Fogstar Lifepo4 MPPT settings

[borat]

Hi

I’ve got a Fogstar drift lifepo4 leisure battery fitted and have changed the Sterling power to the appropriate profile. However the Solar MPPT doesn’t look like it has a profile that matches the main recommended settings Fogstar have in the website. But they only really mention the bulk and float. Anyone able to advise on what the other settings should be for a lifepo4 pls? Here’s what I have

 

[Dellmassive]

What's the LIFOS settings look like?

 

[Dellmassive]

Fogstar Drift Q&A's

How do I charge my Drift battery? You can charge your Drift Leisure battery in a number of ways; Using a multi-stage LiFePO4 mains charger using Solar panels and an MPPT controller directly via the vehicles' alternator, and/or as part of a B2B or DC-DC charger set-up. The recommended voltage for...

www.fogstar.co.uk

How do I charge my Drift battery?

You can charge your Drift Leisure battery in a number of ways;

• Using a multi-stage LiFePO4 mains charger
• using Solar panels and an MPPT controller
• directly via the vehicles' alternator, and/or
• as part of a B2B or DC-DC charger set-up.

The recommended voltage for charging a lithium leisure battery is between 13.5 - 13.8V Float to 14.2 - 14.4V Bulk.

We recommend Victron equipment is set to a Float of 13.5V and 14.2V Bulk.

The recommended charging current for a lithium leisure battery is typically around 20-30% of the battery's capacity. For example, if the battery has a capacity of 100Ah, the recommended charging current would be around 20-30 amps. We have designed a range of Fogstar Drift chargers to work in cohesion with our battery range, you will find these here.



..

 

[borat]

I found that as well and have set those (they were different in the lifeos profile ) but it’s the settings it doesn’t mention that I was confused about - eg equalisation voltage

Also when I look at the BMS for the drift it doesn’t show any current, except when the van is running. But the mppt app shows it’s charging. Is that normal?

 

[Dellmassive]

why is the charging toggle switched off?

 

[borat]

I’m not sure. When I tried to manually toggle it on it just switches itself off again until I turn on ignition. Then it comes on. At the moment it’s staying on but still shows no current. It’s getting dark now tho so hard to be sure

 

[Dellmassive]

ok,

i just see the battery is 100% full,

and the voltage is 14.0v,

so the battery has disabled the incoming charge to protect its self.

you may have a warning on the other tab. . . prob COV or POV?


check out the next page for alarms..






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[Dellmassive]

have a look at the PROTECT HISTORY,

see if you have any warnings?

+++

 

[borat]

I have one CUV and loads of fully charged ones but they don’t seem to show on yours? Not sure if this is just normal or means there is an issue. Cells seem ok.

 

[Dellmassive]

yes, you have 456 COV counts . . . how long you had the battery?

i think your charger is kicking out a bit to much voltage.?


so effectively the battery has shut off charging because of "Cell Over Voltage" - this normally happens when the charger source has to high a voltage and chargers up the battery too quickly so that the internal cells drift out of balance, with one high before the rest.


..............


so what's your charge source?

i think the Fogstar ask for 14.2-4v bulk charge, and 13.5-8v Float



++++++++++++++

Fogstar say its not an issue, but I've seen this with my Poweroad battery and after a while the cell balance can drift.


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Fogstar Drift Q&A's​

How do I charge my Drift battery?
You can charge your Drift Leisure battery in a number of ways;

• Using a multi-stage LiFePO4 mains charger
• using Solar panels and an MPPT controller
• directly via the vehicles' alternator, and/or
• as part of a B2B or DC-DC charger set-up.

The recommended voltage for charging a lithium leisure battery is between 13.5 - 13.8V Float to 14.2 - 14.4V Bulk.
We recommend Victron equipment is set to a Float of 13.5V and 14.2V Bulk.
The recommended charging current for a lithium leisure battery is typically around 20-30% of the battery's capacity. For example, if the battery has a capacity of 100Ah, the recommended charging current would be around 20-30 amps. We have designed a range of Fogstar Drift chargers to work in cohesion with our battery range, you will find these here.

What is a POV (Pack Over Voltage) warning?
The total voltage of the pack has exceeded the maximum voltage. The BMS has turned off charging so that you do not overcharge the battery. Please discharge the battery.

A Cell Overvoltage (COV) warning just flagged on my battery, what can I do?

You may have noticed some COV’s already registered on your battery - this is only due to our internal quality process and our team testing the BMS response at manufacture.

The COV alerts do not mean the battery has an issue, if anything, it shows that the BMS is working as it should. It's worth pointing out that many leisure battery retailers actually hide this warning from appearing in software - we decided, for transparency purposes, to keep it in.

A COV simply means your battery is charged and ready to use. The BMS is flagging to you that your battery has had enough charge, and you can switch charging off.

 

[borat]

I’ve only just changed the Solar MPPT settings to the recommended settings as it slipped my mind that I’d have to mess with that, so I’ll see if that stops them building up. The main charge is from a sterling power unit but I set that to the lifepo4 profile so I would have hoped that’s not the issue but if it carries on I’ll post the Sterling power settings as well.

 

[Dellmassive]

yep - keep an eye on the battery alarm flags.

with gentle charging you wont trigger VOC alarms.

with heavy charging you will.


easy fix though, just tweek down the BULK charge voltage. . . . ie 14.2v.

 

[borat]

Ok that was probably it as the mppt was at 14.6. Any idea if you can reset the warnings?

 

[Dellmassive]

Ok that was probably it as the mppt was at 14.6. Any idea if you can reset the warnings?

no, the warnings are accumulative and stored in the bms.

no issues though,

as they say some battery makers hide the flag.

something i was in coms with about the POWEROAD batts. . .

as it was bringing up red alarms. . . . but wasn't a fault. - it was suggested that its best to hide from the general user as it just created anxious people

 

[Wills]

What a kerfuffle… I finally completed the change over from lead acid to a Fogstar Drift 105mA today.
AMC 12 12 30 & ABB07
Victron smart solar 75 / 15
Victron blue power charger 12v 7A (Needs changing to a 15A)

Fully charged with status / monitor info below. Does it look like the settings are correct and status is ok? Not sure with the 5 cell overvoltage in the protection history though

 

[TallPaul_S]

You need to change the smart solar (and any other Victron kit) to the smart lithium preset. If you've got a Victron Shunt, there's a few other settings need changing too. Have a look in the fogstar Q&A, it has all the details.

Fogstar Drift | Leisure Battery Q&A's

How do I charge my leisure battery? How does the heating work? What size terminal posts do I need? We answer these questions plus many more here...

www.fogstar-drift.co.uk

Over voltage in the battery BMS is fine, that'll happen every time it hits fully charged.

 

[Wills]

Thanks @TallPaul_S , the Victron MPPT Li factory setting are somewhat off with the Fogstar recommendations. Is it better to set it up manually?

 

[Dellmassive]

Change the solar mppt to lithium preset.


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