Battery charger help

[Sandyn]

Just to clarify It's not a charger on it's label it says "Power Supply"

It says 'Power Unit', which is not a power supply unit. It is a bit confusing, It is not just a simple 14.4V 3.3A PSU.
It is UL listed which is about the best safety certification you can have. They would insist in differentiation between a standard PSU and a intelligent charger unit, so they have called it a 'Power Unit (For LiFePO4n Battery)'. It also carries a further 'Caution: For use with 4S LiFePO4 Battery Pack only'. It will have a specialised connector, either unique to the manufacturers battery pack or a generic connector for that style of battery pack.

I am not sure why they wouldn't call it a 'Battery Charger for LiFePO4 Battery' , but it is more than just a simple battery charger, it's a 4 stage charge unit, so perhaps to reduce the possibility of confusion.

Edit: I see there is a Barrel connector option from some manufacturers, so not necessarily a special connector.

 

[Gordon Tarling]

Hard to tell for sure, but the cable between the 'power unit' and the battery box looks (to me) very much like 'flat' two core cable with the outer sheath - in which case, it can't be doing any battery monitoring functions. OP - can you give us a look at the plug which connects to the battery?

G.

 

[Sandyn]

I checked the Part number. G60-12F4 is a generic part number for the charger for LiFePO$ batteries. but it seems to be available with a variety of connectors. All you would need to know is the voltage and current. The charger would do the smart stuff.
This makes interesting reading, but I am not suggesting using a sealed lead acid charger as a replacement.

 

[MikeJhn]

Hard to tell for sure, but the cable between the 'power unit' and the battery box looks (to me) very much like 'flat' two core cable with the outer sheath - in which case, it can't be doing any battery monitoring functions. OP - can you give us a look at the plug which connects to the battery?

G.

Quite so, to be a regulating/monitoring power supply charger it would need to be a four core cable, a picture of the connecting plug to the battery would clear this up.

 

[MikeJhn]

No one noticed my deliberate mistake in the last post?

 

[Bod]

No one noticed my deliberate mistake in the last post?

4 core cable.

Bod

 

[Sandyn]

Quite so, to be a regulating/monitoring power supply charger it would need to be a four core cable, a picture of the connecting plug to the battery would clear this up

I checked the part number.

Seems to be available in a variety of output styles. One of which is a two wire with croc clips.

Here, here and here are 'equivalent' devices. some may be far east clones without proper compliance.

 

[MikeJhn]

No matter what it says it can do, it can't balance charge the cells without being connected to each cell, on a three cell battery that would involve four leads, not a very unsophisticated charger and I would not expect the cells to last long using it, once the cells get out of balance it can only get worse.

 

[Gordon Tarling]

The balancing circuitry may well be built into the battery pack.

G.

 

[Fidget]

No matter what it says it can do, it can't balance charge the cells without being connected to each cell, on a three cell battery that would involve four leads, a very unsophisticated charger and I would not expect the cells to last long using it, once the cells get out of balance it can only get worse.

I have several 12V LiFePo4 Batteries and they all have the charge balancing circuitry built in. Only require 2 leads from the charger. IME

 

[Robbo60]

Thanks everyone. Managed to source one from Tenerife.

 

[MikeJhn]

I have several 12V LiFePo4 Batteries and they all have the charge balancing circuitry built in. Only require 2 leads from the charger. IME

As has been said on previous post its not a charger with only two leads its a power supply, the charging circuit is in the batter case.