LiPo Fuel Gauge for Non-Rechargeable Li Batteries?

Hi there,

I have a 3.6V non-rechargeable Lithium (LiSOCI2) battery and would like to monitor its charge (aka battery percentage). I'm aware of all the Lithium-ion/LiPo fuel gauges out there like the Sparkfun LiPo fuel gauge board and the Sparkfun LiPo Babysitter board. However, would the chemistry of the non-rechargeable Lithium battery I'm using require a different type of fuel gauge? I just want to know if I can grab an off-the-shelf LiPo fuel gauge and use it for my non-rechargeable Lithium battery.

And if I had to make my own, it looks like the MAX17201 would work for LiSOCI2 batteries per Table 1 of this Maxim page

Thanks!

Found an article about LiSOCl's here: https://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1322276

The discharge curve looks very flat - a coulomb counter is probably required, cell voltage is not
usable. For some reason Maxim seem reluctant to call their chips coulomb counters, which they
appear to be. Never heard 'fuel guage' used for anything but fuel before.

Yes, on the Maxim page it clearly states "The MAX17201 and MAX17211 (MAX172x1) are low-power fuel gauges with excellent coulomb counting and temperature and voltage measurement accuracy..." so it should do the trick. The circuitry seems minimal too, which is good :slight_smile:

I think I'll just go with that, thanks!

Coulomb counting usually only works on rechargable batteries.
It wont work on non rechargeables, as theres no way to measure the input charge.
You would have to assume some predefined charge state.

Ahh OK. Oh well, I'm just hoping this will work because the page says it supports LiSOCI2 batteries.

Did you manage to make the MAX17201 work well on the LiSOCL2 cells? I am having trouble with the configuration files giving me a good SOC reading when I program the dev kit.