1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

SkyRC Battery Discharger suitable for Prius Modules?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by alftoy, Jan 30, 2022.

  1. alftoy

    alftoy Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2009
    1,132
    507
    0
    Location:
    Saskatchewan, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    Base
  2. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2012
    10,926
    4,429
    0
    Location:
    Pacific Northwest, USA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Too powerful and expensive for a single module... Could be good for multiple modules but then you get confusing data on module health. Try this one instead: B6EVO Charger
     
  3. alftoy

    alftoy Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2009
    1,132
    507
    0
    Location:
    Saskatchewan, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    Thanks PriusCamper
     
    PriusCamper likes this.
  4. R-P

    R-P Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 6, 2011
    804
    288
    0
    Location:
    Netherlands
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    II
    What are LiMH cells? I assume it is a typo, but pretty poor for a professional manufacturer.

    BTW, I have several B6 clones. The first 50W is working OK, both 80W are broken (common grounding error but replacing some fried components didn't fix it). and the latest 80W is so far off (happily charging LiIons at 4.23V saying it is still at 4.15V) that I think I'll just toss it as the calibrationprocedure is so intricate that I probably won't even try.

    Moral of the story: I could have gotten 2 original ones for the price of the 4 fake ones I bought. And end up with two working ones instead of my single still-working-clone.
     

    Attached Files:

    Panicos likes this.
  5. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2012
    10,926
    4,429
    0
    Location:
    Pacific Northwest, USA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    It's so strange that modules are so hard to come by in the EU? I wonder why that is? We're swimming in old modules in the US...
     
  6. Panicos

    Panicos Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2020
    38
    16
    0
    Location:
    Cyprus
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    I'm expecting my skyrc BD250 and i can't wait to use it. I will discharge each of the 28 modules whilst inside the car and then charge them all at the same time. The discharging i expect will be very fast and exact because it can do it at high rates!!!
     
  7. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2012
    10,926
    4,429
    0
    Location:
    Pacific Northwest, USA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I bought one of those a long while back... Feeling bad I haven't tried it out yet. Sure hope I didn't buy a defective one... What kind of charger are you going to charge the pack with? And go you post the skyrc BD250 discharge data it sends to your computer? Curious to know how easy it is to set up and use?
     
  8. Panicos

    Panicos Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2020
    38
    16
    0
    Location:
    Cyprus
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Yes it connects to the pc and it says you can save it as an excel file, save a screenshot. It hasn't arrived yet so I can't tell until it arrives.

    For a charger I'm going to use a variac of 500w, a step up transformer, a bridge rectifier etc so I can charge them all in series at the same time. I will be able to control the voltage and of course the amperage with it.
     
    PriusCamper likes this.
  9. Panicos

    Panicos Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2020
    38
    16
    0
    Location:
    Cyprus
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Also for a charger I found a beautiful small one called toolkit rc m7ac which to my opinion is excellent because it stops at the exact voltages you set it to. I don't know yet if it can do automatic cycling.
     
    dolj likes this.
  10. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2012
    10,926
    4,429
    0
    Location:
    Pacific Northwest, USA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    What's the range of amp on the Variac and how much did it cost? Got any pics? The temptation to turn up the amps when recharging will be hard to resist... But 1/3amp or less trickle charge is essential in the balancing stage once all the modules are almost entirely fully charged.
     
  11. Panicos

    Panicos Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2020
    38
    16
    0
    Location:
    Cyprus
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Amperage? The variac is 500W, here its 230-240v so it should be from 0 to 2 amps max.
    Here in europe its euro, so its around 125 euro. (132usd)
    I have not received it yet.
    Yes, i'd turn it full (at 2 amps) for 3 hours, and then lower it down to 650mA or lower, depending on tempertatures.
    I can force it or go soft with it depending on how much time i have.
     
  12. Panicos

    Panicos Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2020
    38
    16
    0
    Location:
    Cyprus
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
  13. Panicos

    Panicos Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2020
    38
    16
    0
    Location:
    Cyprus
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    I think that the above charger youve mentioned can only go up to 2A discharging. Could take too long to do 28 modules...
     
  14. mr_guy_mann

    mr_guy_mann Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 3, 2020
    3,252
    1,359
    0
    Location:
    NJ-USA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    I think the hardest part was finding the pc program at the company's site. It was easier to control things via laptop vs the buttons on the device. Plus you can save cute little graphs for each module.
    b20.jpeg

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    PriusCamper likes this.