FLUX POWER LiFT Pack Instruction Manual

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Contents
LiFTPACK™BATTERYCONSTRUCTION...............................................................2
TEMPERATUREPERFORMANCE..........................................................................3
CHARGER/CHARGING.......................................................................................3
CELLCHEMISTRYANDCONSTRUCTION..............................................................5
SHIPPING&RECYCLING......................................................................................6
SAFETY................................................................................................................7
MISCELLANEOUS................................................................................................8
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FREQUENTLY
ASKED
QUESTIONS
LiFTPack™AdvancedLithiumBattery

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2FAQ
FA
Q
LiFTPACK™BATTERYCONSTRUCTION
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WhatistheFluxLiFTPackBatterymadefrom?
TheLiFT‐24Vpackisbuiltfromeitherlargeformatprismaticor
pouchlithium‐ioncells.Thecellsareconstrainedagainstshockand
vibrationina10gaugeA36steelenclosure.Battery
interconnectionsaremadewithflexiblebusbarsandAWG2high
strandcabling.Theschematictotherightillustratesallofthe
integralpartsofaLiFTPack.
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WhatdoestheLEDpaneltellme?
1) WhentheLightsarestatictheLEDactsasabatterydischargeindicator(BDI).
2) IfthereisasingleflashinglightitisaDeviceTroubleCode(DTC).
3) Ifthelightsarelightinginseriesitconfirmsthepackischarging.
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IsthereaBatteryDischargeIndicator(BDI)onthepack?
Yes,thereisaBDIorStateofCharge(SOC)indicatoronthepack.AseriesofLEDsindicatethebatteriesstateofchargefrom
0‐100%.Whenthepackisat5%theredLEDwillbelitasindicatedbelow,inadditionabuzzerwillsoundindicatingthepack
shouldbepluggedinforcharging.Tomaintainbatteryperformancewestronglyrecommendthepackbepluggedinatthis
point.
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WhatAreDeviceTroubleCodes(DTC)?
Ifthepackisoperatingoutsideofoperationalparameters,theBMSwillcutpowertothe
pack,andblinkasinglespecificLEDrelatedtoaDTC.Thediagramtotherightdetailsthe
DTCsassociatedwitheachlight.
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3FAQ
FA
Q
TEMPERATUREPERFORMANCE
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Whataretheeffectsoftemperatureoncapacityandoperationforbothhigh(120‐
140˚F)andlowtemperatures(0‐20˚F)?
Thesupporteddischargetemperaturerangeis‐4˚Fto140˚Fandsupportedchargerangeis32˚Fto140˚F.At140˚Fthe
availablecapacityis100%,at32˚Fthereis75%availablecapacity,andat‐4˚Fthereis41%availablecapacity.Constant
operationat140˚Fmayreducethebatterycyclelifetimeby10‐20%.
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Isthetemperaturerangeof‐20Cto60C(‐4Fto140F)theoperatinginternal
temperatureofthepackortheambienttemperature?
Thisistheinternaloperatingtemperature.Therearetemperaturesensorsinsidethepackwhichmonitortheoperating
temperature.Ifthetemperaturerangeisexceeded,thebuzzerwillsoundandthepackwillautomaticallyshutoffuntilthe
packisallowedtocool/heattowithinoperationalparameters.
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WhatisthetemperatureincreaseduringuseofFluxLiFTPackscomparedtoLead‐Acid?
FluxLiFTPacksexperienceminimaltemperatureincreaseduringcharginganddischarging.TestsrunbyFluxPowerindicate
floodedlead‐acidtemperaturesincrease27%moreandAGMincrease47%morethanFluxLiFTpacksduringa1hour
completedischarge.Thisisduetothelowerinternalresistanceoflithium‐ionvs.lead‐acid,andmeansthebatterywastes
lessenergywhencharginganddischarging.
CHARGER/CHARGING
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CanFluxLiFTPacks
TM
beopportunitycharged?
Yes,FluxLiFTPackscanbepluggedinatanystateofchargewithabsolutelynonegativeeffects.Infact,opportunitycharging
canactuallyincreasethelifetimeamp‐houroutputofthebattery.Thepackdoesneedperiodicbalancinghowever,andwe
recommendleavingitpluggedinovernightorovertheweekendonceeveryweekortwo.
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Whathappenswhenthepackrunsoutofcharge?
Whenthebatteryreaches5%SOCabeeperwillsoundnotifyingtheoperatorthatthebatterymustbecharged.Oncethe
batteryreaches1%SOCthebeeperwillsoundagain,notifyingtheoperatoragain.Finallyitwillcutpowerintermittentlyand
allowthepalletjacktobeslowlydriventoachargingpoint.Werecommendpluggingthepackinassoonastheinitialbuzzer
soundstoprolongthelifeofthebattery.Ifthepackisnotpluggedinandleftsittinginanunchargedstate,itispossiblethe
lithiumcellswillbepermanentlydamagedandnolongerfunction.
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DoIneedtodisconnecttheLiFTPackfromthewalkie/palletjacktochargeit?
IftheLiFTPackhasaninternalchargeritdoesnotneedtobedisconnectedfromthewalkietochargeit.However,pleasebe
awarethatthepalletjackwillbeoperationalwhilechargingsoit’srecommendedtheAndersonpowerconnectorbe
disconnected.
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4FAQ
FA
Q
Ifthepackispluggedinforcharging,isthewalkie/palletjackoperational?
Yesthewalkieisoperational;unpluggingthemainAndersonpowerconnectorisrecommended.
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AtwhattemperaturescanIchargeaFluxLiFTPack?
FluxLiFTPacksshouldonlybechargedbetween32˚F‐140˚F.
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IsitOKtoleavetheLiFTPackpluggedin?
Yes,theBatteryManagementSystem(BMS)monitorschargingsothebatterywillneverovercharge.Fluxactually
recommendsleavingthechargerpluggedinatalltimeswhenthebatteryisnotinuse.
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Canyouoverchargeoroverdischargethepacks?
FluxPower’spatentedBatteryManagementSystem(BMS)monitorschargingsothatthepackcannotbeoverchargedor
discharged.Theonlypossibleriskisifsomeonefullydischargesthebatterypackandthendoesnotplugitin.Inthiscase,
becauseofthesmallparasiticdrawfromtheelectronics,itispossibletocompletelykillthepack.Thisiswhywerecommend
thepacksremainpluggedinwhenevernotinuseformorethanafewdays.Thereisnoharminleavingthepackspluggedin,
butgreatharmiftheyareleftdischargedforextendedperiodsoftime.
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WhattypeofchargerandchargingprofileisusedintheLiFTPack?
TheonboardchargerisahighfrequencyBMScontrolleddevice.Itwillchargeatconstantcurrentuntilthepackvoltage
reaches28.55Vandthenuseafloatvoltageof28.55Vtofinishchargingandbalancing.
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Canalead‐acidchargerbeusedtochargetheFluxbattery?
FluxLiFTPacksrequireahigherchargingvoltagethanlead‐acidandcomewithanonboardcharger.Howeverinsome
instancesalead‐acidchargercanbeusedtopartiallychargetheLiFTPack–butforoptimalperformance,alwaysusethe
onboardcharger.
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IsthechargerCEC(CaliforniaEnergyCommission)approved/rated?
InternalchargersareexemptfromneedingCECapproval(mobileplatform)andtheexternalchargerisexemptuntilFeb.1
st
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2017.
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HowmuchcurrentdoestheLiFTPackonboardchargerdraw?
Itisa775Wcharger,sothecurrentdrawisdependentonthesuppliedvoltage.Ifthesocketsupplies130V,thechargerwill
draw5.9A.Ifthewallsocketsupplies110V,thechargerwilldrawapproximately7A.StandardUSelectricaloutletssupplya
rangeofvoltagesdependingonthedistancefromthetransformer.
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Whattypeofcordisusedforcharging?
Aregular120VACextensioncordisusedforcharging.TheLiFTPackshipswitha10ftcord.Thechargerrequires105‐130Vto
functionproperly,souseawiresizingguideifyouwishtousealongerextensioncord.
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5FAQ
FA
Q
Atwhatdepthofdischarge(DOD)doesthebatteryexperience1cycle?
Thereisnopointatwhichadischargecountsas1cycle.Eachcycleputswearonthebatteryproportionaltoitsdepthof
discharge.Ifthebatteryisdischargedto80%everycycle,itwilllast~2000cycles.Ifthebatteryiscycledat70%DOD,the
batterywilllast~3,000cycles.
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Thishasanonlineareffectonthetotalamp‐houroutputofthebatteryoveritslifetime.ThesmallertheDODis,thelarger
thetotalAhoutputofthebatteryis.Comparingthelifetimeoutputoftwo100Ahbatteriesat80%and70%DOD,thetotal
Ahoutputcanbeidealizedbythefollowing:
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100Ah*0.8DOD*2000=160,000Ahtotaloutput,
100Ah*0.7DOD*3000=210,000Ahtotaloutput.
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Inrealitythetotallifetimeoutputnumberswillbeclosertogether,asfactorssuchasbatteryagingarenotbeingconsidered,
howeverthe70%DODbatterywillstilloutputmoreAhoveritslifetime.Thisisthemainreasonwhyopportunitychargingis
aperfectfitforLiFTPacks.
CELLCHEMISTRYANDCONSTRUCTION
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WhattypesofLithium‐ionchemistriesareavailable,andwhydoweuseLiFePO
4
?
Thereareanumberofdifferentchemistriesavailable.FluxusesLiFePO
4
duetoitslongcyclelife,lowcostofownership,
thermalstability,andhighpoweroutput.BelowisachartwhichprovidessomeinformationonalternativeLithium‐ion
chemistries.

SpecificationsLi‐cobalt
LiCoO
2
(LCO)
Li‐manganese
LiMn
2
O
4
(LMO)
Li‐phosphate
LiFePO
4
(LFP)
NMC
1

LiNiMnCoO
2

Voltage3.60V3.80V3.30V3.60/3.70V
Chargelimit4.20V4.20V3.60V4.20V
Cyclelife5005002,0002,000
Operating
temperature
AverageAverageGoodGood
Specificenergy150–190Wh/kg100–135Wh/kg90–120Wh/kg140‐180Wh/kg
Loading1C10C,40Cpulse35Ccontinuous10C
SafetyAverage.AverageVerysafeSaferthanLi‐cobalt.
Thermal.runaway150°C
(302°F)
250°C
(482°F)
270°C
(518°F)
210°C
(410°F)
*BatteryUniversity
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