Cheali Charger 1.00 Manual

[PascalRZ]

Hi all !

Cheali Charger is an excellent software for chargers with calibration problem or with functions limited by the manufacturer. The version 1.00 is released for a long time and the development of the version 2.00 will be achieved in a few months (maybe). People asked for a lot of improvements in the software, but something very important is missing : a good manual (I discovered Cheali Charger 3 months ago, flashed my GTPower A6-10 charger last week and personally, I have some questions about calibration menu and charging functions).

So, I propose to try to write a manual in English (and maybe in French if I have enough time).

People who want to help me are welcome. First step is to collect all links to manuals already written in English or others languages, in order to concatenate.

PascalRZ

[alex alex]

Hi Pascal,

Here is my updated version of flashing Nuvotons https://groups.google.com/group/cheali-charger/attach/2470ecc35a377c24/Flashing%20m0517.doc?part=0.1&authuser=0 (I added some more details to the original document).

Then, all existing manuals are here https://github.com/stawel/cheali-charger/tree/master/docs . They are out of date, but contains a lot of useful information.

Cheers,

[PascalRZ]

Good evening,

So, after reading some manuals and threads, you will find the first set of questions (I can't find answers):

For Li-xx, what are the differences between:

 

Charging

You must connect the main lead to the charger.

Is it necessary to connect the balance lead?

What is the charging strategy?

What is(are) the stop charging criteria(s) ?

 

Compiled from RCgroups, but is it right or wrong? :

Charging is done in two phases:

-          1st phase: constant current. Voltage rises up to charged battery final voltage.

-          2nd phase: constant voltage. When final voltage is reached, charger switches from constant current to constant voltage and decreases current down to Imin. Someone wrote that balance function is activated if needed.

 

 

 

Fast charging

You must connect the main lead to the charger.

Is it necessary to connect the balance lead?

What is the charging strategy?

What is(are) the stop charging criteria(s) ?

 

Compiled from RCgroups, but is it right or wrong? :

Charging is done in one phase: constant current. Voltage rises up to charged battery final voltage. Charger stops as soon as the final voltage is reached.

 

 

 

Charging + balancing

You must connect the main lead and the balance lead to the charger.

What is the charging + balancing strategy?

What is(are) the stop criteria(s) ?

 

 

Discharging

You must connect the main lead to the charger.

Is it necessary to connect the balance lead?

What is the discharging strategy?

What is(are) the stop discharging criteria(s) ?

 

 

Balancing

You must connect the balance lead to the charger.

Is it necessary to connect the main lead?

What is the balancing strategy?

What is(are) the stop balancing criteria(s) ?

 

 

Storage

You must connect the main lead to the charger.

Is it necessary to connect the balance lead?

What is the storage strategy?

What is(are) the stop storage criteria(s) ?

 

 

Storage + balancing

You must connect the main lead and the balance lead to the charger.

What is the storage + balancing strategy?

What is(are) the stop criteria(s) ?

 

I hope somebody will have detailed answers (corresponding to cheali charger, not an other charger because, for example, my Icharger 106B+ use same titles but it doesn't do the same job)

Have a good day !
PascalRZ

[Paweł Si]

2015-11-23 20:37 GMT+01:00 PascalRZ <pasca...@gmail.com>:

Good evening,

So, after reading some manuals and threads, you will find the first set of questions (I can't find answers):

For Li-xx, what are the differences between:

 

Charging

You must connect the main lead to the charger.

Is it necessary to connect the balance lead?

it is highly recommend (when the  balance port is  connected we  have a more accurate voltage reading, also we have voltages per cell).
since v1.99:
If balance port is not  connected the charger will beep at you but you can still long-press the "start" button to start charging.

 

What is the charging strategy?

constant current (CC)/constant voltage (CV)

http://www.bestgopower.com/faq/27-what-is-cc-cv-mode.html 

What is(are) the stop charging criteria(s) ?

 optimistic (battery charged): 

 - charging current goes down to "min Ic" (by default it's set 1/10 "Ic" )

  (you will see [battery]->"edit battery"->"min Ic"  when advanced menus are enabled  (when "options"->"settings"->"menus: advanced"))

other criteria:

-  (normal) battery's capacity limit reached ([battery]->"edit battery"->"Cap:")

-  (normal) time limit reached (([battery]->"edit battery"->"time:")

-  (error?) external temperature (temperature probe) too high, if enabled (higher than [battery]->"edit battery"->"|extrn TCO:")

 - (error) internal temperature is greater than "options"->"settings"->"disch off" + 5C (discharge cutoff temperature + 5C) -- assuming the charger has an internal temperature probe (200W chargers, nuvoton)

-  (error) battery disconnected (output voltage too high)

-  (error) output current higher than Ic +1A (short circuit)

-  (error) balance port disconnected (when connected at start)

-  (error) input voltage (power supply voltage) lower than "options"->"settings"->"input low:"

  more details in:

  https://github.com/stawel/cheali-charger/blob/master/src/core/strategy/Monitor.cpp#L206-L271

  displayed strings:

  https://github.com/stawel/cheali-charger/blob/master/src/core/strings/standard.h#L43-L53

 

Compiled from RCgroups, but is it right or wrong? :

Charging is done in two phases:

-          1st phase: constant current. Voltage rises up to charged battery final voltage.

-          2nd phase: constant voltage. When final voltage is reached, charger switches from constant current to constant voltage and decreases current down to Imin.

 

exactly:

1.  charging current can be set in [battery]->"edit battery"->"Ic:",

2.  the end voltage (per cell) can be set in [battery]->"edit battery"->"Vc:",

although we do a break between these two phases (we go down with current to 0A for a few seconds) to measure the battery's internal resistance

Someone wrote that balance function is activated if needed.

no when using the "chaging" program (we do this in "charging+balance")

 

Fast charging

hm... I've checked the source code  and it looks like it's not working like it should on v1.99

(currently it works exactly like "charging")

need to be fixed.

Charging is done in one phase: constant current. Voltage rises up to charged battery final voltage. Charger stops as soon as the final voltage is reached.

in v1.0 we used a minimum charging current (stop current) equal to Ic/5 (instead of Ic/10)

The same method was used in the original Imax B6 firmware, but 

we can change it to "Charger stops as soon as the final voltage is reached."

(this would probably make more sens now, since now we can set "min Ic" for the "charging" program)

 

Charging + balancing

You must connect the main lead and the balance lead to the charger.

What is the charging + balancing strategy?

charging: the same as in the "charging" program,

balancing: the same as in the "balancing" program (discharging individual cells)

(two methods at the same time)

What is(are) the stop criteria(s) ?

the same as in the "charging" program + voltage difference between cell's must be lower than "[battery]->"edit battery"->"bal. err:",

charging current can go below "min Ic", when balancing is still running.

 

Discharging

You must connect the main lead to the charger.

Is it necessary to connect the balance lead?

highly recommended, not required  (charger beeps)  

What is the discharging strategy?

constant current (CC)/constant voltage(CV) (*) 

What is(are) the stop discharging criteria(s) ?

currently (v1.99) we discharge the battery with constant current only, if the voltage goes below  "[battery]->"edit battery"->"Vd:" per cell

we stop discharging.

(*) if however the option "[battery]->"edit battery"->"adapt dis:" is enabled (set to "Yes") we also discharge the battery with constant voltage

(cell voltage stays at "[battery]->"edit battery"->"Vd:", and we decrees the discharge current until we reach  "[battery]->"edit battery"->"min Id:"

   

Balancing

You must connect the balance lead to the charger.

Is it necessary to connect the main lead?

Yes, always

 

What is the balancing strategy?

we discharge individual cells,

What is(are) the stop balancing criteria(s) ?

(v1.99 implementation) 

1. we "select" a cell with the "minimum cell voltage"

2.  we "mark" a cell as "balancing needed" (discharging needed) if its voltage is greater than the "minimum cell voltage" + [battery]->"edit battery"->"bal. err:"

  3.  we discharge cells "marked" as "balancing needed"  

  4.  if a cell voltage goes below "minimum cell voltage", "unmark" it

5. repeat 3-5 until all cells are unmarked

Storage

You must connect the main lead to the charger.

Is it necessary to connect the balance lead?

highly  recommended, not required  (charger beeps)   

What is the storage strategy?

if voltage per cell is lower  than  [battery]->"edit battery"->"Vs:" run the "charging" program,

otherwise run the "discharging" program with "[battery]->"edit battery"->"adapt dis:" enabled.

End voltage is set to [battery]->"edit battery"->"Vs:" (per cell).

 

What is(are) the stop storage criteria(s) ?

like above 

Storage + balancing

You must connect the main lead and the balance lead to the charger.

What is the storage + balancing strategy?

if cell voltage is lower  than  [battery]->"edit battery"->"Vs:" run the "charging+balance" program,

otherwise run the "discharging" program with "[battery]->"edit battery"->"adapt dis:" enabled AND balancing enabled.

End voltage is set to [battery]->"edit battery"->"Vs:" (per cell).

 

What is(are) the stop criteria(s) ?

like above 

 

I hope somebody will have detailed answers (corresponding to cheali charger, not an other charger because, for example, my Icharger 106B+ use same titles but it doesn't do the same job)

if something is unclear, please let me know.

Best Regards,

Paweł

[alex alex]

Hi Pascal,

Not sure whether you have this or not: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Nv2vBXbWo6qE2U9rXZfzVDTfWu3j778flImbFJp74tk/edit .

Regards,

On Monday, November 16, 2015 at 11:21:36 PM UTC+2, PascalRZ wrote:

[alex alex]

Hi Pawel,

Fast charging

hm... I've checked the source code  and it looks like it's not working like it should on v1.99

(currently it works exactly like "charging")

need to be fixed.

Charging is done in one phase: constant current. Voltage rises up to charged battery final voltage. Charger stops as soon as the final voltage is reached.

in v1.0 we used a minimum charging current (stop current) equal to Ic/5 (instead of Ic/10)

The same method was used in the original Imax B6 firmware, but 

we can change it to "Charger stops as soon as the final voltage is reached."

(this would probably make more sens now, since now we can set "min Ic" for the "charging" program)

Yesterday I was charging a Chinese 18650 battery with 400mA current and it went from 2.7V to 4.2V in a matter of seconds (~30 sec). And then with constant voltage step it charged 1200mAh (the cutoff limit set by me, but the total capacity is somewhere near this figure) in several hours. The battery itself is fine, I'm using it for a flashlight.

What I want to say is that for this battery the Ic/5 would make more sense. 

P.S. This battery has a protection board and I was using neodymium magnets on main leads. I don't think this has any impact on the charging, though.

 

 

[Paweł Si]

Ok, we will get back to that when I finely have time to fix that,

unfortunately It won't be this year :(

[PascalRZ]

Hi Pawel, Hi all,

I'm writing the manual but I don't have enough time to finish it until the end of 2015. So, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and I hope I will publish the first draft before the end of January 2016.

I hope 2016 will be the year of Cheali Charger 2.00 !

Pascal

[Paweł Si]

2015-12-19 20:51 GMT+01:00 PascalRZ <pasca...@gmail.com>:

Hi Pawel, Hi all,

I'm writing the manual but I don't have enough time to finish it until the end of 2015. So, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and I hope I will publish the first draft before the end of January 2016.

 

Thanks!
I I also wish all of you guys Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and a peaceful 2016.

I hope 2016 will be the year of Cheali Charger 2.00 !

:) 

[Zach Miller]

If you want to make it a google doc, I'd love to help.

[PascalRZ]

Hi Pawel, hi all,

This is the first release of the draft 001 version. Pawel and others developers, can you read this doc carefully and tell me about all mistakes it contain ?

Also, I need your help for NiZn batteries, Pb batteries and UART functions. Can you tell me how these functions work ?

I think the idea of a GoogleDoc is a good idea. I post this draft in a pdf format because I want to remove all errors before sending the LibreOffice file.

Pawel, do you think it is a good idea or not ? If yes, I think you have to create the doc in Google in order to be the master. Next, give me the access to the doc and I will publish it.

I think we can release the first official version in a few weeks if developers give me the last information needed.

Pascal

[Paweł Si]

Nice work Pascal, 
although I have some comments:

1. the diagrams in  §3 are outdated, currently (from v1.99) most setting are in "edit battery" menu.

   - also most settings in "edit battery" are hidden by default, to see all of them you have to set "options"->"settings"->"menus:" to "advanced"

2. this also applies to section "7. Settings"

3. "6.1.2 Fast charging" - is fixed in version v1.99 (works exactly like in previous versions)

 

2016-02-03 19:54 GMT+01:00 PascalRZ <pasca...@gmail.com>:

Hi Pawel, hi all,

This is the first release of the draft 001 version. Pawel and others developers, can you read this doc carefully and tell me about all mistakes it contain ?

Also, I need your help for NiZn batteries, Pb batteries

To be honest I don't even own a NiZn or a Pb battery, so I'm not sure if I'm the best person to help here,

I can only say that all "programs" (charge,discharge, fastcharge, ..) for NiZn and Pb work exactly like for LiPo batteries 

but with charging end voltage = 1.9V, discharging end voltage = 1.3V for NiZn by default 

and charging end voltage = 2.45V, discharging end voltage = 1.75V for Pb by default 

(of course all voltages can be changed when "options"->"settings"->"menus:" is set to "advanced")

and UART functions.

You can use a logging program called LogView: http://logview.info/forum/index.php?pages/eng/

to monitor your battery during charging (discharging, fast charging ....)

for that you need a UART to USB dongle.

now, if you:

1. set  "options"->"settings"->"UART:" to "normal", 

2. connect the dongle to the external temperature and your PC

3. on your PC: copy ChealiCharger_6cell_1.0.ini:  https://github.com/stawel/cheali-charger/blob/master/utils/LogView/ChealiCharger_6cell_1.0.ini 

   to "C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\LogView\Geraete\OpenFormat\"

you should be able to connect to LogView 

(point "3." need to be checked, personally I'm using a linux machine where the path is different)

 

Can you tell me how these functions work ?

I think the idea of a GoogleDoc is a good idea. I post this draft in a pdf format because I want to remove all errors before sending the LibreOffice file.

Pawel, do you think it is a good idea or not ?

 definitely a good Idea :)

 

If yes, I think you have to create the doc in Google in order to be the master.

aside from this part ;)
I would prefer not to be the owner the doc., I just don't have the time to maintain more sites,

but of course I will add a link to it wherever you guys want. 

[PascalRZ]

Hi Pawel, hi all,

I found time to work on the manual and on the charger. You will find the version "draft002",

Modifications are:

- New picture for calibration, and recommendations for voltage calibration (I have the same conclusion than some people: calibrate with a fully charged battery improve charging end voltage accuracy).

- Pawel comments about NiZn and Pb added

- Pawel comments about UART added

Not implemented:

- Pawel comments about outdated diagrams. Everything will be updated in a 1.99 (or 2.00?) manual.

My GT Power A6-10 charger works but LiPo balancing does not work fine, and the battery is unbalanced more and more after charging, during the balancing process (I manually stop the process after 1 hour and I use my iCharger to balance). I will not try to understand where is the problem with the 1.00 version; I will update my charger to Cheali Charger 1.99 and inform the forum/github if I find bugs.

For me, the draft002 version is the last version  of the manual for Cheali Charger 1.00.

See you in the 1.99 manual  (I will use Googledoc)

Pascal

[Paweł Si]

I'm sorry,

I overlooked your mail,

2016-05-01 18:06 GMT+02:00 PascalRZ <pasca...@gmail.com>:

- New picture for calibration, and recommendations for voltage calibration 

(I have the same conclusion than some people: calibrate with a fully charged battery improve charging end voltage accuracy).

yes, that's definitely true, especially if your charger doesn't have calibration pots near the balance port.

 

- Pawel comments about NiZn and Pb added

- Pawel comments about UART added

Not implemented:

- Pawel comments about outdated diagrams. Everything will be updated in a 1.99 (or 2.00?) manual.

My GT Power A6-10 charger works but LiPo balancing does not work fine, and the battery is unbalanced more and more after charging, during the balancing process (I manually stop the process after 1 hour and I use my iCharger to balance). I will not try to understand where is the problem with the 1.00 version; I will update my charger to Cheali Charger 1.99 and inform the forum/github if I find bugs.

For me, the draft002 version is the last version  of the manual for Cheali Charger 1.00.

I've added your pdf to the project so it doesn't get lost:

https://github.com/stawel/cheali-charger/blob/master/docs/users_docs/Cheali%20Charger%201.00%20User%20Manual%20English_draft_002.pdf

there is also a link to it in the main README.md

 

See you in the 1.99 manual  (I will use Googledoc)

Best Regards,

Paweł