Battery backfeeding into charger?

Steve961

I just finished connecting most of my electronics today, except for the solar panels, and thought I would test everything out. When I hooked up the battery, I noticed that the light on my Iota IQ4 Smart Controller was blinking. Is power supposed to backfeed into the charger? I'm a bit concerned that even a small power loss occurring 24/7 could impact my total available power - this is for a small off grid cabin.

Do I need to have some sort of inline switch to prevent this? I'm really hoping I don't, as I already installed an inline 40A fuse for it. It would also be a pain to have to manually turn the switch on and off when I use my generator.

Thanks.

Steve

dagr51

Re: Battery backfeeding into charger?

I have the same thing with a DLS-75 at my cabin (Michigan's U.P.). I haven't measured how much juice it uses, but I haven't noticed a problem. I do have it on a breaker, and I flip the switch when I leave.

If you find out what the power consumption is, I'd be interested in knowing.

Steve961

Re: Battery backfeeding into charger?

I contacted Iota Engineering today and asked this question of them. They said that the DLS-30 battery charger with the IQ4 Smart Charge Controller would only consume 1-2 milliamps of power. If I unplugged the IQ4 they said it would consume less than 1 milliamp. So, it would seem that this is a non-issue.

Steve

niel

Re: Battery backfeeding into charger?

can you confirm what they say to be true with a current measurement?

Steve961

Re: Battery backfeeding into charger?

Niel:

Unfortunately I do not have an Ammeter, so I will just have to take them at their word for now.