Hydro Mode Settings

[ChrisOlson]

I am experimenting with using a small Honda EP2500CX generator rectified to DC and run thru a Classic 150 as a DC generator for charging batteries.  It works really well with the caveat that Voc is 171 when I start the generator and idle it so the Classic is stuck in HyperVOC.  I have to plug in a resistive load to the generator to reduce the voltage with it idling, then the Classic comes online.  Then I can open the throttle to whatever speed and power output I want.

I suspect the single phase power souce has some severe clipping of the sine wave going on being rectified so it looks more like a square sine wave than a normal one.  I measure the voltage at the genset and it's 122 and I'm getting 122VDC input to the Classic as well.

What I"m wondering is, what's the Depth %watts setting do?  I got the mpp voltage set to 140 and the min at 120.  Since it seems like it likes to run at 122V or so, maybe I should set mpp to 122?  But I change that Depth setting and can't really tell that it does much.

Thanks.

[ChrisOlson]

Forget this - I could not get Hydro Mode to work properly, no matter what I tried.  The Classic kept "hunting" all over the place, despite what I put in it for voltage limits and the other two settings (Twiddle/Dither and minutes, and Depth %watts do nothing).  I tried manual Vmp and that didn't work either - it still kept "hunting" all over the place.

I switched to using a wind curve for the genset, and it works fine with that.

[boB]

One of the problems using some generators is that they try to regulate and fight the tracking of the Classic.
Then there is inertia which will be a problem with real hydro or a gas/diesel generator.

I would have tried using the Manual MPP V mode rather than the dynamic mode in hydro.

For actual hydro, wind tracking works great...  Especially with changing water flow.
I would imagine wind mode would work OK for your generator, too, as you have found.

The % depth is meant to limit how far the hydro mode swings in power level before it
goes the "other" way in input voltage.  Setting the lower limit voltage can also
help to stop it from going too low in input voltage and lugging down your
generator.

If you kind of know what the minimum voltage works good on the generator for
your max power, that should work for the MPP V...  Then the Classic will raise the
input voltage when either current goes above current limit or the battery voltage
goes above target voltage.

I would not expect Twiddle-Dither to much work at all on a gas generator.

Wind seems to handle the inertia issue pretty well too though.
boB

[ChrisOlson]

Yeah, thanks.  This is the power curve I am using.  It is not much of a curve because it is pretty flat:



The generator is rated at 2.3 kVA and I get 42A @ 52VDC from the Classic with it at rated engine speed.  So I think it is working pretty well, and the output is nice and steady with the wind curve.