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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2016 14:47:03 GMT
First Post.
I have just installed a battery monitor and I am trying to set it up.
One of the setting requires the charger float voltage to be input. Any advice on what figure this should be? I have two solar regulators and a 20A mains operated battery charger feeding a bank of 440Ah (well it was when new anyway).
Thanks in advance.
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Post by Telemachus on Oct 22, 2016 15:33:32 GMT
Can you tell us the make/model of the batter monitor?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2016 15:46:21 GMT
Can you tell us the make/model of the batter monitor? Hi, Yes, it is a Xantrex Link-Pro. I have set the float voltage in the Xantrex to 13.8V.
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Post by loafer on Oct 22, 2016 15:48:32 GMT
Is this a monitor, or a charger CONTROLLER?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2016 15:50:17 GMT
Is this a monitor, or a charger CONTROLLER? It is a battery monitor, Xantrex Link-Pro
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Post by smileypete on Oct 22, 2016 15:55:50 GMT
The amp hour counting battery monitors can be (downright?) misleading if not set up properly So it can be useful to know how to monitor the batts with a voltmeter and ammeter as a backup, here's some tips how to do it: 1) Batteries in frequent use need a FULL charge at least weekly - other charging can be near full as practicable. 2) SO, what is a FULL charge, then? To paraphrase 'The Battery FAQ' (link): a) Charge voltage has reached the correct level as required by the manufacturer or supplier. b ) Charge current has tailed off to a steady low level, usually less than 1 to 2% of batt capacity in Ah - may take 6 to 8 hours! c) If a non sealed battery, it helps if the battery acid is fizzing gently at the end - a quick peek once in a blue moon will do. 3) Recharge when the batt voltage no longer recovers above 12.2V, or say 12.1V if running a few LED lights or 12V fridge. If the inverter starts beeping it's definitely time to recharge! That's about it really...
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Post by Graham on Oct 22, 2016 15:57:07 GMT
Hi, What Batteries are fitted and what is the float voltage the charger is set to?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2016 16:02:16 GMT
The amp hour counting battery monitors can be (downright?) misleading if not set up properly So it can be useful to know how to monitor the batts with a voltmeter and ammeter as a backup, here's some tips how to do it: 1) Batteries in frequent use need a FULL charge at least weekly - other charging can be near full as practicable. 2) SO, what is a FULL charge, then? To paraphrase 'The Battery FAQ' (link): a) Charge voltage has reached the correct level as required by the manufacturer or supplier. b ) Charge current has tailed off to a steady low level, usually less than 1 to 2% of batt capacity in Ah - may take 6 to 8 hours! c) If a non sealed battery, it helps if the battery acid is fizzing gently at the end - a quick peek once in a blue moon will do. 3) Recharge when the batt voltage no longer recovers above 12.2V, or say 12.1V if running a few LED lights or 12V fridge. If the inverter starts beeping it's definitely time to recharge! That's about it really...,, Many thanks for the tips. Hopefully the voltage and current reading on the newly installed monitor will be accurate, not sure about the rest of the readings, but will initially try and set it up as accurately as I can. I also have a stand-alone digital meter and Smartgauge.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2016 16:04:49 GMT
Hi, What Batteries are fitted and what is the float voltage the charger is set to? Hi, 4x 110 Ah cheap leisure batteries (not sure on manufacturer) fitted 2 months ago . The mains charger has a float voltage of 12.7 Volts.
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Post by smileypete on Oct 22, 2016 16:16:45 GMT
Smartgauge is good although not perfect. Smartguage is a little inaccurate when showing the batts under charge are '100%', an ammeter as used above is better. Also worth making sure the batt charge voltage is correct and the batts get a timely FULL charge as above, weekly if the batts are in daily use. The bog standard NON sealed leisures can be charged fine at 14.4V, the cheapo sealed ones can be a bit of a mixed bag, hmmm. For any well known brand of batt the correct charging voltage should be available from their website or tech support. For charging with a high power charge source I'd always recommend proper monitoring with an ammeter, and a clamp type DC ammeter can help identify poorly or failing batts. And welcome to Thunderboat.
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Post by Telemachus on Oct 22, 2016 16:32:51 GMT
Hi, What Batteries are fitted and what is the float voltage the charger is set to? Hi, 4x 110 Ah cheap leisure batteries (not sure on manufacturer) fitted 2 months ago . The mains charger has a float voltage of 12.7 Volts. 12.7 is very low, do you mean 13.7? Anyway the purpose of the float voltage setting on the monitor is so that it can tell the difference between still being on charge, and the slowly decaying voltage that happens when it's no longer on charge, and it's all to do with the way it synchronises itself to 100% State of Charge (SoC). The general idea is that the gauge will go to 100% SoC when the batteries are on charge (voltage above the set "float voltage") and the current has fallen below the % of capacity also set in the monitor (F1.1). If the set float voltage is too low in the monitor, when you stop charging mid-charge the current will fall to zero and the monitor will reset to 100% because the residual voltage is above the float setting. If it is set too high then the monitor may never get to 100% because when the charging float voltage falls below the set value, the monitor thinks the batteries are no longer in charge. The default is 13.2 which is probably a pretty good starting point, you can change it if you getbeither of the problems I mention above.
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Post by loafer on Oct 22, 2016 16:36:25 GMT
First Post. I have just installed a battery monitor and I am trying to set it up. One of the setting requires the charger float voltage to be input. Any advice on what figure this should be? I have two solar regulators and a 20A mains operated battery charger feeding a bank of 440Ah (well it was when new anyway). Thanks in advance. It doesn't really matter what you tell the monitor about float voltage. Unless you are on shore power, you shouldn't ever BE at float voltage so I believe it to be irrelevant. However, 13.8V is suitable only for tough batteries like Trojans. (I might be wrong there - the information is not to hand. If you're off-grid, the best way to charge is to keep charging until the charge current gets down to 1% of the bank capacity. At Absortpion voltage, not Float voltage! Some chargers can be prevented from ever switching to float voltage, which is a very good thing for off-grid boats. 12.7 seems to be too low for a float voltage for ANY sort of battery. It will barely increase charge! Nick, time for you to step in chum. EDIT Doh. I missed your previous post!
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Post by Telemachus on Oct 22, 2016 16:37:37 GMT
First Post. I have just installed a battery monitor and I am trying to set it up. Nick, time for you to step in chum. I just did!
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Post by loafer on Oct 22, 2016 16:38:23 GMT
Nick, time for you to step in chum. I just did! Yep! See my edit!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2016 16:38:47 GMT
Thanks for the welcome smileypete.
Not sure if I have a high power charge source! would you consider the battery monitor in question a suitable ammeter (assuming I have correctly installed it)?
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