How to charge gel batteries of brand mk? will the charger hurt them (they have voltage different than other gel)

Q&A and troubleshooting
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1

Hi
i have MK group24 gel batteries for wheelchair( 2 batteries in serie for 24volt) They are real gel, not agmgelmat. that is important info.

i read the document and i was expecting the app to ask me what kind of batteries were present but it did not, im a bit suspicious.

You know that charging batteries more than what the manufacturer tell can harm them. i want to avoid that ,if it is not too late because before unplugging the charger the app was showing status output 28.88v current 0amp and the graphic was telling absorbtion.

? does the charger automatically magically discovers by itself the kind of batteries in presence?

if someone is able to find the voltage of mk supplier i think they have their own voltage preference, different than other general gel batteries. Im not geek enough to determine the specific voltages indication my MK manufacturer but here is a link of the top of the batteries .

https://imgur.com/f5QezfOhttps://i.imgur.com/f5QezfO.gif(image larger than 4 MB)

let me know the link if you find it out. and more importantly how safe is it to use the charger with those batteries. the charger light was beside normal if that can help.

thanks a lot !

2

If you have a Victron Smart charger with Victron Connect app then you can usually choose “Expert setting” to set your own voltages, otherwise use gel setting.

3

or do i need to tell the victron app to use gel?

4

Yes, you need to tell it to use gel.

5

hum how to do that?

I read the manual https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Blue_Smart_IP65_Charger_manual_230V/13527-Blue_Smart_IP65_Charger-pdf-en.pdf

and i could not see it talk about that. in fact the word gel is only mentionned once .
can you tell me more?

6

I am wrong, I got mixed up with the more configurable chargers. You are stuck with the normal mode. Most Gel batteries recommend 14.1-14.4V charge voltage so you will be at the upper end of the range.

7

ok no problem
since it was written it can charge lead , agm and gel, how to tell the charger in presence of wich batterie we are?

8

5.2. and 7.1 in the manual.
You can configure the charging voltages.

9

Hi Matthias,
yes there are advanced possibilitie .
For now my question is about the presets of the charger.
how does the charger get to know wich type of batterie *(gel agm lead) is plugged in?

10

You’ll have to programm it.

11

hum,
hi for more clarity please use the number to answer thanks.
1to keep it simple, if i had not written mk batteries and just would have said gel batteries, would you still have answered that i have to program it?

2What about the presets ? i beleive there is some preset even if what preset means is not clear

3 I read the following and i wonder if the charger using the mode button will charge leed agm and gel batteries at the same voltage.?

The integrated charge modes (selected using the MODE button) and adaptive charge logic are well suited
for most common battery types; such as flooded lead-acid, AGM, Gel and lithium.

thanks

12

1.yes, even chosing a preset is “programming”

2.presets are preconfigured settings adjusted to the battery types and needs

  1. No ofc not

  2. You might try reading a manual, if you have read a manual and still ask these questions : get yourself a specialist.

13

HI nonandat69
THanks for answering me ,

Ok well maybe i did not record every single thing i read in the multiple manuals i read. Let just say that the ip65 manual i read was not very instructive on how to charge general gel batteries. I dont know what a specialist means for you , for me it a specialist is needed only for expert settings and peculiar situation.

It is ok if you do not know how to guide me with the ip65 , maybe you never bought it and are as in the dark as I am trying to help with yoru xp from another device. Just say it if you dont have xp with the ip65 charger, no shame in being transparent. really i say this calmly. no offence

At the moment i feel asking victron community is the right place to ask considering that atm my aim is just to find the way to tell the charger : here are some gel(not lead not agm) batteries , charge them with the preset for general gel profile (even if mk has some small differences in preference) cause i need to use them in an urgent manner.

Can someone help me with that?

4 I still am not sure if i have to tell the charger that i have gel batteries and how to do that of if it automatically recongnise them as being gel batteries. T

My cellphone sees and connects to the charger via victron connect .

5 now what ? I dont want lead or agm preset to be applied, i beleive, correct me if im wrong but they have different voltage preferences.

i want it to apply the general gel preset wich i beleive is 28.8 volt
6how to ?

14

NO!!! The charger only sees the voltage of the connected battery and YOU have to tell the charger how to charge the battery.
You can select one of the presets or adjust the voltages manually.
You have to look at the datasheet of your batteries.

1 Like
15

ok how to use the preset of the charger for gel? (without manually adjusting for now?
via mode or victron connect app (with smartphone android?)

16

How about reading the manual ?

17

HI
The version i read is this . below
but there are more than one version.
in what i read, it was not obvious . didnt find the answer to my question.

I also read the victron connect back ago but it did not seem to apply to ip65 since for some reason ip65 works differently from other device.
If you can not or want not to give me a hand with that nonandat69 it is ok. Do you own ip65 and have experience with it just se that i know?
Thanks

18

No, i dont have an ip65 charger

19

Anyone can answer this questions please?