I'm wondering if anyone has ever created an adapter to balance charge 20V max and Flex Volt 20/60V batteries using a high-end RC car LiPo balance charger. I'm interested in preventing degradation of cells by charging them to the right storage voltage every now and then. I found a charger that fits the battery terminals, and I'm thinking of modifying it to include a JST balance lead—should be 5S, I think. Has anyone attempted something similar?
2 Answers
Yeah, I tried this out! But be careful—the balance current from my RC charger ended up damaging my first battery. There's some internal circuitry that doesn’t exactly balance the cells. I switched to non-balancing mode, so I could see the imbalance, but not fix it. When I didn’t plan to use my batteries for a while, I used the charger to do a storage charge instead.
I’ve noticed there's something off with the Flex Volt packs. I've disassembled six of them, and each had one dead cell that was under voltage. The readings on the balance port get all messed up, especially if the cell voltages are too different. It's tricky!