ojeysky:


I guess valto has said it all. Your home socket is AC voltage and current while the iron expects DC voltage/current. That plug is rated for 13A yet it's likely your iron will require more than a 13A DC current. In short if you love that iron no try ham o, the smoke will shock you

quest4s:
Thanks Sir, your advise inspired me to ask a battery charger to read the batteries with his meter if they were still good and they are.
Am using them as we speak and they are working efficiently. i just changed the wires with poor cable logging and will replace my charge controller soon.
thanks once again i appreciate.

anjilgreat:
Please how do I use this DC iron without connecting it directly on my inverter battery?

odimbannamdi:


Hello ma,

Please, what is the power rating of this iron? And how much did you buy it?

Also, kindly let us know how you eventually make use of it.

Thanks

ojeysky:


That's normal behaviour of lithium it has a fairly stable charge/discharge curve between 90 and 20% capacity.

What I can suggest is that when the BMS trips and stop charging disconnect charging source and then try to do a capacity test to see how much juice you get out of your battery. If it's at least 90AH then you have no balance issue. The cells were just full

anjilgreat:

Lol! I wouldn't have tried it o!

I was thinking that there may be a DC equivalent of the plug. Thanks

IYGEAL:


Does this mean that from 26.4v is about 90%? The load throughout was less than 100W and when it reaches 25.5 or so, it takes a few minutes and it's tripped off.


How is this done? Any external tools needed?

anjilgreat:


Hi, it is 150W 12V and I got it from Justcallmenuel. He sells it for #8,000.

No problem, I'll give a feedback when put to use.

Saipro:

Was hoping for NiyiOmoIyunade to come to the rescue but ... here I go: purely resistive loads like yours typically aren't concerned with whether the power source is AC or DC. They do care a lot about the voltage as the power consumption is consumed is a function of the resistance at that voltage, resistance presumed constant. The heating element might not withstand the heat generated at higher voltages and the risk of fire is immense at a voltage 20 times higher - the heat generated is proportionally greater. You'd be holding a furnace!

Just thought I'd chip that in, in case you're tempted to try some science.

ojeysky:


Assuming the cell voltage is balanced 26.4 at no load should be about 80% SOC. For it to trip off at 25.5v then it means one of the cells got low which is an indication of unbalanced cells

You need something similar to victron BMV to get actual capacity. There is a cheaper one that was shared in previous thread. However you can estimate, charge to full then put load of known consumption, don't change the load until the battery goes off, the duration it took can give you a very rough idea of the capacity.

anjilgreat:


Wow!, thanks for the detailed explanation. I'm grateful.

I will go by your advice by connecting the plug I posted earlier to the DC iron then look for a 12V 220V adapter with at least 20A to be used on the normal socket for ironing. Thanks

IYGEAL:


Okay. I'd try. I am running a load of 65 Watts now and the battery is 26.3v (it returned to 26.4v after all the charging).

I'd record when it trips off on this load.

I think I'd be better off returning the bank if it continues misbehaving.

IYGEAL:


Okay. I'd try. I am running a load of 65 Watts now and the battery is 26.3v (it returned to 26.4v after all the charging).

I'd record when it trips off on this load.

I think I'd be better off returning the bank if it continues misbehaving.

Valto:
the price of a 20A 12V adapter if readily available will be more costly than the pressing iron itself. it's best to use it directly with your 12V battery.

ojeysky:


That's going to take a long time, find a day to put at least 200w constant load so the test can be concluded in a few hours. Remember your battery needs to be full before you proceed, 26.4 does not necessarily mean full. It needs to get to a point when it stopped receiving charge it is after that you should start the test.

Fwiw its not that the stuff is misbehaving, at least you've not confirmed that yet.

earthrealm:


if you can return the bank, i would advice you to do do sharp sharp...

if not, i would advice a 2 pronged approach.. open up the casings and bring up out lifepo4 cell..connect all of them in parallel and charge to 3.6v using the apprioprate charger, then afterwards...you do the individual load test. but i think the battery in question is a small bank, so not worth the stress---and i doubt you have an apprioprate load tester and charger as well.
lifepo4 is quite a sensitive bitch..lol, for those with drop ins, i would advice that you try not to allow it run down and shut down...thats what causes and worsens the imbalance among the cells and eventual drop in capacity

IYGEAL:


Yea, I don't have those.

It's a small bank of 8 x 3.2v 100AH.

The bad thing is, I relocated my original set up, especially, I rearranged the pv array. So putting off the bank now means I'd stay off power for the time being.

earthrealm:


are the cells enclosed in a box?..naija diy made bank abi?. what cells are inside..send pics if possible.

earthrealm:


i see......
naija made diy bank.

lifepo4 cells need slight compression to keep the inshape and not to loose capacity, that flimsy duct tape there is incapable of that.

did seller say they are new cells?, how much did you buy them. are the QR codes still visible?

whats the make of the cells?.
from the pic, seems he placed them sideways, would hv loved to see the top/terminals.
whats the size /type of bms in there?

edit: those look like qr codes, 2 gold, 2 gray, could you scan them with your fone, lets see, if we can get more info

earthrealm:


i see......
naija made diy bank.

lifepo4 cells need slight compression to keep the inshape and not to loose capacity, that flimsy duct tape there is incapable of that.

did seller say they are new cells?, how much did you buy them. are the QR codes still visible?

whats the make of the cells?.
from the pic, seems he placed them sideways, would hv loved to see the top/terminals.
whats the size /type of bms in there?

edit: those look like qr codes, 2 gold, 2 gray, could you scan them with your fone, lets see, if we can get more info

ojeysky:


Assuming the cell voltage is balanced 26.4 at no load should be about 80% SOC. For it to trip off at 25.5v then it means one of the cells got low which is an indication of unbalanced cells

You need something similar to victron BMV to get actual capacity. There is a cheaper one that was shared in previous thread. However you can estimate, charge to full then put load of known consumption, don't change the load until the battery goes off, the duration it took can give you a very rough idea of the capacity.

IYGEAL:


I'd take better pictures and scan the QR codes later tonight.

Is the capacity of the BMS written on it?
I got the entire arrangement at upwards of 300k.

earthrealm:


bms data is sometimes written on it. new eve 3.2v 100ah cell will land at about 50usd to u in nigeria, shipping inclusive...after 3 months..lol. so assume 200k for the cells, then some elcheapo bms and casing...say 60k...40k profit, thus 300k not thatbad...if the cells are brand of a decent make, if however they are used cells, wch i suspect...then a big question mark don enter.

i suspect you have some cells in the mix, that are misbehaving, if not abused, such could be managed by top balancing.

the key is in identifying them with a load tester designed for lifepo4 batt, which you dont have.

at this stage, i dont think anything would be achieved by further trouble shooting, if seller is open to returns...send it back...i believe he should have the tools to identify the bad cells, swap them out..and send back your bank.

i hope you know that your bank isnt that big, total energy is 24 volts by 100ah, about 2400 watts, only

omotoda:


@ojesky, you mentioned something about sunfut panels sometime back .Inknow you said it in as over performing.Is the experience still same?Someone trying to go the route of their panels and battery's. Told him battery,he is on his own!.Panel I can help him find out

IYGEAL:
I think the cells might not be new ones

earthrealm:


Ok, dont look new, but all the same lifepo4 has 2500 as min cycle life, this is about 5yrs, even if discharged daily, so a good used lifepo4 is as good as new.

The seller tried, within his abilities/naija standard kudos..
Its just for him to take the bank apart, locate the bad cells and topbalance and recouple This may take 2 to 7 days dep3nding on his equipment.

What is the make of the cells?
Eve, calb, Catl.....

Or if its not too long you bought it, if he is a good man as you say, he can send you another bank, as soon as you send back the current unit.

I hope he has top balance equipment, and doesnt simply slap cells together to build a bank