Yet another battery/solar question..
Submitted: Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 at 17:19
ThreadID:
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Replies:
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pippy62
We have an 1996 Jayco caravan with a 100w gel deep cycle battery mounted on the drawbar (in a como box). When we bought it the only way to charge the battery was when the vehicle was running (or a 240v charger), So we had a 100w solar panel fitted to the van roof. While away recently the battery was sizzling, and the regulator showed 16.9. We disconnected the battery and the battery appears to be okay. We have since taken the van back to where the installation was done. When we took it back we were told "it is ok for it to go that high because it is a once off cleaning process"...this sounds gumff to us. The van is still there being 'looked at' Your opinions please.
Reply By: Dunaruna - Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 at 17:27
Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 at 17:27
The installer is an idiot.
What solar controller are you using?
AnswerID:
332516
Follow Up By: Maîneÿ (wa) - Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 at 17:34
Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 at 17:34
Yes,
the idiot is the guy who gave you the "it's 0k" information!!
Mainey . . .
FollowupID:
600352
Reply By: pippy62 - Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 at 17:33
Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 at 17:33
Can't remember the brand, but the reciept says PL20 solar control, and the van is still at Lonsdale. It is a digital thing that gives out data of the last 24 hrs plus other info
AnswerID:
332518
Follow Up By: Maîneÿ (wa) - Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 at 17:38
Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 at 17:38
you mean "100 AH" but we both know that anyway :-)
Mainey . . .
FollowupID:
600354
Reply By: pippy62 - Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 at 17:40
Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 at 17:40
errr!!! yes that is what I mean.
AnswerID:
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Reply By: Dunaruna - Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 at 17:45
Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 at 17:45
It's a PL20 Plasmatronics, and it is faulty or wired incorrectly.
Plasma is in Collingwood (
Melbourne), if the unit is only a couple of years old they should honour the warranty, their service dept. is very good.
AnswerID:
332524
Follow Up By: Dunaruna - Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 at 17:48
Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 at 17:48
or it could be configured incorrectly, these units have many many user settings. Go to plasmatronics.com.au and click on the manual section, you can download a very detailed manual.
FollowupID:
600355
Follow Up By: pippy62 - Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 at 17:49
Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 at 17:49
It's less than 2 months months old.
FollowupID:
600356
Follow Up By: Dunaruna - Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 at 17:54
Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 at 17:54
I suggest you download the manual. There are 2, a basic version and a very tech version. The tech version has very detailed info on configuration. If you are that way inclined, I suggest the tech version.
If you find that it is set up correctly, then the unit is faulty. I had a faulty PL20 last year, it was 4 years old, they fixed it under warranty even though it was out of warranty. Very pleasant people to deal with.
FollowupID:
600360
Follow Up By: pippy62 - Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 at 18:01
Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 at 18:01
thanks..have got the manual up now and having a read. It's a bit hard whithout the controller in front of us.
FollowupID:
600364
Reply By: Member - Ed. C. (QLD) - Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 at 21:39
Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 at 21:39
Without having checked the specs, I'm assuming that the PL series controllers have an "equalisation" mode, yes??
If so, I'll also make the assumption that this is what the bloke was referring to with his "once off cleaning process" remark.....
However, according to my limited knowledge of such matters, this equalisation process should not be applied to gel batteries..
Anyone care to confirm/deny this??
If this is the case, then the person who installed the controller (and configured it to equalise) without checking the battery type, is incompetent....
You need to take it to someone who knows what they're doing..
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AnswerID:
332551
Follow Up By: Pete Jackman (SA) - Thursday, Oct 30, 2008 at 13:21
Thursday, Oct 30, 2008 at 13:21
My controler has an optional equalisation mode an the instructions that came with it say not to use it on Gel cell batteries.
FollowupID:
600460
Reply By: Lucko - Thursday, Oct 30, 2008 at 13:12
Thursday, Oct 30, 2008 at 13:12
Gel batteries should never, ever, see more than 14.1V in their charging cycle, I learned this the hard way!
If you found it sizzling I would strongly suggest insisting on a replacement.
Once boiling starts, gas pockets can form and, effectively, reduce the available surface area of cell plate exposed to the electrolytic action. Available output (AHrs) and battery longevity suffers.
From my experience, PL20 can be a bit tricky to install and configure. They can be setup to reliably look after flooded, VRLA, AGM or gel batteries, but the controller has to be told what type it is charging. If you are a numbers person, the PL20 is packed with logging information about your charging and load habits, perhaps a little overkill for your application, but certainly allows for expansion in the future.
I hope this helps pippy62.
Mark
AnswerID:
332620
Follow Up By: Dunaruna - Thursday, Oct 30, 2008 at 16:36
Thursday, Oct 30, 2008 at 16:36
I agree, it sounds like the emax is set too high. From memory, I think it can be set up to 17v.
FollowupID:
600503
Reply By: pippy62 - Sunday, Nov 02, 2008 at 22:37
Sunday, Nov 02, 2008 at 22:37
thanks to all who offered suggestions, He called yesterday to say he has replaced controller, but wants to monitor it for a few days. We will follow up all your ideas when we get the van back home
AnswerID:
333273