Charging lithium batteries for storage ‘STORAGE’
This battery programme can be used if the battery is not intended to be used immediately but
at a later point in time and thus needs to be stored for a longer period of time. The battery is
charged or discharged to a certain voltage depending on the selected battery type.
Depending on the cell voltage, the battery is either charged or discharged. With a multi-cell
battery pack, this only makes sense if a balancer connection is available and connected to
the charger.
When storing a lithium battery for an extended period (e.g. when storing a model aeroplane
battery during the winter), the battery must be checked every 3 months and the ‘STORAGE’
programme used to charge to storage voltage to avoid damaging the battery due to deep
discharge. When batteries are charged or discharged, they are returned to a precisely defined,
original state. They are discharged according to their characteristics as follows: 3.7 V Li-ion,
3.8 V LiPo, 3.3 V LiFe and 3.9 V LiHV. The programme discharges them when the original state
of the battery exceeds the required storage voltage. The voltage is brought to the correct level
for storage by charging and discharging the battery pack.
-
+
-
+
>3 s
Stop
Enter
Select the desired battery programme for the battery
type (LiPo/LiFe/Li-ion/LiHV) – ‘STORAGE’.
The battery type is displayed in the first row on the left,
the discharging/charging programme is displayed on
the right.
The value in the second row on the left is the set current,
the value on the right is the current voltage (number of
cells). After setting the current and voltage, press and
hold the ENTER button (3) and (20) for more than
3 seconds to start the charging/discharging process.
Set the storage voltage and the charging/discharging
current here. This display shows the number of cells
that you have set. The charger detects the number of
cells in the connected battery and displays them.
R = Number of cells detected by the charger
S = Number of cells that you have set.
Enter
If both entries are identical, you can start charging.
If the number of cells does not match, press the
STOP button (6) and (19) to return to the previous
menu. Check the set number of cells again and correct
it, necessary.
Charged/dischar-
ged capacity
Duration
Charging/
discharging
current
Number
of cells
Battery
voltage
The display shows the status during the charging/
discharging process in real time. Press the STOP
button (6) and (19) once to stop an ongoing charging
process.
Discharging lithium batteries (DISCHARGE)
It is not usually necessary to discharge lithium batteries before charging (contrary to the
procedure for NiCd batteries). The battery can be charged immediately, independent of
its current state. However, if you do wish to discharge the battery, you can configure the
discharging current accordingly.
The maximum possible discharging current depends on the battery type and number of
cells. the maximum discharging power per output is 10 W. This limits the maximum possible
discharging current at the battery.
Discharge a lithium battery only up to the minimum permissible end-point voltage per cell
(note the information provided by the battery manufacturer). If the battery were to discharge
further, the deep discharge that would occur would permanently damage the battery, rendering
it unusable.
-
+
-
+
Stop
Enter
>3 s
The battery type is displayed in the first row on the left,
the discharging programme is displayed on the right.
The value on the left-hand side in the second row is
the current discharging current. It must not exceed 1C.
On the right-hand side is the current voltage and the
number of cells (in brackets). The voltage value must
not be lower than the voltage recommended by the
manufacturer so as to prevent excess discharge.
After setting the current and voltage, press and hold the
ENTER button (3) and (20) for more than 3 seconds
to start the discharging process.
-
+
-
+
Enter
This display shows the number of cells that you have
set. The charger detects the number of cells in the
connected battery and displays them.
R = Number of cells detected by the charger
S = Number of cells that you have set.
If both entries are identical, you can start discharging.
If the number of cells does not match, press the
STOP button (6) and (19) to return to the previous
menu. Check the set number of cells again and correct
it, necessary.
-
+
-
+
Battery
voltage
Time
passed
Discharging
current
Number
of cells
Discharged
capacity
The display shows the status during the discharging
process in real time. Press the STOP button (6) and
(19) once to stop an ongoing discharging process.
b) Programme for lead-acid batteries
Lead batteries are completely different to lithium, NiMH and NiCd batteries. When compared to
their high capacity, they can only provide low currents. The charging process is also different.
The charging current for modern lead batteries must not exceed 0.4C. The optimal charging
current is 1/10C. The optimum charging current should, therefore, be approx. 1/10 of the
capacity of the battery.
A higher charging current is not permitted as this would overload the battery. This
not only poses a risk of explosion and fire, but also a risk of injury due to the acid
contained.
Always observe the specifications printed on the battery and the manufacturer's
specifications as to the permissible charging current.
Lead-acid batteries cannot be charged using the fast charging programme. Observe
the information provided by the battery manufacturer.
Charging lead batteries ‘Pb CHARGE’
This programme is only to be used for charging lead batteries with rated voltages of 2 to 20 V.
The charging current to be set depends on the capacity of the battery and should usually be
0.1C. High-quality lead batteries can also tolerate a charging current of up to 0.4C. However,
you should always observe the battery manufacturer’s instructions.
The value ‘0.1C’ means that the charging current is equivalent to 1/10 of the capacity
of the battery. For a lead battery with a capacity of 5000 mAh (= 5 Ah), a charging
current of 0.5 A must be set at 0.1C.
-
+
-
+
>3 s
Stop
Enter
Select the desired battery programme for the battery
type (Pb) – ‘PbCHARGE’.
The battery type is displayed in the first row on the left,
the discharging/charging programme is displayed on
the right.
This display shows the set charging current on the left
and the rated battery voltage of the connected battery
on the right-hand side of the LC display (7) and (8).
Set the charging current in a range of 0.1 to 10.0 A.
After setting the charging current, press and hold the
ENTER button for more than 3 seconds to start the
charging process.
-
+
-
+
Charged
capacity
Charging
current
Time passed
Battery
type
Battery
voltage
The display shows the status during the charging
process in real time.
Press the STOP button (6) and (19) once to stop an
ongoing charging process.
