There has been published material about charging the Edison Nickel Iron Batteries on the Internet
for a while. The advice goes back to Thomas A. Edison himself so I'll leave that end alone for now.
The Chinese Changhong Ni-Fe Batteries are another whole story with the 'Chinese Ni-Fe Veil of Silence'
to deal with.
A problem that I spoke of before where people get the batteries and then say very little in many cases
unless they have various troubles with Beutilityfree to discuss. Or may say a little something but nothing technical.
The Chinese Ni-Fe Dealers here in America and also most of the the supposed '17 Years Worth of Ni-Fe Customers'
are both to blame for the void.
That 17 years figure itself is OFF just like many of the other statements from the two Chinese
Ni-Fe Dealers in America are way Off. That's the whole problem. I get email from people looking into buying Ni-Fe
cells every so often. Those dealers can talk some wild stuff - indeed. I ran some Ni-Fe posts last year in 2 other groups.
That's not the point here today so I'll drop it cold unless Beutilityfree wants to challenge my facts, Any of them,
and face the record which is highly unlikely.
The point today really is just how many times have you Ever read ANY discussion about Charging
Nickel-Iron-Batteries from ANY Ni-Fe Customer from Any Year?
Why not? Where is the love?
If you go to the Changhong Solar Brochure talked about at the beginning of this thread you can see
the new marketing strategy towards the Solar market and compare those dreamboat
'BLIVET Solar Ni-Fe Charging Instructions'
with these older Changhong Ni-Fe charging instructions from years ago.
Pasted here below as best as they would transfer.
The Changhong Batteries Documents don't like being copied and moved much.
This charging data below is from back when Solar Power wasn't quite as big as it is now.
The 'Solar time slot charging' they are trying to sell NOW can be a big problem for Lead Acid Batteries as well
when they are heavily cycled.
There are other sets of Ni-Fe charging instructions in between the two time periods talked of in this post.
#1 set of charging instructions TODAY is in the Changhong Solar Catalog that you can easily look at.
# 2 is Pasted below. That's good enough for now.
The post is going to be long enough as it is. It's more than a one post subject.
As is the Nickel Iron Battery Electrolyte.
Like was said before this subject takes 'context thinking' for anyone that wants to fool with it.
With different Author's during different time periods along with the language translation from
Chinese to English you have to make up your own mind which Charging Strategy is going to work the best for you and
your circumstances.
Soon we will have Beat some of the myths, lies and fabrications out of the Ni-Fe Game which in the
beginning is not easy. Everything is geared to make a Ni-Fe sale. What is best for you or best
for the Ni-Fe batteries seems to be of little concern with the Changhong Ni-Fe Batteries Re-sellers,
Beutilityfree and Iron Edison Batteries.
In time that can improve for us.
How many American Battery companies throw out the Manufacturer's Operators Manual
and make up their own Manual to change the game, cheapen their costs, jive you and make a sale?
Problem is it may come back to bite you for some real money for no good reason other than greed.
Naturally I have proof which is the subject of another post someday unless a re-seller wants to rush it.
Gassing (Water Consumption) Heat and 'The Lifespan of the Ni-Fe Electrolyte Itself'
rather than just considering the Lifespan of the Battery Elements enters into the formula NOW.
Notice how Changhong said they want to stay at 113 Degrees F (45C) or below at anytime
including when charging. (Battery Temperature is another post.)
Wearing your Ni-Fe Cells out with needless initial charging and discharging was just yet another
'Wives Tale' pushed by a misinformed Changhong Dealer.
<snip> "Equalization charges only are required when the cell voltages are not balanced."
Let's face it. Changhong never promised you forever so if the average Joe listened to 'The Tall Ni-Fe Tales'
and ran his Cells into the ground a lot of the time with his undersized bank of 'Super Batteries' he might be
extremely lucky to see 2,000 Ni-Fe battery cycles.
At 20 grand for his batteries (just say) that's 10 dollars per cycle.
No, I wouldn't burn up (3) ten dollar bills plus needless time & electric just because some
Changhong Battery re-seller said to.
Not if the Cells were Right (nice, new, balanced) the First Full LONG Charge.
They go to Work right THEN and right There for their first $10 worth.
They can increase in capacity as they work - if that's how they like it. I don't have to waste them.
Better to listen to the guys building the Ni-Fe batteries and actually testing the Ni-Fe cells which
is what this entire Thread is all about.
The next sets of Changhong Charging Instructions (not listed in this post) will give us more info
especially about the first Long Charge.
Real Ni-Fe Manuals, other than personal opinions, should have been pasted up on the Net Years ago.
Africa is cool but we may also have harder times coming someday right here in North America.
Changhong Batteries can change the design back closer to 'Edison Quality' if there was a real market someday
and we were not quite riding the high horse of just always buying New. Refurbishing Ni-Fe Cells makes jobs as
'Zapp Works and the Montana Horse Riders'
(hi Stephen) will tell you.
Ni-Fe really can be refurbished for many, many years if constructed more like the Edison's.
Maybe like they are now if not trashed with stupid Ni-Fe Electrolyte recommendations. (Future post).
The cheap, low performance, lowdown, sub grade, Lithium Hydroxide being pushed by the Changhong
Ni-Fe Re-sellers could easily be replaced with the 'Best There Is' Certified Reagent Grade for close to the same price
if you ever get any decent Ni-Fe volume and solid business people involved.
You can do it today even at retail prices if you know how.
CHANGHONG OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE MANUAL
<snip>
Chapter 3 Initial Charge and Storage
3.1 Preparation before Initial Charge
After installation and connection, the battery should be fully charged as soon as possible. Before charging,
check power and charger to assure they are in proper working condition. Also check the voltage of single cells
and the battery bank, then check the temperature and the specific gravity of the electrolyte using a hydrometer.
Then connect the positive electrode of the battery with the positive terminal of the charger and
the negative electrode of the battery to the negative terminal of the charger.
3.2 Charge Process
Each battery should be charged according to the standard charge current (0.25ItA).
Batteries of the same capacity are allowed to charge together. Batteries of different types should't be
charged together.
The temperature of the electrolyte may increase slowly during the charge process.
It will harm the battery if the temperature of the electrolyte reaches 45 degrees C
and in this case the charge process should be stopped.
Recharge the battery after the temperature of the electrolyte decreases.
A log book entry should be filed to record the initial charge.
3.3 Service after Initial Charge
After the initial charge is finished the cells may not be balanced. If so, the battery should be discharged
and recharged using the equalization voltage of 1.65-1.75 volts / cell. The battery should be charged using
a charge current of 0.25It Amp for 8 hours a second time before using the battery in your application.
Equalization charges only are required when the cell voltages are not balanced.
Note:
Check the electrolyte level after the charge is finished, if the electrolyte level is obviously much lower
than that of the maximum level line, please add distilled water, de-mineralized or de-ionized water until it
reaches the maximum level line.
3.4 Storage after Initial Charge
If the battery won't be put into operation after initial charge, use the following method:
Because of self-discharge, the voltage of the battery will decrease over time. If the battery is going
to be stored for a year or longer after initial charge, please store correctly using the method shown in
Chapter 4.6
(Table 6). If the battery will be used within a year after the initial charge, please store correctly as
shown in Clause 4.6 (Table 6). Please charge the battery fully before use.
Chapter 4 Maintenance
4.1 Charge
The battery needs to be charged after a period of storage. The negative electrode of the battery must be
connected with the negative terminal of the charger and the positive electrode must be connected with
the positive terminal of the charger.
The battery is regarded as fully charged after 2.5h~3.0 hours of stabilization of the equalization voltage.
The equalization voltage used in the charger may be between 1.65. to 1.75 volts.
4.1.1 Standard Charge
Normally we suggest it's better to charge the battery with the standard charge method.
That is to say charge the battery at 0.25ItA for 8 hours.
The voltage used can be in the range of 1.50 to 1.55 volts.
4.1.2 Floating Charge
When the battery is used with the charger and load in parallel as an assistant power source, the battery is
charging with little current and will automatically recover the losses caused by self-discharge or other loads,
this is defined as the floating charge. In general, the floating charge voltage of the NiFe battery
is 1.45V / cell to 1.5 V / cell.
The floating charge current is about 1/40 of the value of 0.2ItA capacity.
4.1.3 Equalizing charge
When batteries have obvious voltage differences between cells, after a long term floating charge has been
applied to battery then an equalizing charge should be conducted for 12 hours. The voltage of the charge
equipment should be adjusted to the floating voltage and the battery charged for 12 hours.
<end of snip>
Bill Blake
P.S. That last paragraph needs looking into. Misprint?
They came up with another charging technique in the next part of the mini book.