Charging Fogstar 460 for the first time

[PeterCarole29]

Hi
I downloaded the app and battery was 31% i have only connected the battery to my sterling power inverter charger that is ment to have 50ah charger

My app keeps freezing but thats not my query it is charging at 13,6 volts only at the battery I have 90mm cables 2ft long At the charger connections its 13.8v

I have also tried turning the inverter charger of and connecting a 10amp charger and that also only charges at 13.6v
The voltage charge on the fogstar is 13.5 on the app display is that the actual voltage in the battery or what the settings have been set to?

 

[PeterCarole29]

Phoned fogstar they suggested going into the app and changing settings

 

[Tombola]

Im not 100 on the fogstar app but if you post screenshots someone will help.
The app I have allows changing of the max charge current so I guess yours is the same.

 

[Brianmor]

I can't change settings on my Fogstar app, only on my Victron app

 

[Guigsy]

When my FogStar first arrived, the charge level in the app was not correct. Only when I fully charged it using a Victron IP22 on the lithium profile did the FogStar app correctly set itself.

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[MisterB]

On the app, if you go into dashboard, bottom of screen, button on the right, there is a menu Inc advanced settings, I think you can make the changes there?

 

[Brianmor]

On the app, if you go into dashboard, bottom of screen, button on the right, there is a menu Inc advanced settings, I think you can make the changes there?

You need the unlocking code from fogstar to get access, they don't want people adjusting values they don't understand and causing damage.

 

[MisterB]

You need the unlocking code from fogstar to get access, they don't want people adjusting values they don't understand and causing damage.

Phoned fogstar they suggested going into the app and changing settings

 

[Brianmor]

Can you let me have the code please

 

[PeterCarole29]

They didnt mention a code

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[Brianmor]

When I try and go into advanced settings I get this

 

[PeterCarole29]

Spoke to Dave after checking it was not a problem with my charger. He said as this is the very first charge the intake voltage will increase as it gets to full capacity. This will hopefully be in a couple of hrs as it is now back on charge
I do not have a code by the way

 

[PeterCarole29]

When I try and go into advanced settings I get this

View attachment 783396

I was hoping it would sort itself out as i was unhappy to change anything for that reason ,i would have it colllected and returned if it needed altering. Thanks for that post

 

[Guigsy]

Spoke to Dave after checking it was not a problem with my charger. He said as this is the very first charge the intake voltage will increase as it gets to full capacity. This will hopefully be in a couple of hrs as it is now back on charge
I do not have a code by the way

A 460Ah battery that's being charged at 10A might take a couple of days to reach full capacity.

 

[PeterCarole29]

A 460Ah battery that's being charged at 10A might take a couple of days to reach full capacity.

Thanks i am charging at 42ah acording to the app

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[Raul]

Hi Peter, do you have a multimeter to compare the battery posts voltage and sterling charger voltage? It may need a voltage calibration on fogstar app. I had to do it on jk bms.as was reading different to the charger, the multimeter confirmed this. Then I calibrated the voltage. It’s a setting under advanced menu. Fogstar app will be similar.

 

[PeterCarole29]

Hi Peter, do you have a multimeter to compare the battery posts voltage and sterling charger voltage? It may need a voltage calibration on fogstar app. I had to do it on jk bms.as was reading different to the charger, the multimeter confirmed this. Then I calibrated the voltage. It’s a setting under advanced menu. Fogstar app will be similar.

Hi Raul thanks for info. It seems to have sorted itself out. The app which i keep haveing to remove and reload on my phone says its 100% charged and the multi meter says the fogstar batery is at 13.4v i dont know if thats correct i will go to there website and see. If alls well i will connect it all up to the motorhome 12v system

 

[BobJayne]

Hi Raul thanks for info. It seems to have sorted itself out. The app which i keep haveing to remove and reload on my phone says its 100% charged and the multi meter says the fogstar batery is at 13.4v i dont know if thats correct i will go to there website and see. If alls well i will connect it all up to the motorhome 12v system

In the Fogstar app, under 'Dashboard' does it show anything flagged in 'Protect History'?

 

[PeterCarole29]

In the Fogstar app, under 'Dashboard' does it show anything flagged in 'Protect History'?

I will have a look tomorrow

 

[Gaston aires]

I have just installed another solar panel on the roof plus a Fogstar drift 230 battery under the seat, it’s a tight fit but after a bit of of jiggery pokery and a phone call from Fogstar it all seems to be working. I have attached a 1500 pure sine wave inverter as well.NOTE Both the charging and discharging must be ON otherwise the battery will go into sleep mode as I Found out.
Phil upmebattery.

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[Billy192]

Hi Raul thanks for info. It seems to have sorted itself out. The app which i keep haveing to remove and reload on my phone says its 100% charged and the multi meter says the fogstar batery is at 13.4v i dont know if thats correct i will go to there website and see. If alls well i will connect it all up to the motorhome 12v system

the app is not the best, it keeps pinging me to connect or view each time i pass my van. furthermore when i do open the app it picks up any thing with BT in range the you have to pick the battery each time. pity the battery is great.

 

[Guigsy]

the app is not the best, it keeps pinging me to connect or view each time i pass my van. furthermore when i do open the app it picks up any thing with BT in range the you have to pick the battery each time. pity the battery is great.

On that device selector page, if you swipe right on your battery, you can select it as the default device.

 

[Billy192]

On that device selector page, if you swipe right on your battery, you can select it as the default device.

thanks brill

 

[Guigsy]

thanks brill

Yeah. If the app was designed better, there'd be a visual hint that this was possible.

 

[jezport]

I've just got a drift underseat 230 and it works well however the app shows 1 cell out of the 4 gets to full charge 3.65v before the others which can be 3.35v but the app shows fully charged.
Fogstar say I need to cycle the battery st least 4 times. The 4 cells only become unbalanced during the last 10 minutes of charge. I now need to put lots of load on the battery to run it low.

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[Raul]

I've just got a drift underseat 230 and it works well however the app shows 1 cell out of the 4 gets to full charge 3.65v before the others which can be 3.35v but the app shows fully charged.
Fogstar say I need to cycle the battery st least 4 times. The 4 cells only become unbalanced during the last 10 minutes of charge. I now need to put lots of load on the battery to run it low.

Not quite, the bms has to balance the cells, only possible when nearly full. Think of four bottles with different amounts of water, you will only really notice the difference when they are nearly full. By discharging, you will empty equal quantities from each cell, not helping with the balancing, and cycle repeats. Do long absorbs (2hrs) at 14.2v, during this time, the bms will be active balancing. And try cycle it few times near the top. Bringing it down, you will stop balancing.
Lifepo4 have a very very flat curve on voltage, that’s why the state of charge by voltage it’s only obvious at the very top (charged) or bottom (discharged).
In all honesty the battery should of been balanced, but bms will get there, eventually.

 

[jezport]

Not quite, the bms has to balance the cells, only possible when nearly full. Think of four bottles with different amounts of water, you will only really notice the difference when they are nearly full. By discharging, you will empty equal quantities from each cell, not helping with the balancing, and cycle repeats. Do long absorbs (2hrs) at 14.2v, during this time, the bms will be active balancing. And try cycle it few times near the top. Bringing it down, you will stop balancing.
Lifepo4 have a very very flat curve on voltage, that’s why the state of charge by voltage it’s only obvious at the very top (charged) or bottom (discharged).
In all honesty the battery should of been balanced, but bms will get there, eventually.

Not what fogstar say, they say I need to bring low to cycle. I have recharged a few times from between 70% and 90% the balance between cells has not improved although the display always gets to 100% and 230ah

 

[Pausim]

At first I thought batteries with built in apps were an interesting advance. I am now glad that the LiFePO4 battery I bought 5 years ago is just cells and BMS. My B2B and mains charger do the charging, my external battery monitor reliably tells me what is going on and my battery sits there year after year just being a battery.

I then hear that sometimes parts of these complicated internal systems such as bluetooth modules are not fully guaranteed. I also hear that at least one battery manufacturer has incorporated a sleep mode that can not be turned off which renders the battery totally unsuitable for use in a motorhome.

I think choosing a LiFePO4 battery has got more difficult over recent years instead of easier.

 

[jezport]

I have shared a link to this thread with Fogstar

 

[jezport]

My battery finishes charge as in the following photo
Opinions please....

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