On Sat, Dec 17, 2011 at 02:38:33PM -0800, Mike wrote:
>
> Ben:
>
> When I first started using my Zivan NG-1 48 volt charger I noticed the voltage
> sometimes hitting 62 volts and was scared I might be damaging the AGM batteries
> too. I could not get a good answer if this was normal from the Zivan US Rep.
> So I rather than send my unit back for a $100 checkout I decided to buy another
> charger (wanted a spare anyway) I hooked it up. Same damn thing. 62 volts
> divided by 4 equals 15.5 volts. So it seems my Zivan charger is also pulsing
> the battery bank like you mentioned. When I installed my Dual Pro Quad I again
> see the battery bank voltage hit 62 volts before it stops charging. So it seems
> that the battery charger folks have figured out that the AGM's need a little
> high voltage pulsing to help with equalization issues. Was a little unerving at
> first since it seemed to violate the 14.4 volt "rule" but the bank seems to be
> doing well. Of course since I don't have an alternator all my charging has
> been done via 120 volt chargers with the Honda 2000 and/or wind and solar. I
> think you are right to be concerned about undercharging with the alternator.
> Maybe you should rely more on the battery charger rather than the alternator
> for most of your charging.
Thanks for the advice, Mike - that's exactly the kind of in-the-field
experience I was looking for! As I'd mentioned, MeanWell is a bit of a
PITA in that you have to send it back to them to adjust the charging
curve - I would be very happy if I could make the taper less steep and
the float current a bit higher. The engine is a bit more convenient,
since I don't have to hump gasoline to the boat, but using the Honda +
the MeanWell is quieter and a lot "smarter" charging, at least until I
get a decent external regulator. In any case, it seems that I have a
good bit of work to do on this system before it works well and smoothly.
I guess if it all worked well from the start, it wouldn't be a boat,
would it? :)
--
Ben Okopnik
-=-=-=-=-=-
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