Battery Maintenance Tips: How To Care For Your Deep-Cycle Batteries
Solar batteries are the most costly component of any off-grid solar system. It’s important to program them properly and stick to a regular battery maintenance schedule to keep them running efficiently for years. Neglecting the proper setup and maintenance routine can shorten the lifespan of your solar panels batteries https://uk.renogy.com/blog/wha....t-size-solar-battery and void the product warranty.

Some battery types, like Lithium-ion, require little to no maintenance after the initial setup. Other battery types (especially flooded lead-acid) need regular upkeep to stay in good condition.

No matter what type of batteries you own, this article will help you program your battery bank and give some battery maintenance tips to keep your system running smoothly.

The first time you bring your system online, you’ll need to program your battery chargers to the proper charging settings for your battery bank. These settings dictate parameters like charging voltage and current.

This is where you program voltage set points, the charging voltages applied to the battery during each stage of the charging cycle. Batteries typically charge in 3 phases—bulk, absorb, and float, which can be summarized as follows:

Bulk: High current to replenish charge and bring voltage up as quickly as possible (below 80%)
Absorb: Charge rate slows as batteries approach full state of charge (~80-100%)
Float: Batteries receive a trickle charge at 100% to stay fully charged
Each stage requires the charger to be set at a specific voltage, which is based on the requirements of your battery.

Programming the voltage set points accurately is critical to ensuring the long-term health of your batteries. Setting the wrong charge parameters will make your batteries charge improperly, shortening their lifespan.

There are other values to set during the initial programming phase as well:
Absorb time: The amount of time the charger spends in the absorb phase.
AC input amps: Maximum input current from grid or generator, to ensure the combined current from the battery charger and loads doesn’t exceed the rating of the generator. Depends on generator size or grid input breaker. See manual for details.
Max charge rate or charge current limit: Maximum charging current, either expressed as a percentage of the charger output or total maximum charging amps. This setting is used to limit charger output, to make sure your batteries are not overcharged with too much current.
Temperature compensation: Adjusts the battery charger for operation in various temperature ranges. Most chargers include a battery temperature sensor.

These settings are different for every battery and charger. Check the spec sheets or installation manuals for your batteries and chargers to find the specific values for each of the above settings.

Programming your equipment according to the settings recommended in the manual is the first step toward ensuring the long-term health of your battery bank.

Battery Maintenance Tips: How To Care For Your Deep-Cycle Batteries | #solar panels batteries

CHARGING LITHIUM IRON BATTERIES (LIFEPO4)
How to charge 12 volt batteries https://uk.renogy.com/12v-170a....h-lithium-iron-phosp ? That is one of the most common questions we get from our customers. The answer is simple: use a LiFePO4 battery charger, of course. When charging LiFePO4 batteries, make sure that you are not using a charger meant for other lithium ion chemistries, which are typically designed with a higher voltage than what is required by LiFePO4. We are often asked if a lead-acid battery charger can be used to charge lithium iron phosphate. The short answer is yes, as long as the voltage settings are within the acceptable parameters of LiFePO4 batteries.

CHARGER INSPECTION
Before using a LiFePO4 charger, check that your charger’s cables are insulated and free of breakage. Charger terminal connectors should be clean and properly mate with the battery terminals to ensure a good connection and optimum conductivity. Please refer to Canbat’s user manual, or your specific battery’s datasheet, for appropriate torque settings.

CHARGING GUIDELINES
If LiFePO4 batteries are not fully discharged, they do not need to be charged after each use. LiFePO4 batteries do not get damaged when left in a partial state of charge (PSOC). You can charge your LiFePO4 batteries after each use or when they have been discharged up to 80% DOD (20% SOC). If the Battery Management System BMS) disconnects the battery due to low voltage (voltage will be <10V), remove the load and charge immediately using a LiFePO4 battery charger.

CHARGING TEMPERATURE
LiFePO4 batteries can be safely charged ****ween 0°C to 45°C (32°F to 113°F). LiFePO4 batteries do not require temperature compensation for voltage when charging at hot or cold temperatures. All Canbat LiFePO4 batteries come with an internal BMS that protects the battery from low and high temperatures. If the BMS disconnects due to low temperature, the battery must warm up for the BMS to reconnect and accept the charging current. If the BMS disconnects because of high temperature, the battery will need to cool down before the BMS will accept charging the battery. Please refer to your specific battery’s datasheet for the BMS low temperature and high-temperature cut-off and reconnect values.

The charging and discharging temperature for lithium batteries from our LT series is -20°C to 60°C. Canbat Low Temperature (LT) Lithium Batteries are cold-weather rated, designed for Canada’s cold climates. These batteries have a built-in heating system featuring proprietary technology that draws power from the charger. No additional components are required. The entire process of heating and charging is completely seamless. The heating system automatically activates once charging below 0°C is attempted, and it automatically deactivates when it’s no longer needed. The heating system does not take power from the battery, but rather from the charger, ensuring the lithium battery is not discharging itself and keeping you powered. Simply plug the LT lithium battery into the LiFePO4 charger and the internal heating and monitoring systems take care of the rest.

How to Charge a Lithium LiFePO4 Battery
Going lithium is a very worthwhile investment, but only for those who camp extensively off-grid. If your truck camping experience involves hopping from one RV resort to another, then going lithium would be a total waste of money. You’ll be ****ter off getting a couple of lead-acid AGM batteries to keep the lights on in ****ween stops. However, if boondocking is your modis operandi then going lithium makes a lot of sense. But as we’ve just explained in this article, there are several things to know before you make the investment; otherwise, you may eliminate many of the benefits that the lithium battery provides. As always, consult manufacturer’s directions that came with your battery if you still have any questions or concerns.

So can you wire a 90 amp hour 12 volt batteries https://uk.renogy.com/12v-170a....h-lithium-iron-phosp with, say, a 160 amp hour lithium battery made by another manufacturer? You can, but not if they’re different chemistries, meaning you can’t connect a 12 volt LiFePO4 battery with a 24 volt LiMn2O4 battery. Parallel connecting two different size batteries of the same chemistry is fine, however, each will contribute proportionally—not equally—to the load, meaning the 90 amp hour battery will contribute 36 percent of the amperage, while the 160 amp hour battery will contribute 64 percent.

Of course, a good battery monitoring system is a must for anyone who likes to boondock. This is the only way to determine the SOC of your lithium battery. In addition to the SOC, a good battery monitor will also display the battery’s current voltage and the amount of amps being used at present. We use Expion360’s battery meter to monitor the state of our battery, but any battery monitor, like those made by Xantrex, Victron, or Bayite, will do the trick. All of these high-end monitors employ a shunt, a device that measures amperage flowing in and out on the negative side of the battery. The device works to report things in real time, which is what you want when you’re camping off-grid.

Unfortunately, there are some negatives associated with the lithium ion battery. First, never charge a lithium battery below 32F. Doing so can irreparably damage it. Yes, you can use a lithium battery below 32F you just can’t charge it below this temperature. Fortunately, most of the lithium batteries being built today have a BMS built-in to prevent charging below freezing. This is also why many lithium battery owners like to keep their lithium batteries stored inside the camper and not in an compartment outside where they can be exposed to much colder temperatures. Second, the cost for a lithium battery is higher than lead-acid with the cost for a LiFePO4 group-27 ranging anywhere ****ween $700 and $1,000. Even though this price includes the required BMS, it’s still seven to nine times more than a standard wet cell lead-acid battery. Not only that, this higher cost doesn’t take into account the charging devices needed to properly charge a lithium battery, which will add even more up front cost (more about this later).

Fortunately, the high, upfront cost to go lithium can be mitigated by building your own lithium battery bank using 24 volt electric vehicle (EV) lithium oxide manganese (LiMn2O4) battery cells. Steve Hericks did just that in an article we featured recently here on Truck Camper Adventure. Steve’s DIY camper, called Maximus, features a massive electrical system centered around a 24 volt, 1,100 amp hour lithium battery bank and a buck converter that converts the 24 volts to 12 volts for some of his loads. He charges this battery with a 950 watt of solar power system and a robust DC-DC alternator charging system. You won’t find a generator anywhere near Steve’s camper. That’s because Steve’s battery, coupled with a 4,000 watt pure sine wave inverter, is large enough to run an air conditioner, a convection microwave, and an induction cooktop.

What Does Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) Mean?
Pulse-width modulation (PWM) is a modulation process or technique used in most communication systems for encoding the amplitude of a signal right into a pulse width or duration of another signal, usually a carrier signal, for transmission. Although pwm controller https://www.renogy.com/blog/wh....at-is-the-difference is also used in communications, its main purpose is actually to control the power that is supplied to various types of electrical devices, most especially to inertial loads such as AC/DC motors.

Techopedia Explains Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)
Pulse-width modulation (PWM) is used for controlling the amplitude of digital signals in order to control devices and applications requiring power or electricity. It essentially controls the amount of power, in the perspective of the voltage component, that is given to a device by cycling the on-and-off phases of a digital signal quickly and varying the width of the "on" phase or duty cycle. To the device, this would appear as a steady power input with an average voltage value, which is the result of the percentage of the on time. The duty cycle is expressed as the percentage of being fully (100%) on.

A very powerful benefit of PWM is that power loss is very minimal. Compared to regulating power levels using an analog potentiometer to limit the power output by essentially choking the electrical pathway, thereby resulting in power loss as heat, PWM actually turns off the power output rather than limits it. Applications range from controlling DC motors and light dimming to heating elements.

Frequency of a PWM
The frequency of a PWM signal determines how fast a PWM completes one period. One Period is the complete ON and OFF time of a PWM signal as shown in the above figure. The formulae to calculate the Frequency is given below
Frequency = 1/Time Period
Time Period = On time + Off time

Normally the PWM signals generated by microcontroller will be around 500 Hz, such high frequencies will be used in high speed switching devices like inverters or converters. But not all applications require high frequency. For example, to control a servo motor we need to produce PWM signals with 50Hz frequency, so the frequency of a PWM signal is also controllable by program for all microcontrollers.

Some commonly arising questions on PWM
What is the difference ****ween the Duty cycle and Frequency of a PWM signal?

The duty cycle and frequency of a PWM signals are often confused upon. As we know a PWM signal is a square wave with a particular on time and off time. The sum of this on time and off time is called as one time period. The inverse of one time period is called frequency. While the amount of time the PWM signal should remain on in one time period is decide by Duty cycle of the PWM.

To put it simple, how fast the PWM signal should turn on and turn off is decided by the frequency of the PWM signal and in that speed how long the PWM signal should remain turned on is decided by the duty cycle of the PWM signal.