- Are there cell boards that have to be installed in addition to the BMS unit?
- If I have a battery pack with 48 cells in series, is a 48 cell BMS right for me?
- I have a battery pack with multiple cells in parallel and in series. What size BMS do I need?
- Can I use any hall effect current sensor with the Orion BMS?
- Can you tell me a bit about the current sensors that are recommended as add-on? i.e., what type and amperage range?
- What is the physical size of the OrionBMS?
- What display options are available for the Orion BMS?
- I have an number of cells that doesn't match with one of the size increments of the Orion BMS. Can I use the Orion BMS?
- What CANBUS speeds does the Orion BMS support?
- Does the Orion BMS use Standard (11 bits) or Extended (29 bits) CAN IDs?
- What is your CANBUS protocol?
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Rating: +3
Are there cell boards that have to be installed in addition to the BMS unit?
No. Everything is contained within the main BMS unit. Basically one wire per cell is installed from the battery pack to the central BMS (with one ground wire for every group of 12 cells.)
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Rating: +3
If I have a battery pack with 48 cells in series, is a 48 cell BMS right for me?
As long as the safety disconnect is between cells 36 and 37 and no other fuses that require 2.5kV isolation, then yes a 48 cell BMS is appropriate if you have 48 cells.
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Rating: +24
I have a battery pack with multiple cells in parallel and in series. What size BMS do I need?
A BMS with enough cell taps for each cell in series is required. If you have a battery pack with 100 cells total with 50 in series (and 2 in parallel) at each level, then you would need a BMS with at least 50 cells. You may need more than 50 cells depending on where any safety disconnects or isolation barriers are placed (see the above question for more information.)
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Rating: +11
Can I use any hall effect current sensor with the Orion BMS?
We have carefully selected a few high quality hall effect current sensors that we support. Many cheaper sensors become very inaccurate at different temperatures, and therefore we strongly recommend the use of the current sensors sold with the BMS to maintain the full accuracy. Some other current sensors are supported such as the 2004-2009 OEM Toyota Prius current sensor. However, the accuracy of the system is reduced when used with those sensors.
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Rating: +7
Can you tell me a bit about the current sensors that are recommended as add-on? i.e., what type and amperage range?
The current sensors used with the Orion BMS are automotive grade sensors manufactured by LEM. The current sensors were carefully selected for their accuracy and stability across the full automotive temperature spectrum. Each current sensor module actually contains 2 independent current sensors of different sizes - one smaller and one larger. This is used to dramatically increase accuracy at lower amperage where large current sensors usually suffer greater inaccuracy. Additionally, the 2 sensor values are compared by the BMS to detect current sensor errors.
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Rating: -2
What is the physical size of the OrionBMS?
The standard enclosure (12 - 108 cells models) is 9.54" x 6.85" x 3.23" (240mm x 174mm x 82mm.) The extended enclosure (120 to 180 cell models) is 15.98" x 6.85" x 3.23" (406mm x 174mm x 82mm.) The full mechanical drawings and 3D files for both size enclosures are available on the downloads page of this site.
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Rating: +16
What display options are available for the Orion BMS?
There are two common displays that the Orion BMS works with. One is called Torque (www.torque-bhp.com : an Android application that uses an OBD2 to Bluetooth device to communicate) and the other is called Scangauge (www.scangauge.com). Both displays work out-of-the-box with the Orion BMS due to it's support of OBD-II protocols.
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Rating: +2
I have an number of cells that doesn't match with one of the size increments of the Orion BMS. Can I use the Orion BMS?
Yes. Simply choose a unit which supports more cells than you have and you can setup the profile to ignore the extra cells. For example, a 108 cell Orion BMS can be used to monitor any number of cells less than 108.
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Rating: +10
What CANBUS speeds does the Orion BMS support?
The Orion BMS supports 125, 250, 500 and 1000 kBps speeds.
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Rating: +4
Does the Orion BMS use Standard (11 bits) or Extended (29 bits) CAN IDs?
Both standard and extended IDs are supported (configurable using the BMS utility.)
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Rating: +17
What is your CANBUS protocol?
Both the standard Orion BMS and the Orion Jr BMS feature a fully programmable CANBUS protocol, meaning that everything, including the structure and frequency of the CANBUS messages, is programmable. The protocol can be field-programmed by the installer by using the CANBUS message editor in the BMS utility (under the CANBUS settings tab). Data may also be requested from the BMS unit via the CANBUS interface. For more information please see this application note: http://www.orionbms.com/general/retrieving-data-obd2-canbus/.
