PL6 > 6S

[apper001]

Probably a dead horse

Any chance that PL6 can charge > 6S in the future with a firmware upgrade and hw upgrade?

Or can i swap my PL6's to PL8's with some extra cash....

[RedOctobyr]

I don't see how upgrading a 6S charger to 8S would be even remotely viable/cost effective.

I have not heard about an upgrade program. But they hold their value pretty well, on the used market. And you could buy a refurbished PL8, at the link I posted this morning.

Sent using Tapatalk.

[Gregor99]

Depending on the budget and power supply the best thing to do is just upgrade to two Powerlab8s or the DPL (when released) and sell the Powerlab6s.

[apper001]

Yeah will come to that.

BTW PS: what would be the nominal PS for the double PL8?

at the moment i have two 12Vx175Amp in reserve, would they fit?

[RedOctobyr]

With the 40A input limit, 24V will get you 960W max. I believe that is per channel, so 80A, 1920W total.

Since the input voltage limit has been raised to 48V, you can use additional supplies in series, for 36V or 48V. Per their specs, you need at least 40V input to get the full 1344W per channel, but that assumes you are running >6S and can therefore actually draw more than 1008W.

So if you are charging 6S, your supplies will just about get you the full output. You could add one more for 36V to max it out with 7S as well, as well as to avoid the buck/boost transition while charging. Or 2 more for 48V will give you full output with 8S.

Since you are on 230V (I think?), you may have some other options, if needed. I think there are some high power (~2000W?) 24V server power supplies that can be combined in series for super-powerful applications, but they require ~220V.

[Gregor99]

If you are referring to the DPL (vs two Powerlab8s) I would go to 36v or 48v input. Less current, and no issues with buck/ boost transitions.

[apper001]

Somehow i am not that keen on hanging 4x PS together...
The only PS which delivers 48V i know is an HP PS

[RedOctobyr]

Maybe the PS I'm trying to think of is that 48V one.

The question may come down to what cell count are you charging, and how many amps do you want, from each side of the charger? Your current two power supplies would basically max out the two halves of the charger, with 6S. You need >24V to max it out with 7S and 8S.

I'm assuming we're talking about the Dual PL8.

[apper001]

Well that one or two PL8's which might come available to me

[RedOctobyr]

The answer will obviously have to be different depending on your charger, what you want to charge, and how fast.

The standalone PL8 can only accept up to 32V. But 24V can max it out for up to 7S, and they say you'd get 36A output for 8S. I wouldn't upgrade your current power supplies, assuming you can run them in series for 24V. They will give you almost full power.

The Dual PL8 can accept up to 48V.

[Gregor99]

For the beta I did most of my testing with two 48v supplies in parallel. Used the DPS-1001AB supplies, choosen because they work on 120v AC. If you have access to 220v AC the HP ESP120. I haven't this supply and it has a resting voltage slightly above the DPL's limit of 48v. Max voltage is currently being evaluated and may be raised (no promises). Finally there is the Meanwell 48 supply which is very nice, compact and powerful.