6
Practical information about the Cellpro Charger
General information
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Cellsinapackhavedifferentvoltageswhentheyaredischarged.TheCellpro4sChargerbal-
ances(equalizes)cellvoltageswhileitischargingthepack.
n
Duringcharging,cellsthatchargethefastestaretheweakestcellsinthepack.Attheendof
charging,cellswiththehighestvoltageareweakest.Thishappensbecauseweakercellshave
lowercapacity,andtheychargefasterthanstrongercells.
n
IftheCellproChargerdisplaysLOWVOLTRESTORE,thepackwasoverdischargedduring
itslastuse.ThechargerwillattempttorepairLiPocellsmeasuringbetween0.5Vand2.7V,
orA123cellsmeasuring0Vto2.0V.Toavoidadditionaldamagetorestoredcells,donot
overdischargearepairedpack.
n
Bydenition,endoflifeforaLiPocelliswhenthecellcanonlybechargedto80%ofits
originalcapacityrating.Thenumberofcharge/dischargecyclesacellundergoesbefore
reachingendoflifedependsonseveralfactors,includingcellquality,dischargerate,internal
heatgeneratedduringuse,andotherparameters.Cellsinanolderpackmaybemoreout
ofbalance,buttheCellpro4sChargerwillstillbalancethemtowithin10mVbytheendof
charge.Forthisreason,itmaytakelongertobalanceolderpacks.Thechargermayshow
FUEL=99%forseveralhourswhileitisbalancingahighcapacity(3Ahandup)“veteran”
packthatisseverelyoutofbalance.
Charging packs
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Youcantopoffpacks,orremovethemwhentheyarepartiallycharged.Thereisnowayto
damageapackwhenusingtheCellpro4sCharger.
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Ifapackisat80%orlessofitscapacitywhenconnectedtoanauto-detectspeedcontroller,
thecontrollermayloweritscut-offvoltage.Thiscouldoverdischargethepackduringthe
ight.Auto-detectspeedcontrollersshouldproperlysetcut-offvoltageifpacksarecharged
toatleast90%.
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Tosavetime,stopchargingwhenthepackreachesabout95%ofcapacity.Thatlast5%takes
thelongest.
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Somecellsmaysag0.10Vwithinanhouraftercharging.Thisisnormalaspacksage.
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WhencharginganA123packthathasbeendischargedverylow,thechargerinitiallymay
notbeabletoaccuratelycountcellsinthepack.Toeliminatethepossibilityofaninaccurate
count,thechargerappliescurrentto“wakeup”thecells,thenrecounts.
n
OverdischarginganA123packbelow2.0V/cellwilldamagethecells(contrarytosomere-
ports).TheCellpro4sChargerrequiresaminimumpackvoltageof1.5Vtoactivatecharging.
IfanA123packisbelowthisvoltage,donottrytorepairthepackbyboostingvoltage.Even
ifyoumanagetorepairthepack,itwillnothavemanycyclesleftandthechargerwillrejectit
formultiplereasons(asindicatedbydisplayedsafetycodes).
Storing packs
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Forbestresults,packs(exceptA123packs)shouldbestoredat50%ofcapacity.Usethe
charger’sStore Mode.
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A123packscanbestoredat100%ofcapacity(fullycharged).Inthischemistry,thebreak-
downvoltageishigherthanthefully-chargedvoltage.
CAUTION: Do not use the charger’s Store Mode for A123 packs. Store Mode applies
3.84V per cell, which will damage A123 cells.
n
Packschargedto100%shouldnotbecooledbelowroomtemperature.Cellsat90%orless
capacitycanbecooledbelow32ºF(0ºC).