Victron energy Blue Smart 12/4 User manual

Manual
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Appendix
Blue Smart IP65 Charger
12/4 24/5
12/5 24/8
12/7
12/10
12/15

1
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.
Children should be supervised to ensure that they do not
play with the appliance
•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 battery terminal not connected to the chassis has to be
connected first. The other connection is to be made to the
chassis, remote from the battery and fuel line. The battery
charger is then to be connected to the supply mains.
•After charging, disconnect the battery charger from the
supply mains. Then remove the chassis connection and
then the battery connection.

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1. Quick user guide
A. Connect the charger to the battery.
B. Connect the charger to the wall socket. The TEST LED will indicate that
the mains cable is connected to the wall socket.
All charge status LEDs will flash in case of reverse polarity connection,
short-circuit or if a 12V charger is connected to a 24V battery.
The TEST LED will flash as long as a charge pulse does not increase battery
voltage to more than 12,5V resp. 25V.
When the TEST LED is on continuously, proceed to C.
C. If required, press the MODE-button or, in case of a Smart charger, use a
Bluetooth Smart device to select another charge program.
When RECONDITION is selected in combination with NORMAL or HIGH;
the RECONDITION LED will be on, and the RECONDITION LED will flash
during reconditioning.
The charger can be switched to low current mode (see technical
specifications) by pressing the MODE button during 3 seconds. The MODE
LED will blink when in low current mode.
The low current mode remains activated until the MODE button is pressed
again during 3 seconds.
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 disconnecting the mains cable from the wall
socket.
Explanation icons

3
2. “Must know” features and facts
2.1 Blue Smart version only
Set-up, monitor and update the charger (add new features when
they become available) using Apple and Android smartphones,
tablets or other devices.
2.2 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.
2.3 Durable, safe and silent
- Low thermal stress on the electronic components.
- Protection against ingress of dust, water and chemicals.
- Protection against overheating: the output current will
reduce as temperature increases up to 60°C, but the
charger will not fail.
- The chargers are totally silent: no cooling fan or any other
moving parts.
2.4 Reverse polarity protected
Once the battery is connected, the charger immediately detects
voltage and polarity. If the battery is connected incorrectly, all
status-LEDs will start blinking. No sparks will occur.
2.5 Recovery function for fully discharged batteries
Most reverse polarity protected chargers will not recognize, and
therefore not recharge a battery which has been discharged to
zero or nearly zero Volts. The Blue Smart Charger however will
attempt to recharge a fully discharged battery with low current
and resume normal charging once sufficient voltage has
developed across the battery terminals.
2.6 Temperature compensated charging
The optimal charge voltage of a lead-acid battery varies inversely
with temperature. The Blue Smart IP65 Charger measures

4
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.
2.7 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.
2.8 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.
2.9 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.

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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
constant voltage charging. This is confirmed by our own tests.
2.10 Lithium-ion (LiFePO₄) batteries
Li-ion batteries do not suffer from sulfation.
But Li-ion batteries are very sensitive to under voltage or over
voltage².
Li-ion batteries therefore often have integrated cell balancing and
under voltage protection (UVP) circuitry.
Some reverse polarity protected chargers will not recognize a
battery when the UVP has tripped.
The Blue Smart Charger will however automatically reset the
UVP and start charging.
Important note:
NEVER attempt to charge a Li-ion battery when its
temperature is below 0°C.
2.11 Low current mode
Some lead acid batteries can overheat if charged with a current
exceeding 0,3C (C is the capacity in Ah. A 12Ah battery for
example should not be charged with a current exceeding
0,3 x 12 = 4A). The low current mode (charge current limited to
4A or less, see technical specifications) should therefore be used
to charge low capacity lead-acid batteries.
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_pr
event_it
² For more information about Li-ion batteries please see
http://www.victronenergy.com/batteries/lithium-battery-12,8v/

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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.
Eight step charge sequence for lead-acid batteries:
1. CHARGE/TEST
Tests if the battery can accept charge, even if the battery is
fully discharged (zero or nearly zero Volt across the
terminals).
All charge status LEDs will flash in case of reverse polarity
connection, short-circuit or if a 12V charger is connected to
a 24V battery.
The TEST LED will flash as long as a charge pulse does
not increase battery voltage to more than 12,5V resp. 25V.
If the flashing persists during several minutes the battery is
probably damaged (internal short-circuit): disconnect the
charger.
A false rejection may occur if a load is simultaneously
draining a very weak or fully discharged battery during the
test phase: disconnect the load and repeat the test.

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The charger can be switched to low current mode (see technical
specifications) by pressing the MODE button during 3 seconds. The
MODE LED will blink when in low current mode.
The low current mode remains activated until the MODE button is
pressed again during 3 seconds.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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 12/15 charger: the recondition current is
15 x 0,08 = 1,2A.
5. FLOAT
Keeps the battery at constant voltage and fully charged.

8
6. STORAGE
Keeps the battery at reduced constant voltage to limit
gassing and corrosion of the positive plates.
Slow self-discharge is prevented by an automatic weekly
refresh of the battery with a short absorption charge.
7. READY
The battery is fully charged when the FLOAT or STORAGE
LED is on.
8. REFRESH
Slow self-discharge is prevented by an automatic weekly
refresh of the battery with a short absorption charge.
3.2 Lithium-ion (LiFePO₄) batteries
When charging a Lithium-ion battery, the Blue Smart Charger
uses a specific charging algorithm for Lithium-ion batteries, to
ensure optimum performance. Select LI-ION with the mode
button.
3.3 When a load is connected to the battery
A load can be applied to the battery while charging, as long as
the current draw is much lower than the rated output of the
battery charger.
Reconditioning is not possible when a load is connected to the
battery.
Remarks:
a) Disconnect all loads before attempting to recharge a very
weak or fully discharged lead-acid battery. Loads may be
reconnected once the bulk phase has started.
b) Disconnect all loads before attempting to recharge a Li-ion
battery when the under voltage protection (UVP) of the
Li˗ion battery has tripped. Loads may be reconnected once
the bulk phase has started.

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3.4 Triggering a new charge cycle
A new charge cycle will start when:
a) The charger has reached float or storage, and, due to a
load, current increases up to maximum current during more
than four seconds.
b) The MODE button is pressed during charging.
c) The AC supply has been disconnected and reconnected.
3.5 Estimating charge time
A lead-acid battery is about 80% charged at the beginning of the
absorption period.
The time Tto 80% charged can be calculated as follows:
T = Ah / I
Where:
Iis the charge current (= charger output minus load current).
Ah is the amount of Ah to be charged.
A full absorption period of up to 8 hours is needed to charge the
battery to 100%.
Example:
Charge time to 80% of a fully discharged 100Ah battery when
charged with a 10A Blue Smart Charger: T = 100 / 10 = 10 hours
Charge time to 100%: 10 + 8 = 18 hours.
A Li-ion battery is more than 95% charged at the beginning of the
absorption period, and reaches 100% charge after approximately
30 minutes absorption charge.
3.6 High internal resistance
When a battery reaches the end of its cycle- or float life, or when
it dies prematurely due to sulfation or corrosion, capacity will
dramatically drop and internal resistance will increase. The
charger will not recognise such a battery during the test phase (it
could as well be a nearly fully charged battery).
A very short bulk phase when charging a supposedly discharged
battery does however indicate that the battery has reached the
end of its useful life.
Remark: sulfation can sometimes be partially reversed by