question

eliott avatar image
eliott asked

Smart BMS 12-200 without startup battery

Hi! I have a system where the input instead of the alternator would be an unmanaged DC-DC (96V->12V). Is there any reason why there must be a battery on the alternator side or a DC-DC and the SmartBMS would be fine without a buffer battery?


thanks

Eliott


BMSdc-dc charger
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1 Answer
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pwfarnell answered ·

The buffer battery is typically there to protect the alternator and other components in the system if the BMS stopped charging tje lithium battery whilst at high charge current, a so called "load dump". An alternator running at high current will produce a large voltage spike that can damage equipment and the alternator if the load is suddenly disconnected. The buffer battery absorbs this and moderates the voltage spike. Secondly, the buffer battery also provides smoothing to the alternator voltage regulation, without it alternator voltage can cycle especially if the load also has a control circuit and the two controllers foght each other. Whatever you feed the BMS with has to have good voltage regulation during normal operation and a very rapid response to load shedding if you do not have any buffer capacity.

I am not saying you are OK gping down your planned route, just explaining why the buffer battery is there.

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Related Resources

Additional resources still need to be added for this topic

Victron VE.Bus BMS product page

Victron 3rd party BMS compatibility page