Anyone using the Balance Feature on the Ovonic X1 Dual charger?

[LipoShirly]

The manual calls it the "Balance Feature"? I had two 3S packs that I was impatient with during a storage charge, and took them off before they finished balancing. I just bought the Ovonic and noticed the Balance Feature in the task options, decided I should try it out with the 2 packs that were unbalanced ( probably less than 100mV difference ). Anyway , when I hit Start Task the display shows a bar graph labeled Percent Complete, one was at 40 % the other pack at 44% ..... but they have been on there for days with no change....

 

[dure16]

I'd guess that those percentages represent the battery's total charge, rather than the task progress.

 

[LipoShirly]

I'd guess that those percentages represent the battery's total charge, rather than the task progress.

That makes sense, the packs are at storage levels..... I didn't look to see if the cell voltages were actually getting closer, I just kept watching the percent done ....

EDIT:::::
I had some time over the weekend to try a few things with the charger, and you are exactly right, its a percentage of the total charge of the battery. Screen shot below is showing 2 batts , CHA was setup in BALANCE mode, CHB was in STORAGE mode. Looking at CHA by itself I misunderstood COMPLETED 15% as saying the charger has completed 15% of balancing the cells .... now I get it, the balancing is Completed (period) and there is 15% charge on the battery. A good software engineer once told me, building user interfaces is like writing jokes.... if you have to explain it then its probably not that good....

 

[dure16]

That makes sense, the packs are at storage levels..... I didn't look to see if the cell voltages were actually getting closer, I just kept watching the percent done ....

Saw the Cubs logo - are you near Chicago? We do a monthly RC meetup in Bloomingdale, IL.

https://www.arrmaforum.com/threads/...-april-2nd-1pm-indian-lakes-open-space.59100/

 

[LipoShirly]

Saw the Cubs logo - are you near Chicago? We do a monthly RC meetup in Bloomingdale, IL

I've thought about heading up to this event , I'm about 2 and half hours south, down in Indiana... I keep holding out that I'll find something closer

 

[jkflow]

Extra balancing is only needed if cells are severely out of whack. Standard charge mode already includes balancing.
Haven't used the balance mode in ages, cells are typically bad when they are that far apart that would justify using this mode.

Balancing is also only off any benefit if you plan on using the battery, i.e. under load. Storing with no load attached can be done unbalanced (within safe storage levels).

 

[LipoShirly]

Haven't used the balance mode in ages, cells are typically bad when they are that far apart

I've only been doing this RC stuff about 3 years, I've had one 3S pack that got so far out of balance that my ISDT nano wouldn't do CHARGE or STORAGE mode cycle, some sort of error came up. This BALANCE mode may have able rebalance it, but I'm with you, the battery is doing this because its failing.... I drained it and trashed it..

 

[jkflow]

@LipoShirly I doubt the balance mode would have helped. Charger is using the same circuitry that detected the bad item and would have failed as well.
In this specific case, most likely, you ran the Lipo down to LVC (ESC cut-off). That is typically a quick death for any lipo.
ESC LVC is an emergency circuit to protect the ESC, not the Lipo (at least in the stock ESC's). I'd always recommend adjusting LVC to 3.6V and buy more lipos for additional runtime. Less frustration and cheaper in the long run.

At any rate, you did the right thing.

 

[LipoShirly]

In this specific case, most likely, you ran the Lipo down to LVC (ESC cut-off). That is typically a quick death for any lipo.

Man.... you nailed that. I truggified my 3S typhon, those bigger tires would drain the batts so quick that my run times were almost half. My solution was to power cycle the esc and keep running the same battery......

 

[BrianC302]

Ovonic just released a driver upgrade (rar file) for this charger on their Facebook group. Their instructions were horrible.... but I made a video if you have trouble with it. You have to install their software onto your computer before you will be able to update the charger (you connect the charger to your PC with the included USB connector).

Here is the link to the video:

And here is what Ovonic had to say on their Facebook group and there is a link to the rar file that is the driver update:

Hey fellow Ovonics! If you're an Ovonic X1 charger user, make sure to get the latest driver upgrade! This guarantees a safer, more optimized charging experience.
Here's a helpful link to the user manual: https://cdn.shopify.com/.../Ovonix_X1_User_Manual.pdf...
To get the latest driver upgrade, click on this link: https://drive.google.com/.../1IOwJGpVE1Bt.../view...
Don't wait and stay up to date!