Battery and charge controller questions

rake1

You may remember my questions about my Surrette batteries and my charge controller. Well I got my new Xantrex c35 and 2 new Surrette 530 400ah batteries all hooked up and working good. I have it set the c-35 for 14.7v bulk and 13.1 float as per Surrette's settings.But remember I have a wind turbine also that puts out most days in 12 mph winds 1 to 4 amps but I have seen in real high winds as high as 22amps(real rare). My wind is controlled by my TS-60 in diversion load setting, It is set to dump at 15V(if not 15v it dumps my solar while in Bulk) Here is my concern assuming my c35 has my batteries in the float stage 13.1v. Now the wind comes up and lets say the turbine is producing 3 to 10 amps (could be more) Now my batteries are getting to much amperage for the float stage of the charge cycle, isn't this going to ruin my batteries? My other question is, is there any way to program my TS-60 in diversion mode so it will dump the excess power at my float of 13.1v? So in other words I need the TS-60 to work as a charge controller allow 15v in bulk but allow only 13.1v in float but also need it to dump when the voltage gets to high. I think this is not possible but must be some way to solve this problem. I have had this situation for two years now but didn't realize the way batteries should be charged until I came on this form. Now with the new expensive batteries it is a big concern.
PS what about using one controller to do both can this be done???

Volvo Farmer

Re: Battery and charge controller questions

I have my wind turbine set up in much the same way. Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about putting 10 amps into a pair of L16s, after they go through absorb, even for several hours. A C35 has a one hour fixed absorb time and I believe Surrette recommends at least two hours. It doesn't hurt the batteries to run them up towards 15V for a while, they just use a little more water. I bet if you watch your voltage when the C35 kicks into float, that little wind turbine wouldn't even push the batteries over 14.4V at 10A output.

rake1

Re: Battery and charge controller questions

One problem is they are at my camp and I may not be there for 3 weeks so there is a chance that they hit float for three weeks and are getting 15 volts on and off for three weeks with no load on the batteries.These are not L16 batteries they are s-530"s and yesterday at the camp very little sun 3amps C35 in float (according to my green light) wind only 2 to 3 amps and my trimetric was reading 15v and my ts-60 was dumping. This is what brought all this to the fore ground. But not only that if my batteries want to float at 13.1v my turbine is almost always adding an amp or two to the system so I know I will be over float most of the time. All thoughts are appreciated

stephendv

Re: Battery and charge controller questions

rake1 wrote: »

Here is my concern assuming my c35 has my batteries in the float stage 13.1v. Now the wind comes up and lets say the turbine is producing 3 to 10 amps (could be more) Now my batteries are getting to much amperage for the float stage of the charge cycle, isn't this going to ruin my batteries?

Nope, the TS-60 will just follow it's own programming for absorb and float which may be longer than the c35. So the c35 reaches float and cuts power from the panels so that the battery stays at 13.1V. The TS-60 probably still wants to absorb because it likely has a longer absorb time than 1 hour (can you confirm?). So the wind picks up and the ts-60 will let the batteries rise to their absorb voltage and will try and keep it there until absorb is finished. Meanwhile the c35 sees 14.7v, but it thinks the batteries should be at 13.1v, so all it does is cut power from the solar panels entirely.

rake1 wrote: »

My other question is, is there any way to program my TS-60 in diversion mode so it will dump the excess power at my float of 13.1v? So in other words I need the TS-60 to work as a charge controller allow 15v in bulk but allow only 13.1v in float but also need it to dump when the voltage gets to high. I think this is not possible but must be some way to solve this problem. I have had this situation for two years now but didn't realize the way batteries should be charged until I came on this form. Now with the new expensive batteries it is a big concern.
PS what about using one controller to do both can this be done???

You're going to get sick of me repeating the same mantra : If you have enough dump load and the total Amps of solar + wind will never be more than 60A then you can run everything off the tristar: http://scoraigwind.co.uk/installing-...a-wind-system/

And just to get the concepts clear, diversion controllers do not control the wind turbine. The wind turbine throws everything it has directly into the battery bank. All the diversion controller does is bleed off any excess from the batteries into its dump loads. So you don't need a regular charge controller + diversion controller at the same time. A diversion controller on it's own does everything you want as long as it's big enough.

rake1

Re: Battery and charge controller questions

stephendv I have another email to mornigstar because I believe you are correct with the ts-60 controlling both and I think the last email from them was wrong. Using the TS-60 for both would solve my problem providing I can figure out the wiring using a shunt and my trimetric display.

stephendv

Re: Battery and charge controller questions

All the info is on this page: http://scoraigwind.co.uk/installing-and-configuring-a-tristar-controller-for-a-wind-system/

rake1

Re: Battery and charge controller questions

correct me if I am wrong, In diversion mode I thought the absorb and float don't operate.

stephendv

Re: Battery and charge controller questions

rake1 wrote: »

correct me if I am wrong, In diversion mode I thought the absorb and float don't operate.

They both operate as normal. The controller would let the battery voltage rise to absorb voltage then start diverting excess power above absorb voltage to the resistors. When absorb has ended, the controller diverts more power to the resistors until the battery stays at float voltage.

The controller can take a power source and chop it up using PWM to produce less power. In normal mode, the input of the controller is connected to the PV and the output to the battery. So it takes the PV input power, chops it up and sends just the right amount to the battery.
In diversion mode, the input of the controller is connected to the battery and the output to the resistors. It takes excess power from the battery, chops it up using PWM and sends it to the resistors.
It's essentially doing the same thing in normal and diversion mode, just that the inputs and output are different.

rake1

Re: Battery and charge controller questions

Ok here is another question I want a RTS for the TS-60 will this one work. It takes so long to get something from the usa and I can this quickly.

Measurement range: -58 to 302 °F (-50 to 150 °C)
Cable length (L): 10 ft (3m)
Sensing tip material : washer type copper
Washer inner size: 6.2mm
Sensor type: Negative Temperature Coefficient Sensor
Type: 10K Ohm=25℃ B=3435

niel

Re: Battery and charge controller questions

you will need to buy the controller specific sensor as there are too many methods and variations that may be employed to determine the temp.

rake1

Re: Battery and charge controller questions

Thanks a lot niel