Question about Ancel BS200 Supercapacitor Battery Booster.

[WhiteBolt]

I just got an email from Ancel regarding their Easter sale. They're currently offering their BS200 12v battery booster on sale for $153 .... Ancel BS200
I'm wondering if this might work with our Lightning LVB. The fine print in the description states that EV's are not supported but does not explain why.
I assume it could be BMS compatibility but most modern ICE vehicles also use BMS modules.
All of its advertised features make it seem like a perfect add-on to improve the reliability and extend the life of the anemic LVB's in our trucks. It could possibly eliminate the unreliable OTA updates due to low battery SOC that many of us have experienced.
Does anyone here know why this booster would not be compatible with a 12v EV LVB?

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[Mach Turtle]

That email may have been well timed, being sent on the First of April...

Seriously, though: I would expect that a device such as that would supply some extra charge for starting an ICE engine, and that's all it would be designed to do. It wouldn't be very much extra charge, as supercapacitors store much less charge per size and weight than batteries, but that one quick jolt is what a starter motor needs. Not what an EV needs, though. We need a steady 12V over a long time, especially during updates. A bigger AGM battery and/or AGM float charger are what we need.

 

[chl]

I just got an email from Ancel regarding their Easter sale. They're currently offering their BS200 12v battery booster on sale for $153 .... Ancel BS200
I'm wondering if this might work with our Lightning LVB. The fine print in the description states that EV's are not supported but does not explain why.
I assume it could be BMS compatibility but most modern ICE vehicles also use BMS modules.
All of its advertised features make it seem like a perfect add-on to improve the reliability and extend the life of the anemic LVB's in our trucks. It could possibly eliminate the unreliable OTA updates due to low battery SOC that many of us have experienced.
Does anyone here know why this booster would not be compatible with a 12v EV LVB?

A $40 battery maintainer used on a daily basis would be a sure thing.

 

[WhiteBolt]

A $40 battery maintainer used on a daily basis would be a sure thing.

Currently I'm using a NOCO Genius 2D Smart Onboard Battery Charger but it's a pain to open the frunk to unplug it every time I want to drive my truck. I'm a little concerned a frunk motor or the latching system will wear out prematurely from daily operation.

 

[Adventureboy]

Currently I'm using a NOCO Genius 2D Smart Onboard Battery Charger but it's a pain to open the frunk to unplug it every time I want to drive my truck. I'm a little concerned a frunk motor or the latching system will wear out prematurely from daily operation.

I installed an RV 120v input port in the lower part of the grill. Solved the problem. Now I can plug/unplug any time without opening the frunk.

 

[Rollin]

I installed an RV 120v input port in the lower part of the grill. Solved the problem. Now I can plug/unplug any time without opening the frunk.

Can you take a picture showing where you installed the 120 V port? Thanks

 

[fhteagle]

Whats the self discharge rate of their supercaps?

 

[chl]

Currently I'm using a NOCO Genius 2D Smart Onboard Battery Charger but it's a pain to open the frunk to unplug it every time I want to drive my truck. I'm a little concerned a frunk motor or the latching system will wear out prematurely from daily operation.

You could do what many of us have and run a charging wire to a more convenient location, posts
about how to make it easier by adding a trickle charger wire:

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/threads/charging-12v-battery.16979/

What I did:

 

[mountainbro]

You could do what many of us have and run a charging wire to a more convenient location, posts
about how to make it easier by adding a trickle charger wire:

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/threads/charging-12v-battery.16979/

What I did:

This is an excellent idea and nicely installed.

I just picked up a 25 Flash yesterday and I will be doing this immediately. The truck will sit for several days each week, and temperatures do get very cold here.

I haven't taken a peek behind the plastic panels in the frunk. Do you recall how tricky it was to route the cabling from the LVB to the charge port? I have a 5 amp Battery Tender I'm planning on hooking up this way.

Thanks!

 

[chl]

This is an excellent idea and nicely installed.

I just picked up a 25 Flash yesterday and I will be doing this immediately. The truck will sit for several days each week, and temperatures do get very cold here.

I haven't taken a peek behind the plastic panels in the frunk. Do you recall how tricky it was to route the cabling from the LVB to the charge port? I have a 5 amp Battery Tender I'm planning on hooking up this way.

Thanks!

Not hard to do, I could reach in when the Frunk was raised along the inside of the opening where the support strut is:

I could feel the plastic next to where the charge port hinge is and tell that there were no obstructions or wires to worry about there. Other folks have actually temporarily removed the charge port for the install.

I used an old SAE cable I had from left over from an old maintainer, but they sell them on Amazon if you need one. To keep the hole as small as possible I cut the clamps that were on the old wire off and fed the wire through the hole then grabbed it from inside and routed it so that the opening and closing of the frunk would not impact it, then tossed it towards the battery area through an opening inside there. Then from inside the frunk I opened the battery cover and reached over to where I tossed the wire and pulled it over so I could splice on another piece of wire with ring terminals and a fuse.

The terminals take 6mm nuts available at any hardware store and there is plenty of room on top of the existing nuts to add them maintainer connection. The negative has to be downstream of the 12v BMS sensor like this:

You could also connect the negative wire to any convenient ground point. I have two sets of maintainer wires added because at first I had one inside the frunk with a socket in the battery compartment plastic cover, before I added the wire at the charge port so I would not need the frunk open to connect.

Of course be careful when connecting wires to the battery to avoid shorts or sparks, using gloves and eye protection just in case.

Others have done it like this or differently:
https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/threads/charging-12v-battery.16979/

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