs thanks to its integral RS232 interface This is best done by discharging them at 11 General tips on using lithium batteries ae 15 fairly high currents in this case the integral safet
38. y circuit can be used to cut off the process when the battery is fully 12 The pin assignments of the balancer cable sockets 13 A eee ope ound ae Curie y ia ne rats If the safety circuit is tripped the charger may ramp up the converter voltage to 60 V unlike other poorly designed l E anii i i so called safety circuits the Schulze LiPoBalancer will not be damaged if this should happen egal matters Che eo ae Se ee ee ee ee a in i The Schulze LiPoBalancer requires no additional power supply it draws voltage current from the battery to which 15 Specifications n n 16 itis connected rae Be weee IIA ance Operating Instructions Sofware Vi andlater LiPoBalancer Operating Instructions Software V1 and later Operating Instructions LiPoBalancer Operating Instructions Software V1 and later Issue 02 06 Page 4 8 Warnings 4 Useful information about batteries and maintenance e The CE symbol does not entitle you to handle the device without reasonable care 4 1 1 Li lo Lithium lon cells are housed in a strong metal can usually of cylindrical shape Their designation is e Never leave the device unsupervised during a charge process derived from the ion conducting fluid electrolyte The rigid metal container is required to ensure that the e When the system is operating the device the charger discharger and the connected batteries electrodes are pressed firmly enough against the separator Li lo cells of cylindrical and prismatic
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