Question about Balancing Batteries with Pidzoom Enhancer

[billi]

Hi everyone,

 

I’m using a Pidzoom Enhancer for charging my battery (100.8V) and wanted to know if it’s possible to balance the cells using this device, or if I need to stick to the stock charger for balancing.

 

I tried setting the voltage on the Enhancer 2V higher (102V) to see if balancing would occur, but once it reached 100.8V, the charging stopped, and the amp display showed 0A. I’m unsure if balancing was happening at that point or not.

 

From what I’ve read, balancing typically involves small pulses of current near the end of the charging process. Can anyone confirm if the Enhancer handles this or if I should only use the original charger for balancing?

 

Thanks in advance for your insights!

 

 

[alcatraz]

Balancing is activated by the bms when a cell group has reached a voltage ~4.18-4.25v

If a group exceeds a certain (higher) limit ~4.21-4.25v then the charger is cut off by the bms resulting in a green light.

So a green light doesn't necessarily mean that charging is over or that balancing has started. It means the charging current is near zero (usually <500mA). That happens when pack voltage is near max or the wheel has cutoff charging.

So answering the question "is my wheel balancing on this charger?" depends on the wheel's bms behavior. Most bms' use a charger voltage about 0.5v over the packs' max voltage. 100.8v means 101.3v on the charger (verified with a multimeter).

If you have a custom bms with a different balancing voltage set you can set your pidzoom to that lower voltage, in order to increase the number of cycles. If you can't set that balancing voltage then it's best to stick with the +0.5v rule.

Also, remember to allow for enough time to balance. Green light doesn't necesarily mean that balancing has completed. Balancing usually has completed if a couple of minutes after you disconnect your charger, you still have a voltage very close to the max pack voltage = 100.8v. 

[billi]

Thanks for the detailed response, but it doesn’t really address my question. I was specifically asking if the Pidzoom Enhancer itself can balance the battery, or if I need to use the original charger for that purpose. I’m aware of how balancing works with standard BMS, but I’d like to know if anyone has tested the Enhancer specifically for this functionality. Thanks

[Seba]

34 minutes ago, billi said:

Thanks for the detailed response, but it doesn’t really address my question. I was specifically asking if the Pidzoom Enhancer itself can balance the battery, or if I need to use the original charger for that purpose. I’m aware of how balancing works with standard BMS, but I’d like to know if anyone has tested the Enhancer specifically for this functionality. Thanks

No, Pidzoom Enhancer has nothing to battery balancing. In fact, if you set to terminate charging below 100.8V, it will effectively prevent battery balancing.

[billi]

2 hours ago, Seba said:

No, Pidzoom Enhancer has nothing to battery balancing. In fact, if you set to terminate charging below 100.8V, it will effectively prevent battery balancing.

Thanks for the response! Just to clarify my situation: I understand that the Pidzoom Enhancer is typically used to charge the battery to around 80%. However, I always charge my battery to 100% and leave it connected for some time to allow balancing, which I do every charge cycle. I got the Enhancer to add a layer of protection in case of any issues with the charger, like a sudden current spike, and to have access to charging stats like time, current, etc.

 

The only thing I’m unsure about is if setting the Enhancer slightly above the stock charger’s voltage (in my case, to 102V) would interrupt charging completely once it reaches 100.8V or if it would still allow balancing to happen as usual. Any insights on this would be appreciated. Thanks, Seba.

[SyCo]

I also own a Pidzoom Charger Enhancer (CE140). If you set the voltage to 102V, it will do absolutely nothing UNTIL it reaches 102V. At which point it would cut the power to the wheel ! That means that up to the charger/BMS max voltage of 100.8V, everything is controlled by either the charger or the BMS depending on the conditions. The only function of the Charger Enhancer is to monitor your charge and "limit" the volts or amps if you set them at lower values. 

[alcatraz]

We call them chargers but they're just power supplies for the bms (which is the part that actually controls charging).

[RagingGrandpa]

On 10/25/2024 at 4:37 AM, billi said:

if setting the Enhancer slightly above the stock charger’s voltage would interrupt charging completely once it reaches 100.8V or if it would still allow balancing to happen as usual.

It will still allow balancing to happen as usual.

[alcatraz]

If you're charging overnight then there's little need for a fast charger. So I'd lean towards having both.

But a correctly set output on both a slow and fast charger will result in the same balancing behavior. The difference is that if you fast charge the voltages can diverge a bit more before arriving to the balancing trigger voltage. That could require a wheel to stay longer at 100% on a fast charger. 

The same upper/lower voltage limits set by the bms still apply, so once your cells age to the point that they're hitting both limits you'll end up with the same end result on both fast and slow chargers.

Edited November 4 by alcatraz