Charging Lithium Car Batteries Charger, Tips and Fast Charge

Can you charge lithium car batteries with a lead acid charger?

As a rule; you can use a lead acid charger to charge a lithium-ion battery as long as that charger does not have an automatic equalization mode. However, in the case of car batteries or electric vehicles batteries in general, using a lead acid charger can lead to catastrophic results. The Lithium car batteries are made -due to their large capacities- in a way that is different from the traditional lithium and lithium ion batteries. Using the designated chargers provided by the manufacturers that are installed in homes or in charging stations is the only safe way to charge a Lithium car battery.

How do you charge a lithium car battery?

Charging Lithium car batteries is done mainly in what is called a charging station. An Electric vehicle charging station, which is also known as EV charging station, is a station that provides your lithium car batteries with the electrical power to recharge. They are present all around the world and can provide full charge to your Lithium car battery in only 20 to 30 minutes. The charging station is a growing business throughout the entire world, and more countries are adjusting their infrastructure to accommodate them.

Another form of charging your Lithium car batteries is home chargers. These are chargers that are installed in your own home that provides your car battery with juice. However, they provide less electrical power than the charging station. Full power charge via home charger might take more than 12 hours to reach.

Home chargers are divided into more than one type. They are:

Domestic socket and extension cord

This is a mode where the car is connected to the power grid via standard socket outlets that are present in the residences.

Domestic socket and cable with a protection device

This mode the vehicles are connected to the main power grid via residence socket outlets. However and additional protection device is built into the cable.

Specific socket installed on a dedicated circuit

In this mode, the vehicle is connected directly to the electrical network of the city via a specific socket that is installed in the residence attached to a dedicated circuit.

Direct current connection

This mode is used for fast charging your vehicle. The vehicle is connected to the main power grid via an external charger.

How do you fast charge a lithium car battery?

The best way to fast charge your lithium car battery is to head down to any public charging station. Some Tesla charging stations are called superchargers, where they provide your lithium car battery with fast charging. New technologies are invented every day to decrease the amount of time a single charge takes. Tesla company holds the record up until now for fastest charge time, providing electric vehicles with an 80% charge in a span of only 18 minutes using their superchargers. There are new researches as of 2019, which can make this time decrease to almost 9 minutes. The new researches suggest fluctuating battery temperature while charging which in return accelerates the chemical reactions inside the lithium car battery decreasing charging time. However, as the changing temperature is a dangerous thing to do, researches now focus on finding safe ways to do that without breaking any of the internal components of the lithium battery.

There is also a fast home charging option but that would require the installation of a DC connection. In this method, the DC fast charging method bypasses all of the limitations of the onboard charger and conversion. Instead the system provides power directly to car battery. Charging times, however, are dependent on many factors such as battery capacity. However, using the DC method, most vehicles can have an 80% charge in approximately one hour.

Another thing you can do to fast charge your lithium car battery is to order a custom rapid charger to your home. Installing a 50kW rapid charger in your home will provide your car battery with an additional 100 miles range in under 35 minutes. It is important to remember that charging your lithium car battery is similar to charging your lithium phone battery. The larger the battery and the slower the charger the longer it will take. That is why the key for fast charging it to choose a charger suitable to the capacity of your battery. As of 2019, the largest battery capacity is found in the Tesla Model S (75 KWh). Tesla is also the only company that supports the 150kW rapid charger. That will provide the 75kWh battery with full charge (0 to 100%) in only one hour. Other companies like Nissan and Mitsubishi only support rapid chargers of a maximum of 50kW. That is why Tesla dominates the market until this moment.