Kid charger not charging

Started by clotus, March 21, 2018, 04:12:30 PM

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clotus

Hey guys I just installed The Kid charger with a 325-watt panel 24v panel into my RV.  I finished the install, followed the directions, turned it all on, and boom everything seems to be working great.  It was raining, but enough sun that the charger was making around 3-4 amps at 12 volts per the charger controller.

Here's my issues.  I installed a Bogart Trimetic battery meter.  The meter shows negative amp draw when using and positive when hooked onto shore power and charging.  However the trimetic meter did not show any input from the charger at all.  It did reflect the proper voltage that the charger was putting out on bulk. 

Is the meter installed correctly?  Is the Kid not functioning properly?  How can I verify the amps output at the battery to ensure the Kid is charging?  Thanks.

ClassicCrazy

#1
If the voltage is rising up to your Absorb setpoint then your Kid is charging.
I had a Trimetric and it was a bit fussy to set up.
One thing everyone will ask is if you only have one connection from one side of the battery to your shunt ( on negative connection )  ?
That means no other wires going to battery other than the one from shunt . All other connections would be on the other side of the shunt.
I would recommend getting the Whizbang and install it on your shunt  - it will also give you same thing that Trimetric will but you can read it right from the display of the Kid. 

Hard to really understand how your system is wired up unless you draw out a schematic or take a bunch of photos for others to diagnose.

Larry
system 1
Classic 150 , 5s3p  Kyocera 135watt , 12s Soneil 2v 540amp lead crystal for 24v pack , Outback 3524 inverter
system 2
 5s 135w Kyocero , 3s3p 270w Kyocera  to Classic 150 ,   8s Kyocera 225w to Hawkes Bay Jakiper 48v 15kwh LiFePO4 , Outback VFX 3648 inverter
system 3
KID / Brat portable

clotus

Well I feel stupid.  I did in fact have the negative cable directly onto the battery and not onto the proper side of the shunt.  Super simple fix and now all is working properly.  Thanks.

Side note I opted for the Trimetric for my batter meter instead of the wizbang for two reasons:

1) I am familiar with the Trimertic and like it

2) Most importantly the location of the Kid install does not make it easy to see whats going on at a glance.  The trimetic is mounted in an easy place to see

My buddy is going to do the same system, but he may go with the wizbang instead of the trimetric.

ClassicCrazy

Glad you found the problem .
Yes the Trimetric display is certainly better for taking a look at.
Not sure on the Kid but the one advantage that the Classic with the Whizbang has over the Trimetric is that it will temperature compensate the capacity of the battery reflected in the SOC . I think the Kid does that too but not 100% sure.  Not a real big deal anyway if your batteries stay at room temp  and don't get real cold. They both are fairly accurate once you get all the settings tweaked just right .

I forgot to mention one other advantage to having the Whizbang is that you can use ending amps to stop Absorb instead of using time. It is a better way to control . Also I don't remember which functions the load control has on Kid but there may be some that can use SOC and if you were using that it would also be an advantage. If you ever want to add a Whizbang you can install it on the shunt and also still use the Trimetric at the same time . So you still have some options in the future.

Larry
system 1
Classic 150 , 5s3p  Kyocera 135watt , 12s Soneil 2v 540amp lead crystal for 24v pack , Outback 3524 inverter
system 2
 5s 135w Kyocero , 3s3p 270w Kyocera  to Classic 150 ,   8s Kyocera 225w to Hawkes Bay Jakiper 48v 15kwh LiFePO4 , Outback VFX 3648 inverter
system 3
KID / Brat portable

Highflyer

Larry,

The Kid does comp for temp using the BTMS. 

PWM divert is the way I send power to my load.  It is SOC dependent.  You can also use float ON and OFF, as well as day, night (dusk to dawn), ect.  It is all in the manual.

Hope this helps.

Brian

The one thing is the one thing

ClassicCrazy

Quote from: Highflyer on March 24, 2018, 11:48:51 PM
Larry,

The Kid does comp for temp using the BTMS. 

PWM divert is the way I send power to my load.  It is SOC dependent.  You can also use float ON and OFF, as well as day, night (dusk to dawn), ect.  It is all in the manual.

Hope this helps.

Did you say in the other post that you divert to a water heater ? What voltage and wattage heating coil are you using ?

Larry
system 1
Classic 150 , 5s3p  Kyocera 135watt , 12s Soneil 2v 540amp lead crystal for 24v pack , Outback 3524 inverter
system 2
 5s 135w Kyocero , 3s3p 270w Kyocera  to Classic 150 ,   8s Kyocera 225w to Hawkes Bay Jakiper 48v 15kwh LiFePO4 , Outback VFX 3648 inverter
system 3
KID / Brat portable

Highflyer

Larry,
I  did say I was using a water heater as a divert load.  I am using a standard 120 volt element I got at the local hardware store.  I got the biggest one they had (I think it is 1500 watts) to get the lowest resistance possible because I am only sending 24 volts DC to it.

In 24 volt DC mode, it can only pull 3.8 amps, so it is never a danger to my system.  I use it to heat a aquaponics tank holding tilapia over winter for my ponds. 

The EE math for the amps matches the Kid's displayed amps drawn perfectly.  It provides enough heat to keep the water warm for the fish except for the coldest months when I need to add a little more heat, but otherwise, it works great.  And yes I know this is not standard, But hey, it is keeping my Tilapia warm over winter.

Brian

The one thing is the one thing

ClassicCrazy

Oh - sounds like a great application of the power to me !

I have a 120v heating coil but just use it on 120v in a hot water heater. I put the 120v heating element in to replace the bottom 240v one and I removed the top heating element so it is an open system - I just fill in enough water as I want to heat - no need to heat the whole tank.  Though you have to put in enough water to cover the top heating element so can't just heat a few gallons . It does run off the inverter but works pretty good. I haven't taken the trouble to automate anything yet - maybe one of these days ! Until then I just plug in the cord for the element . The existing heating control does work too though so that is inline to control temp.

Larry

system 1
Classic 150 , 5s3p  Kyocera 135watt , 12s Soneil 2v 540amp lead crystal for 24v pack , Outback 3524 inverter
system 2
 5s 135w Kyocero , 3s3p 270w Kyocera  to Classic 150 ,   8s Kyocera 225w to Hawkes Bay Jakiper 48v 15kwh LiFePO4 , Outback VFX 3648 inverter
system 3
KID / Brat portable