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 About Me

Toyota diesel, Auto overdrive, runs on larger Ford Longreach rims & rubber
Dual Hiclone II's, which if I wasn't 100% satisfied - I would have returned
Rotronics dual battery isolator, 'upgraded' alternator regulator & cabling
200+ Watt roof mounted Sölar system, Steca PR 15a Sölar regulator
Aux battery : 2 x Firstpower 100ah AGM DC's & Megapulse series lll
Cranking battery: 670cca 'nameless' brand with Megapulse series lV
300 wt Codek pure sine wave Inverter and 4 x outlet power board
70 Lt Reefer Professional Fridge/Freezer, power connected 24/7
8 x fishing rods, 2 x spear guns, Gidgee & Dive gear etc
Double bed, Digital camera, Dell laptop

The battery cables are thick @ 2B&S (32mm²)

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* SÖLAR will charge a 12v battery system only while sun is shining!

* GENERATOR will charge 12v battery system only when turned on!


While driving, the Alternator charge's the Auxiliary 12v battery system.

When you arrive at your camp site the Auxiliary battery system is therefore (hopefully) fully charged, and if it’s a “reasonable capacity” battery (system) it may power the accessories for 3 days, therefore it will give you no power problems that night.
You can set up your battery charging system next day, after all you want to meet the neighbours and have a chat and a drink.

If you choose to camp near the guy with 3 noisy kids, 2 dogs and generator, that’s your choice, after all he was there first !


# GENERATOR power

When you need to use the generator you first must unload it, fill it with fuel and turn it on when the Auxiliary battery system voltage gets low, (yes, you have to be there to monitor the battery voltage) generally campers tend to start the Generator probably only every second afternoon or early evening, because the fridge and/or freezer uses most of the battery power during the day in the higher ambient temperatures, caused by the constant opening of the fridge by the kids or when Dad obtains his fermented liquid refreshment.

The generator will charge the Auxiliary battery system, up to a point whereby the Auxiliary battery no longer accepts further charge, and at that point the generator is just ‘running’ - NØT increasing the battery voltage and doing nothing - except using fuel and as some would suggest, making a noise.

The Auxiliary battery system is therefore being constantly discharged and recharged during the day to often very low battery voltage levels, because it’s NØT being continuously charged by the generator during its peak high draw and heavy usage times which is during the day.


# SÖLAR power

If you have to set it up because it’s a portable system, you do that next day, because it’s not going to work at night anyway, and you still have two more days power in the Auxiliary battery system.
You place the SÖLAR system in the sun at what-ever angle you desire, it can be horizontal, because it’s on the roof rack, or it can be free standing as a portable system whereby you can move it to follow the sun, which makes it work more efficiently - if you can really find the time.

Your SÖLAR system will charge your Auxiliary battery system, and continue to power all the 12v accessories during the day, which is the high drain and heavy battery use time anyway.
This ensures the Auxiliary battery system is FULLY CHARGED at the end of each day, the Auxiliary battery system will then only have to power the 12v accessories during the night.
SÖLAR will start recharging the batteries again early next morning and again will run the appliances during the day.

This is a very boring & repetitive procedure that will occur daily
fortunately you won’t even have to be there to supervise it :-))

The SÖLAR system will power your 12v accessories and charge the Auxiliary battery system, assuming it has been correctly specified and uses efficiently matched Sölar panels and Sölar regulator and is charging an efficient AGM Auxiliary battery system.




*During the day, an efficient SÖLAR system powers the 12v accessories and also charges the Auxiliary battery

*During the day, the 12v accessories are NØT drawing any 12v power from the Auxiliary battery system

*Only during the night, is the 12v Auxiliary battery system powering the 12v accessories

*A SÖLAR system may be capable of ‘producing’ ~10 Amps, (example: 2 x 80 Watt panels) but it does NØT mean ALL of those 10 Amps will be required by the battery system

As the Auxiliary AGM battery system (I use) gets closer to fully charged, the Steca SÖLAR regulator reduces the current to the Auxiliary batteries, hence there may be 12 Amps available at the SÖLAR panel, but only a few of those Amps is made available to the AGM Auxiliary battery system, the Solar system will continue to run all the 12v accessories while the Auxilliary battery system remains fully charged, as is shown in the pictures below

Generally "elcheapo" solar regulators only work on an ‘on’ & ‘off’ principal, this type of regulator will NØT give the same results as constant charge SÖLAR regulators

*When using SÖLAR power, the Auxiliary battery remains fully charged at the “float” level, in my system ~13.8v

*If the SÖLAR regulator is a quality engineered product and has “Float” - “Boost” and “Equalise” Voltage programs and also with "Pulse Width Modulation" just like those expensive multi-stage battery chargers, the Auxiliary battery system will be constantly maintained in a fully charged condition and will avoid sulphation of wetcell Aux battery system, making the Aux battery last longer than even the Cranking battery
AGM's don't suffer sulphation problems due to their construction



~my SÖLAR ‘NUMBERS’ explained ~

#-> "12 Amps produced @ Sölar panel, only 5 Amps is charging 14.3v AGM battery"
Steca Sölar regulator LCD screen shows 12 Amps is being produced @ Sölar panel
"Vøltage gauge" shows AGM battery is 14.3 Volts (charging)
"Ampere gauge" shows AGM battery being charged @ 5 Amps
This shows NOT all 12 Amps produced by Sölar system is charging AGM battery


#-> "Fridge drawing 7.8 Amps from Sölar system & 0.5 Amp is still charging 13.8v AGM battery"
Steca Sölar regulator LCD screen shows fridge is drawing 7.8 Amps
"Vøltage gauge" shows AGM battery is 13.8 Vølts (charging)
"Ampere gauge" shows AGM battery being charged @ 0.5 Amp (½ Amp)
Note: These statistics are indicated while Sölar system is actually POWERING the fridge/freezer - NOT the AGM battery.


#-> "Just 3.3 Amps running fridge is from 13v AGM battery"
Steca Sölar regulator LCD screen shows 13 Volts
"Vøltage gauge" shows AGM battery is 13 Volts
"Ampere gauge" shows (negative) -3.3 Amps
Fridge is drawing 3.3 Amps from AGM battery, with balance supplied from Sölar system


#-> "Just 4.9 Amps @ Sölar panel, & only 3 Amps powering fridge/freezer?"
Steca Sölar regulator LCD screen shows 4.9 Amps is produced @ Sölar panel (41% capacity)
"Vøltage gauge" shows AGM battery is 13.1 Volts (charging)
"Ampere gauge" shows fridge drawing 3 Amps from AGM battery
Fridge/freezer is running, drawing 3 Amps in excess of Amps supplied by Sölar system.


#-> "10+ Amps charging 13.7v AGM battery"
This is the view of the Steca Sölar Regulator LCD screen used when travelling, showing AGM battery Voltage as 13.7 Volts and all facilities working correctly.
"Vøltage gauge" shows AGM battery is 13.7 Volts (charging)
"Ampere gauge" shows 10+ Amps charging AGM battery


#-> "100% State of Charge for 12v AGM battery"
Steca Sölar regulator LCD screen shown in “State of Charge” mode.
This mode only works accurately when the Auxiliary battery system is powered by Sölar system - NOT when charged by Alternator.


The ‘State of Charge’ mode is used 0NLY when camped.
The ‘State of Charge’ % value is more accurate, it evaluates what Amps have gone in and out of the Auxiliary battery over a period of time.
The Voltage and Amps 'numbers' can be seen on my "Voltage" and "Ampere" gauges mounted below the Steca Sölar regulator.


It can very clearly be seen in these pictures, my AGM Auxiliary battery system is maintained 'fully' charged during the day by the Sölar system.

The fridge/freezer draws ~10 Amps, it takes this power direct from the Sölar system as is shown in the pictures below.

The AGM battery system is not required to power fridge/freezer when there is in excess of ~10 Amps available (out of a possible 12+ Amps ) from Sölar system.
Only when the Sölar power system is nøt producing sufficient Sölar power (eg: 7 amps) to independently run the fridge/freezer, will the fridge/freezer then take just the 'difference' (eg: 3 Amps) direct from the AGM Auxiliary battery system.

This can be seen when the Ampere gauge reads in the 'negative' (left/red) instead of the 'positive' (right/black) side of the gauge.
Most days the fridge/freezer will never take any power from the Auxiliary battery system, which is maintained fully charged all day and ONLY powers the fridge/freezer at night.

Remembering the AGM battery system is (generally) fully charged as night falls, during the evening the AGM battery system supply's the power for the fridge/freezer and all accessories.
The AGM battery system will be charged @ maximum Amps available from early next morning by the Sölar system till the AGM battery system is once again fully charged.
The AGM battery system does not go below 12v during the evening, so it does not require the same long charge as a flat battery does.


# this is how my Sölar power system actually works - it's nøt to be assumed ALL Sölar systems are created equal #


~Hopefully this clarifies some myths of SÖLAR power, supply & distribution~

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12 Vølt batteries . . .
(a work still in progress)

"Battery"
A black, brown or beige "plastic box" containing ingredients capable of creating a chemical reaction !
Basically, the purer the chemical ingredients, the ‘faster’ and also more ‘efficient’ is the chemical reaction, hence the "better" the battery.

Deep cycle batteries have very different electrical characteristics to Cranking batteries.

Cranking batteries are designed to provide a very large amount of current for a short period of time as is required to start an engine.
Cranking batteries are rated as: 'Cold Cranking Amps' (CCA)

Deep Cycle batteries are designed to be discharged over a very long period of time and recharged many hundreds or even thousands of times.
Deep cycle batteries are rated as: 'Ampere Hours' (Ah)

The (AH) rating specifies the amount of current in Amps that the battery can supply over the specified number of hours.
A battery rated at 120Ah could successfully run the average 12v fridge for about two days.


# Battery Charging - Voltages & Currents

Wetcel (lead-acid) batteries should be charged at no more than the C/8 rate for sustained periods.
(C/8 is the battery capacity @ 20-hour rate, divided by 8)
(example: 100 AH battery) 100 / 8 = 12 Amps


* Bulk Charge
- 1st stage of 3 stage battery charging
"Current" is sent to battery at maximum rate battery will accept until "voltage" rises to near full charge level (80% - 90%).
"Voltages" at this stage typically vary from 10.5 volts to 15 volts.
There is no correct "Voltage" for bulk charging, but there may be limits on the maximum "Current" the battery cable used can take.

* Absorption Charge
- 2nd stage of 3 stage battery charging
"Voltage" remains constant and "current" gradually tapers off as internal resistance increases during charging.
"Voltages" are typically around 14.2v to 15.5v

* Float Charge
- 3rd stage of 3 stage battery charging
After battery reaches full charge, charging "Voltage" is reduced to a lesser level (12.8v to 13.4v)
This is also referred to as MAINTENANCE or TRICKLE charge, as its main purpose is to keep a charged battery from discharging



# State of Charge
For longest life, batteries should be maintained above 50% State of Charge
Occasional drops to 30% & 20% are not harmful, but continual discharges to those levels will shorten battery life considerably.


S o C _ Voltage
100% _ 12.7
90% _ _ 12.5
80% _ _ 12.4
70% _ _ 12.3
60% _ _ 12.2
50% _ _ 12.1
40% _ _ 11.9
30% _ _ 11.7
20% _ _ 11.6
10% _ _ 11.3
. 0% _ _ 10.5


Cable Voltage drop calculation table.
Total cable length (Mtrs) x current (amps) x 0.017 = “?” divided by cable diameter (mm²) = Voltage drop

Eg: 10 x 6 x 0.017 = 1.02 divided by 4 = 0.25 Volt

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American Wire Gauge (AWG) is a US standard for wire conductor sizes
the "gauge" number is related to the diameter of the actual metal cable
the higher the number, the smaller the diameter and thinner the cable

An easy to read 'link' to compare the thickness of cables:
http://www#dave-cushman#net/elect/wiregauge#html
(replace the three '#' with dots '.' before attempting to use)

Mainey...

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