EV Power Australia EVH12V EVH12VxxAh Lithium Battery Instruction Manual
- June 13, 2024
- EV Power Australia
Table of Contents
EV Power Australia EVH12V EVH12VxxAh Lithium Battery
Product Information
EV Power Lithium Battery
EV Power Australia offers the EVH12VxxAh Battery, a high-quality lithium battery designed to replace lead acid batteries of similar dimensions and capacity. The battery features a full internal battery management system (BMS) with a proprietary Bluetooth App for mobile phones. This battery is recommended for use in various applications, including vans and other vehicles.
Product Usage Instructions
Battery Connection:
- Ensure that the positive lead is connected to the red terminal and the negative lead is connected to the black terminal.
- It is strongly recommended to use a Marine Circuit Breaker (100A) on the output of the battery.
- When storing the van or vehicle, disconnect the breaker to prevent accidental battery drain.
Battery Charging:
- If your charger or solar MPPT does not have a Lithium setting, set it for charging Gel or AGM type sealed Lead Acid batteries.
- Avoid using the Flooded Lead Acid setting.
- Refer to the provided guide for charge parameters.
Battery Monitoring:
- Regularly use and recharge the battery to keep it active and healthy.
- Avoid prolonged charging at 100% State of Charge (SOC).
- The battery has internal protections against over-discharge, but it is recommended to avoid this situation if possible.
Storing the Battery:
When storing batteries for more than two weeks between use, follow these steps:
- Fully charge the battery and then give it a slight discharge for a few minutes. A 12V EVH Battery must exceed 14.0V to be considered fully charged.
- Switch off all loads and chargers, including solar chargers. If available, switch off the main isolator or circuit breaker.
- Mark your calendar to repeat the process EVERY MONTH.
- Repeat the steps from the beginning.
For storing batteries for periods longer than 1 month, in addition to the previous instructions, disconnect the positive (red) terminal on each battery. This is recommended due to the self-discharge characteristic caused by the Bluetooth Monitoring System.
Smart Phone Bluetooth App:
For Apple iPhone users:
- Go to the App Store and search for “EVPOWER 1.0”.
- Find and install the “EVPOWER 1.0 Smart Battery App” using that exact search term.
- Ensure that mobile Bluetooth is enabled in Settings before using the app.
For Android Phone users:
- Go to the Google Play Store and search for “EV Power 1.0”.
- No additional instructions are necessary.
Information Screens:
The app will display various screens with information about the battery,
including the State of Charge (SOC) as a percentage of energy level. Explore
the top menu to access different screens and follow the instructions provided
within the app.
Notes on Over-discharge:
- The BMS has a shutdown function to protect against over-discharge.
- If the battery is over-discharged, the internal BMS will disconnect the cells to prevent further discharge.
- This may be indicated as LOW VOLTAGE (14.0V) regularly, especially if the Bluetooth is frequently used to check the battery state.
- To synchronize the State of Charge (SOC) to 100%, occasionally fully charge the battery (>14.0V).
EVH12VxxAh Battery Instructions
Including Smart Phone Bluetooth App
For Batteries Purchased after 1 August 2020.
Introduction
Thanks for choosing the EV Power Lithium battery. These instructions will help
you to treat it well so it lasts many years.
EVH series batteries have a full internal battery management system (BMS) with
a proprietary Bluetooth App for mobile phones.
Battery Connection
This battery is designed as a drop-in replacement for a lead acid battery of
similar dimensions and capacity. Be careful to make sure the positive lead is
connected to the red terminal and the negative lead is connected to the black
terminal.
It is strongly recommended to use a Marine Circuit Breaker (100A) on the
output of the battery. When storing your van, this breaker can be disconnected
to ensure there are no loads on the battery that might accidentally drain it
flat.
Battery Charging:
If there is no Lithium setting on your charger or solar MPPT then it should be
set for charging Gel or AGM type sealed
Lead Acid batteries. Do not put it on the Flooded Lead Acid setting. The following settings are a guide for charge parameters:
- Bulk Charge Voltage – 14.2-14.4V
- Absorption Voltage – same as Bulk Voltage
- Max Absorption Time – 20 minutes (or as short as possible)
- Temperature Compensation – OFF
- Equalisation Function – OFF
- Float Voltage – 13.6-13.8V (if charger has a Lithium setting Float may be automatically disabled)
- Restart Bulk Stage – when voltage falls below 12.5V or each night.
- Max Charge Current (from all sources) – 80A (for 120Ah battery)
- Max Discharge (1hr) – 120A (for 120Ah battery)
- Load Disconnect (some MPPTs have this function) – 12.0V
Battery Monitoring:
If external monitoring instruments are used in addition to the Bluetooth App.
there are some main functions to set up:
- Peukerts Exponent – 1.00
- Charge Efficiency – 98%
Storing the Battery
Generally speaking Lithium batteries like to be used regularly. Regular charge
and discharge cycles keep the batteries active and healthy. Prolonged (weeks)
charging at 100% State of Charge (SOC) is not recommended.
Care needs to be exercised when storing batteries in case equipment is
accidentally left switched on, or in case the charger malfunctions or is
inadvertently unplugged (a common human failure mode). If the batteries are
left idle for any period the BMS electronics still consumes a small amount of
power continuously. This will cause State of Charge may reduce until
eventually the battery runs flat through self discharge.
It is very important to recharge the battery fully at regular intervals. It
can be hard to recover if it has been left flat for an extended period.
While the battery has internal software and hardware protections against over-
discharge, it is recommended to avoid this situation if at all possible.
When storing batteries more than two weeks between use:
-
Fully charge the battery then give it a slight discharge for a few minutes.
A 12V EVH Battery must get past 14.0V to be considered fully charged. -
Switch off all loads and chargers, including solar chargers. If there is a main isolator or circuit breaker then switch that off.
-
Mark on your calendar to repeat the process EVERY MONTH.
-
Goto Step 1.
If storing batteries for periods longer than 1 month, in addition to the previous instructions, disconnect the positive (red) terminal on each battery.
NOTE: We presently recommend recharging each month due to the self discharge characteristic caused by the Bluetooth Monitoring System.
Apple iPhone App :
Go to the App Store and search on “EVPOWER 1.0”. Find and install the EVPOWER
1.0 Smart Battery App. Use exactly that search term.
When using this app, please make sure mobile bluetooth is enabled in Settings.
Android Phone App:
- Go to the Google Play Store to download the Android App: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bluetooth.evpower.lithiumforandroid
- Use a USB cable to connect your computer and mobile, then transfer this APK file from computer to phone, then install the app.
When using this app, please make sure mobile bluetooth is enabled.
Once the app is installed on your phone, open it. Make sure to open bluetooth on phone settings and allow the app read location. Then the app can search bluetooth signal from the batteries.
The app should then ask which battery you wish to display information for. Something. Press on the serial number for the battery you want to display information for to make the connection.
Examples of Information Screens :
SOC is the percentage State of Charge, a measure of the amount of energy the battery contains. There are other screens that can be selected from the top menu. Note the instructions.
Notes on Over-discharge
-
The BMS has a shutdown function. If the battery is over-discharged the internal BMS will disconnect the cells internally from being further discharged. At the battery terminals this will register as a LOW VOLTAGE (<1.0V).
This does not mean the actual cells are at that voltage, just the BMS has disconnected them from the output.
Charging will see the battery voltage immediately rise to normal levels. -
Over-discharge until the BMS shuts off the battery will result in the Bluetooth function being unavailable until the battery regains some charge.
-
Some modern “smart” chargers will not charge a battery until they see a voltage on the battery terminals. In other words they will not charge an over-discharged EVH battery. Make sure that you have a plan B in this event to get some charge into the battery. Once the terminal voltage rises to ~12V the “smart” chargers will charge normally.
BMS Checking the Bluetooth Without Charging the Battery
It is important to note that the SOC% is an ESTIMATION only. It can drift over time if the battery is not used or is not fully charged (>14.0V) regularly. This is particularly so if the Bluetooth is regularly used to wake up and check the state of the battery. It may read 100% when the battery is nearly empty. The remedy is to make sure to fully charge (>14.0V) occasionally so the SOC can synchronise to 100%.
BMS Sleep Mode
If there is no load on the battery for 2 hours the BMS will go into
hibernation mode. It will lower the output voltage to around 9V. This
preserves your battery when it is not in use.
So if you have a device such as a fridge that switches off for a period then
requires voltage to switch back on, you need to have a small load on the
battery continuously to keep the BMS awake.
Charging at Low Temperatures
Temperatures below 0°C reduce the speed of the chemical reactions in the
battery and can cause reduced ability to deliver high currents and also reduce
battery life if a charge is forced. It is best to keep the battery above 0°C
if possible. Charging will be disabled by the BMS if the temperature goes
below -5°C.
Charging a Flat Battery
If the battery has been allowed to run flat, usually due to incorrect storage
or very long storage without recharging, it will no longer connect to the
Bluetooth app. It may also register a low voltage at the terminals (<2V) if
measured with a multimeter. This is usually because the BMS has cut off the
output to protect the battery. Recharge the battery immediately. The BMS will
allow charge but not further discharge.
Note that many “smart” chargers require to “see” a voltage on the battery
before they will start charging, so sometimes they will not start to charge.
In this case a simpler charger is required to start the charging process, then
you can charge normally.
Sometimes a simple 9V battery can be used to restart the BMS so that a smart
charger can then be used. Make sure to connect positive to positive so the
polarity is correct.
DO NOT connect a flat EVH12V battery directly to a charged Lead Acid battery.
The internal electronics may be damaged.
Over-current Protection
The battery internal BMS has over-current protection that will shut the
battery output off if there is an instantaneous short circuit or a larger
current draw over a few seconds than what the battery can deliver safely.
If you are using a device that has large capacitors on the DC input then there
will be a sudden rush of current when it is first connected to a battery. Such
devices can include DC/AC 240V inverters, some chargers and MPPTs. This can
sometimes cause the internal BMS to shut down due to an over-current error.
The battery can be verified ok by connecting a simple light globe and check it
switches on.
Connecting Batteries to Inverters
An inverter converts battery power into 240V mains power so you can run things
like computers, TV, electric kettles, microwave ovens etc. They can cause a
particular issue when connecting to a battery because they have internal
components called capacitors that, when first connected, act for an instant
like a direct SHORT CIRCUIT across the battery terminals. The internal BMS has
short circuit protection so will shut down the battery output for a period. It
will recover automatically. Patience required here. The larger the inverter
the more likely this is to occur.
If your inverter is causing the battery to shut down then you need a precharge
circuit. It can be as simple as a small momentary push button with a 33 Ohm 5
Watt resistor (or a small 12V light globe) connected from the battery +
terminal to the input + of your device. Press the button for a few seconds
then immediately switch on the battery to your normal load. This will pre-
charge the capacitors and prevent a sudden current surge when the battery is
connected. A momentary pushbutton switch can be connected in line with the
globe to facilitate regular pre-charge.
Connecting Batteries in Parallel for more Amphours
EVH12VxxxAH batteries may be connected together up to four units in parallel.
This means connecting positive to positive and negative to negative to
increase the Ah capacity but not the 12V voltage.
- Make sure both batteries are fully charged individually before connecting together. Connecting batteries at different states of charge will cause large currents to flow between them and activate over-current protection shutdown.
- Keep the cable lengths the same to all the batteries. Using different cable lengths will cause one battery to work harder than the rest. Making a symetrical cable arrangement will ensure even discharge.
- It is strongly recommended to install a 100A marine circuit breaker (e.g https://www.evpower.com.au/product/fus-cb100a/ ) on each battery positive terminal. This way the batteries can be manually isolated from each other when in storage.
Connecting Batteries in Series for Higher Voltages
EVH12V120AH batteries may be connected together up to four units (52V max) in
Series. That is connecting positive of one battery to negative on the next,
etc. This will increase the voltage but not the capacity. This is sometimes
required for running 24V, 36V or 48V electric trolling motors and the like.
- Make sure all batteries are fully charged individually before connecting together. Batteries at different states of charge will cause shutdown before the full capacity is reached on discharge or charge and may damage the internal BMS circuitry.
- Always charge together as a set. Never charge individual batteries in a string separately.
- Do not tap off one battery to get 12V for driving auxiliary devices. Use a DC-DC down converter.
- Use only a LiFePO4 battery charger of the correct voltage. Multiply the 12V values recommended to calculate what that is. Lead Acid battery chargers are unsuitable for 24-48V battery packs.
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