# Elcon PFC1500 Charger good for Volt batteries?



## mons2b (Nov 17, 2015)

Hi fellow electrical Illuminati

Is the Elcon PFC1500 a good charger for a setup of 2011 chevy volt batteries in the below reconfigured format? Do I need to get one with a canbus option? Do I just order it from a place like EV west and spec it to 146.52 for example?

48v modules x 3 for 144v then paralleled with another 3 for 144v 90ah.

Thanks for your time to advise me.


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## Coulomb (Apr 22, 2009)

mons2b said:


> Is the Elcon PFC1500 a good charger for a setup of 2011 chevy volt batteries...


Any of the Elcon/TC chargers are good for demanding chemistries, because it is possible to set up an up to seven stage process each with its own voltage and current setpoint, time, limits to abort or to go to any other stage, and so on.

I don't know the Volt's battery chemistry. If it just needs a CC and CV*stage, like LiFePO₄, then nearly any charger would do. But if it has special needs, something as versatile as an Elcon/TC*charger would be an advantage.

If the latter is the case, then the next problem is finding someone who knows enough about the chemistry and has the ability to program the "algorithm" into the charger. I*know enough to know that it's quite complex (if you need to use a lot of the capabilities). As far as I*know, the only official algorithms are for Lead Acid and for LiFePO₄. I*believe there are about half a dozen official LiFePO₄ curves to choose from, and that chemistry is pretty forgiving.

[ Edit: the number of cells and the total Ah of the battery are trivial to deal with (literally two constant definitions), after the main algorithm is sorted out (up to hundreds of values used). ]


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## piotrsko (Dec 9, 2007)

A bit small, it will take 5 hours to charge an empty pack. If that is OK then call ELCON in Sacramento Ca and they will install the proper algorythm for your pack. You tell them nominal, configuration IE 36s12P, Chemistry, send money. I understand TCCH in china does the same process for the same hardware. I use a 2500 for my 96s12P pack.

Tcch is cheaper, closer. Not sure of their warranty value. Elcon is very good. Ev west is a reseller


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## mons2b (Nov 17, 2015)

piotrsko said:


> A bit small, it will take 5 hours to charge an empty pack. If that is OK then call ELCON in Sacramento Ca and they will install the proper algorythm for your pack. You tell them nominal, configuration IE 36s12P, Chemistry, send money. I understand TCCH in china does the same process for the same hardware. I use a 2500 for my 96s12P pack.
> 
> Tcch is cheaper, closer. Not sure of their warranty value. Elcon is very good. Ev west is a reseller


Hi Piotrsko

What is IE 36s12P? The config of one 48 chevy module? will a 1500 elcon or similar charger be stressed charging 144v in my 90ah parallel config?


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## piotrsko (Dec 9, 2007)

mons2b said:


> Hi Piotrsko
> 
> What is IE 36s12P? The config of one 48 chevy module? will a 1500 elcon or similar charger be stressed charging 144v in my 90ah parallel config?


#1 no your full battery pack. 1 string is 36s3p (i think i forgot the specs here)

#2 no, just your patience while waiting.


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## halestorm (Apr 28, 2009)

I'm using the PFC2500 programmed with Alg520v for my Chevy Volt pack. I don't use the CAN bus. I use my BMS to control the enable pin on the charger to switch it on/off. Essentially I'm ignoring any "smarts" of the charger and using it as much like a dumb CCCV charger as I can.

This is not exactly what I did, but it's close: http://lithiumate.elithion.com/php/elcon.php


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## Yabert (Feb 7, 2010)

mons2b said:


> will a 1500 elcon or similar charger be stressed charging 144v in my 90ah parallel config?


I'm charging my 180v 90Ah Chevy Volt battery with my Elcon 1500 since half a year.
That is 48 cells in serie. In your case, that will be 36 in serie. So your charger will need to work from around 126v to 148v.
A regular 144v Elcon can do that. But I think (to verified) that a 120v charger can be advantagious in your case since it will output more amps while remaining able to charge up to 148v.

IMHO, pay a little more and go for 2500w. That extra power cut a good amount of hours for a complete charge.

Oh! and heat your cells if you have a single day below 0°c in a year....


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## mons2b (Nov 17, 2015)

Hi Yabert

How long do you think the Elcon 1500 would take to charge my battery arrangement while being fed 240volts 10a from the wall?


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## halestorm (Apr 28, 2009)

The time to charge at a given charge rate will depend on the depth of discharge. Let's say you fully depleted the pack, and by "fully" I will assume you'll never actually take it to 0 and thus destroy the batteries, but let's say you need to replace 70 Ah of capacity. The PFC1500 can output 8A when supplied by 240VAC, so that's going to be in the neighborhood of 10 hours. This is close to what I see with my 2500 when powered by 110VAC (which also outputs 8A in that case).


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