Nov/27/2019

Increasing Safety when Working with Battery Modules and Packs

The modular and regenerative Battery Testers from REGATRON provide a unique and intelligent feature: Reverse Polarity Protection.

General Conditions of Battery Testing

Working with high power batteries creates several risks which must be thoroughly considered for a safe operation. Besides the well-known fact that voltages, currents and temperatures must be monitored and kept in a safe range, the connection of a battery to a load or battery tester also requires appropriate attention with regard to polarity and voltage levels.

The Solution

To increase personnel and equipment safety, REGATRON offers an intelligent option for the two major risk factors when physically connecting a battery to the battery tester. This very helpful option is called "RPP" (Reverse Polarity Protection) and addresses the following two safety hazards:

  • Sparks, fire, welding and damage to the battery and the battery tester as a result of connecting the battery with wrong polarity.
  • Sparks, possible welding and high inrush currents as a result of connecting electrical storage elements to the battery tester with unmatched voltage levels.

The option "RPP", which is built into the precisely engineered REGATRON Battery Tester, prevents damages related to an accidental reverse polarity connection between battery and battery tester. As a second and also very useful feature, it provides an overcurrent protection/soft start in the case of unmatched voltages between the tester and the battery/storage element.

Safety is Ensured

In "Voltage Off" state, the output stage of the REGATRON Battery Tester is isolated from the output clamps by means of an open power contactor. Connecting the battery to the tester even with reversed polarity is therefore without any risk in this state. Attempting to give a "Voltage ON" command with wrong polarity will block any further action and the battery tester will indicate "Wrong Polarity". 

If the applied voltage is of correct polarity but higher than the voltage set value (e.g. a charged battery is being connected), the battery tester’s output voltage will be automatically matched to the battery voltage in order to avoid high inrush currents at "Voltage ON".

Conclusion 

This unique feature for all applications related to electrical energy storage devices such as batteries, supercaps and capacitors makes REGATRON's Programmable Bidirectional DC Power Supplies well suited for safe testing.

 

We would welcome the opportunity to talk to you about your requirements! Should you have any questions, or need additional information, please don’t hesitate to contact us:

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