- Sep 7, 2021
- 249
- 571
- Funster No
- 84,021
- MH
- Benivan 120
- Exp
- Since 2021
I've had the 105Ah Fogstar Drift battery in the van for about a month now and have worked out a few things that you can do with the app (some found by pure luck) that aren't obvious, so I thought I'd share them...
Note that these apply to the Android App - I assume the iOS one would be similar, but can't be sure.
1) You can rename the battery from 'Xiaoxang Bms'
Once you have connected to the battery in the App, press and hold on the name at the top of the screen above the charge meter dial. This brings up a box to allow you to rename the battery. If you have more than one, you can give them different names
2) You can set the app to auto-connect to your battery, rather than having to select it manually
In the first screen where it shows a list of nearby devices, once your battery appears, slide left on it and an 'Auto Connect' button will appear. Click on that and the app will try to auto connect to your device (seems to work best with a strong signal)
To cancel auto connect, repeat the slide left and click 'Auto Colse' (yep, it does say 'Colse', not 'Close').
3) If it gets stuck scanning for devices, try closing the app fully and opening it again.
On Android, press the square button at the bottom and then slide upwards on the app - that closes it fully so that it will start the app again from scratch the next time.
Other things to check/try :
* Make sure you are close enough!
* Make sure tha app has location permission as this is needed on Android to scan for bluetooth devices.
* Try putting your phone into airplane mode for a few seconds and then bring it back out of airplane mode.
4. Sort of storage mode
Lithium batteries degrade more quickly if left at full charge for long periods. If you have solar panels, they may keep your battery topped up to the maximum even in winter, especially if you are not using your van much.
Some batteries have a dedicated storage mode, which keeps them at about 70-80% charge. The Fogstar doesn't have that, but you *can* turn off charging on the app. As long as you don't have a big drain on the battery when the van is sitting idle, it will take days or weeks for the charge to drop much. I have done this for the winter and will turn charging back on when the battery gets down to 75% or so, then repeat.
Note that with charging switched off, you may see a lower than usual voltage on your van panel if the battery is lightly loaded (ie a couple of LED lights on). I think this is a side effect of how the circuitry stops the battery charging. As the load increases the voltage comes back to normal.
Hope this is helpful,
Robin
Note that these apply to the Android App - I assume the iOS one would be similar, but can't be sure.
1) You can rename the battery from 'Xiaoxang Bms'
Once you have connected to the battery in the App, press and hold on the name at the top of the screen above the charge meter dial. This brings up a box to allow you to rename the battery. If you have more than one, you can give them different names
2) You can set the app to auto-connect to your battery, rather than having to select it manually
In the first screen where it shows a list of nearby devices, once your battery appears, slide left on it and an 'Auto Connect' button will appear. Click on that and the app will try to auto connect to your device (seems to work best with a strong signal)
To cancel auto connect, repeat the slide left and click 'Auto Colse' (yep, it does say 'Colse', not 'Close').
3) If it gets stuck scanning for devices, try closing the app fully and opening it again.
On Android, press the square button at the bottom and then slide upwards on the app - that closes it fully so that it will start the app again from scratch the next time.
Other things to check/try :
* Make sure you are close enough!
* Make sure tha app has location permission as this is needed on Android to scan for bluetooth devices.
* Try putting your phone into airplane mode for a few seconds and then bring it back out of airplane mode.
4. Sort of storage mode
Lithium batteries degrade more quickly if left at full charge for long periods. If you have solar panels, they may keep your battery topped up to the maximum even in winter, especially if you are not using your van much.
Some batteries have a dedicated storage mode, which keeps them at about 70-80% charge. The Fogstar doesn't have that, but you *can* turn off charging on the app. As long as you don't have a big drain on the battery when the van is sitting idle, it will take days or weeks for the charge to drop much. I have done this for the winter and will turn charging back on when the battery gets down to 75% or so, then repeat.
Note that with charging switched off, you may see a lower than usual voltage on your van panel if the battery is lightly loaded (ie a couple of LED lights on). I think this is a side effect of how the circuitry stops the battery charging. As the load increases the voltage comes back to normal.
Hope this is helpful,
Robin
