I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for Battery Management Systems devices that they felt were suitable for electrathon?
In my test battery packs, I don't use Battery Management Systems. I currently use a balancing charger to make sure the pack is balanced each cycle. For discharging I used a low voltage detector which triggers an alarm if any cell drop below a set voltage.
Several people have mentioned http://bestechpower.com/ . Without posted prices and more details about each device, it is hard to get started.
Bestech looks like they are aimed at selling to Orginal Equipment Manufactures (OEM). This often means they will not sell a single unit and if they do, they are not set up to give tech support.
We are running 2 Manzanita Micro's MK3X8 : http://www.manzanitamicro.com/products?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=54&category_id=22
Pros:
Balances, reads cell voltages and temperatures.
Great support. Rich and company answer questions and put all the information online.
Open protocol. You can read the data from the system and write your own code to use the data.
Flexible settings. You can chose your own low voltage, High voltage, balancer on settings.
Programable digital signal 0-5 volt that can be used to warn when to stop discharge or shut off charger.
Reasonable price. Not cheap because they does not do enough volume but not taking advantage.
Cons:
We have had reliability issues. The boards work well and then fail. Our best guess is that with a solid suspension and 80 PSI tires, vibration is killing the boards. We have now added rubber mounts and will see if that Solves the problem.
Bestech is pretty good about single sales and support.... If your know enough about what you are doing to provide them valuable feedback. I have a ways to go before I reach that point.
Manzanita has a good reputation in electric racing community. My concern is that they are a bit pricy for a typical Electrathon team. $320 + batteries + charger starts to add up quickly.
The big advantage for me is the open data protocols. Good data helps make good decisions. I'll pick one up and add to to my data collection tools.
Does anyone else have BMS experience they are able to share?