Current limiter for DC-DC charger ?

That makes sense then. Im surprised with how smart it sounds it doesnt have a BMS internally that limits input current

 

Very nice. I got an off the shelf Scout, obviously. few mods I did, but nothing crazy. And mine is far heavier than 800 pounds.

 

I think most BMS just do ON/OFF. won't throttle.

 

Well there is a BMS (Video) but no way to re program it (there is an advanced technician mode, but requires a passcode). The apps sucks overall, battery seems reliable, 2 years of usage so far

 

If batteries had that smart of a BMS, a charge controller wouldn't be necessary. But that would prolly be quite expensive for every battery to have one integrated.

 

What make/model of lithium battery do you have that has this internal heater in it? Dakota Lithium?

How much charge, approximately, does the internal battery self-heater need to complete a warming cycle from -20ºF to 45ºF? I.e. can it self-warm if the battery has only ~10% charge remaining? Or does it have to be at >25% or more to start a warming cycle?

 

It is a

$280 CHINS Bluetooth LiFePO4 Battery Smart 12.8V 100AH Lithium Battery Perfect for Trolling Motors, Golf Cart, Marine, RV, Solar, Boat, Built-in 100A BMS, 2000+ Cycles

CHINS

Review available here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKFh7eXeY-s

And no, it heats only when charging, so it is not a "self heating" battery but more a "heating while charging "battery when <5C

Battery won't accept charge when < 5C, trigger the heating pads, when temp is >5C is does accept charge again
Battery won't accept discharge when < -25 C ... if it is very cold, you are kind of hooped, you would need to drive/charge to heat it up a bit so you can use it again (to start a diesel heater for example...)


@GilbertOz : I did install my own thermostat and heating pad under the battery (everything is enclosed in a cooler) that run solely on the battery. But again if it is <-25 C your stuck, won't provide any electricity (discharge is OFF)

 

Interesting. I guess for ultra-cold climates the way to go would be to keep one or two spare mini lithium-ion jump-starter packs in warm places (like jacket pockets or sleeping bags) and use those to start the engine when it's -25ºC or below. Once the engine starts it should run fine on alternator output which can then also be used to power the outboard battery heater in the "Igloo®" box containing the main lithium cranking battery.

Great link to the review, a full tear-down revealing all kinds of interesting & encouraging build details. That said -- a sly youtube commenter asked whether Will Prowse took care to order the battery anonymously. If he did NOT -- it's easily possible they sent him a special super-well-built battery specifically because they knew he was going to do a full youtube tear-down on it. WP didn't respond to that comment.

 

I’m questioning 44a also. I think you should recheck it. I’ll bet it’s 4.4.

 

not it is between 25 and 45A, depending on what is running and using power of course. photos soon

 

Starting the engine pulls amps out of the battery. Immediately after starting I’ll usually see less than 10 amps, then it slowly drops down to less than 5. The only time I see more than 20 is after jump starting a dead battery or if I hook up my load tester.

I’ve never hooked up the amp clamp to the Tacoma with everything turned on so I don’t know what it would say. But 44 or 25-45 all sure seem high. That is unless you have some accessory demanding a tremendous amount of power like a huge inverter or competition stereo or something like that.

I could be wrong, wouldn’t be the first or last time.

 

I know this is an old thread at this point, so maybe the OP question has been resolved, but the DC-DC Orion charger is not going to be damaged by any excess possible energy from the alternator, it will only take what it needs, it is draw based.

Also, I work at a well known LiFePO4 battery company and confirm, no BMS I have ever seen has the ability to throttle incoming energy. They do have smart protections to cut off the terminals from the cells within if there is a massive load. Almost every BMS will have a Max input and a max output.

Regardless of what specific alternator you have, you should be totally good with the Victron Orion DC-DC. We partner with them and I can tell you they make a great product and know their stuff. I know the concern was not having enough power(amps) to push through the DC-DC, but the 30A rating should be the max it can throughput, not the minimum needed. Also, it is a multi-stage charger, so it would only be accepting and pushing through those max amps when the battery is at a low enough SOC(state of charge) for the charger to be in the "Bulk" stage.

The way you know the device is draw based is because the spec sheet clearly shows that when the "house" battery is fully charged it will be chillin in stand by mode only accepting/using >1mA.

I hope this helps.

 

Wow @MarMarSux , this is totally awesome ! Thank you so much for all the details ! I haven’t changed anything in my setup, it charges the battery no problem, anywhere between 20 and 30 amp/hour

there is that ´hot’ smell of the dc-dc charger after a while but I guess it is designed for that.

thanks again !!