Classic 150 + Iota DLS-55IQ4 + Midnite Battery Condition Monitor

hemmjo

I am heading down next week to the mission I work with to upgrade the system I installed last year, and install another one, almost identical, in a different set of buildings.

I will correct the issues you pointed out in the last system after I installed it. In addition I going to install Iota DLS-55IQ4 chargers and MNBCM's so the staff know when to use the Honda eu2000i generator.

The MNBCM uses battery voltage and time to determine if the batteries have received a full charge. For flooded batteries it must reach 14.7v for 2 hours. Here at home, in my garage, I have hooked up the charger, a used auto battery, and the MNBCM. The battery is about 4 years old, from my daughters car. It is a group 24, 875amp battery abiout 4 years old. It works, I put a new one in as I did not want her to be stranded someplace with an old battery. With this set up the MNBCM as never reached full charge status. I had it hooked up for a week. The jumper on the MNBCM is set to flooded.

The blinking of the IQ4 led on the DLS-55 indicates it is cycling though the Bulk, Absorb, and Float stages. I did not record the voltages for each stage, but the highest I saw in Bulk was in the range of 14.5v.

Thinking maybe the battery was not discharged enough for the charger to run through a full charging cycle. I hooked up the inverter and used an 800 watt heat gun to pull the battery down to 11.6 volts, then turned on the charger.

Perhaps the battery I am using for this test is too small or the charger too big, it will not allow charger to run at the higher voltage long enough to reset the full charge clock?

After doing this test, and searching for solutions, I found the Iota document, "Charging Flooded Lead Acid Batteries for Long Life”. It shows “typical voltages” for each stage. For a 12v system, bulk = 14.8, absorb=14.2, float =13.6. Is this correct? From what I understand about the DLS charger, bulk starts out lower V and higher A, then as the battery "fills up", voltage increases as amps drop off. Then at a certain set point it switches from Bulk to Absorb, then the DLS runs Absorb for the same length it time it was in bulk before switching to float.

After reading the Iota document I am concerned that we have been undercharging the existing batteries for a year. The staff has been reporting SG readings but they are suspect as I even have a difficult time with the Brady Hydrometer. I am taking them a MidNite Hydrovolt this trip.

This got to be rambling. My questions are;

Is the IOTA charger adjustable, I did not see anything about that in the instructions?

I see where to set Absorb, Float and Equalize on the CC150 but not bulk. It seems that it switches from Bulk to Absorb when the voltage gets to the Absorb set point. If I set Absorb at 14.8v, that is contrary to the Iota suggestion of 14.2v. Is the Absorb volts number where it switches from Bulk to Absorb or is that the voltage level the 150 maintains during absorb? What am I missing?

Thanks,

John

westbranch

John, I think the following has been covered but I will repeat it to make sure it is clear... In normal PV systems one uses a gen & charger to BULK charge and the solar input to do the ABSORB and FLOAT portions of the charge cycle. the reason for this is that BULK is the stage that makes most efficient use of the gen run time and will keep the load in the 50% load range, once absorb is reached the charger will start to back off and lessen the load on the gen. , thus wasting fuel as the load drops below 50%, float is even worse for efficiency... Generally the only time you would use the gen for Absorbb/Float is if the sun had not been seen for > 3 days and the battery had been severely depleted...

As for the Absorb charge settings, what does the battery maker specify?

hemmjo

That makes perfect sense. I do recall now that I read that in here. So what I will do is teach the staff to watch the IQ4 led on the charger, maybe let it run 30 min after it switches from bulk to absorb? Or would you shut the generator off as soon as the bulk phase has finished?

Since the charger will be hooked up on the controller side of the WhizBangJr current monitor, will the CL150 keep track of the voltage and amps from the Iota charger? If so I can give them a number, "when you are using the generator watch the CL150 display, when the numbers get to XX shut the generator off.

I also plan to have them turn off the inverter and run the building circuit, for refrigeration only, from the generator when it is running.

I have not yet found the specifications for the batteries. As I understand from our staff in country, they have found "Baterias Trace 240amp@20H GC2-T235". This if from a quote we got from Trace International in Santiago, RD. I have searched for specifications, but have found none matching this model number. I am hoping Trace will have that information, but I am not going to get there when the batteries are picked up.

Any experience with these Trace batteries?

The set we have that is a year old are Interstate GC2-XHD-UT 6-Volt

Thanks,

John

westbranch

I found this brochure that tells all you need to know for a good charge of you Interstate GC batteries... see page 2... http://www.interstatedealers.com/pdf/201535.pdf

BB.

As I understand, the Iota chargers are not adjustable--But the top cover can be removed and there is a 10 turn pot that allows you some adjustment of the charging voltage range.

Thanks to BlackCherry04: [h=3]IOTA charger Potentiometer[/h]
-Bill