Fogstar Drift and Battery Master

Kayak Kid

Kayak Kid

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Dec 20, 2013
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Kilsyth, Glasgow, UK
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I am fitting a Fogstar Drift 230ah Seat Base Lithium Battery

The Fogstar has an illuminated switch on it which puts the battery into hibernation.

Can anyone tell me if it is in hibernation mode ( the switch light off) will my Battery Master trickle charger still charge my vehicle battery?
 
I wouldn't expect it to. The battery is asleep and will not provide any output.
 
i dont know much maybe a silly question i am guessing if it reads voltage across the positive and neg
i would guess its not in hibernation
 
Thanks, I guess if I put a meter across the terminals it will tell me - but haven’t ventured out to do it given weather and time of year. Just hoped someone might know definitively to satisfy my curiosity before I get a chance to do it.
 
As you are in Scotland I would use an Ablemaile battery maintainer rather than a Batteymaster with Lithium.

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Hi Lenny

I already have the Battery Master connected to my Lead Acid LB.
Is it a problem to use it with the Lithium?

What is the reason you suggest the Abelmaile for Scotland?
 
Kayak Kid said:
Hi Lenny

I already have the Battery Master connected to my Lead Acid LB.
Is it a problem to use it with the Lithium?

What is the reason you suggest the Abelmaile for Scotland?
Click to expand...
I know a few people who have lost starter batteries with the Batterymaster in Scotland, even the Ablemail is not infallible with Lithium sometimes have to tweak the settings.
 
I presume you are referring to using solar? I don’t have solar - just fitting a Fogstar battery, Victron B2B and replacing charger with Victron Ip22 charger. I currently don’t do a huge amount of ‘off grid’ - so unlikely to need solar at the moment.

I understand that I will need to disconnect the R67 split charge from my CBE 12v distribution box to break the split charge ‘loop’ so as not to interfere with the B2B charger when driving. I was hoping to leave my Battery Master connected between the Lithium and vehicle battery to top up the latter while parked up at my home.

In Central Belt of Scotland - not much different in daylight/ sun to most of the U.K. these days anyway! 😊
 
We have a Battery Master from our lithium leisure battery and we also do not have solar panels.
There is a small drain on the lithium that you need to monitor (we have a SmartShunt) and you may need to charge the lithium leisure battery after several weeks depending on the capacity of your leisure battery.
Our 230Ah lithium would be good for at least 6 months like this with no charging but it would never get that much rest!
 
The lithium battery can be charged as required via our 230v hook up at our home - so it need not be run down greatly by a trickle to the vehicle battery via the Battery Master.

I just want to be sure that the vehicle battery is charged while parked at home - hence the Battery Master.
 
Back to your original question
I,m not familiar with the setting you mention but on the app on control panel can you change the setting on the charging and discharging to ON if so i would assume it will be working as it should.
 
Thanks for that! Just in process of doing the work - having a break for Christmas!🤣
I think I recall those settings on the app and will have a look in next couple of days

The switch I am referring to is a physical button on the top of the battery which can be pushed in, and lights blue or out for off! I believe it is to put the battery into hibernation. There is nothing via Fogstar to indicate what that actually means - other than to put it into hybernstion - whatever that means specifically.
 
Kayak Kid I have a pair of 105AH Fogstar Drifts.
They don't have a physical hibernate button but to put the batteries into hibernation Fogstar say to turn charge and discharge off in the app.
If discharge is turned off the battery won't power anything, including my battery master.
I would assume that pressing your hibernate button will have the same effect.
Easy way to test is to turn it off and put a multimeter on the battery terminals, I would expect that you would see zero volts.
 
Thanks for that- it is what I have suspected! For some reason the 230ah Drift Seat Base has a physical push button on the casing, as well as what you mention in the app!
As I mentioned previously, I will check it out in the next couple of days.
Merry Christmas!

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Kayak Kid said:
Thanks for that- it is what I have suspected! For some reason the 230ah Drift Seat Base has a physical push button on the casing, as well as what you mention in the app!
As I mentioned previously, I will check it out in the next couple of days.
Merry Christmas!
Click to expand...
Merry Xmas to you.
I had one of the new EV motorhomes for Xmas lol.
20231225_090248.jpg
 
It's powered by the latest chemistry batteries, Zinc Carbon.
You get 2 spare batteries to increase range.
20231225_103346.jpg
 
Kayak Kid said:
Thanks for that- it is what I have suspected! For some reason the 230ah Drift Seat Base has a physical push button on the casing, as well as what you mention in the app!
As I mentioned previously, I will check it out in the next couple of days.
Merry Christmas!
Click to expand...
My son has just got a 230Ah Fogstar seat base battery. We have just checked it and the button on the top does switch the battery off at the terminals. It goes from 12.8V to 2.4V (a high impedance digital meter will read some leakage voltage through the offload MOSFETs).
So it is effectively disconnected for loads and probably charging but not tested the latter.
When it's off, you can still access the BMS via Bluetooth.
 
That’s helpful to know -thanks.

That means when parked up at my home over the winter, it will need to be on in order for the Battery Master to draw a trickle charge to the starter battery. I will then give the Fogstar Lithium the occasional top up from the mains charger.

Cheers🍷
 
I think it's intended to wake it up if the BMS shuts down?
 

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