When it comes to the charging and discharging of a battery it is termed as a chemical reaction and it is a simple flow of ions from the anode to cathode but the Li-ion is claimed to be an exception among this common understanding. You can find a more elaborative explanation regarding the 48v lithium battery following this link www.large.net but if you choose to stick with the more elaborative explanation then continue to read through.
If this haphazard movement of the ions is what gives the battery its power and juice then a battery would be self-sustained and could live on its own but that is not true and for that scientists frown the internal corrosive factors such as ions getting trapped inside, degenerative effects of the battery known as the parasitic reaction on the electrode and electrolytes.
To make sure that this doesn’t happen the charging of the battery is brought into consideration, it is the act of supplying energy from the outside so the battery could house it inside, and whenever the need be when said charging facility is not available the battery will flow the same current out. And for that, you need a Lithium battery charger.
For a 48c lithium battery, the charger is going to act as a voltage limiting device that has some similarities to the lead-acid system. The difference with the Li-ion such as where it goes all unique lies in the higher voltage per cell and not only thus as this battery structure also has tighter voltage tolerances and the absence of trickle or the float charge at full charge. Lead-acid on the other hand does offer some kind of flexibility if the voltage input is suddenly paused.
But when it comes to the Li-ion batteries there can’t be an overcharge because these cells don’t accept it at all and therefore the whole set needs to be correct. So, if you are trying to waste your time finding the perfect charger to juice up your 48v Lithium battery that can increase its storage and efficiency then you can give it a rest because that perfect charger doesn’t exist. Lithium will only take in the voltage that it can store and nothing else is ever going to stay there no matter how hard you try.
Charging of the 48v lithium battery
When it comes to the charging of a 48v lithium battery it can be split into two mains stages such as;
Constant current charge
The first stage of charging a 48v lithium battery means that the charge current needs to be controlled. A maximum charge rate of about 0.8C is recommended. During this stage, the voltage across the lithium cells is going to increase at a constant current charge and the charge time may be of an hour for this very stage.
Saturation stage
When the voltage seems to be peaking at around 4.2 volts and at this stage the cell or the battery needs to enter a second stage of charging that is known as the saturation stage. A constant voltage of 4.2 volts is maintained and the current will steadily fall. The end of the charge cycle is reached when the current present within the battery falls down to 10% of the rated current. The charge time would nearly be about 2 hours for this stage but it all depends on the type of cell in question and the type of manufacturing technique used.
When it comes to the charge efficiency that narrates the amount of charge the cell can hold and the charge that has already entered the cell is relatively high. Charge efficiencies of about 95-99% can be achieved. This does reflect the relatively low levels of temperature rise which is a great thing to stick by.
Most of the cells making their way into the market are designed for fast charging, given the cell rating and the intensity of the charge can reduce the life of the battery so there is a need for a balance between the convenience of the charge and the lifetime of the battery that needs to be constructed.
What voltage should I charge a 48V lithium battery?
Most of the commercial 48v lithium battery charges an estimated voltage input of about 4.2 volts per cell while having a tolerance of about 50 mV per cell both in the positive and negative narration. Charging beyond this level adds stress to the cell that can reduce the service life and the capacity plus it can also cause safety issues that no one in their sane state wants to get down with. This is the safest limit that has been checked the time and again and doesn’t pose any serious threat or stress on the life or efficiency of the battery cells.
How many volts is a 48V charger?
The target voltage for a 48v charger is approximately 2.4-2.45 volts per cell which correspond to about 57.8-58.8 volts. This might not look like much but the charging of a 48v battery takes place in steps as you might have read above so it is alright for the voltage that is input voltage from the charger to be that low. When the battery reaches its second stage this is where things start to become a little more intriguing as the core voltage provided by the charger is increased and the battery starts to fill up more rapidly than ever.
Can I charge a 48V battery with a 12v charger?
It is not feasible at all and using a 12v charger to charge a 48v battery wouldn’t lead anywhere the very reason is that the charger must produce a voltage that is greater than that of the battery that is being charged for the sake of pushing charge into it. If the battery is dead then probably its voltage will be less than that of the 12v charger and only in this case scenario the 48v battery will be accepting the charge until its voltage reaches that of the charger. It might sound like a complex element to take in but in practice, it is not.