Here at Battle Born Batteries, we stand behind the products that we build. Backed by a 10-year warranty, our batteries are also internally protected by a battery management system (BMS). This latest installment is all about the internal BMS for our batteries and their capabilities.
As the “brain” of our battery, this internal device protects the cells around it from different damaging scenarios. High and low voltages and temperature extremes can hurt your system, and this device can sense a short and shut it off. At the top of each charge cycle, it reduces the charge rate in cells that have been topped off first to maintain the battery’s overall quality and efficiency of the cell pack.
Our team does not recommend purchasing a battery unless it has an internal battery management system because it can make all the difference in protecting your battery from being damaged.
Learn more about What Is A BMS (Battery Management System?
Our internal battery management system is rated for three different levels.
One hundred (100) amps continuous, or 1,200 watts at 12 volts can pull all amps out of the battery when you need it until the capacity has been depleted. Our battery management system will not allow a current that exceeds 100 amps for more than 30 seconds and cuts off any surge over 200 amps after half a second.
Please note that when you have two batteries in parallel, the surge levels are doubled.
When it comes to regulating amperage from an alternator, the BMS does not have the capability to do that. If you’re in a situation where you only have one or two batteries, we do not recommend you charge a battery more than 50% of your whole battery bank.
If you only have two batteries in your van, and you’re running a 225 amp alternator, you can potentially pump 225 amps into a battery bank that can’t be charged more than 100 amps. Regulation of those amps must go through a battery-to-battery charger, which we sell from Victron.
It’s important to regulate this current in order to charge the battery properly without shortening the lifespan of your Battle Born Batteries.
Our BMS does not limit the charging current, and our team always recommends a 50 amp charge rate for a 100 amp hour battery. You can charge at a higher charge rate of 100 amps in emergency situations where it’s necessary, but we do not recommend it, especially for long periods of time. With 200 amps for 30 seconds, the device will ensure that it can deliver 2,400 watts for 30 seconds.
In this video, our CEO Denis explains how, in order to preserve your battery and your rig, the internal BMS will prevent a charging current if it experiences a voltage increase above 14.6 volts. It’ll continue to allow discharging and it doesn’t happen right away at 14.6 volts. The BMS measures the voltage of each individual cell and if the highest cell exceeds the threshold voltage, it will prevent charging.
We’d like to note that sometimes this process can occur at 15 volts or as low as 14.4 volts.
If the battery cells are imbalanced, they can be rebalanced again. If you happen to see the battery cuts off charging below 14.4 volts, that’s just an indication of a minor imbalance. The battery is still functional and it’s no cause for concern. If the battery spikes to 15 volts, then the level of imbalance is very high. Our team stresses the importance of aiming for that sweet spot of 14.2–14.6 charging voltage because those numbers are guaranteed to avoid high voltage disconnect.
High voltage disconnect happens when a cell experiences a high amount of voltage. The battery will prevent a charging current from happening. Cells can no longer charge, and excess voltage puts them out of operational specs. The BMS, when in high voltage disconnect mode, cannot disconnect from the system. Even though the battery won’t take a charge current, it will always allow a discharge current. As soon as you try to draw a current out of the battery in high voltage disconnect, it will allow that current to power your load.
The battery will disconnect during a moment of high currents in the system and try to establish reconnection again after 5 seconds. It lets the user know that it’s approaching the threshold that is specially designed for. If this happens often, our team suggests looking into expanding your battery bank’s capability. Our batteries also have a half–second threshold to allow for a crank of an engine or generator. If this happens, our batteries will disconnect and restart to protect you and the rest of your system. These high current events are not short circuits. The batteries will disconnect, but not reconnect after 5 seconds if they were to experience a short circuit.
Please note that if you have our batteries in your system and a 4 kilowatt or greater inverter, you will need a Current Surge Limiter. The soft–start avoids the high-current shutoff inherent to the internal BMS.
We’ve covered a wide range of topics throughout our FAQ series, which can be found here, and offer plenty of video resources on our website. Check out our YouTube channel for additional videos and if you’ve got more questions, the Battle Born sales and tech team is always happy to help. You can give them a call at 855-292-2831 or send an email to [email protected].
We know that building or upgrading an electrical system can be overwhelming, so we’re here to help. Our Reno, Nevada-based sales and customer service team is standing by at (855) 292-2831 to take your questions!
Also, join us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to learn more about how lithium battery systems can power your lifestyle, see how others have built their systems, and gain the confidence to get out there and stay out there.
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8 thoughts on “Lithium for Beginners: All About Battle Born’s Battery Management System”
I just ordered the 45amp version Lithium version charger from Progressive Dynamics. Do I have to unplug the new charger after a certain period of time or will the charger know when to cease charging ? I assume the Battle Born 100amp battery lacks smart regulation of volts coming into it during charging. I ordered the 45amp Lithium charger because my old AGM battery convertor/charger was rated at 55amps; so I avoided ordering the higher amp version Lithium 60amp version charger.
By the way, I intend to disable the RV chassis alterantor charging of the new Battle Born Lithium, is that a good idea ?
Thanks,
Patrick
Hi Patrick, thanks for reaching out. Please give our sales and tech team a call at 855-292-2831 if you are still having issues with your setup. We also have several videos addressing charging on our YouTube channel, so please check those out as well!
I have two 100amps in parallel on my camper. I thought I read that your batteries should not be allowed to drop below 20%. Does the BMS shut the battery down when it reaches that 20% threshold? Also, there was a chart on your site that showed volt reading and remaining battery life. The chart showed 0% at 10 volts. Does this mean that there’s actually 20% remaining on the battery if the BMS shut it down at 20%?
Hi Ray! Our batteries do not shut down with 20% remaining. You are able to discharge them down to 0%.
Okay thanks, but, do you recommend not discharging them down below 20%? For longer life of the battery?
Our batteries can be continually discharged to 100% and there is no long-term effect. You can expect to easily get 3000 – 5000 cycles at this depth of discharge.
I have a small popup truck camper that uses 1 deep cycle lead acid battery (group 27 I think). It is connected to the truck alternator through the 7 pin connector, and is also charged through the camper power center when we are connected to shore power. When it is time to replace the old battery, can I just replace the lead acid battery with a lithium battery?
Do I have to add any other components and what are they?
Hi Dale. That would depend on what other components your system has. Our technical sales team would love to help you configure a system that meets your needs! You can reach them at (855) 292-2831 (M-F 8:00am-4:30pm (PST)).