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Topic ClosedPotential converter problem
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DavMar View Drop Down
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Posts: 592 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Potential converter problem
    Posted: 18 Aug 2018 at 5:39pm
Originally posted by Tibof

 
Even the small sample that shows up in this forum (which is actually empirical data) is sufficient mathematically to verify a wide range of failures.

+1 Exactly, well stated.

Obvious things that are killers to electronics circuits are water, heat, and vibration. We can eliminate water to this which leave's only heat and vibration. I don't think WFCO problem is heat since they use a computer fan plus large ceramic power resistors that can dissipate a large amount of heat. So that leaves only vibration and I was shocked to find when my converter died only a little dab of caulk cementing these resistors to the circuit board that had broken loose. If you want to insure that your WFCO converter will not have the same problem the solution is simple. Buy a tube of silicon adhesive and put a generous amount of this around these resistors and the circuit board. These resistors are pretty obvious in that they are large white square ceramic components (two in the front and one toward the rear of the board if I remember right) and don't worry how much silicon you use to anchor them to the circuit board since its non-conductive.   
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mrm435075 View Drop Down
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Posts: 7 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Aug 2018 at 8:49am
Actually the charger should go through a charging cycle when it is turned on. A charging cycle is Bulk, Absorption, then Float. Float mode indicates fully charged batteries. In absorption the charging voltage applied by the charger will be somewhere over 14.1 volts.
Michael
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mcarter View Drop Down
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Posts: 3419 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Aug 2018 at 8:55am
Not sure about that, mine in bulk is over 14 volts. Float 13.1 and absorbtion is 13.6. The charging cycle is defined by battery charge status. I have never seen mine in bulk. I have a volt gauge and monitor 12V status. Mine cycles in 2 phases, which is normal for a properly charged and used battery.
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Posts: 2702 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Aug 2018 at 9:21am
Originally posted by mcarter

Not sure about that, mine in bulk is over 14 volts. Float 13.1 and absorbtion is 13.6. The charging cycle is defined by battery charge status. I have never seen mine in bulk. I have a volt gauge and monitor 12V status. Mine cycles in 2 phases, which is normal for a properly charged and used battery.
You won't see bulk mode as a voltage. Most smart chargers are in bulk at the beginning of a charge cycle "on their way" to absorb mode. They will be limited by the maximum current the charger is capable of. Once they reach the absorb voltage, they will hold that voltage as the current slowly decreases. Once the current at the absorb voltage gets to "the set point", the charger will drop to float mode.

I have been installing remote solar-powered communications sites for over a decade. Here is a graph showing the different cycles and the voltage/current relationships. The equalization stage is not normally run every cycle; only "periodically", and some chargers won't have an equalization stage.
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mrm435075 View Drop Down
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Posts: 7 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Aug 2018 at 9:59am
Nice chart GlueGuy. For the last 25 years my wife and I "camped" on our Catalina 36 Sloop. We rarely went to a marina preferring to anchor in quiet uncrowded coves of the San Jaun, and Canada's Gulf Islands. This required a lot of battery capacity to have refrigeration for 3-5 days. We had essentially 3 12v batteries. A house bank of 4 6v's wired to make 2 12v 225 AH Batteries, a battery switch to select either one, or both, plus a dedicated 12v starting battery. To charge I installed a unit that could charge each battery separately runnig through the Bulk, Absorption, and Float modes. It had settings for just Bulk and Absorption as well as just Float, plus a setting to float the batteries and power the dc devices needing power while on Shore Power. So I know a little about charging cycles and voltages.
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Posts: 356 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Aug 2018 at 10:11am
Originally posted by mcarter

BTW - I bought a combination gauge, that has LED voltmeter, 2 USB ports and a lighter style plug.

Hey Mike, I'm just now catching up on this thread - if you are able, would you mind sharing which voltmeter combo you used? Would like to purchase one myself. Thx!
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Posts: 3419 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Aug 2018 at 12:09pm
Hey Ben,

Mine came from Amazon - Cllena - Triple function - Dual USB, LED 12V Gauge and 12V Lighter plug.
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Posts: 3419 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Aug 2018 at 12:14pm
GlueGuy,

I agree with chart and not seeing Bulk mode, why I said, I had not seen bulk voltage. My point was the absorbtion charge voltage is 13.6 or thereabouts not 14.1.
Mike Carter
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mrm435075 View Drop Down
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Posts: 7 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Aug 2018 at 12:48pm
If you are actually seeing 13.6v during 'Absorption' stage then something is wrong with the charger, or your battery because 13.5-13.8v is the 'Float' voltage for a 12v battery. 
Michael
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Posts: 356 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Aug 2018 at 12:54pm
Originally posted by mcarter

Hey Ben,

Mine came from Amazon - Cllena - Triple function - Dual USB, LED 12V Gauge and 12V Lighter plug.

Thx!
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