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fwunder View Drop Down
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Posts: 1676 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: SOC
    Posted: 22 Jul 2020 at 1:48pm
So interesting!

Just since I reported above (about 20 minutes ago)

Array voltage reports 18+v. Charging voltage reports 13.7v. Controller amperage reports 0.1-0.5 amps.
2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits
2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6
Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks!
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fwunder View Drop Down
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Posts: 1676 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Jul 2020 at 1:22pm
Midday report. Got a bit of a late start and it's been partly cloudy.

Just checked. Array voltage reports 18+v.  Charging voltage reports 14.5v. Controller amperage reports 2.2 amps.

If I got this right, seems to me the power curve is working. It's tapering off. I will be surprised if the controller doesn't show FUL this afternoon.
2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits
2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6
Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks!
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StephenH View Drop Down
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Posts: 6289 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Jul 2020 at 7:58am
There is quite a bit of difference between the two versions of the controller and the manual. It looks like the display is very different. It looks like with the new version, everything is displayed on the LCD panel with no LED indicators. The new one can be used for 24V setups also. Interesting!
StephenH
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Jul 2020 at 6:37am
So no internal temp sensor in the controller. No temp comp makes it easier to figure out which charge stage you are in so that's probably a good thing for testing. 
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fwunder View Drop Down
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Posts: 1676 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Jul 2020 at 6:28am
Ha, good morning. Looks like we posted at the same time, offgrid.
2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits
2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6
Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks!
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Posts: 1676 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Jul 2020 at 6:18am
The temperature displayed is the default 25c/77f.  I ordered and am waiting for the sensor.

FYI

Manual for older style controller:


Manual for new edition controller:


More testing today
2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Jul 2020 at 6:16am
Originally posted by StephenH

20A PWM Voyager. The manual is version 1, Revision 5/1/17

The chart on page 5 is where the 2 hours maximum is stated for Equalization.

I found that manual. I think, although the one I found shows rev 1.1 As you say, it reads 2 hrs equalize at 15.5V whenever the batts go below 11.5V and gives an LED indication of which charge stage its in. 

This is the one I was looking at yesterday, which is linked to the "New Edition" Voyager product on their website. It doesn't discuss LED indicators, has an equalization voltage of 14.8, done monthly, and warns that can be indefinite if there is a load left on the batts and/or the charging current is too low. The non-Li version reads like this one as well. 


Looks like equalize has been changed somewhere along the way. I like the 2 hours at 15.5 better. but I wonder what happens if there is inadequate charging to maintain the 15.5 for 2 hours in that version.  

I think Renogy could maybe do a better job keeping their firmware and manual revs clear....
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StephenH View Drop Down
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Posts: 6289 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Jul 2020 at 8:35pm
20A PWM Voyager. The manual is version 1, Revision 5/1/17

The chart on page 5 is where the 2 hours maximum is stated for Equalization.
StephenH
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Jul 2020 at 6:27pm
The new Voyager controller manual doesn't specify how long it stays in equalization mode, other than to say that your should turn off all loads to be sure it finishes.  It does say that boost mode is only 2 hours. Boost is 14.6 and equalize is 14.8, so the difference is in the noise, but if the controller got stuck in equalize it wouldn't be good in the long run. 

StephenH, which controller do you have? 

fwunder, does yours display a sensible temperature? I'm wondering if it has an internal temp sensor or not. 

The 6V batteries wouldn't of themselves cause an issue, the controller doesn't know what its connected to. But the voltage of 200 plus AH worth of deep cycle batteries isn't going to get pushed around very fast by 10A of PV array so things are going to happen pretty slowly, That's Ok unless the controller decides that the batt voltage isn't staying up high enough for it to exit equalize. 
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fwunder View Drop Down
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Posts: 1676 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Jul 2020 at 5:12pm
Originally posted by StephenH

I had mine charge the LiFePO4 battery today. It worked well and indicated via the LED display that my battery was full (FUL). If the controller is not showing FUL on the display, then it is still charging the battery. At full, it should have gone into float mode for flooded batteries.

Thats what started this whole discussion. Controller never showed FUL even though I feel certain the battery bank was fully charged. I like the idea offgrid has of lowering the voltage limit by selecting GEL. Perhaps there is something with these dual 6v batteries that the controller just does not sense FUL voltage. I know that my PD4655 converter goes into float very quickly. They brag quite a bit about the fact they use finesse instead of brute force. It has served me very well and it's quiet.


P.S. One neat feature of the new controller is that it reports array voltage.
2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits
2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6
Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks!
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