The Lithium XS CTEK Battery Charger
26th Nov, 2020
The lead acid battery is the most common and readily available battery in today’s market. That being said, the trends are shifting as the world gears for the move from internal combustion cars to electric vehicles. In this case we do not focus on electric cars - but cars that are equipped with a lithium starter battery – Electric cars have the charger on board and only requires a 220v connection to charge.
In electric cars, the lithium ion or lithium ion phosphate (LiFePO4) are gaining preference due to their light weight and longer lifespans. For any battery, a charger is an important aspect when it comes to taking care of the battery and extending its lifespan. Lithium ion batteries cannot be charged using standard chargers and need specialised chargers which can handle its different construction design.
In light of these recent developments, Enertec would provide the details of a high-quality charger for lithium ion batteries called Lithium XS which is a product of CTEK, a renowned brand. Lithium XS is specifically designed for lithium ion batteries. It is easy to use and has the necessary protection in place that prevents any harm to the battery even if the charger is left plugged in.
Some of the safety features included in the charger are reverse polarity protection, spark-free operation and proofing against short-circuits. With electric vehicles often needing frequent recharges, the Lithium XS is an ideal contender as an accessory for the lithium ion batteries present in the car - (only when we refer to the starter battery). The fact that the charger is light and portable makes it easy to keep the charger in the car’s trunk.
The Lithium XS CTEK Battery Charger Specifications
Before we explore 8 steps used by Lithium XS to charge the battery, let us look at its specifications. There are 2 charging voltages of Lithium XS which are 13.8V and 14.4V. The charger is capable of providing 5A as its maximum charging current. The charging method of Lithium XS involves 8 steps which combine to form a fully automatic charging cycle.
The charger is capable of charging 12V lithium ion batteries with capacities ranging from 5Ah to 60Ah. The range increases to 120Ah when it comes to maintaining the battery. The charger has an IP65 rating and it comes with a 5-year warranty.
The Lithium XS 8 steps of charging are slightly different from the steps that you would normally see a CTEK charger perform because the lithium ion battery is different from most batteries which are usually variants of the lead acid batteries. The steps are as follows:
- The charging starts with an acceptance test. The purpose of this test is to check if the battery can accept a charge or not. In doing so, an attempt to charge a defective battery is avoided.
- Next, the charging begins using the bulk approach as the battery is charged using the maximum possible charging current. This magnitude of charging current is maintained until the battery reaches 80% of its full capacity.
- Once the battery reaches 80% charge level, the charging process enters the absorption phase. Here, the battery is charged using a declining current until it reaches 95% of the battery capacity.
- Similar to the previous stage, the charging current is reduced further in the completion phase until the battery reaches around the 98% charge level.
- The final part of the charging process is the maximisation. Here, the residual charging is done using the maximum possible voltage until the battery charges from about 98% to 100% of the battery capacity.
- With the charging completed, the remaining 2 steps are concerned with maintenance of charge. These steps are the reason why it is a good idea to leave the charger plugged in at all times. First, the battery is maintained at its maximum charge level by means of float charge or constant voltage charge.
- After float charge, pulse charge is used to maintain the battery charge level between 95% and 100%. This is done by monitoring the charge level and, if needed, a pulse of voltage is sent to restore the charge level.