Maximum discharge Imax B6

ClardiPower

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Dec 5, 2017
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Hi everyone,

Recently I started soldering my first packs, and planning to have a 7s96p setup delivering, hopefully giving me5,6kWh.

After finishing one pack, I wanted to charge and discharge it using my Imax B6. Charging was done at 6A, and wanted to discharge at 2A (which is the maximum of the Imax)
But soon after starting the discharging I found out that the amperage dropped to about 0.7mAh and after a few minutes totally to 0 !?

I tried to discharge using the LiPo-and LiIo setting, but no difference there.

What could be the cause of this? I would expect the discharge at 2A.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I connect the Imax directly to the busbars using the crocodile clips

Thank you!

regards
Maarten
 
Sounds to me like the imax was overheating under load. Did you try on a different battery and see how it acted? Try on a leadacid and see what you get on it.

overheating or there's a bad connection somewhere, either internally or externally
 
The iMax is useless to test that large packs and it will overheat. You also discharge in mA/A and not mAh /Ah. The later is capacity.

For instance the genuine B6 is 50W max charging and MAX 5W discharge. Then you also have the current factor. On the genuine its max 1A, On some fakes they state 2A but that will not work.

At 4V battery voltage the max current will be 5/4 = 1.25A. But that is in best condition and in real life it will not be able to do that any longer time. Generally half an amp or so.

If you want a decent tester that can do high currents then iCharger DUO is one serie i fancy ALOT! :)
 
Yeah, the whole B6 series is pretty good, if you get the original ones, but in no way, shape or form meant to discharge test packs of this size. And as if that isn't enough, seems like you got a fake, the original ones don't overheat and can dissipate 5W and 1A is the maximum discharge current. But it's still only 5W which is nothing on a 96p pack.

To do that effectively you need something with a lot more grunt. The already mentioned iCharger Duo can do 80W to 200W, depending on model and mode, which is roughly 20A to 50A for a 1s pack. And if that isn't enough they also do regenerative discharge into the power source they are running from, if it is a battery. In this mode it goes up to 3000W on the big one, limited to 65A by the input cables which would be the case for a 1s pack because the voltage isn't high enough to reach the power limit.
 
Hey guys,

Sorry for my late response. Got some other things to do.

The case clearly says Imax B6, but yeah, what to expect from AliExpress for that kind of money.
The last few days I have used it only to charge my packs, that works quite good.

Last weekend I connected all 7s to my (also cheap PWM solar charge controller) and it I see that the pack is charge by it.
If I feel confident about it, I will purchase an MPPT charge controller to benefit full from my 2x280Wp solar panels.
 
ClardiPower said:
Hey guys,

Sorry for my late response. Got some other things to do.

The case clearly says Imax B6, but yeah, what to expect from AliExpress for that kind of money.
The last few days I have used it only to charge my packs, that works quite good.

Last weekend I connected all 7s to my (also cheap PWM solar charge controller) and it I see that the pack is charge by it.
If I feel confident about it, I will purchase an MPPT charge controller to benefit full from my 2x280Wp solar panels.

It might say Imax B6 but that doesnt mean its genuine. A general rule is if it doesnt say Sky RC on it, it is most likely a fake.

My genuine B6 AC wont discharge at 2 amps either but thats normal. Like Daniels said...use something more appropriate for the pack size.
 
There is no reason to even guess if its real or not. You can go here and find out if its the real deal or not :)
https://www.skyrc.com/antifake/indexen.php

If it doesnt have the sticker on the back and this page says its real it is fake no matter what the seller told you!
 
No experience with the Imax, you might want to check if that charger supports external load for discharge testing...

Some chargers like the iCharger allow you to run an external load, like a bank of resistors, for capacity testing.

That said, once I get into larger pack sizes, I plan on using a Victron shunt to do my measurements.

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The IMAX B6 series is a series of relatively cheap, entry level chargers. There is no such function, even small iChargers play in a different league. And are three times as expensive at least.
 
Good to know... I just got used to having that as an option. That said, I still have yet to validate accuracy as I believe it might be based no time and the nominal voltage, but I havent confirmed it.

I figure a good quality logging shunt would be the most accurate option, or a CC load with a DC clamp meter and some simple math.
 
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