SOK Battery Upacking and Initial Charging
SOK Battery Charging and Maintenance
Introduction
Thank you for choosing SOK batteries for your power needs. We appreciate your trust in our products, and we are committed to ensuring that you get the most out of your batteries. In this knowledge base article, we will provide you with essential information on how to properly charge and maintain your SOK batteries to maximize their lifespan and performance.
Bluetooth
All SOK batteries are equipped with BlueTooth connectivity (excluding the SK48V100 rack batteries)
Please search for ABC-BMS application and install it on your smartphone.
When your battery arrives, the Bluetooth module will be asleep. The Bluetooth module switches on when the battery is being either charged or discharged.
An explanatory video can be found here
Unpacking and InitialBattery State of Charge (SoC)
When you receive your SOK batteries, it’s important to note that they typically come with a low state of charge, often around 30%. Before proceeding with charging, it’s crucial to ensure that your battery charger is configured to the correct parameters for charging. The recommended settings are as follows:
- Absorption Voltage: 14.6 volts
- Float Voltage: 13.8 volts
For more detailed information on charger settings, please refer to our comprehensive guide, which covers these settings in greater detail.
Initial Charging and Cell Balancing
When charging your SOK battery for the first time, the individual cells within the battery pack will most likey need to balance. Cell balancing is essential for the long-term health and performance of your battery. Typically, cell balancing occurs when each cell’s voltage reaches 3.5 volts or higher. This is a fully automatic process.
It’s important to be aware that during the cell balancing process, you may observe the battery going in and out of protection mode and not reaching full voltage and charging current fluctuating. This behavior occurs because of imbalances in one or more cells, with certain cells reaching their maximum voltage before the battery is fully charged. When the cells are balancing, the battery will not get to it’s fully charged voltage of 14.4 volts (for a 12 volt battery and 28.8 for a 24 volt battery) until all of the cells reach the same state of charge.
During an initial charge of the battey, users may experience the charger going into float mode if the absorption duration is set to the 15-60 minutes. In float mode, the voltage from the charger is not high enought to start cell balancing. For this reason it may pay to temprarily increase your absorption time limit to 10 hours.
Cell balancing is a slow process and could take several days to complete. If you make these changes to your absorption time limit, please remember to return it to the recommeded settings once your battery has reached the full battery voltage of 14.4 volts.
How a BMS Balances the Cells
When a cell reaches its maximum voltage first, it triggers an overprotection fault, which, in turn, temporarily halts the charging process. During this time, the Battery Management System (BMS) applies a very small load to the over-voltage cell, causing its voltage to gradually decrease until it falls below the over-voltage protection threshold.
Once the voltage of the over voltage cell falls below the over-voltage protection threshold, the charging process resumes. This cycle will likely repeat for several days until all cells are in balance and the battery is fully charged.
Conclusion
Properly charging and maintaining your SOK batteries is essential for their longevity and performance. By ensuring your charger is configured to the recommended settings and understanding the cell balancing process, you can optimize the lifespan of your battery and ensure reliable power when you need it.
For more detailed information on charger settings and troubleshooting, please refer to our knowledge base, which covers these topics in greater depth. If you have any further questions or require assistance, please do not hesitate to contact our customer support team.
For first-time users of Lithium batteries, the following knowledge base articles may be of interest: