Power Supplies and Solar Regulators .....
Submitted: Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 13:55
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Mandrake
One for the Sparkies ...
Is there any reason why I should not attach one of these
15 VDC/10 Amp Power Supply
/10 Amp directly to my 20 Amp Solar Regulator to charge my AGM when at a powered site ..
I know most people have CTEK type chargers for that purpose but as I already have a 20 Amp reg with 5 way charging that is currently powered by the Solar Panel - I can't think of a reason not to use the reg from a power supply ...
Any takers ?
Cheers
Mandrake - Still solaring along
Reply By: Wok - Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 14:14
Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 14:14
Its Mains input.....?....would need an inverter in front of your solar regulator or does it output Mains?
eng hoe
AnswerID:
388956
Follow Up By: Mandrake - Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 14:28
Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 14:28
Ita a 15 volt DC Power Supply - powered from 240 V AC mains connected to a 20 Amp Solar Regulator which is connected to my AGM Battery ...
Is that clearer ?
Mandrake - DC powered ..
FollowupID:
656676
Follow Up By: Wok - Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 14:52
Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 14:52
Yes thks....solar regs are shunt regulators....can't be connected the way you wish to use it :(
eng hoe
FollowupID:
656684
Follow Up By: Nomadic Navara - Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 17:19
Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 17:19
Not all solar regulators are of the shunt type. If Mandrake can supply details of his one then someone may have a definitive answer for him.
PeterD
FollowupID:
656709
Follow Up By: Dennis Ellery - Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 23:35
Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 23:35
Tony, the engineer, at the 12 Volt
Shop informed me that few shunt regulators are sold these days - too inefficient - most are Pulse Width Modulated.
FollowupID:
656785
Reply By: dbish - Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 14:52
Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 14:52
Hi Mandrake, If you are looking at Jaycar, I use thereSwitch mode dual stage float charger (MB3612 for $109 ) similar price & built for the job O/P 12 amp. I have this conected to my battery which is also solar charged 100W panel.
AnswerID:
388964
Follow Up By: Member - Malcolm (Townsville) - Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 15:23
Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 15:23
dbish
Can that charger also be used as a power supply with/without 12V battery for running an AutoFridge (5A at startup then 4A).
I also looked at the MB3606 (• 13.6V/5A Power Supply) as
well as normal 12/24V charging.
Which would be the better for me?
Malcolm
FollowupID:
656689
Follow Up By: dbish - Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 16:38
Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 16:38
The Charger would be the best to use conected to the battery, with fridge also hooked up to the battery. The charger will automaticly abjust for the fridge load, thats how my setup works. The chager has a built in cooling fan which comes on with extra load.
FollowupID:
656703
Follow Up By: Member - Malcolm (Townsville) - Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 18:58
Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 18:58
Thank you dbish
Let me take another stance.
Say I want to use the frig at home without a battery (beer frig ;-) ) but mainly to keep things working so they don't dry out. Would the MB3606 be a better choice?
Can the MB3612 be used direct to the frig? No battery. I suspect not.
Malcolm
FollowupID:
656722
Follow Up By: dbish - Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 19:10
Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 19:10
Malcolm Just curious wot sort of fridge are u using, & no I wouldnt use the battery charger to power any thing on its own.
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Member - Malcolm (Townsville) - Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 19:17
Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 19:17
dbish
Check out my post on this thread 73101.
It is a 73l AutoFrig
Malcolm
FollowupID:
656726
Follow Up By: dbish - Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 19:32
Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 19:32
Perhaps you could run it on the 12V power supply on your test bench I noticed in one of your pictures?
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: dbish - Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 19:54
Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 19:54
If you dont have a powersuply try this one fron Jay Car MP3802 its rated 25Amp adj voltage up to 16Volt @ $199. I have there older model which sold for $99 rated 15Amp but is nit listed any more. It will run my Waeco CF80 no prob.
FollowupID:
656736
Follow Up By: Member - Malcolm (Townsville) - Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 21:43
Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 21:43
Sorry Mandrake I thought this was going to be a simple case.
dbish. I don't own all that test gear in the photo - just the Egel Wireless monitor. KoolFix just loaned it to me for a week.
I just looked at that PS and, yes, that would be suitable for running the frig but then I would not have al device for charging my battery - unless I bought a charger as
well. That's why I thought the MB3606 would be more suitable for ME.
Thanks for your help.
Malcolm
FollowupID:
656759
Follow Up By: dbish - Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 22:19
Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 22:19
Malcolm you can use the MP3802 Power supply as a charger but you will need an Altenator diode on a heat sink in the positive lead to stop the battery from feeding back into the power supply, when the powersuply is switched off .
FollowupID:
656769
Follow Up By: Member - Malcolm (Townsville) - Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 18:47
Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 18:47
Just a follow up .....
Went into JC today and bought the MB3606 on the basis that it can also be used as a 5A power supply. If not I can return it and get my money back $149.
As a 7A wet cell battery charger it works
well. It is actually charging the battery at the same time as the battery is running the frig. (from 12.4V to 13.5V in say 6 hours).
As a 5A power supply, I'm not sure (yet). The frig fan did not start up. I need to do some more testing when the frig is 'hot' and guaranteed to put a load on the circuit.
Malcolm
FollowupID:
657007
Follow Up By: dbish - Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 18:58
Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 18:58
Sounds like a good deal to me
Malcolm, especialy with that money back garantee, if th powersuply is 5Amp continuous should good.
FollowupID:
657009
Reply By: Robin Miller - Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 15:37
Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 15:37
Not the best unit to connect Mandrake , the Jaycar units metioned above are suitable though.
Reasons - It is an open frame unit designed to be used inside
an enclosure to be legal because of exposure to 240vac and
higher level of radio emissions, and is meant to be attached so that
heat flows into an external heat sink(normally the enclosure).
It also drains back a little current from battery when not switched on.
By the way, the connection should be to the battery not via solar
charger.
AnswerID:
388972
Follow Up By: Mandrake - Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 16:23
Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 16:23
Robin ,
Thanks for that - Is there a technological reason why the Power Supply DC source is different to the Solar panel DC source ? I would have thought that
the source voltage would be OK regardless of how it was produced ...
Cheers
Steve - Forgot to reply to your post !!
FollowupID:
656701
Reply By: Robin Miller - Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 16:43
Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 16:43
Most definately Mandrake.
I can only give you a generic reply here because there are different types.
But basically its about how the regulator works.
Some regulators are shunt regulators , i.e. they bypass
extra power from the solar panel to ground.
This is ok cause panels only put out a few amps.
If you put a power supply on the input to such a regulator you
can blow it to bits (the regulator).
This is because the power supply can put out much higher
peak current than the panel , particularly if the power supply
has capacitors on its output.
AnswerID:
388989
Follow Up By: Mandrake - Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 16:56
Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 16:56
Cheers Robin -
I shall refrain from purchasing that unit and get the other mentioned above which connects directly to the battery ...
Rgds
Mandrake
FollowupID:
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