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Imax B6AC Newbie questions.

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by George W, Feb 20, 2020.

  1. George W

    George W Active Member

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    I've started the learning process with this hobby charger, and do not find much details on the fine points of procedure.

    In tracking the process of reconditioning, what is the more important data for the spreadsheet?
    For the first cycle, I set initial discharge to 6.0 volts. The charger alerted me when it was done. After allowing the battery to recover over 3 hours, it has risen back to 7.1V.

    Do I repeat the discharge to put the module back at 6 V, or begin the charging cycle from 7.1V? How much time do I allow between charge/discharge cycles?

    I also see that the battery resistance changes. The charger records 46mΩ at start, and 37mΩ by the time 6V was reached.

    I want to document the essential info, but this Newbie is easily side-tracked.

    Thanks.
     
  2. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    The resistance meter on that charger is definitely not spread sheet worthy. I have 5 IMAX chargers and none of them give the same resistance reading on the same module.

    As for discharging, I prefer to use 12v 50w light bulbs as the IMAX only discharges at 10w.

    Also, no need to wait after discharging, just start recharging. Main thing is recharging fro the deepest discharge will create lots of heat so make sure you got a fan on 'em...

    And as you can see by voltage going back up to 7v after discharging to 6v, these things hold alot of juice and discharge in a way that they can redistribute remaining charge/recover quickly. That's why in previous messages I said to discharge in 3 rounds to much deep levels: 5v then 3v, then under 1v.
     
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  3. George W

    George W Active Member

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    Do you discharge with a single module, or 2 connected in series? I have a 12 VAC tungsten 'garden' light that I tried, but it was not clear if it was useful. A single module can barely heat its filament. Two serially-connected modules light it up, but the module closest to the light seems to end up 1.5V lower, when 12V is reached. This is why I went to the calibrated shunt, slow as it is.
     
  4. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Individual modules always... And I don't know about Tungsten... I buy these ones for less than a couple dollars each on Ebay: [10 Pack] 20 Watt 12V Halogen Bulbs MR16 w/ Cover Glass GU5.3 2-Pin 20W BAB Lamp 636996836219 | eBay

    The link is for 20w bulbs, but I also use the 50w bulbs from the same seller. I start out a 70w discharge per module, then 50w, then 20w, then at the end use the 10w discharger on the IMAX.
     
  5. George W

    George W Active Member

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    Thank you for the link. I will be getting a couple of these. My first module on this charger went through 4 cycles, using the 'Auto' mode for NiMH. The only parameter I adjusted was the ending discharge value (6.0 , 5.5 ,5.0 , 4.5). See the picture for the end result. I'm waiting for 3 hours to see where the module settles at.
     

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    #5 George W, Feb 21, 2020
    Last edited: Feb 21, 2020
  6. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    If you do a full charge then wait 24 hours and and then a 2 minute load test of that module it will have much better voltage loss numbers than the unconditioned modules. Or at least it should... If not your discharges aren't deep enough. I've found that each of the 28 modules will be slightly different and the primitive nature of our equipment will cause errors, which is why a detailed spread sheet helps alot.
     
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  7. George W

    George W Active Member

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    The 5th cycle was the 2nd time starting from 4 Volts .For the first 4 cycles, the module remained cool to the touch. During this 5th cycle, the module actually got warm (not hot) to the touch, and the sides expanded a little. I'll try your Load Test in 24 hours. Thanks for the information on the 12V bulbs. I ordered both the 20W and the 50W, they should come in today.

    5th cycle.jpg
     
  8. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Oh boy.... We often don't mention it because it's fairly obvious, but these modules have to be mounted with the white end caps and metal bars compressing them together because the metal sides are not structurally sound unless they're all clamped together.

    You're not gonna get the pack put together and properly mounted with expanded sides and the expansion doesn't go away. Unless it's super minor, that module has been made into junk and has to be replaced now.
     
  9. George W

    George W Active Member

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    Thank you for the advice. It's my first module, so lesson learned. I'm not sweating it. Having a robust, rechargeable module around is very useful at my country address.
     
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  10. George W

    George W Active Member

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    To avoid this happening again, I've sandwiched the module to be charged, and clamped them all together.

    Charging Setup.jpg

    So far, I've gone through 4 modules and have not experienced a repeat. I'm not in a hurry. My goal is to find/replace the two modules which were originally identified by Dr. Prius, and then recondition the rest.
     
  11. Sonic_TH

    Sonic_TH Active Member

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    If the bad modules have been already identified why are you going through all this?