Hello
I love my new gadget! Now I'll have to find a new way to abuse the batteries.
My "WBjr. system amps:" seems to jump around a bit, a rough guess would be 1.5A, is this normal?
I assumed as the amps decreased the progression towards the end of absorb would be more linear and smooth.
Just curious
Thanks
Wade
Quote from: toothy on November 17, 2013, 04:51:32 PM
Hello
I love my new gadget! Now I'll have to find a new way to abuse the batteries.
My "WBjr. system amps:" seems to jump around a bit, a rough guess would be 1.5A, is this normal?
I assumed as the amps decreased the progression towards the end of absorb would be more linear and smooth.
Just curious
Thanks
Wade
What kind of loads do you have going on when you see this? On the Classic my readings seems to be rock solid with a light steady load. Haven't looked at the Local App as it didn't have the WB Jr features at the time I was last there.
Do you have more than one charge controller? I see mine tweak back and forth a but. Say .5 to 1 amp and I figure it is just the regulation of 3 Classics as loads change. If I turn off the loads it stabilizes.
Ryan
The WB register currently holds a value that isnt the same 1 second average that the other datapoints are. ADC sampling like this you always end up with some noise on the line. You are after all reading a sub milltivolt voltage, picked up off a two inch antenna. You can see the the jitter in my 1 second sample rate plot here:
http://midniteforum.com/index.php?topic=1461.msg12277#msg12277
I understand that they plan to add some more registers later on.
The WB Jr.'s output does not average right now. The averaging that is there comes from
the WB Jr. itself and is not very long. We'll put some more averaging into the Classic
for that sometime soon. The jumping around is real, either from loads or from the
Classic itself. If from the Classic itself while charging, I would assume it is most
likely in Absorb. Is that correct ?
boB
I have 3 Classic's in follow me, with normal home loads.
Zoneblue, most of what you said went over my head, I'm short, I did try to glean what I could, thanks.
boB, I did notice it in Absorb, and as I said I was just curious if it was more or less normal. I love it! My batteries love it more!
Thanks for ALL your products and services
Wade
Toothy
Thats what I notice with my 3 classics as well. My amps move around say .5 to1 amp I suspect the cause is flucuation in loads and just the fact you have 3 Classics trying to regulate in absorb all at the same time.
Ryan
Yeah it it is likely that the jitter is also derived from pulse width modulated signals of various kinds on the battery bus. I dont know how the classic output looks, with the heavy filtering in it i would have expected it to be reasonably clean, but maybe not. Theres also lots of pulse waveforms on the load side, all of which would add up to a noisy looking waveform. Depending on when you sample it youll get 'random' seeming values.
I think the important thing is to sample everything in the same time frame. But sample rate is a balance, quick enough to get the detail required to show an accurate picture, but long enough to smooth out the jitter, and reduce the processing and storage overhead of overly detailed samping. In some cases theres a need for both.
We'll get that reading averaged here soon hopefully.
So, has anybody heard if Vic ever got his WB Jr. working ?
I know he was really wanting something like that.
boB
Hi boB,
Have been doing heavy equipment work, getting water collection system from a roof of a new shop ...
The Classic is re-installed, WBjr sensor board is installed ... just need to extend the violet wire and UD the FW. Been busy, but was just going out to UD the FW ...
Thanks for getting the WBjr done, and out to us folks, just a timing thing here.
Will advise, Thanks, Vic QRL
Hi boB,
OK, finished the installation of the WbJr this AM. Went very smoothly with the Wb installation and the FW Update.
The MX-60 was in Absorb by the time the FW was updated. Switched the MX off and the Classic ON, and the Wb status screen shows the present Amps, Temp and AH + & --. Looks great.
This site has not used a Classic since 2010 --a very early Classic. The present Classic is a different one FWIW.
Have an observation about Temp Comp of Vabs, but that belongs in the "Classic" Topic.
Looks great, and am watching for the transition to Float, based on the WbJr's command, but all in all a very slick product, easy to install (the right edge of the Wb PCB clears the inside of the Xantrex DCCB-L Conduit Box with 3/8" to spare -- fine retrofit compatability!!).
Thanks again for getting this product out quickly. Am very keen on it, and just another great selling point for the Classic CC and MidNite in general. Thanks! Vic
Excellent, Vic !
Let us know if your charger ever gets to Float !
boB
OK boB,
Was not quite able to remain at this site until the WbJr commanded Float. And in the interim, have been avoiding recharge of these batteries for two days.
This AM switched the ON PV into the Classic, and had hoped for another wall-to-wall sunny day, but alas, only about 0.9kWh today. So have not yet been able to watch the Classic/WbJr combo terminate Absorb based on the Wb's command. WX looks like more mostly cloudy conditions, until perhaps this weekend.
Will advise. There is still the second site with relatively more PV where the second WbJr will be installed. But just now, have more than 400 ft of open trenches waiting for pipe/conduit, which has priority, as more rain will certainly be coming fairly soon --much of the pipe is for additions to the rain water collection system from a new shop roof ... no collection system means lotsa erosion.
Thanks again for all the great products, especially the inexpensive WbJr! 73 Vic
Vic
Are you using the water off the roof for drinking or just diverting to get it away from the building?
I drink mine, the well drilling was a $10K crap shoot in solid rock and living in a temperate rainforest, think cold rainy swamp, it was a no brainer. I put a 10,000 gallon pvc lined tank under the wife's closet, it's bellow grade it's simple and tastes just fine.
Wade
First, produced about 12 kWh today, and made it into Absorb, but we used a medium-sized electric Jack hammer enough that did not make it to EA value today ... hope springs ...
Hi Wade,
We have no well. Have tried the collected rain water, but still haul in drinking water -- 1 gal jugs -- from town as it is about the best Tap water in this state.
Eventually, will filter the rain water for drinking. We use this water for all domestic used, save for drinking.
We are adding 12.5 k gallons to the system, for 30 k total.
Tried having a well drilled. The driller was such a flake ... he took about three months of sporadic effort every 3-4 weeks, but would leave the Air Hammer drill bit in the hole between efforts. He did strike water at about 500 ft, but the well had collapsed on the bit, and it took him about two weeks to get the bit out of the hole. Cost $4k, but it was worth it to get rid of him.
Rain water is fine for me. Would have been nice to have a well, but rain is good enough for now.
Have fun, thanks, Vic
Quote from: boB on November 25, 2013, 09:08:24 PM
... Let us know if your charger ever gets to Float !
boB
Hi boB,
Today, DID see the WBjr command the Classic to go to Float!! Way Cool!
I did have to increase the EA setting a bit, from 15.5 to 16.3 A. The Jitter was +/-- one Amp or so. My guess for the new EA setting was a bit too high. Perhaps the guess of 15.5 was too high also. Had added more than an Amp to the 14.3-ish that had been used before the installation of the WB.
We have had such terrific weather (YES, we really do need the rain/snow in CA), that the power room is still being A/Ced. It looked like this cycling of the A/C compressor was exaggerating the swing of the jitter, so turned off the A/C, while watching for the WBjr to command Float.
Measured the SGs just after entering Float, and the bank is a tad undercharged with 150 minutes of Absorb at 58.1 V -- Flooded batts @1.265 SG being fully recharged.
Will play with the EA settings over the next week or two, as time permits.
This is the drive-by report for now.
The WhizBangjr is a very slick and quite useful product at a very low price. It is a marvel that all of that function could be packed into the tiny PCB and into the Classic. Fantastic job, and the WBjr is SSOOOOOoooo inexpensive!
Thank you very much to all the MidNite crew that designed such a nifty, useful product, and got it to market quite quickly. Very happy, yet again with all of the MidNite products that I have seen. Kudos! Vic
Quote from: Vic on November 27, 2013, 10:28:37 PM
haul in drinking water -- 1 gal jugs -- from town
Eventually, will filter the rain water for drinking. We use this water for all domestic used, save for drinking.
Vic;
A couple years ago we purchased a Big Berkey counter top water filter. We used to haul city water for drinking.
Supposedly you can put raw sewage in it and get potable water out but I would not try this unless it was post apocalypse and we were dying of thirst.
It certainly works great on our well water that can induce Montezumas Revenge on you if you drink it over time.
It was not cheap but it works well and can easily filter enough water for several adults per day if you keep it full.
Saves a lot of aggravation and carrying jugs. Certainly good since we are both retired and do not get to town daily.
Just FYI. Sorry to divert the topic.
Tom
Quote from: TomW on December 02, 2013, 06:48:35 AM
Quote from: Vic on November 27, 2013, 10:28:37 PM
haul in drinking water -- 1 gal jugs -- from town
Eventually, will filter the rain water for drinking. We use this water for all domestic used, save for drinking.
Vic;
A couple years ago we purchased a Big Berkey counter top water filter. We used to haul city water for drinking.
Supposedly you can put raw sewage in it and get potable water out but I would not try this unless it was post apocalypse and we were dying of thirst.
It certainly works great on our well water that can induce Montezumas Revenge on you if you drink it over time.
It was not cheap but it works well and can easily filter enough water for several adults per day if you keep it full.
Saves a lot of aggravation and carrying jugs. Certainly good since we are both retired and do not get to town daily.
Just FYI. Sorry to divert the topic.
Tom
I will second Toms recommendation there. Our Well has been known to have some things in it and after the last pump change (The Wife helped and saw the pipe and pump and slime :) ) we ended up with a Big Berkey and love it. I, like Tom, would not recommend raw sewage as a normal diet unless the Zombies have stolen my well pump. But the thing will clean some water. It is surprising to me how seemingly clean water out of a well will dirty the filters.
Ryan
Here is a link to a friends passion, clean water in Peru, a novel approach. they originally started with concrete filter bodies, now use PVC. http://deseaperu.org/
some background info http://biosandfilters.info/technical
OK Tom, Ryan, Wb,
Thanks for the info ... did go to the Big Berkey site ... looks interesting, but there seem to be no specs (whatsoever).
There IS something attractive about a counter-top filter system.
We do have a basic system installed, but not plumbed yet -- 100 micron, 10 micron string filters followed by a Carbon Block filter, which should really do the trick. Have been a bit concerned about freeze damage to it ... should really give it a try.
More later, Thanks! Vic