Victron energy Blue Power 12/15 User manual

Manual
EN
Handleiding
NL
Manuel
FR
Anleitung
DE
Manual
ES
Användarhandbok
SE
Appendix
Blue Power IP22 Charger
One (1) or three (3) outputs
12/15 24/08
12/20 24/12
12/30 24/16

EN NL FR DE ES SE
Content
1. Quick user guide...................................................................1
2. ‘Must know’ features and facts............................................3
2.1 Ultra high efficiency ‘green’ battery charger 3
2.2 Durable, safe and silent 3
2.3 Temperature compensated charging 3
2.4 Adaptive Battery Management 3
2.5 Storage mode: less corrosion of the positive
plates 4
2.6 Reconditioning 4
2.7 Lithium-ion (LiFePO₄) batteries 4
3. Charge algorithms ................................................................5
3.1 Smart charge algorithm with optional
reconditioning for lead-acid batteries 5
3.2 Lithium-ion (LiFePO₄) batteries 7
3.3 When a load is connected to the battery 7
3.4 Triggering a new charge cycle 7
3.5 Estimating charge time 8
3.6 High internal resistance 8
3.7 Can be used as a power supply 8
4. Technical specifications..........Error! Bookmark not defined.

Safety instructions
•Always provide proper ventilation during charging.
•Avoid covering the charger.
•Never try to charge non-rechargeable or frozen batteries.
•Never place the charger on top of the battery when
charging.
•Prevent sparks close to the battery. A battery being charged
could emit explosive gasses.
•Battery acid is corrosive. Rinse immediately with water if
acid comes into contact with skin.
•This appliance is not designed for use by young children or
people who cannot read or understand the manual unless
they are under the supervision of a responsible person to
ensure that they can use the battery charger safely. Store
and use the battery charger out of the reach of children, and
ensure that children cannot play with the charger.
•Connection to the mains supply must be in accordance with
the national regulations for electrical installations. In case of
a damaged supply cord please contact the manufacturer or
your service agent.
•The charger must only be plugged in an earthed socket.

1
EN NL FR DE ES SE
1. Quick user guide
A. Connect the charger to the battery or batteries (see figure 1).
B. Connect the charger to the wall socket. The BULK LED will
indicate that the mains cable is connected to the wall socket.
C. If required, press the MODE-button to select another charging
algorithm (the charger remembers the mode when disconnected
from the mains and/or the battery).
If reconditioning is selected, the RECONDITION LED will be on,
and will flash when reconditioning is active.
The charger switches to NIGHT by pressing the MODE button
during 3 seconds. The NIGHT LED will turn on. The NIGHT mode
automatically ends after 8 hours, and can be ended earlier by
again pressing the MODE button during 3 seconds.
The charger switches to LOW by pressing the MODE button
during 6 seconds. The NIGHT LED will blink twice per second.
The LOW mode remains activated until the MODE button is
pressed again during 6 seconds.
When NIGHT or LOW are on, the output current is reduced to
max. 50% of the nominal output and the charger will be totally
noiseless.
D. The battery is about 80% charged and ready for use when the
absorption LED switches on.
E. The battery is fully charged when the FLOAT or STORAGE
LED is on.
F. Stop charging at any time by interrupting the AC supply.

2
Figure 1

3
EN NL FR DE ES SE
2. ‘Must know’ features and facts
2.1 Ultra high efficiency ‘green’ battery charger
With up to 95% efficiency, these chargers generate up to four
times less heat when compared to the industry standard.
And once the battery is fully charged, power consumption
reduces to 0,5 Watt, some five to ten times better than the
industry standard.
2.2 Durable, safe and silent
- Low thermal stress on the electronic components.
- Protection against overheating: the output current will
reduce as temperature increases up to 60°C, but the
charger will not fail.
- When the NIGHT or LOW mode are activated, the
maximum output current is reduced to 50% of nominal, and
the fan will be off.
2.3 Temperature compensated charging
The optimal charge voltage of a lead-acid battery varies inversely
with temperature. The Blue Power IP22 Charger measures
ambient temperature during the test phase and compensates for
temperature during the charge process. The temperature is
measured again when the charger is in low current mode during
float or storage. Special settings for a cold or hot environment are
therefore not needed.
2.4 Adaptive Battery Management
Lead-acid batteries should be charged in three stages, which are
[1] bulk or constant-current charge,
[2] absorption or topping
charge and [3] float charge.
Several hours of absorption charge are needed to fully charge the
battery and prevent early failure to sulfation¹.
The relatively high voltage during absorption does however
accelerate aging due to grid corrosion on the positive plates.
Adaptive Battery Management limits corrosion by reducing
absorption time when possible, that is: when charging a battery
that is already (nearly) fully charged.

4
2.5 Storage mode: less corrosion of the positive plates
Even the lower float charge voltage that follows the absorption
period will cause grid corrosion. It is therefore essential to reduce
the charge voltage even further when the battery remains
connected to the charger during more than 48 hours.
2.6 Reconditioning
A lead-acid battery that has been insufficiently charged or has
been left discharged during days or weeks will deteriorate due to
sulfation¹. If caught in time, sulfation can sometimes be partially
reversed by charging the battery with low current up to a higher
voltage.
Remarks:
a) Reconditioning should be applied only occasionally to flat plate VRLA
(gel and AGM) batteries because the resulting gassing will dry out the
electrolyte.
b) Cylindrical cell VRLA batteries build more internal pressure before
gassing and will therefore lose less water when subjected to
reconditioning. Some manufacturers of cylindrical cell batteries
therefore recommend the reconditioning setting in case of cyclic
application.
c) Reconditioning can be applied to flooded batteries to ‘equalise’ the
cells and to prevent acid stratification.
d) Some battery charger manufactures recommend pulse charging to
reverse sulfation. However, most battery experts agree that there is
no conclusive proof that pulse charging works any better than low
current / high voltage charging. This is confirmed by our own tests.
2.7 Lithium-ion (LiFePO₄) batteries
NEVER attempt to charge a Li-ion battery when its temperature is
below 0°C.
¹ For more information about batteries, please refer to our book ‘Energy
Unlimited’ (downloadable from www.victronenergy.com),or
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/sulfation_and_how_to_prevent_it
² For more information about Li-ion batteries please see
http://www.victronenergy.com/batteries/lithium-battery-12,8v/

5
EN NL FR DE ES SE
3. Charge algorithms
3.1 Smart charge algorithm with optional reconditioning for
lead-acid batteries
Charge voltages at room temperature:
MODE
ABS
V
FLOAT
V
STORAGE
V
RECONDITION
Max V@% of Inom
NORMAL
14,4
13,8
13,2
16,2@8%, max 1h
HIGH
14,7
13,8
13,2
16,5@8%, max 1h
LI-ION
14,2
13,5
13,5
n.a.
For 24V chargers: multiply all voltage values by 2.
NORMAL (14,4V): recommended for flooded flat plate lead
antimony batteries (starter batteries), flat plate gel and AGM
batteries.
HIGH (14,7V): recommended for flooded lead calcium batteries,
Optima spiral cell batteries and Odyssey batteries.
The MODE button
After connecting the charger to the AC supply, press the MODE-
button to select another charging algorithm if required (the
charger remembers the mode when disconnected from the mains
and/or the battery).
If reconditioning is selected, the RECONDITION LED will be on,
and will flash when reconditioning is active.
The charger switches to NIGHT by pressing the MODE button
during 3 seconds. The NIGHT LED will turn on. The NIGHT mode
automatically ends after 8 hours, and can be ended earlier by
again pressing the MODE button during 3 seconds.
The charger switches to LOW by pressing the MODE button
during 6 seconds. The NIGHT LED will blink twice per second.
The LOW mode remains activated until the MODE button is
pressed again during 6 seconds.
When NIGHT or LOW are on, the output current is reduced to
max. 50% of the nominal output and the charger will be totally
noiseless.

6
Seven step charge sequence for lead-acid batteries:
1. BULK
Charges the battery with maximum current until absorption
voltage is reached. The battery will then be about 80%
charged and is ready for use.
2. ABS - Absorption
Charges the battery at constant voltage and with
decreasing current until it is fully charged.
See table above for absorption voltage at room
temperature.
Adaptive battery management:
The absorption time is short (minimum 30 minutes) if the
battery was (nearly) fully charged and increases to 8 hours
in case of a deeply discharged battery.
3. RECONDITION
Optional reconditioning for deeply discharged lead-acid
batteries.
Reconditioning is applicable to the charge algorithms
NORMAL and HIGH and can be selected by pressing the
MODE button one more time after selection of the required
algorithm.
When in RECONDITION mode the battery will be charged
with low current up to a higher voltage at the end of the
absorption phase.
The RECONDITION LED will be on during charging, and
will blink during the reconditioning period.
During reconditioning the maximum current is equal to 8%
of the nominal current until the maximum voltage is
reached. Reconditioning is terminated after one hour or
when the maximum voltage is reached, whichever comes
first. See table.
Example:
For a 12/30 charger: the recondition current is
30 x 0,08 = 2,4A.