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4.1.3.
“Gel/Sealed Battery” Settings
If your charger has only limited options for charge settings and Lithium is not an option, select battery
type “Gel” or “Sealed Battery”. These settings will not be optimal but will work in most cases.
4.1.4.
Energize Your Inverter First
Due to the special pre-charging function in the KiloVault® BMS, it is necessary to first connect and
energize the equipment that draws the largest capacitive load, such as your inverter. If a smaller
device is powered up first, the pre-charge loop in the BMS will be lost and unable to handle the
greater in-rush from the larger device.
Power up other devices connected to your battery, like solar charge controllers, battery monitors, etc.
one at a time after the inverter, waiting 60 seconds before powering each one up.
Alternatively, in most cases, if everything is powered up all at the same time (or less than 60 seconds
of each other) the surge protection circuitry will kick in, shut down the batteries but in less than 1
minute the batteries will restart. If the batteries continue to shut down repeatedly, then the devices
should be started only one at a time, waiting 60 seconds between each one.
4.1.5.
Self-Protection Mode by the KiloVault® BMS
In the event that one of the batteries reaches an extreme condition the internal BMS will put the
battery into protection mode (creating an open circuit). When this occurs the batteries will go off-line
until they recover back into operational range. Most often this can take anywhere from just a couple
of minutes up to several hours depending on the fault condition. If an
Under-Voltage Protection
event
caused the shutdown, it will sometimes recover on its own or, if the battery has been completely
depleted it may need to be re-charged at least a few amp-hours for it to recover. Some fault conditions
are logged and visible using the smartphone Bluetooth app.
4.1.6.
Charge Rate
Charging rates below the battery's maximum capacity will extend battery life. A charge rate of 100A is
recommended, although up to 150A is allowed. After 3000 cycles at 100% depth-of-discharge the
battery's capacity will be approximately 75% of when it was new. If charging above 60A, ensure the
bulk/absorption voltage is set to no higher than 13.8V.
4.1.7.
Temperature & BMS Self-Protection
We strongly recommend staying within a temperature range 32-113°F (0-45°C) for both charging and
discharging to prevent damage, extend battery life, and ensure expected performance.
The battery will protect itself and not allow charging below 32°F (0°C). However, it will continue to
discharge down to -4°F (-20°C). As a result, it is possible to completely discharge the batteries in cold
conditions and not be able to charge them until they are placed into warmer conditions.
4.1.8.
Temperature & Effects on Battery Capacity
Although extreme low temperatures will not reduce the batteries capacity, their current output will be
reduced. At 14°F (-10°C) the available current is reduced by 10 to 20% and decreases further to 60%
as it approaches the Low Temperature protection value of -4°F (-20°C).