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cpt-pat asked

I don't understand the continual cycling behavior of Victron Energy Blue Smart IP22 12-Volt chargers

I have an IP22 12 volt charger configured with 250 AH of LiFePO4 batteries, and a smartshunt. I configured the charger for a long-term storage situation to keep the battery terminal voltage at 13.20 volts (about 50% SOC) while I am away in Europe. Upon installation of the charger, I noticed the output current from the charger was continually pulsing, but I attributed that to the 2 amp static load on my bus.

Now that I'm 7,000 miles away, and monitoring the VRM portal, I see that the charger is continually outputting 6 amps in pulses that raise the battery terminal voltage to 13.25 volts, and then charging stops until the terminal voltage drops to 13.18 volts (this is a normal LiFePO4 battery hysteresis range for charge/discharge at a SOC of about 50%). The pattern repeats about every 10 seconds, or about 9,000 times per day. My previous charger would just output 13.20 volts to support the static load, and not pulse-charge the batteries.

I am concerned about degrading the LiFePO4 batteries from memory effect brought on by shallow charge/discharge cycles. There will be millions of those cycles before I can physically access the system again. Am I worried about nothing?

The below graph doesn't show the true frequency of the cycles that repeat every 10 seconds, but it does show the voltage and current ranges:

capture.png

battery charging
capture.png (24.9 KiB)
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4 Answers
netrange avatar image
netrange answered ·

... an internal BMS that try to protect your LiFePO4 batteries ?

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cpt-pat avatar image
cpt-pat answered ·

Yes, the batteries have an internal BMS. But no BMS protects against damaging "memory effects" caused by continual shallow charge/discharge cycles. That potential damage is what concerns me now. I'm concerned because the batteries are being charged with 6 amps for only moments -- about 9,000 times per day. Memory effects accumulate over time - and it will be months before I can physically access the charger.

I am hoping someone here is familiar with LiFePO4 memory effect damage and can say if this is or is not an issue being caused by the charger behavior. I wish it just maintained a constant terminal voltage instead of toggling current on and off.

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netrange avatar image
netrange answered ·

Maybe the Charger is not usable for handle a storage mode for LiFePO4 batteries with an own BMS ...

the Diagram looks like a storage or recondition mode for an AGM Battery ...

By the Way ... memory effect and LiFePO4 batterie ??? ... I think that a 6 amp current won´t damage a 250 AH Battery Bank ...

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cpt-pat avatar image
cpt-pat answered ·

Memory effect isn't well understood in the general community. It was discovered in 2013. Reference: T. Sasaki, Y. Ukyo and P. Novak, “Memory effect in a lithium-ion battery”, Nature Materials, Vol. 12, June 2013; doi:10.1038/nmat3623

Shallow charges and discharges can eventually render a LiFePO4 battery useless without causing any electrical or chemical damage. A good general description can be found under the heading "Memory Effect" here: https://nordkyndesign.com/practical-characteristics-of-lithium-iron-phosphate-battery-cells/

So what effect will 9,000 shallow charges and discharges per day over a period of months cause? That's my question.

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