Video: XMV

Video transcript

What the XMV does for a battery, how it is installed and connected, and how its charging programmes are set, run and read. A workshop or a test lab sees every kind of battery: single cells and large packs, lead-acid and lithium, and sulphated units that refuse a normal charge. A fixed charger knows one voltage and one curve. The XMV is programmable. A universal charger with IGBT hybrid control: two to 180 volts DC, up to 600 amps, 3 to 40 kilowatts, for lead-acid and lithium.

Portable units, on wheels, run from single phase at 3 or 6 kilowatts. Stationary units, 12 to 40 kilowatts, from 3 phase; the extended version reaches 180 volts. The stationary cabinet: the control panel at eye level, cooling grilles, and the DC cable at the bottom, which takes a certified connector fitted on site. The portable unit rolls on castors, with its DC connectors on the front. Three LEDs follow the charge: red for constant current, green for constant voltage, blue for a pause;

the 4th is the alarm. The display shows voltage, battery type, capacity, cells and programme. Then 3 keys, and the main switch. Indoors, in a ventilated, cool and dry place, on a non-combustible floor. 40 centimetres free all round. And never above or below the battery: its gases and acid would damage the charger. A stationary unit must first match the local supply.

With mains and battery disconnected, measure the mains voltage, open the cabinet and set the input terminal board: 400 or 230 volts. North American models also have a transformer tap. An electrician installs the supply, with its own fuses or breaker. With the supply isolated, the earth goes in first, then the 3 phases. The DC cable takes a certified connector: positive to positive, negative to negative. Plug in the battery, and the charge starts on its own.

The real panel, as a battery is plugged in: a beep, and the LED sequence. The display shows what the charger has read: voltage, type, ampere-hours, cells and programme. Hold modify for two seconds to change a value. Then it is ready, and the charge begins. The standard programme is IUI a. A constant current, 16 per cent of the capacity, up to 2.4 volts per cell. Then that voltage is held while the current falls.

At 5 per cent, a final step up to 2.65 volts. Then the green LED turns solid. Eight programmes, 7 from the factory: standard IUI a, with warm-up or refresh, and soft, medium or hard desulphation, from 6 to 18 hours at low current. Programme 7 adds a cooling pause and a standard charge. Each programme holds up to 6 steps: constant current, constant voltage or pause,

each with a maximum time, a current and a voltage per cell. The current is a percentage of the capacity, so one programme fits any battery. When the alarm LED stays solid, the display says why. High voltage: often a sulphated battery or a shorted cell. 80 per cent not reached: no gassing point in 12 hours. High temperature: it cools down, and resumes by itself. Depending on the control board: RS-232, USB and CAN bus. On a PC, the service software reads voltage, current, ampere-hours and time.

And it works with wireless battery identification modules. With an XD discharger, it becomes an automatic cycler, the XD combo: the XMV charges, the battery rests, the XD discharges it and measures the capacity, and the cycle repeats. Each discharge shows whether the recovery works. The rules around batteries: qualified people only, ventilation, no sparks or flames, and eye protection. Never unplug while an LED blinks: press stop first.

And disconnect mains and battery before opening the cabinet. Built for battery workshops, for formation and validation in production and in the lab, for balancing lithium packs, and, with the XD, for automatic cycling. Battery maintenance, from Amperis.