IMPORTANT! The BEQ1 products are discontinued.

The BEQ1 has been discontinued to redirect manufacturing resources to the Chassis Juicer and Motor Juicer. These are the products that Hot Juice Electric was incorporated to produce and it is time to pursue that endeavor.

We will continue to honor the BEQ1 warranty and provide service to BEQ1 customers. For more information see Ken's Blog.

Please feel free to contact us regarding other battery management options or any other related questions. Regards, Hot Juice Electric, LLC

Frequently Asked Questions

BEQ1 Downloads

BEQ1 Specifications

Important: The BEQ1 is designed exclusively for AGM batteries and chargers that employ a pulse finish profile.

The BEQ1 is a rugged, simple to use, economical shunt regulator that is designed to keep a series string of AGM batteries equalized by enhancing the recombinant charging phase. Instead of focusing on battery voltage or State Of Charge, the BEQ1 maintains the battery State Of Condition.

BEQ1 Battery Equalizer

Features:
• Rugged water-proof construction
• Small size - see BEQ1 Specifications
• LED's indicate operating conditions
• Over temperature protection and indication
•  Balances during recombinant phase
  •  Low regulator power disipation (9.5 Watts typical 23.5 Watts Max)
•  Very low quiescent power drain (300μA)
• Simple, effective operation

Operating with such low power, how effective can the BEQ1 be?
Click here for test results.

Note: At the time of installation (December 12, 2007), the current test pack was an old, mixed pack of Odyssey PC1200’s. It is unknown how many cycles were on the batteries when installed, but they were severely out of balance and very low on charge.

Since installation, this pack has logged 1,052 50% to 80% DOD cycles as of December 31, 2008. The pack is driven in all seasons from ice to weeks of 100+ degree temperatures every day. The pack is exercised very hard and is still going strong.

Note: For information regarding the Zivan V10 chip upgrade, contact Greg McCrea at Zivan USA. (Scroll to bottom of Zivan USA page for contact information).

How Does The BEQ1 Work?

The BEQ1 is not a typical shunt battery equalizer regulator. Instead, it works with a pulse phase charger to maintain the batteries State Of Condition. In this manner, State Of Charge equalization is automatic. Much like shoveling dirt: If your effort is spent filling the back of your shovel, the front half automatically fills itself.

With AGM batteries, a higher terminal voltage does not necessarily indicate a higher State Of Charge or capacity. Forcing equal voltage by shunt clamping or charge shuffling does not necessarily ensure all the batteries in the string are actually “equal”.

The object of the BEQ1 is to equalize the batteries State Of Condition. The BEQ1 is not a "brute force" voltage regulator; in fact it is not really intended to regulate voltage. It is designed to operate in the recombinant pulse phase of charging. Therefore, the BEQ1 is designed for AGM batteries charged with chargers that incorporate a Constant Current / Pulse Finish charger profile.

AGM batteries are sealed with the electrolyte absorbed in a glass mat that is squeezed very tight between the lead plates. Therefore, they must not vent gas or air pockets will form in the glass mat causing a loss of capacity. AGM batteries use a catalyst technology to recombine the gasses to prevent that loss. The recombination however occurs after a full bulk charge and with a low current high voltage final charge. The recombinant process is most effective when the voltage has reached approximately 2.6 volts per cell (15.6 Volts for 12 a volt battery), then is released. The recombination occurs while the voltage is dropping back down to the resting voltage. This process repeats continuously with a pulse ON for about one second and OFF for about five seconds. That is why the pulse charge is most effective. The efficiency of the process, however, degrades when the voltage exceeds 2.7 volts per cell (16.2 volts for 12 volt battery). The role of the BEQ1 is to reduce, but not eliminate, the pulse current in batteries over 15.6 volts. If it eliminated the current then that battery would not receive the full recombination process. This method has proven to be very effective in maintaining AGM battery condition and equalization. Some test results can be seen here. For more information, click here for a white paper PDF by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory regarding AGM recombination charging.

BEQ1 Operation:

When the voltage across a battery exceeds the BEQ1 voltage setpoint, it will turn on and conduct a portion of the charge pulse current. The yellow LIMIT LED on the BEQ1 will illuminate indicating the BEQ1 is on. At no time should all BEQ1s be on at the same time. This would indicate the wrong BEQ1s are installed or a charging error is occurring. To illustrate, if all batteries in the pack were in absolute perfect balance (within 0.09 volts), then no BEQ1 would turn on. Normally, about half the pack may have turned on BEQ1s.

The red OVER TEMP LED will illuminate if the BEQ1 temperature exceeds 100° C. This can occur if:

The battery’s impedance is too high (bad battery or lose battery terminal).
The State of Charge of another battery(s) in the string is too low compared to the rest of the batteries in the string.
Another battery(s) in the string has a shorted cell.
Insufficient airflow around the BEQ1.

Once tripped, the OVER TEMP circuit reduces the shunt current and is latched on until the voltage drops below the BEQ1’s setpoint. This means the charger should be turned down or off until the cause of over heating is determined.

BEQ1 installation example

Click to enlarge