Grin Technologies Cycle Satiator charger on BH?

[Joergen8]

I was looking into the excellent programmable charger from Grin Tech, their Cycle Satiator, which would enable me to set the target voltage to say 85% each time. This could as much as double the life of the insanely expensive BH 12Ah battery, which is probably rated at 500-600 half-charge cycles before a 10% reduction in capacity (?). Charging to max AND especially keeping the battery at max charge is detrimental, and our "dumb" OEM charger doesn't give us any control over this, other than learning the time it takes to fill each bar, setting a timer, and pulling the cord at roughly the desired charge.

http://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/cycle-satiator.html

The problem of course is, BH has made it difficult to use 3rd party chargers with their proprietary connectors. But, you could ask around for broken BH chargers to salvage, and cut and solder the needed connector to a lead.

The connector on the EVO battery itself is a monster with several pins, but the on-frame charge port is a simple plug with just three pins, and shouldn't be too difficult to figure out?

If anybody is already using this on their bike, let's hear it!

 

[Pastabatman]

I spent $4 on a timer at Home Depot, and it's simple to use.

For example, if my charge level is 30% and I want 90%, I'll set the timer for 3 hours (it takes about 30 minutes per 10% charge). Once a week I'll charge to 100%, because I don't know if the BMS performs cell leveling unless charging to 100%.

Anyhow, the Satiator looks cool. If you get it working with BH batteries, please let us know how it goes! We might learn something about BH's BMS. I asked BH about how their cell leveling works, was told to just always charge to 100%.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Whatever method we use, winter temp will kill the battery capacity. No way around to avoid that !

 

[Ebike Commuter]

I am using the satiator with two different kinds of batteries. One is from BH and the other from LEED. It is easy to do. Just cut the wire on the existing charger. Then solder a male XLR connector to one side and female to the other. I used the same brand that comes with the unit and purchased the connectors on amazon. Verify the correct polarity with a volt meter prior to soldering. This allows you to continue to use the existing charger, if needed and also use the far superior Satiator. This unit saves energy due to high efficiency electronics, extends battery life by allowing charging to any level you choose and also allows for faster charging in the event you are doing a longer trip and need a bit more charge to continue. It also allows you to see how much charge your battery will accept, providing an indication of battery health, as well as metrics. It is easy to use and can be hooked up to your computer to customize settings. Overall very cool unit.

 

[Joergen8]

The XLR connector is a great idea! Do you generally charge via the on-frame port or do you take the battery off the frame?

What sort of amperage does the battery / BMS accept? I suppose there are separate charge ports and discharge ports on the battery, and the frame port is a charge port. The 2 Amp charging current that the OEM charger gives is fine, just wondering if the Satiator can push more in this case.

 

[George S.]

http://lunacycle.com/batteries/chargers/luna-charger-48v-advanced-300w-ebike-charger/

This is 48 volt. EM3ev offers chargers with a switch for the charge level.

Lunacycle seems to offer an adaptor for the Satiatior, for an XLR.

 

[Ebike Commuter]

@Joergen8, I generally charge the battery after removing it from the frame. I was thinking of also cutting one end of the wire that connects directly to the battery and soldering a female XLR connector to the wire end.

http://www.amazon.com/Neutrik-NC3FXX-3-Pin-Cable-XLR/dp/B002A0WSS0

This would then allow use of the Satiator at home with the larger battery connector and the smaller connector with the old charger at work for frame charging.

I believe the Satiator can put out 8amps max. It is wattage limited and has a thermal rollback feature. In other words, it will reduce wattage if it heats up when fast charging. There is also a graphical display, temp display etc. The unit is quiet because it uses no fan, which is possible because of the high efficiency circuitry. I have used 2, 3 and 4 amps with 36 volt battery. The Satiator could deliver 8 amps with the battery, but I assume lower amperage charging is better for battery longevity.

The LEED battery I have only has 2 wires, red and black, so that is simple. The BH battery has 3 wires. A thinner, I believe, white wire that may work with the NTC option on the stock charger as well as the black and red wires. I did not use the white wire with the Satiator though, and just taped it off. A more elegant solution would be to use shrink tubing on it. However, either way, the unused wire end is not visible, as it is behind the strain relief cover on the XLR connector.

The Satiator also has a 3rd, signal wire. This is used for connecting to the USB port on your computer when using the included adapter. However, it also works with a thermistor, if your battery has one when charging. Evidently these are used with NIMH and NICAD. I don't think the 3rd wire on the BH battery connector is connected to a thermistor since it has a positive voltage relative to the black wire. For this reason, I did not use it.

 

[Ebike Commuter]

The Satiator manual provides more details related to its use and can be found on the Grin Technologies website:

https://www.ebikes.ca/documents/Satiator_Manual_V09FW.pdf