TP5000 module review (and technical details)

station240

Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2016
Messages
177
image_sxqufg.jpg

Module as bought from ebay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/351913464091
US$2.10 each (make offer for bulk purchase)

These modules come configured for LiFePO4 cells and 2A charging, for standard Lithium cobalt oxide cells or different charge rates there are minor mods to be made.


image_fpyiqh.jpg

schematic diagram, modified from the chinese version to match the actual module.
Also here are the part numbers/values for the PCB itself.
U1 TP5000

R1 1.2kohm ?
R2 0 ohm
R3 R050 => 0.05ohm 50mOhm 2A charge

C1 0.1uF Vreg
C2 10uF Vin
C3 10uF Bat
C4 10uF Vs


image_onejkh.jpg

Diagram showing the location of components to modify.
Light blue: short this with wire or '0' ohm resistor to switch for 4.2V standard lithium ion charging voltage.
Purple: Current sense/limit resistor, see table below for values.
(Note if you connect the lithium ion battery in reverse by accident, this resistor is the part that burns out.)

1ohm 100mA
200mOhm 500mA
100mOhm 1000mA
67mOhm 1500mA
50mOhm 2000mA

note: small 'm' denotes mili prefix, which is 1/1000th
All resistors are SMT 1210 size (3.2x1.6mm)

image_wkpsyn.jpg
 
So what's the advantage of using the TP5000 on LiIons over the TP4056? Other than 2A charge rate, which we don't really do on these anyways.
 
More efficient compared to TP4056.
Has optional temperature sensor (not shown as I cannot be sure I can solder to that pin)
Can be repaired if it fails, replacement resistors are 35c each (far less on ebay).
Come with fullsize LED, not tiny SMD versions which cannot be re-located.
Those using cell pairs or higher current tool battery cells will want the 2A setting.
 
Ahhh, gotcha. That makes more sense. The TP4056 also has a temperature pin. It's just not used on most of the boards.
 
Looks like these are about the same price now as they were two years ago. I only recently learned of these.

The biggest advantage I see is that it's a switch mode regulator instead of linear like the TP4056. That makes it a lot more efficient. Certainly better than the "3A" board with 4 TP4056 chips on it. I've read that that board only puts out around 2A anyway. For folks building those monster chargers with dozens of TP4056 boards, Using these instead could save quite a lot of energy. Even if they were dialled down to 1A.

I hadn't seen before exactly how to switch from Li-Ion to LiFePO4, or which resistor controls the output current. The picture above is very helpful!
 
Wow, yeah, this is an old thread.

If I were to buy chargers now, it'd be the TP5100 modules. Really like what you mentioned, because of being a switching power regulator instead of linear. But also because of higher amp (can put more cells in parallel for rapid charging), and can be repurposed later on into other devices that need 6-9V (2s), or use 2s in conjunction with a buck converter for a super stable 5V. As well as the input range of the TP5100 has a huuuge range, which is really nice as you can use practically "any" wall based charger/powerbrick.


And, actually, now that I'm doing designing and building pcb's, I probably would/will make a charging bay using these. Using these are most likely down the development path of future projects.
 
I just got my DIY 18650 fever recently, still in the learning phase. I recently ordered me some TP5100 from China, and they are still on the way. My question is, is TP5100 an improved version of this TP5000, or are they just different beasts? I'm asking because they look alike and their names sound similar
 
I hadn't seen the TP5000 before. I had assumed the 5100 was the upgrade of the 4056. Not sure who makes the 5000, but it does have the same logo as the 4056 and the 5100, so I would assume it's the same company.
I looked a datasheet that is a rough translation, and looks very similar to the 5100. I didn't compare the two documents side-by-side, though.
Datasheet: https://voron.ua/files/pdf/Microshema/TP5000_auto_translated_.pdf

It would be interesting to see what the differences are in performance between the two, though.
 
Korishan, thanks for your reply and the link to the datasheet


"Looks like you could put an SMD switch on the board to switch between LiIon and LiFe. "

Thanks Geek for the reply. I wish I could figure out how to toggle the charge current between 300 mA, 500 mA and 1000 mA
 
fannel said:
I wish I could figure out how to toggle the charge current between 300 mA, 500 mA and 1000 mA


image_wsybkv.jpg


Just take a 3-position toggle switch and 3 resistors and put in place of where Rs is at. Then you can toggle between the 3 charge currents. If you want to control this via an MCU, then you would need to add in some transistors that are controlled by the MCU.
 
fannel said:
Korishan, thanks for your reply and the link to the datasheet


"Looks like you could put an SMD switch on the board to switch between LiIon and LiFe. "

Thanks Geek for the reply. I wish I could figure out how to toggle the charge current between 300 mA, 500 mA and 1000 mA



You could use a resistor ladder. 2 50milliohm and 1 100miliohmresistor(s) in series. Then you could switch between 500, 1000, and 2000.

Edit: -Korishan beat me..
 
Geek has the better layout. I was thinking each leg of the switch went to each resistor. But the ladder is far better and easier to implement. And probably more accurate in the end, too.
 
Thanks Korishan and Geek. This is really helpful. The only things I know in electronics are stuff i learned in physics in high school 30 years ago. An MCU is above my capacity, but I could start something with the toggle switch or resistor ladder (new term for me; just learned it today, thanks Geek). I have 20 TP5100 units on the way from China to play with when they arrive
 
fannel said:
Thanks Korishan and Geek. This is really helpful. The only things I know in electronics are stuff i learned in physics in high school 30 years ago. An MCU is above my capacity, but I could start something with the toggle switch or resistor ladder (new term for me; just learned it today, thanks Geek). I have 20 TP5100 units on the way from China to play with when they arrive

I really like resistor ladders. If you don't need fine adjustment, they are far more reliable than POTs. I have heard some horror stories of POTs failing (on boost converters and CC/CV supplies) and blowing electronics up, or overcharging batteries. Using a resistor ladder, you have the advantage of being able to see what value is selected, without using a multimenter.
 
Looks to me like the big difference between the TP5000 and TP5100 is that the TP5000 can be set for either Li-Ion or LiFePO4, whereas the TP5100 can be set for 1 Li-Ion cell (4.2V Max) or 2 Li-Ion cells in series (8.4V Max) Which would explain the larger input Voltage range on the TP5100. If you want to charge 2 cells in series, you'd need at least 8.8V input.

Looks like the TP5100 is cheaper, but has 2 current control resistors in parallel. I'm not sure why that is, but I guess they could be replaced by a single resistor to get the desired current.
 
rebelrider.mike said:
Looks to me like the big difference between the TP5000 and TP5100 is that the TP5000 can be set for either Li-Ion or LiFePO4, whereas the TP5100 can be set for 1 Li-Ion cell (4.2V Max) or 2 Li-Ion cells in series (8.4V Max) Which would explain the larger input Voltage range on the TP5100. If you want to charge 2 cells in series, you'd need at least 8.8V input.

Looks like the TP5100 is cheaper, but has 2 current control resistors in parallel. I'm not sure why that is, but I guess they could be replaced by a single resistor to get the desired current.

That's interesting Mike. I was going to replace the Rs resistor with a resistor ladder based on suggestions from Korishan and Geek above to be able to select the charging current. Their suggestions are based on the TP5000, but what i have actually ordered is the TP5100. So, based on your statement above, I will need to replace two resistors instead, right?
Since they are in parallel, i will just need to duplicate the set up in parallel, bu then again, when resistors are in parallel, their resistance decreases, so it looks like more calculations are needed to get the proper values for the resistors to be used
 
rebelrider.mike said:
Looks like the TP5100 is cheaper, but has 2 current control resistors in parallel. I'm not sure why that is, but I guess they could be replaced by a single resistor to get the desired current.

Where are you seeing the 2 resistors? In the datasheet for the TP5100 it only shows 1. If it's a PCB designed that way, they probably did that use existing resistors on hand and paralleled them to get a lower setting than what a single resistor would do.

https://cdn.datasheetspdf.com/pdf-down/T/P/5/TP5100-TopPower.pdf

image_vogfmb.jpg


Or are you referring to a design like this:

image_npyeyr.jpg


The circled resistors do appear to be in parallel. Not sure why they did that in that design, unless it's specifically to keep heat down. Each resistor would take 1/2 the heat generated. So if that's the case, fannel could still do a resistor ladder, but just run two parallel ladders, like a real ladder with 2 uprights and rungs at each step.
 
I thought I read somewhere that they did that so you could easily adjust the current by removing a resistor?
 
Korishan said:
Or are you referring to a design like this:

image_npyeyr.jpg


The circled resistors do appear to be in parallel. Not sure why they did that in that design, unless it's specifically to keep heat down. Each resistor would take 1/2 the heat generated. So if that's the case, fannel could still do a resistor ladder, but just run two parallel ladders, like a real ladder with 2 uprights and rungs at each step.

From what I've seen, those are the resistors that control the current. I have no idea why you'd want two in parallel, but then I'm still a noob at this stuff. All the boards I've seen for sale are configured like this. Another thing to note is that the TP5100boards I've seen have no balancing feature, when configured for 2 cells. So another solution like a 2s BMS would be needed. Y'all probably know this already, but I thought I'd throw it in. :)

I'm very interested in doing some kind of project with these boards in the future.
 
Back
Top