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Care for your rechargeable batteries
High
current
Battery Balancer
Our new High Current Battery Balancer, introduced last month, is an
advanced design which provides high efficiency and fast balancing by
efficiently transferring charge between the connected cells or batteries.
It can handle cells or batteries up to 16V, and two units can be combined
for larger installations. This second and final article describes the
assembly and testing steps, and how to use it.
W
e put considerable effort into keeping this design
as simple as possible, while still providing excellent performance and many useful features.
As a result, the parts count is not especially high. However, we have had to use mostly SMD parts to keep the size
reasonable, and also because many of the best part choices
were not available in through-hole packages at all.
While the board assembly is not overly difficult, it is not
suitable for beginners. Some SMD soldering experience is
desirable.
You will need a decent temperature-controlled soldering
station (and ideally a reflow oven or hot air rework station),
a syringe of flux paste, some solder wick, fine-tipped tweezers, a magnifier and a strong light source.
None of the SMD parts are especially difficult to handle,
although the smaller six-pin parts in SOT-363 packages are
on the tricker side, along with QSOP-16 ICs, which have
pins that are fairly close together. Finally, the transformers can present a bit of a challenge in making good solder
joints due to their high thermal mass. But with a little care,
the PCB can be built by hand.
Refer to the PCB overlay diagrams, Figs.4(a) & 4(b) overleaf, for details on which parts go where. We suggest you
start construction by populating the surface-mount components on the board’s underside, followed by the SMDs on
the top side, then finally, the through-hole parts.
As touched on earlier, you can use various assembly
methods, including reflow soldering or hand-soldering. We
will describe the hand-soldering method as it requires the
fewest specialised tools, listed above.
The general procedure is to place each part (with the correct orientation for polarised parts, which is pretty much
all ICs, diodes & Mosfets) and tack down one pin. You then
check the alignment of the other pins and re-position the
part by melting the tack solder and gently nudging the part
if it is not perfectly aligned with its pads. Once aligned, it is
a good idea to add flux paste to all the pins, as that greatly
reduces the chance of solder not adhering.
You then solder the remaining pins, refresh the initially
tacked pin (if you have added flux paste then all you need to
do is touch it with the tip of the iron), then use solder wick
and flux to clean up any bridges which might have formed.
The order in which components are placed is not critiConstruction
cal, but we think it is best to place the most difficult parts
The High-efficiency Battery Balancer is built on on each side first, so that you do not have to deal with ina four-layer PCB coded
terfering adjacent compo14102211 which measures
nents. The following proPart 2 – Construction – by Duraid Madina cedure uses that method.
108 x 80mm.
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Silicon Chip
Australia’s electronics magazine
siliconchip.com.au
Note that SMD resistors are typically marked with a
tiny code on the top that indicates the value (eg, 47kΩ
= 473 [47 x 103] or 4702 [470 x 102]), which you
probably need a magnifier to see. SMD ceramic
capacitors are usually unmarked.
Finally, note that most of the semiconductor devices used are sensitive to electrostatic discharge (ESD) – particularly
those in the smaller packages. Therefore, when handling these devices, try and avoid touching their
pins. A grounded anti-static
wrist strap will usually ensure you can’t damage any
parts, but there are many other
ways of ensuring ESD safety.
Assembly details
Start by fitting the eight 1Ω gate drive resistors, because
they are the smallest passive components on the board and
are generally out of the way of other parts. Next, fit the eight
gate drive NMOS/PMOS FET pairs: Q27, Q28, Q22, Q23,
Q16, Q17, Q11 and Q12.
These are relatively large as six-pin SMDs go, so they
should not give you too much trouble, but watch the orientation! You might need a magnifier to find the pin 1 dot
on the top of each device, which in each case goes in the
bottom right corner, as shown in Figs.4(a) & 4(b).
Next, mount the eight 4.7µF capacitors which are adjacent
to these Mosfet pairs. Follow with the five 330Ω resistors
on this side of the board, plus the four 20Ω resistors, then
the eight 10µF capacitors alongside the mounting pads for
Mosfets Q1-Q4.
The components labelled “Rsnub” and “Csnub” are required if you are balancing 12V batteries, but are not needed for lower voltage balancing such as Li-ion/LiPo/LiFePO4
cells. If you need them, fit them now, using the values suggested in the parts list published last month (30Ω & 470pF).
Now install Mosfets Q1-Q5. These are in LFPAK56 SMD
packages, which are similar to 8-pin SOIC devices, but with
a tab replacing four of the pins on one side. As such, it
should be obvious which way round they go, but don’t get
the BUK9Y8R5-80E used for Q5 mixed up with the similar
BUK9Y4R8-60Es used for Q1-Q4.
In each case, spread a little flux paste on the tab pad before tacking one of the small pins, then solder the remaining three small pins before the tab. You might need to crank
your iron temperature up to solder the tabs as they have a
lot of thermal mass. The flux paste you added earlier should
help draw the solder you feed in under the tab for a good
thermal and electrical connection.
With those in place, fit the eight remaining Mosfets on
this side of the board using the same technique. They are all
BUK9Y14-80Es (a different type again from Q1-Q4 & Q5).
Now fit the four SMB TVS diodes, ZD1-ZD4, ensuring
that their cathode strips are oriented as shown in Fig.4.
Note that the voltage rating of these parts varies depending
on what type of cells or batteries you are balancing (see the
parts list last month).
Solder them similarly to the passives, but being larger,
they take a bit more heat. Their leads wrap around the sides,
so make sure the solder adheres to both the PCB and the
device leads (flux paste makes this much easier to achieve).
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The next job is to solder the four 3A SMD fuses, which
mount similarly to resistors (they are not polarised). That
just leaves two small resistors: one 100kΩ 0.1% resistor, and
another 0.1% resistor, the value of which varies depending
on your application. Make sure you don’t get them mixed up.
Top-side SMDs
Flip the board over and continue assembly by fitting the
four larger, 3.2 x 2.6mm (M3226 or 1210) sized ceramic
capacitors near the transformer T1-T4 footprints. We used
4.7µF 100V capacitors (TDK CNA6P1X7R2A475K250AE)
but you can more than double the capacitance by using
10µF 75V capacitors which cost only a little bit more (TDK
CGA6P1X7R1N106K250AC).
Follow by fitting the five small dual Mosfets, Q8, Q18,
Q13, Q19 and Q24. In each case, make sure that the pin 1
dot is lined up correctly first.
These are in smaller packages than the ones you mounted
on the bottom of the PCB, with more closely spaced pins,
so they might be a little bit trickier. But they aren’t too hard
as long as you remember to carefully check for bridges between pins using a magnifier and fix any bridges you find
using flux paste and solder wick.
Mosfet Q7, in the bottom-right corner, is in the same
package as those five but it is a slightly different device so
don’t get it mixed up. Again, check its orientation carefully before soldering it in place.
Now is a good time to mount the microcontroller, IC2. It
should be relatively easy compared to the devices you have
already soldered, but make sure that the pins on all four
sides are lined up before soldering more than one pin, and
as usual, be careful to get its pin 1 in the correct location.
Follow with the four isolators: IC4, IC6, IC8 & IC10. In
each case, pin 1 is at upper left. These have a similar pin
pitch to the small dual Mosfets you already mounted, so
should not be any harder to install.
Next, fit the eight 470nF capacitors, followed by the five
regulators. For the regulators, spread a little flux paste on
the large pad before taking one of the smaller pins, then
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April 2021 77
solder the remaining small pins before
tacking the tabs.
You might need to turn your iron
temperature up a bit when soldering
the tabs.
With those in place, now you can
fit the six 1µF SMD capacitors, the
two ferrite beads, plus the 680Ω and
100Ω SMD resistors. Then mount the
two ESD protection arrays, which are
in four-pin packages with one larger
than the others.
Check Fig.4(a) and to verify their
orientation if you are not sure.
Now install the eight 10kΩ resistors
and then the five 1nF, three 100nF and
three 10µF capacitors. Follow by fitting
the remaining TVS (the higher voltage
one, ZD5). Make sure it is orientated
correctly. Then mount the two fuses,
with the lower-current (0.75A) fuse
being F7, near 8-pin header CON15,
and the higher-current (3A) fuse near
CON2 at upper left
In terms of passives, that just leaves
the sole 20Ω resistor near CON10, plus
the eight 0.1% resistors.
As mentioned last month, the lower value 0.1% resistor values need to
be changed depending on your battery voltages.
The upper resistor in each pair is
100kΩ. Ensure that the lower resistor
is either 6.8kΩ, for a total stack up to
about 24V, or 2.2kΩ for higher stack
voltages.
Fig.4(a): top-side PCB component overlay, with matching photo below.
Transformer mounting
Due to the significant thermal mass
of the transformers and the large power planes they connect to, we recommend avoiding the use of solder paste
for mounting these parts, unless you
have a very high-quality reflow oven.
Instead, we suggest placing them as
accurately as possible, holding them
in place with Kapton tape, then soldering their four tabs with a hot iron
and flux-cored wire solder.
Once the transformers are fitted, it is
essential to ensure that all flux residues
are removed. This can be challenging
as most residues will be hidden between the underside of the transformers and the PCB.
If flux residues are allowed to remain, the idle current can increase by
orders of magnitude (beyond 1mA).
The flux can break down at higher
voltages, resulting in erratic behaviour
and even arcing through the residues.
Here, an ounce of prevention is
worth a pound of cure, so try to limit
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Silicon Chip
the build-up of flux residue by not allowing too much to accumulate in the
first place. If you have the choice, try to
use a “no-clean” flux. However, if the
flux you are using requires cleaning,
make sure to wash the transformers
thoroughly with a high-quality flux remover and wipe off any visible residue.
Through-hole components
Fit tactile switch S1 now. It has a
standard footprint, so switches with
various actuator heights are available. If you will be frequently adjusting the unit, you might consider chassis-mounting a switch and wiring it
back to the pads. If doing that, make
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sure the wires connect to one of the
upper pair and one of the lower pair
(which is GND).
Then you can fit terminal blades for
battery/cell connection as required.
Most 5.08mm-pitch two-terminal types
will work, but check to make sure your
intended spade connector will fit.
An example blade is Wurth Elektronik 7471286, or use the Altronics parts
suggested in the parts list last month.
It may be preferable to solder wires
instead of spade lugs for some installations, perhaps to reach panel-mounted connectors.
However, the Balancer should not be
directly soldered to batteries. A failure
siliconchip.com.au
Fig.4(b): and here’s the underside of the board, again with matching photo below.
in either the Balancer or the batteries
will be more difficult to resolve if the
two are permanently connected.
There is no need to use particularly heavy gauge wire as balancing currents are modest, but as a rough guide,
they should be able to carry 2A with
a negligible temperature rise. 0.8mm
diameter copper wire (20AWG) is a
reasonable option.
If using spade lugs, ensure that no
part of the blade, lug, or wire can contact other nearby components. Insulated spade quick connectors are available, and it’s a good idea to use them.
For some installations, you might
want to mount the board inverted and
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have terminals or wires exiting from
the rear of the board.
You can also fit a 5-position 2.54mm
header (either vertical or right angle)
at CON13 for lower-power applications such as balancing smaller lithium-polymer (LiPo) batteries.
CON13 is conveniently located at
the edge of the board. If the board is
mounted right at the edge of a case with
a cut-out in the side, you can plug a
standard balance connector straight in.
Watch the polarity, though!
Now is a good time to fit the 2x4-pin
header for JP1. For some installations,
where the batteries are of a fixed type,
this could be replaced with a soldered
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wire link if desired. Follow with trimpot VR1, ensuring its adjustment screw
is located as shown.
If you will be adjusting the balancing voltage frequently, you could instead use a chassis-mount 100kΩ potentiometer and run flying leads back
to VR1’s pads, possibly plugging into
a pin header.
Neither the potentiometer’s accuracy nor power dissipation are critical,
but we suggest using a sealed design
for greater long-term reliability.
Follow with the four LEDs, ensuring
that the cathodes go towards the top as
shown. If mounting the LEDs on the
PCB, you will need to use 3mm types.
Still, you could instead fit pin headers or flying leads and mount them in
a location that will be externally visible (eg, mounted onto a panel or case
side using bezels), in which case you
could use 5mm LEDs or virtually any
other types.
For some colours, a different value of
current-limiting resistor from the 680Ω
specified could be desired to increase
the brightness or decrease power consumption.
As the drive voltage is 3.3V, blue or
white LEDs are not recommended, although you might find that such types
give adequate light given their high
efficiency.
Pin headers CON14 & CON15 are optional. CON14 is only required if you
need access to the serial port, such as
for debugging or connecting two Balancers to work together (via an isolator) on an 8-cell battery.
CON15 is only needed if you have
fitted a blank microcontroller and will
need to program it on-board, or wish
to reprogram it later.
That just leaves the six capacitors.
Don’t get the two different types mixed
up, and make sure to insert the longer leads into the holes marked with
+ signs.
We have specified organic polymer
capacitors, not ordinary electros, for
their much superior performance characteristics.
Programming
On the topic of programming IC2, as
mentioned last month, it can be done
with a PICkit 4 plugged into CON15
(pin 1 to pin 1). This can be done using the MPLAB X IPE software, which
comes with Microchip’s free MPLAB X
IDE. (Or simply use a pre-programmed
chip from our Online Shop).
April 2021 79
Safety notes
Working with batteries presents some hazards. The most important thing to do is to be thoroughly familiar with your particular
batteries’ safety requirements. In general, having fuses close to the terminals of all larger batteries is a good idea to prevent cables
catching fire.
You can buy fuses that connect directly to the terminals, with provision to attach thick wires at the other end. You can also use
inline fuses, but you should ideally keep the section of wire between the terminal and fuse short.
There are a few other things to keep in mind when using the Balancer:
• Always check that the Balancer is working as intended before attaching it to batteries or other power sources. Ideally, this is done
with current-limited power supplies, as described in the main text.
• Don’t leave the Balancer unattended until you are satisfied that it works reliably for your particular application. Take particular care
if setting a lengthy timeout period.
• Keep the Balancer physically separate from the batteries. If they are too close, heat from the Balancer could degrade the batteries,
or lead to a hazardous situation.
• Ensure that the Balancer is kept clean and dry at all times.
• Don’t permanently attach the Balancer to batteries or other power sources; if a hazardous situation arises, it is good to have the
ability to quickly disconnect the Balancer.
• Periodically check that your batteries are healthy: if the Balancer is constantly balancing one cell, or if you notice that your batteries are losing their ability to store charge, be sure to test and replace any failing cells.
• Remember that the Balancer can’t stop a battery from being charged or discharged by external circuitry: over-charging and over-discharging cells can not only damage them, but can lead to hazardous situations.
• Note that in higher voltage applications, some of the voltages present on the Balancer could be dangerous (although its maximum
rating of 60V total is well within the extra-low-voltage or ELV domain) and so the Balancer should not be touched. Additionally,
some components on the Balancer can get hot during operation.
It’s very important not to program
the device while attached to any kind
of power source (cell/battery or otherwise), so enable the “power target from
PICkit” option.
Test the device in low power/current
limited situations after programming,
as described below, in case there’s
an error with the newly programmed
software.
Testing
Before connecting the Balancer to
batteries, it’s essential to test it to ensure that nothing has gone wrong with
the assembly that could affect safety
or reliability.
The easiest way to do this is with a
pair of isolated, current-limited power supplies. Set their output voltages
to be the same (eg, 4V each) and their
current limits to around 500mA.
Connect one supply between
STACK- (CON7) and CELL1 (CON6),
with the positive terminal to CON6.
Connect the other between CELL1
(CON6) and CELL2 (CON5), with the
positive terminal to CON5.
Ensure that a jumper is installed so
that the control block is powered from
one of these two points, ie, at the positions marked 1 or 2 for JP1 (across pins
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Silicon Chip
1 & 2 or pins 3 & 4).
With an oscilloscope, check to see
periodic pulses on the SENSE_EN and
SAMPLE lines (pins 19 & 20 of IC2 respectively). If these are absent, there is
a fault in or around the microcontroller, or it is not receiving power.
If you don’t have a scope, you might
be able to pick up the pulses using the
frequency counter mode on a DMM, or
even an analog voltmeter.
If the microcontroller is functional,
tie the top-most cell to the stack voltage rail (connecting CON5 [CELL2] to
CON2 [STACK+]), and slowly make a
small change to the voltage of one of
the cells.
You should see that the voltage on
the power supply with the lower output voltage increases.
If this is difficult to observe, you can
use an oscilloscope to check the CSPWM/SSPWM lines on the corresponding cell (pins 11 & 17 for the lowest cell
or pins 12 & 18 for the second-lowest).
You should see narrow, square pulses on these lines.
If this test is successful, check the
third and fourth cell sections, but note
that cells must always be populated
in-order from ground; none can be left
empty except at the top.
Australia’s electronics magazine
If you are considering higher-voltage applications, test these carefully,
taking great care to use appropriate
current limits, and ensuring that the
control logic section is powered from
only the lowest possible cell.
This avoids wasted power in the
control regulator (REG1) and potential
damage if its maximum input voltage
is exceeded.
In general, if your lowest expected
cell or battery voltage is above 3.6V,
then you should always leave JP1 in
position 1, so the control circuitry runs
off the lowest cell.
If your lowest expected cell voltage
is lower than this, down to the minimum supported of 2.5V, then it should
always be safe to run the control circuitry off the second cell (position 2
on JP1).
Higher positions are only useful if
you need to ensure that the small current which powers the control section
comes from the whole stack, which
would be unusual.
Final assembly
Once you’ve tested your Balancer
board, it should be enclosed to protect it from dust and other contaminants.
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You can use just about any box that’s
large enough to fit the PCB module,
and which that allows cables to be fed
through. Ideally, it should offer some
method of exposing the LEDs (eg, a
clear lid), potentiometer and pushbutton (possibly via a screwdriver through
small holes in the lid).
Mount the PCB to the bottom of the
case using standoffs so that the board
does not flex, and take care that all of
the components have adequate clearance from the case walls as it can dissipate some heat.
Four mounting holes are provided
to suit M3 machine screws, and plastic or metal spacers can be used. Just
be careful if using metal spacers that
they fit within the copper areas provided around the holes.
Heatsinking is not usually required
on any of the components, but allowing even a modest amount of airflow
will go a long way towards keeping
the Balancer cool, prolonging its life.
In harsh environments, a small temperature-switched fan could be used
(eg, with the thermal switch glued to
transformer T1).
But in most cases, passive airflow
will be adequate, with a few vents or
holes drilled in the bottom and the top,
or the sides of the case, being sufficient
for convection to remove the heat.
Using it
Now that you’ve built and tested
your Balancer, how can you use it?
Before connecting it to a battery,
run through the following checklist
to make sure it’s correctly configured:
1) Configure the source of control power. As described above, if balancing
12V batteries, ensure that the control power source select jumper is
securely installed in the right-most
position (marked 1), so that the lowest cell is providing control power.
If balancing ~3.6V cell (eg, Li-ion,
LiPo or LiFePO4), you will probably
want the power source select jumper in the second-rightmost position,
so that the lowest pair of cells are
providing control power.
2) Connect the battery leads to their
respective terminals. We suggest
connecting them either sequentially
(CELL1, CELL2…) or simultaneously (if using an external connector).
Plug spade quick connects onto
CON8-CON12 for higher-current applications, or a plug designed to mate
with 2.54mm-pitch header pins to
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Screen1: sample serial output.
CON13 for balancing up to 1A.
If using CON13, make sure the
plug orientation is correct, with
the negative-most terminal to pin 1!
There might be small sparks when
connecting battery leads, but these
should be momentary.
3) Finally, connect the stack leads
(STACK- to CON7 and STACK+ to
CON2). If balancing, you can simply
bridge the positive stack voltage terminal to the top-most cell terminal.
For charging, connect the negative
stack terminal to the negative end of
your power source, and the positive
stack terminal to the positive end.
If available, we recommend setting
a reasonably low current limit on your
power source, to help prevent damage
to batteries in case of malfunction.
Making adjustments
Operation is essentially automatic, with the Balancer simply transferring charge based on the differences it
senses in voltage across the batteries
or cells. However, there are some options you can set, either using trimpot
VR1 and pushbutton S1, or via the serial interface.
The options include the minimum
difference between battery/cell voltag-
es for balancing to start, the maximum
balancing current and the minimum
and maximum battery/cell voltages
outside which balancing will cease.
The defaults are for the maximum
possible balancing current (about
2.5A), to begin balancing with a 50mV
imbalance for 12V lead-acid batteries
or a 10mV imbalance for li-ion cells,
and for an operating cell voltage range
of 2.5-4.3V for li-ion applications and
10-14.8V for nominally 12V batteries.
You can change most of these settings using trimpot VR1 and pushbutton switch S1, although a larger range
of configuration and calibration settings are available via the serial/USB
interface.
Table 1 shows the various commands which can be issued by pressing pushbutton S1 in various ways – either a single, long press or with several
short presses in a row. Some of these
control the unit while others adjust settings in combination with the current
rotation of trimpot VR1.
Unfortunately, making settings
changes this way is a bit imprecise. You
can measure the voltage at the wiper of
VR1, either by probing its centre pin
on the bottom of the board with a DVM
or by probing pin 3 of nearby Mosfet
Function
Check that unit is powered up
Pause/resume balancing
Switch between li-ion and lead-acid presets
Set allowable voltage delta (0-300mV/0-1V)
Set maximum balancing current (0-2.5A)
Set minimum battery/cell voltage (0-5/0-15V)
Set maximum battery/cell voltage (0-5/0-15V)
Number of S1 presses
One short (<500ms)
One medium (1-2s)
One long (5s+)
Two short
Three short
Four short
Five short
Table 1: functions accessible by pressing pushbutton S1
Australia’s electronics magazine
April 2021 81
Example
Result
p
r
t 600
l 3000
h 4300
d 50
i2 50
o3 25
c2 100000 6790
st 100000 6812
v 3280
Pauses automatic balancing
Resumes automatic balancing
Set balancing timeout to 600s; if balance not reached in this time, shut down
Set low battery/cell threshold to 3V (3000mV); below this, it shuts down
Set high battery/cell threshold to 4.3V (4300mV); above this, it shuts down
Batteries/cells can vary by up to 50mV before balancing starts
Move charge into battery/cell #2 (1-4) at 50% of maximum rate (1-100)
Move charge out of battery/cell #3 (1-4) at 25% of maximum rate (1-100)
Calibration – set battery/cell divider #2 to have a voltage division ratio of 100kΩ:6.79kΩ
Calibration – set stack divider to have a voltage division ratio of 100kΩ:6.812kΩ
Calibrate – set the typical supply voltage to 3.28V (3280mV)
Table 2: Serial Commands
Q7 relative to GND. You then need to
divide that reading by 1.65V (or better,
the actual measured 1.65V ADC reference voltage) and then multiply by the
range given in Table 1.
If you can hook up the serial interface, you are much better off making
changes that way as they will be exact, and you can also calibrate the unit
properly that way. Read on for further
details on the serial interface.
Monitoring its operation
The simplest way to do this is visually. One of the four LEDs on the
board will flash to indicate when balancing is occurring, with the right-most
LED (LED7) corresponding to the bottom-most cell, LED8 to the next cell
up in the stack, etc.
They blink slowly if a battery/cell is
being charged, or rapidly if a battery/
cell is being discharged.
If no balancing/charging is occurring, LED7 will occasionally flicker
very lightly, just to let you know that
the circuit is ‘alive’, while consuming
as little power as possible.
If there is an over-voltage error, all
four LEDs will flash simultaneously at
1Hz, with a 50% duty cycle.
If an under-voltage error is detected,
the unit simply shuts down and does
not flash the LEDs at all (not even a
heartbeat).
If you are paying attention, the lack
of heartbeat will tell you something is
wrong, and by leaving the LEDs off,
we don’t risk discharging an already
over-discharged cell or battery.
If you want more details of the unit’s
operation and be sure that it is doing
its job, you can monitor the serial port
at CON14. Ideally, this should be con82
Silicon Chip
nected to your computer via an isolating interface (a good one is described
below).
You can then wire the output of
that isolating interface to a USB/serial adaptor.
Set a terminal emulator to 38,400
baud N,8,1 and you should see a stream
of information, like that shown in
Screen1. This shows you the measured
voltage at each input, plus the whole
stack, whether it is currently moving
any charge into or out of a battery/cell,
and how fast it is doing so (0-100%).
The data is both human-readable and
machine-readable, so it would be quite
easy to create software to parse the information and display it differently, or
take actions depending on the results.
As shown in Table 2, you can also
send commands to pause or resume
balancing, change the settings, or even
force it to transfer charge into or out of
a given battery/cell. This means that
you could centralise the control via
a computer program if you are using
several Balancer boards.
Combining multiple balancers
You can use two Balancer boards to
balance up to eight batteries or cells,
as long as the total stack voltage is still
within the 60V DC maximum rating.
The only extra hardware that you need
to do this is an isolated serial link.
Fortunately, we published just such
a design in March 2021 (siliconchip.
From last month’s
SILICON CHIP, this
isolated serial
link is ideal to
link together two
Balancer boards
together.
Australia’s electronics magazine
com.au/Article/14785), and PCBs are
available.
Build that board, but leave off the
headers, and set both jumpers (JP1 &
JP2) to the 5V position (they will actually be supplied with 3.3V, as that is
the only low-voltage rail available on
the Balancer boards).
You can then solder pins 3-6 of either
CON1 or CON2 directly to CON14 on
one of the Battery Balancer boards, as
the pinout is an exact match.
Run a ribbon cable or similar from
the other end of the board to CON14
on the other Balancer board. The wiring will be the same as the other end
and you should have the TX pin on the
Balancer connected to the TX pin on
the Isolator board.
Similarly, the RX pin on the Balancer connects to the RX pin on Isolator. The reversal is effected within
the Isolator.
Then, all you have to do is connect
between one and four contiguous cells/
batteries in your stack to one balancer
board, starting with the CELL1 connection, and join the remainder to
the other.
Connect both full stacks across the
STACK- and STACK+ terminals on
both boards.
The two units will power up and negotiate over the serial link, automatically detecting that they are talking to
each other.
They will then balance as if they are
one eight-input Balancer instead of two
four-input balancers.
Finally, there is an error in the parts
list in last month’s part 1: on p27, several Mosfets (Q11,Q12…) are listed as
“S6M4” types. The correct type code
is QS6M4.
SC
siliconchip.com.au
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