on board charging advice wanted

Hello helpful people. Rather than start a new thread I was wondering: If I change my leisure battery from lead acid to lithium/lifpo/popo or whatever they are called do I need a new controller as well?
Currently I have a not very good PWM controller that charges the leisure battery and van battery.
Also I have 1 x 100w solar panel.
 
No expert but I would change to MPPT controller anyway regardless of any other changes, and I think they work fine on Lithium etc as I've not seen any comment to the contrary.
 
Ok so the cheaper scooter sold on FB marketplace at a good profit so I have invested that in a new battery for the one I'm keeping, the reason is because I can keep one in the scooter and it will then auto fold/unfold making my life a little easier, and also hove one on charge in the van while driving on the 12-24v 2a charger to swap out as and when, ordered the new one yesterday (not cheap these things) I've got this little info sheet with it and the part in the red box is confusing me so can someone decipher it into English for me.

I had been charging it up then once it went green, turning the socket off and leaving it connected, the reason being the green light stayed on and I thought it was providing a bit of a drain and this was a good thing.

1693386895523.png
 
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Jenrai said:
Hello helpful people. Rather than start a new thread I was wondering: If I change my leisure battery from lead acid to lithium/lifpo/popo or whatever they are called do I need a new controller as well?
Currently I have a not very good PWM controller that charges the leisure battery and van battery.
Also I have 1 x 100w solar panel.
Click to expand...
One of these works on lith & charges the starter batt also.votronic regulator.png
 
I presume it means that if light goes Green within the 12 hr charge time you have to leave on charge & don't switch off ( as it says for a min 12 hrs charge time reqd ).
 
Burge said:
I presume it means that if light goes Green within the 12 hr charge time you have to leave on charge & don't switch off ( as it says for a min 12 hrs charge time reqd ).
Click to expand...
1st charge is 24 hours, it was put on at 11am today and is already showing green, so I'll leave it until tomorrow, and then not charge in until Monday before we go away, I wish there was a simple method of discharging it other than using the scooter, as I think it's good for them to be 50% discharged then recharged.
 
I might have a problem ongoing when the van is parked up for long periods, the new battery has been on charge for 26 hours and isn't even warm to the touch, it is actually cold but showing green on the charger, the older one is on charge now out of curiosity.

When at home I suppose I'll have to fold the scooter up using the battery to make it easier to get it in the van, then open it up to remove the battery and take them both up into the conservatory where it will be safer to charge them.

I did wonder if they could be left on 24/7 but this says NO!

Should a lithium battery stay on charger all time when not using?


"This isn't a safety issue: Lithium-ion batteries have built-in safeguards designed to stop them from exploding if they're left charging while at maximum capacity. But in the long term, electronics will age faster if they're constantly plugged in while already charged to 100 percent.
20 Sept 2021"


I know I can set up a Google reminder to charge them when not being used, but is there an app too as Google is less than reliable at times.

Hmm!! I just had a look and it's a Samsung Calendar on my phone I had it set up to remind me to order my drugs but it kept failing, so I'm just installing the Google one instead so we'll see if it is better..
 
Pudsey Bear said:
I might have a problem ongoing when the van is parked up for long periods, the new battery has been on charge for 26 hours and isn't even warm to the touch, it is actually cold but showing green on the charger, the older one is on charge now out of curiosity.

When at home I suppose I'll have to fold the scooter up using the battery to make it easier to get it in the van, then open it up to remove the battery and take them both up into the conservatory where it will be safer to charge them.

I did wonder if they could be left on 24/7 but this says NO!

Should a lithium battery stay on charger all time when not using?


"This isn't a safety issue: Lithium-ion batteries have built-in safeguards designed to stop them from exploding if they're left charging while at maximum capacity. But in the long term, electronics will age faster if they're constantly plugged in while already charged to 100 percent.
20 Sept 2021"
Click to expand...
That statement is too broad to be regarded as correct. LiFePO4 Batteries would probably be in that category, but Lithium Polymer (Li-Po) batteries absolutely would not and if overcharged CAN be a fire risk. And other types of Lithium-Ion Batteries could include ones with a risk as well (Lithium-Ion is a very broad term).

I wouldn't just leave on charge for no reason anyway personally.

Pudsey Bear said:
I know I can set up a Google reminder to charge them when not being used, but is there an app too as Google is less than reliable at times.

Hmm!! I just had a look and it's a Samsung Calendar on my phone I had it set up to remind me to order my drugs but it kept failing, so I'm just installing the Google one instead so we'll see if it is better..
Click to expand...
 
I set the google reminder yesterday for the first of the month at 9am and it just went off so I think that should keep the batteries in good condition if I keep on top of it.
 
It just occurred to me that I have 4 cigarette lighter sockets in the van, two on the dash as per Fiat, and two in the back as per Swift.

Would it be okay to plug this 12v to 24v 2a charger
1693653970256.png


into one of those in the back then we're not tripping over it in the cab and it's not required to run the engine? I estimate they will never get used for more than 20% of the battery as we don't get too far from the van 2 miles is enough for Liz to be walking due to her replacement knees being on their way out.
 
In tandem wit the question above I also wondered how many watts the 12v charger would use but as it ramps up to 24v I could find an answer but did come across this page.

www.uetechnologies.com

Can I Charging a 24-Volt Battery with a 12-Volt Charger? (Why & How)

Do you have a 24v battery that you want to charge? That's all fine, except what if you only have a 12-volt charger? You may be wondering if you can actually charge that battery on
www.uetechnologies.com www.uetechnologies.com
 
I used to plug mine into cigarette sockets in the back that I fitted just for that. Mine was a faster and higher powered charger than the one you show there and it worked fine. I did forget I had plugged mine in one day and it took my old lead acid battery’s a bit too low, that was at a meet where we had a few days poor solar. Your being lower power shouldn’t suffer the same 👍
 
Pudsey Bear said:
It just occurred to me that I have 4 cigarette lighter sockets in the van, two on the dash as per Fiat, and two in the back as per Swift.

Would it be okay to plug this 12v to 24v 2a charger
View attachment 69173


into one of those in the back then we're not tripping over it in the cab and it's not required to run the engine? I estimate they will never get used for more than 20% of the battery as we don't get too far from the van 2 miles is enough for Liz to be walking due to her replacement knees being on their way out.
Click to expand...
Its not a smart charger, no bother leaving a smart one on 24/7, it does the work for you.
 
I fitted a smart 10ah unit in my electric setup, it can run 24/7 if i wish, only ever used in the deep dark winter for at most 6/8 weeks just before xmas.
You may of course require to keep the scooter up if its running from hab battery.
 
I'm sorry Trev, but the last two posts are meaningless to me as they (I think) are not relevant to my situation.
 
Too many losses to go up to 240v then back down again, the 12-24 seems a better option, but this has all been discussed ages ago Trev.
 
Pudsey Bear said:
......
"This isn't a safety issue: Lithium-ion batteries have built-in safeguards designed to stop them from exploding if they're left charging while at maximum capacity. But in the long term, electronics will age faster if they're constantly plugged in while already charged to 100 percent.
20 Sept 2021"
Click to expand...
I had a Nissan Leaf electric car for two years. I have solar panels at home with free sunshine electric so whenever the sun was on the panels I would plug the car in. After 2 years and 8000 miles, the car's range on a dark winter night in snow / rain the range of the car was 35 miles. When I gave it back after the PCP finished the Nissan dealer said the 5 year warranty on the battery didn't apply because I had plugged it in to recharge it when it was already 80% full. So if you can tell when it is 80% full and you can manage with that amount of range, the battery will last longer.
Click to expand...
 
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