Trace Battery Temperature Sensor

Out There

Calling all gurus and geeks! I have a technical question: I have a Trace battery temp sensor for my charge controller (15' cord) that some bone-head decided would be okay without the RJ-11 plug. I can easily replace the plug, but….. the wiring layout? Does that sensor use all four leads? If only two, is there a polarity I need to observe? I'd lust like to get this thing on there and working to improve charging.
Brian
(possibly a geek, but definitely not a guru)

westbranch

Re: Trace Battery Temperature Sensor

I remember a thread on RTS/ BTS's here or possibly on the MidNite forum. Have you tried a search for temperature sensor here? there are 8 pages of them.

Blackcherry04

Re: Trace Battery Temperature Sensor

I just did one, but if your is not the same don't blame me. The RED wire was not used and was cut off and not in the plug. At the thermosister the green and yellow were together and the black was by it's self.

Attachment not found.

boB

Re: Trace Battery Temperature Sensor

Only 2 wires are "necessary" and no polarity.

That temp sensor should be a 100K thermistor.

As I remember, the two middle wires of the phone cable are the 2 wires from the thermistor.

Also, nothing bad should happen if you get the wires messed up except that the charging
voltage will not be correct so watch for that.

PS, looking at the recent post with the 4 colored wires, the two wires on each side of center
may be connected together.

boB

Out There

Re: Trace Battery Temperature Sensor

Thanks, guys! Another question: I have both the C-40 controller AND the 4024 "power center". I have only one of these thermistors. The charge controller will be handling PV and wind. The inverter handles the generator. Should I give priority to one over the other? Is there a way to "share" the output of the thermistor with both chargers?
Brian

Also - can I just put an Ohm meter on the various wires to help me locate the thermistor leads?

Vic

Re: Trace Battery Temperature Sensor

O T,

Generally the CC would do most charging, most of the time, so that would place the CC in the priority position. I know of no sharing of BTSes on older Trace/Xantrex hardware.

Often folks only Bulk with the genset, and finish with solar. However, you may be very light on solar input, which could mean that the generator runs fairly often, and perhaps for longer periods than some systems (?).

Yes, a DMM should reveal which leads the Thermistor are connected to. The Thermistor would be about 100 K Ohms at 25 degree C (about 75F), based on bob's post of the value. Good Luck, Vic

Out There

Re: Trace Battery Temperature Sensor

Another question for all those with more experience than me (which includes just about everyone!): I'm planning a new battery enclosure (the old one was totally inadequate). The new one will have 2" insulating foam on all sides and will be vented to the outdoors (my electrical room is attached to, but separate from the main house). Now, this seems a simple issue, but my inexperience has not allowed me to come to a simple answer. If I have a vent to the outdoors for the hydrogen given off (especially during equalization), and hydrogen is lighter than air, then it seems simple that the vent needs to be at the top of the battery enclosure. So far, so good, right?
My battery cables run from the battery enclosure, through a 2-1/2" plastic conduit, through a DC junction box to the inverter above. What can I do to stop the lighter-than-air (and potentially corrosive) gasses from traveling up that 2-1/2" pipe instead of going out the vent I want to install? Do I need to extend the conduit down to a level below the tops of the batteries? Will that suffice?
As always, Thanks for all your experience and learned advice!
Brian

Blackcherry04

Re: Trace Battery Temperature Sensor

I keep a can of that spray foam , " Great Stuff " and seal all mine up. It keeps gas, water and critters out and is easy to remove if necessary. Clean the nozzle as soon as you can after you finish or you'll be throwing it away.

vtmaps

Re: Trace Battery Temperature Sensor

Out There wrote: »

Do I need to extend the conduit down to a level below the tops of the batteries? Will that suffice?

Yes. --vtMaps

Vic

Re: Trace Battery Temperature Sensor

O T,

If you make your battery box 8 - 10" taller on the inside than the tops of the batteries, then the battery cables can exit below the bottom of the vent to the outside, this helps keep Hydrogen and corrosive fumes away from the conduit.

Sealing the conduit is a very good idea. You might consider one or two inlets into the battery box from the outside, and make these at the very bottom of the batt box.

You might want to consider also having an outlet vent at the very highest part of the room with the batteries. In summer, an insulated box can allow more battery heat to be retained, causing the average battery temps to rise -- cooler batteries are generally better.

In Spring/Summer/Fall, leave the hinged lid for the battery box always open, and run A/C in the power room to keep the batts and electronics as cool as possible.

My opinions, Vic