Frequently Asked Question
How do I set the KID to charge Lithium batteries?
Last Updated 6 years ago
The KID has no native support for charging Lithium battery packs. All you can do is use some of the Lead-Acid settings.
Yes, we know there is a selection in the setup wizard for battery type "Lithium" but selecting this only drops some charging voltages in place to "try".
The KID can charge Lithium battery packs that have a BMS (Battery Management System) installed. We don't recommend nor support charging of Lithium battery packs without a BMS. "Balancers" are not considered a BMS.
NOTE: It is actually the BMS that is charging the battery. The KID can not be setup to insure EACH Cell gets a proper charge. Over-charging a Lithium Cell can have disastrous results as well as financial consequences.
The ABSORB setting will be the voltage the BMS wants/needs to charge the battery. The ABSORB TIME will be set to however many minutes are required. Sometimes this is set low as when this voltage is reached some lithium batteries want the charge to stop. Set the KID to 1 minute, zero is not recommended. The EQ setting is generally not used with Lithium battery chemistry.
Most Lithium batteries don't need nor like to have a FLOAT voltage so you need to set that to a low value so the BMS sees it as not enough to try and charge. Refer to the Lithium BMS manual for more information. It is common for the KID to report BATT OVER V and this is nothing to be concerned about, this just means the battery voltage is above the FLOAT setting and charging is now disabled.
STOP CHARGE FUNCTION HAS BEEN REMOVED BECAUSE OF HARDWARE ISSUES.
THE FUNCTION REQUIRES SOME NEW HARDWARE AND A REDESIGNED CIRCUIT BOARD.
IT MAY BE AVAILABLE IN THE FUTURE BUT AT THIS TIME THERE IS NO DEFINITE PLAN.
The other feature of use for Lithium and its BMS is the AUX INPUT to force the KID to STOP CHARGING. It is detailed in the manual as STOP CHARGE LO and STOP CHARGE HI.
STOP CHARGE LOW - Applying a LOW signal (Battery negative) to the KID's AUX (+) terminal will force RESTING and stop all charging.
STOP CHARGE HIGH - Applying a HIGH signal (+15 volts max) to the KID's AUX(+) terminal will force RESTING and stop charging.
If you are unsure of what a HIGH or LOW Signal is then best to leave this function to the knowledgeable experts.
Many Lithium systems want charging to stop @ a voltage and start back @ a voltage. This would be accomplished by setting the ABSORB TIME to 1 minute and using the REBULK Voltage to trigger the KID to go back charging and providing power to loads.
Yes, we know there is a selection in the setup wizard for battery type "Lithium" but selecting this only drops some charging voltages in place to "try".
The KID can charge Lithium battery packs that have a BMS (Battery Management System) installed. We don't recommend nor support charging of Lithium battery packs without a BMS. "Balancers" are not considered a BMS.
NOTE: It is actually the BMS that is charging the battery. The KID can not be setup to insure EACH Cell gets a proper charge. Over-charging a Lithium Cell can have disastrous results as well as financial consequences.
The ABSORB setting will be the voltage the BMS wants/needs to charge the battery. The ABSORB TIME will be set to however many minutes are required. Sometimes this is set low as when this voltage is reached some lithium batteries want the charge to stop. Set the KID to 1 minute, zero is not recommended. The EQ setting is generally not used with Lithium battery chemistry.
Most Lithium batteries don't need nor like to have a FLOAT voltage so you need to set that to a low value so the BMS sees it as not enough to try and charge. Refer to the Lithium BMS manual for more information. It is common for the KID to report BATT OVER V and this is nothing to be concerned about, this just means the battery voltage is above the FLOAT setting and charging is now disabled.
STOP CHARGE FUNCTION HAS BEEN REMOVED BECAUSE OF HARDWARE ISSUES.
THE FUNCTION REQUIRES SOME NEW HARDWARE AND A REDESIGNED CIRCUIT BOARD.
IT MAY BE AVAILABLE IN THE FUTURE BUT AT THIS TIME THERE IS NO DEFINITE PLAN.
The other feature of use for Lithium and its BMS is the AUX INPUT to force the KID to STOP CHARGING. It is detailed in the manual as STOP CHARGE LO and STOP CHARGE HI.
STOP CHARGE LOW - Applying a LOW signal (Battery negative) to the KID's AUX (+) terminal will force RESTING and stop all charging.
STOP CHARGE HIGH - Applying a HIGH signal (+15 volts max) to the KID's AUX(+) terminal will force RESTING and stop charging.
If you are unsure of what a HIGH or LOW Signal is then best to leave this function to the knowledgeable experts.
Many Lithium systems want charging to stop @ a voltage and start back @ a voltage. This would be accomplished by setting the ABSORB TIME to 1 minute and using the REBULK Voltage to trigger the KID to go back charging and providing power to loads.