When in Bulk or Absorb mode Voltage seams to be too high (44-45V) for my 36V 2000W Inverter and when I apply load it goes into shut down mode protecting itself. Any way to regulate Voltage to be constant?
Any ideas?
SIGP2101
Quote from: sigp2101 on September 19, 2016, 03:27:43 PM
When in Bulk or Absorb mode Voltage seams to be too high (44-45V) for my 36V 2000W Inverter and when I apply load it goes into shut down mode protecting itself. Any way to regulate Voltage to be constant?
Any ideas?
SIGP2101
It'S going to regulate to your Absorb set point voltage. When in Bulk it will never go above the Absorb set point and will switch to Absorb when it reach that set point.
What is the max V spec'd for the Inverter?
Brand?
What does the maker state about excessive loads? How long will the inverter support them?
What was the load you applied and was it > 2000W and for how long?
Bulk, Absorb, and Float are set as per manufacturer requirements. My system is 36V.
Only when the system is in rest and battery Voltage becomes stable and between 36 and 38.5V Inverter has no problem running anything up to 2000W as designed.
The problem is when Voltage reaches above mentioned values which is a normal occurrence in any charging mode.
Quote from: sigp2101 on September 19, 2016, 09:37:29 PM
Bulk, Absorb, and Float are set as per manufacturer requirements. My system is 36V.
Only when the system is in rest and battery Voltage becomes stable and between 36 and 38.5V Inverter has no problem running anything up to 2000W as designed.
The problem is when Voltage reaches above mentioned values which is a normal occurrence in any charging mode.
Well without any more info on your system and what you have set as set points for Absorb and you inventor model and manf, it appears your invertor cN not handle the higher Absorb voltage. The voltage is regulated in Absorb and should be stable. The voltage will climb to Absorb set point when in bulk. There is nothing wrong with this or unstable. What makes you think the voltage of 44-45V is too high for your batteries. Again what do you have the Absorb voltage set point set to?
Quote from: Resthome on September 19, 2016, 09:50:32 PM
What makes you think the voltage of 44-45V is too high for your batteries.
Do not remember saying that anywhere. It seems that Voltage is too high for my Inverter, that is why I would try to regulate it somehow.
Charger Voltage Settings:
Bulk Charge 44.5
Float Charge 40.5
Equalize Charge 48.6
Operating Voltage for my Inverter seems to be 30-42VDC
http://www.ebay.com/itm/12V-24V-36V-48V-to-120V-220V-60HZ-2000W-Pure-Sine-Wave-Solar-Power-Inverter-/112078962735?hash=item1a186d402f:g:KlYAAOSwnNBXUBIO
For more particulars on my system look below.
Your specs per your ebay auction link
Voltage Range 30-42VDC = FAIL
You programmed the CC settings based upon the trojan manual....you read the trojan manual but not the ebay description?
the batteries are being charged with 44.5V, and your cheap inverter is not able to handle it....
Choose what you want, A NEW inverter or dead batteries in a very short time!
Quote from: CDN-VT on September 20, 2016, 12:12:26 AM
I new the outcome WAS ASIAN CRAP
LOL! :)
Can you please point me in right direction and provide at least ONE link to "quality" home made 36V solar off grid inverter?
But there is one condition only, cost must be less than entire golf cart.
In the mean time I would like to regulate my Voltage.
Quote from: Westbranch on September 19, 2016, 11:55:44 PM
the batteries are being charged with 44.5V, and your cheap inverter is not able to handle it....
Inverter is doing perfectly well for what was designed to do, it supplies power to the fridge, lights and TV regardless in which mode is in at the moment. Only when I try to run 8A vacuum cleaner it turns itself off only when CC is in BULK/ABSORB mode. Any other CC mode all is running fine.
Quote from: Westbranch on September 19, 2016, 11:55:44 PM
Choose what you want, A NEW inverter or dead batteries in a very short time!
Inverter got nothing to do with battery life span, especially when disconnected. Why would you say something like that?
Quote from: CDN-VT on September 19, 2016, 08:29:08 PM
Voltage supply TO the Batterys ?? is done under charge & volts , here you set the spec's for the batterys , hoping the inverter has similar settings . If the inverter canNOT be changed , you might risk killing the batterys early . You might tweak the voltages down slowly to see if the inverter will handle a slight adjustment .
VT
Thanks, you may be onto something here, question is will T105s handle lower ABSORB voltage well.
Or maybe tweak Inverter's operating range slightly. hmmmm... or shut down charging mode entirely for the weekend. That would fix it. Oh, can I skip 2 days every 5 days?
Maybe I missed it but what justifies all these issues to use 36 volts?
By this century's standards that sure seems to be an odd voltage to work around.
There are converters around that can adapt lots of different voltages for a specific device if that is the need.
Been there, done that on trying to use gear that doesn't play well with other gear. I quit doing it.
Just saying...
Tom
Quote from: TomW on September 20, 2016, 10:37:21 AM
Maybe I missed it but what justifies all these issues to use 36 volts?
By this century's standards that sure seems to be an odd voltage to work around.
There are converters around that can adapt lots of different voltages for a specific device if that is the need.
Been there, done that on trying to use gear that doesn't play well with other gear. I quit doing it.
Just saying...
Tom
When you see all those golf carts zooming around green all day and get recharged over night makes you wonder why would one invent hot water all over again when someone already did it. Batteries are there, cables are there, chargers are there, fuses are there, breakers are there, dash boards are there, capacity meters are there, selenoids and bunch of other products that entire industry revolves around are there. For the smaller inexpensive start-up system like mine was no brainer. And it works well, except one small issue I am trying to fix.
(http://blockbustergolfcarts.com/images/07%20gas%20fleet%20beige.jpg)
the "small issue" is actually quite a big issue for your batteries
Quote from: sigp2101 on September 20, 2016, 09:57:37 AM
... question is will T105s handle lower ABSORB voltage well. (?) ...
Hi sig,
The T-105s will "handle" a too-low Absorb voltage, but, they will be chronically Undercharged, will Sulphate, and unless frequently EQed (which will also cause the inverter to Shutdown), will die an early death.
Of course, as noted before, the Inverter is the issue -- it appears to not be able to accommodate the range of charge voltages REQUIRED by the Flooded batteries, you appear to have. Perhaps this inverter was designed for SLA/Gel batteries, which generally have lower required Vabs.
Some folks have used high current Silicon diodes in the positive lead from the batteries to the inverter. Each diode would provide 0.7 - 1.0 volts of drop. These diodes would need a heat sink, and each would need to be insulated from the sink, if multiple diodes share the same heat sink. There could be some secondary effects of not having a bi-directional current path between the batteries and the inverter, but, the diodes might possibly help, if the inverter is NOT an Inverter/Charger, and so on.
FWIW Vic
Keep the cc to the trojan spec to not kill batteries... Now the really bad idea... i am not responsible for this but it is an idea, is frowned upon, but since your already stuck with a crap inverter, try this...
Use length of wire to add voltage drop. You will lose efficiency and lose some power in this but a small wire feeding the inverter will cause drop, heat up and also lower the inverter voltage progressively with more current flow.
What is your wire size now? A piece of 10awg, with 55 amps flowing (2000w) will drop 2.2 volts and make your inverter happy. I think this is a horrible idea, will run hotter and sustained max 2000w loads will eventually harm the wire.
A more scientific approach is to build a dc choke to drop some voltage...same concept but proper wire size and substantial lengths, coiled tightly.
You need 6/8 awg depending on type...so 10 isn't so bad.
You need a better inverter, an aims 5k model comes to mind but is like $600. Not much in the 36v area as 48V is the standard above a couple kw.
For giggles...add a stupid amount of wire length you have for a test
to be clear about that cheap inverter powered by a 36V FLA battery...
Yes, you can create a 'state' wherein you can use the Inverter by keeping the maximum charge voltage low enough to avoid inverter shutdown. This WILL undercharge your batteries, AND by doing so, they will die an EARLY DEATH... the life span of which is usually measured in ~ 5 to 10 years for good , well charged FLA's, or maybe longer, and you are willing to accept the costs of early replacement...
But what you cannot do is properly charge those batteries and run that Inverter simultaneously..
You could also just run the inverter after you were in float, or after the sun goes down and shut it off when the sun comes up... but this requires you to watch daily for those 2 times... a PITA
So go ahead and reject all the information put before you and continue be prepared to replace the batteries within a year or possibly less, but remember that you compared the replacement cost of those batteries against the cost of that cheap inverter, and thought that it was the cheapest way to go....
Hi,
After a early failure of my Cotek inverter, i now have the same crappy inverter, but with 48v input (i hope to be able to upgrade soon, it's oversized to handle fridge surge and guzzling amps... Well...)
Mine is ok up to 61,5v, which is for me an equalizing charge.
Yours shuts down at 45v, for 36v bank. That's 15v for a 12v battery, also what i understand to be an equalizing voltage.
So, my question : are trojan batts really designed to have such a high absorb voltage ? If so, at how much do they equalize ?
Quote from: mat on September 26, 2016, 07:27:25 AM
Hi,
After a early failure of my Cotek inverter, i now have the same crappy inverter, but with 48v input (i hope to be able to upgrade soon, it's oversized to handle fridge surge and guzzling amps... Well...)
Mine is ok up to 61,5v, which is for me an equalizing charge.
Yours shuts down at 45v, for 36v bank. That's 15v for a 12v battery, also what i understand to be an equalizing voltage.
So, my question : are trojan batts really designed to have such a high absorb voltage ? If so, at how much do they equalize ?
Trojans 105s equalize at 48V. My inverter starts to indicate overvoltage at 41.5V but fridge still works, light works TV works only vacuum shuts it off. If voltage is below 41.5 everything works fine. Go figure.
Ok, so as your fridge seems quite effecient, i would guess your problem isn't related to charge voltage, but to the too high surge of your vaccum.
Mine has zero surge capabilities...
Edit :
Apparently you say it's only when charging that your vaccum won't start ? If so, i'm maybe wrong... But still i think something surge related as eveeything else works ok...
Still, maybe you could use your vaccum when not charging ? Doesn't seems a big issue to me...
Mat
Or you could also have a lees high voltage absorb dor the 2 to 5 days you're at your cabin, and program again the good parameters before you leave, that should help...
Mat
Quote from: mat on September 27, 2016, 08:43:18 AM
Or you could also have a lees high voltage absorb dor the 2 to 5 days you're at your cabin, and program again the good parameters before you leave, that should help...
Mat
I can turn solar array off while I am there and that would solve the problem too.
In the end, your system : your choices...
Mine is far from perfect due to local availability/budget...
You had here lots of good advices (not talking about mine !!!) from people doing solar for years...
Stop charging your batts to use a vaccum... Well, why not...
Have fun !
Mat