[voganni]

Does anyone know what a safe bulk charge rate is for Volt modules? My Russco charger can output 23 amps or so, but I'm reluctant to charge the Volt pack higher than about 18 amps as the car only charges at 16 amps on level 2. Also I don't have the cooling system done yet.



I got the battery pack in the truck tonight and took it for a drive. Huge difference from lead batteries! I don't expect a lot of range with only 12 kw but for what I use the truck for it will be fine. The pack felt cool, after the drive and during charging. It was about 31 deg. F.

 

[john61ct]

Well there is no black and white, but you really want a warmish temperature for going over 0.3C

At that very cold temp I'd stick to 0.1C, but really, better to warm them up.

I'd want at least 25°C for going over 0.5C, and would not go over 0.8C below 30°C

There really should not be much internally generated rise in temperature, that's a symptom of losing lifecycles.

That's all to maximize longevity, assuming other care parameters are conducive as well.

If you're stressing the packs with very high voltage charging, high discharge rates very deep average DoD% etc then never mind they'll lose so many cycles anyway this one factor will get lost in the noise.

 

[voganni]

Well there is no black and white, but you really want a warmish temperature for going over 0.3C

At that very cold temp I'd stick to 0.1C, but really, better to warm them up.

I'd want at least 25°C for going over 0.5C, and would not go over 0.8C below 30°C

There really should not be much internally generated rise in temperature, that's a symptom of losing lifecycles.

That's all to maximize longevity, assuming other care parameters are conducive as well.

If you're stressing the packs with very high voltage charging, high discharge rates very deep average DoD% etc then never mind they'll lose so many cycles anyway this one factor will get lost in the noise.

Thanks for the reply! I want to preserve this pack and use it conservatively. The truck lives in a moderately warm shop. What is the C rate for volt cells? Now if I could figure out how to get the cooling pump running!

 

[swoozle]

Volt nominal cell capacity (C) is ~45Ah.