ENGLISH Lithium Battery Smart Manual rev 03 05/2021
Lithium Battery Smart Manual Table of Contents 1. Safety precautions ................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. General warnings ............................................................................................................ 1 1.2. Charge and discharge warnings ........................................................................................... 1 1.3. Transportation warnings .................................
Lithium Battery Smart Manual 8.2.5. Micro-controller restart procedure ............................................................................. 8.3. BMS issues ................................................................................................................ 8.3.1. The BMS frequently disables the battery charger ........................................................... 8.3.2. The BMS is prematurely turning chargers off ................................................................ 8.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual 1. Safety precautions Observe these instructions and keep them located near the battery for future reference. The Material Safety Datasheet can be downloaded from the “Material Safety Datasheet menu” located on the Lithium Smart product page. Work on a li-ion battery should be carried out by qualified personnel only. 1.1. General warnings While working on a li-ion battery wear protective eyeglasses and clothing.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual Use only with a Victron approved BMS. If charged after the Lithium Battery was discharged below the “Discharge cut-off voltage”, or when the Lithium Battery is damaged or overcharged, the Lithium Battery can release a harmful mixture of gasses such as phosphate. The temperature range over which the battery can be charged is 5°C to 50°C. Charging the battery at temperatures outside this range may cause severe damage to the battery or reduce battery life expectancy.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual 2. Introduction 2.1. Lithium iron phosphate battery The lithium iron phosphate battery (LiFePO4 or LFP) is the safest of the mainstream lithium battery types. A single LFP cell has a nominal voltage of 3.2V. A 12.8V LFP battery consists of 4 cells connected in series and a 25.6V battery consists of 8 cells connected in series. LFP is the chemistry of choice for very demanding applications.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual BMS type Voltage 12 V Features 100A dedicated alternator port Controls loads and chargers via on/off signals Pre-alarm control signal Bluetooth Smart BMS CL 12/100 12 V 200A dedicated alternator port 200A dedicated load and charger port BMS 12/200 For more information see the BMS product page The battery is equipped with BMS communication cables. These are used to connect the battery to the BMS. The cables are 0.5m long.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual 3. System design When designing a system with a lithium battery, a basic understanding of how the battery interacts with the BMS and how the BMS interacts with loads and chargers is required. 3.1. The battery cell alarm signal The battery communicates with the BMS via its BMS cables. If the system contains multiple batteries, all batteries are connected in series via the BMS cables and then the first and last battery is connected to the BMS.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual Load or charger OFF signal BMS The BMS sends an on/off signal to a load or charger Load or charger BMS The BMS connects or disconnects from a load or charger The available BMS types for the lithium battery either rely on one or both of these technologies. The BMS types and their functionality are briefly described in this chapter. For the full BMS information see the BMS product information page.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual Load Charger SmallBMS The smallBMS controls loads and chargers via “load disconnect” and “charge disconnect” signals The VE.Bus BMS The VE.Bus BMS directly communicates with a Victron Energy inverter/charger system via the VE.Bus. Just like the smallBMS, it also features a “load disconnect”, a “charge disconnect” and a pre-alarm contact. • In the event of low cell voltage, the VE.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual Mains detector For more information see the VE.Bus BMS product page. The VE.Bus BMS will turn loads and chargers off via “load disconnect”, and “charge disconnect” and controls the inverter/charger The Smart BMS CL 12/100 The Smart BMS CL 12/100 is equipped with a “load disconnect”, a “charge disconnect” and a pre-alarm contact.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual Load Alternator Charger Smart BMS CL 12/100 The Smart BMS CL 12/100 will turn loads and chargers off via “load disconnect“ and “charge disconnect“. It also controls and limits the alternator. The BMS 12/200 The BMS12/200 is equipped with a port to connect an alternator and a port to connect loads and/or chargers. The alternator port is rated to 80A and the load/charger port is rated to 200A.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual 3.4. BMS controlled loads or chargers The BMS sends a “load disconnect” signal to loads in case of a low cell voltage alarm and it sends a “charge disconnect” signal to chargers in case of a high cell voltage or a cell temperature alarm. The loads or chargers can be controlled by the BMS either directlyor indirectly.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual In case a load or a charger does not have a way of being remotely controlled, a device that can be controlled by the BMS must be connected between the battery and the load or charger. These are the options: • The BatteryProtect is mainly used for loads, but can also be used for charge sources, but be aware that the current flow is onedirectional. The BatteryProtect has a very low self-consumption while in protection mode.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual 200A 100Ah 60A 100Ah Current limiting device 60A 100Ah Alternator charging For more information on charging lithium battery with an alternator, see the Alternator lithium charging blog and video. 3.6. Battery monitoring The battery internals (temperature & cell voltages, as well as alarms and other BTV parameters) can be monitored with the VictronConnect App. It connects to the battery via Bluetooth. State of charge monitoring is not built into the battery or in the BMS.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual 4. Installation 4.1. What's in the box Take care when unpacking the battery. Batteries are heavy. Do not lift it by its poles or by its BMS cables. The battery has two carry handles on either side of the battery. The weight of the battery can be found in the “Technical data” chapter. Familiarize yourself with the battery. The battery poles are located on top of the battery. The polarity of the battery poles is indicated at the top of the battery.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual Go to settings Go to option menu Firmware information Main battery screen Setting screen Product info screen 4.4. Charge batteries before use When installing a single battery or multiple batteries in parallel, the procedure outlined in this chapter is not required. If multiple batteries are going to be connected in series or in series/parallel, each individual battery needs to be charged before all batteries are interconnected.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual • • • • Connect each individual battery to a charger or to an inverter/charger and to a BMS (and repeat for every other battery). Refer to the BMS manual on how to set the BMS up. Set the charger to the charge profile as indicated in above table. Ensure that the battery, the BMS and the charger are communicating with each other. Check this by disconnecting one of the BMS cables from the BMS and verify if the charger turns off.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual Battery pole locations Table 1. Battery pole connections Battery model Nut size Torque moment 12.8 V - 60 Ah M8 10Nm 12.8 V - 100 Ah M8 10Nm 12.8 V - 160 Ah M8 14Nm 12.8 V - 200 Ah M8 14Nm 12.8 V - 300 Ah M10 20Nm 25.6 V - 200 Ah M8 14Nm Bolt Spring Washer Washer Cable lug Battery pole Battery cable connection 4.6.1.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual Single battery 4.6.3. Connecting multiple batteries in series • • • • • All batteries need to be the same model and age. Each battery needs to have been fully charged individually. Connect a maximum of four 12.8Vbatteries or a maximum of two 25.6V batteries in series. Connect the negative to the positive of the next battery. Fuse the series string on the positive side. Connect the battery bank to the system. DC system Multiple batteries in series 4.6.4.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual DC system Multiple batteries in series/parallel Do not interconnect midpoints or other between string points 4.7. Connect the BMS Each battery has two BMS cables. Depending on the battery model, the BMS cables are located on either side or on one side of the battery. BMS cables on either side BMS cables on one side One of the cables has a female 3-pole connector and the other cable has a male 3-pole connector. The BMS also has the same male and female connectors.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual Interconnecting BMS cables Connect the BMS. In case of a single battery, connect both BMS cables to the BMS and in case of multiple batteries connect the first and last BMS cable to the BMS. BMS Single battery BMS connection BMS Multiple battery BMS connection with extension cables If the BMS is too far away for the cables to reach, use the optional extension cables. The BMS extension cables are available as a pair and come in a variety of lengths.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual 4.8.2. Cell under voltage pre-alarm threshold When the cell voltage drops below this threshold, the pre-alarm signal is sent to the BMS. The purpose of the pre-alarm is to warn the user that the system is about to shut down due to undervoltage. For more details see chapter: “System design”. The default value is 3.10 V and the range is 2.80 V to 3.15 V. 4.8.3.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual Recommended charger settings 12.8 V 200 Ah 100 A 12.8 V 300 Ah 150 A 25.6 V 200 Ah 100 A 400 A 600 A 400 A Lithium, fixed Between 2h 13.5 V 13.5 V 2h 13.5 V 13.5 V 2h 27.0 V 27.0 V 14.0V – 14.4V Lithium, fixed Between 14.0V – 14.4V Lithium, fixed 28.0V – 28.8V Between * Absorption time: 2 hours for a 100% charge, or a few minutes for a 98% charge.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual 5. Commissioning Once all connections have been made, the system wiring needs to be checked, the system needs to be powered up and the BMS functionality needs to be checked. This is how to do this: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Check polarity of all battery cables. Check cross sectional area of all battery cables. Check if all battery cable lugs have been crimped correctly. Check if all battery cable connections are tight (don’t exceed maximum torque).
Lithium Battery Smart Manual 6. Operation Once in operation, it is important to take proper care of the battery to maximise its lifetime. These are the basic guidelines: • Prevent total battery discharge at all times. • Familiarize yourself with the pre-alarm feature and act when pre-alarm is active to prevent a DC system shutdown. • If the pre-alarm is active, or if the BMS has disabled the loads, make sure that the batteries are recharged as soon as possible.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual Under voltage alarm Over voltage alarm The voltage of the battery has become too high. Immediately disable all chargers and contact the system installer to check that all chargers are properly controlled by the “charge disconnect” contact on the BMS. When properly controlled, a high voltage situation is not possible, as the BMS disconnects all chargers well before raising the high voltage alarm.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual 7. Battery charging and discharging This chapter describes the charging, discharging and cell balancing process in more detail for those who are interested in the technical background. 7.1. Charging Lithium batteries are easier to charge than lead-acid batteries. The charge voltage may vary anywhere from 14V to 15V for a 12.8V lithium battery and 28V to 30V for a 25.6V lithium battery, as long as no cell is subjected to more than 4.2V.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual Though carefully selected during the production process, the cells in the battery are not 100% identical. Therefore, when cycled, some cells will be charged or discharged earlier than the other cells.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual Discharge graph showing cell voltage at various depths of discharge for different discharge rates The BMS will turn off all loads as soon as a battery cell voltage drops below the low voltage threshold. Although a BMS is used, there are still a few possible scenarios where the battery can be damaged due to over discharge.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual 8. Troubleshooting, support and warranty Consult this chapter in case of unexpected battery behaviour or if you suspect a battery fault. The troubleshooting and support process is to first consult the common battery issues as described in this chapter. Should this fail to resolve the issue, follow the advice in the technical support paragraph. 8.1. VictronConnect issues Cannot connect with the VictronConnect App It is highly unlikely that the Bluetooth interface is faulty.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual • Be aware that cell balancing only takes place during the absorption stage. It will be necessary to manually restart the charger each time the charger has gone to float. Rebalancing can take a long time (up to a few days) and it will require many manual charger restarts. • Be aware that during cell balancing it might look like nothing is happening. The cell voltages can remain the same for a long time and the lithium BMS will repeatedly turn the charger on and off.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual • The battery has a cell imbalance, causing premature low voltage alarms, which in turn cause the BMS to turn loads off. Please refer to paragraph “Charge battery before use”. • The battery is old and is near its maximum cycle life.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual VictronConnect BMV history To check if the battery is close to its cycle life: • Find out how many charge-discharge cycles the battery has been subjected to? Battery lifetime is correlated to the number of cycles. • How deep has the battery been discharged on average? The battery will last for less cycles if deeply discharged, compared to more cycles if discharged less deep. • For more info on the life cycle see chapter: Technical data”.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual does not power up correctly. This chapter explains how to fix that by restarting the micro controller. Before opening the battery, first carefully follow below instructions to make sure that it's necessary. Note that when installed and operated correctly, batteries will never be discharged to that level: make sure to understand why it happened, and amend installation and/or operation of the system accordingly.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual 3 • Carefully loosen or break open the lid. This can be done with a scraper, flat screwdriver or chisel. When it creaks, it comes loose. Then continue a bit further until the lid is completely loose. 4 • Remove the top cover. • Insulate the negative busbar terminal located next to the positive battery terminal. Do this by covering the busbar with electrical tape. See red tape in the image on the left.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual 7 • Leave the positive circuit board cable lug disconnected for a few seconds. 8 • Reinstall the positive circuit board cable lug and the bolt. • Fasten the bolt using a 10Nm torque. • Remove the electrical tape. 9 • Put the cover back on the battery. • Reinstall the terminal hex nuts. • Reinstall the battery terminal wiring. • Check if the BMS is now allowing loads and chargers to connect to the battery.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual 8.3. BMS issues 8.3.1. The BMS frequently disables the battery charger A well-balanced battery does not disable the charger, even when the batteries are fully charged. But when the BMS frequently disables the charger, this is an indication of cell imbalance. In case of moderate or large cell imbalance it is an expected behaviour that BMS frequently disables the battery charger. This is the mechanism behind this behaviour: As soon as one cell reaches 3.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual Testing a Lynx Smart BMS by connecting a single BMS extension cable to both BMS cable connections Testing a Small BMS by connecting a single BMS extension cable to both BMS cable connections Multiple batteries and BMS check: • • • • • • Bypass one of the batteries by disconnecting both its BMS cables Connect the BMS cables of the neighbouring batteries (or battery and BMS) to each other, effectively bypassing the battery. Check if the BMS has cleared its alarm.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual 8.5. Warranty This product has a 3-year limited warranty. This limited warranty covers defects in materials and workmanship in this product and lasts for three years from the date of original purchase of this product. To claim warranty the customer must return the product together with the receipt of purchase to the point of purchase.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual 9. Technical data Battery specification VOLTAGE AND CAPACITY LFPSmart 12.8/60 LFPSmart 12.8/100 LFPSmart 12.8/150 LFPSmart 12.8/160-a LFPSmart 12.8/200-a LFPSmart 12.8/300 LFPSmart 25.6/200 Nominal voltage 12.8V 12.8V 12.8V 12.8V 12.8V 12.8V 25.
Lithium Battery Smart Manual Battery specification Power connection (threaded inserts) Dimensions (h x w x d) mm Weight M8 M8 M8 M8 M8 M10 M8 240 x 285 x132 197 x 321 x 152 237 x 321 x 152 237 x 321 x 152 237 x 321 x 152 347 x 425 x 274 317 x 631 x 208 12kg 15kg 20kg 20kg 22kg 51kg 56kg *When fully charged Page 39 Technical data
Lithium Battery Smart Manual 10. Appendix 10.1. Initial charge procedure without BMS If, for a specific reason, the initial charge procedure needs to be performed without a BMS, this is the procedure for it. Please note that this is not something we recommend because this process can be risky. A supervisor must be present, who will need to watch their phone continuously for hours as the battery cell voltages must be checked continuously to safeguard that the voltage of the highest cell never exceeds 4V.
