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Old 02-12-10, 08:52 PM
  #20  
morph999 
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Also, the first time you charge the pack, make sure you monitor all the cells. None of the cells can go above 4.2v or they will be damaged (overcharged). The cells are technically charged once they reach about 3.65v just so you know. After I monitored my pack the first time, I didn't monitor them after that. There is a little bit more involved with lifepo4 in monitoring them but it's not that hard. I use a 12v black and decker charger for mine. I didn't buy the elitepowersolutions charger because someone told me that it sucked. I use two chargers...

1) 12v black and decker 2/10/15 amp charger
2) 3.2v 2amp lifepo4 charger

The 3.2v lifepo4 charger is for topping off the individual cells. If you aren't going to get a BMS, this is pretty much a very good idea. The reason is that you want to maintain your cells to be somewhat balanced. They don't have to be perfect but if you builk charge them (use a voltage like 12v or 36v on them ) then you run a possibility of overcharging one cell if they are not balanced very well. So the first time you charge them, it's a good idea to charge each one individually and then bulk charge them after that.

How I charge mine is that I set a timer and I use my black and decker to charge one 12v pack to about 80 % completion then I use 3 individual 3.2v chargers to top each cell off. This is my "BMS" (battery management system). You can also buy a BMS circuit board to do this kind of thing automatically but I do mine manually since I got the time and patience to do it.
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