Have started to do a rewire of the 12 volt system on the van.
I am planning to fit up the c-tek dual dc charger.
Currently the solar regulator has a SOC (state of charge) meter built in & I am not certain if the DC-DC charger can be connected to the solar panel because of the SOC.
Can anyone supply me with any info or advice on the SOC metering, and if the dc to dc charger can still be used in conjunction with a regulator.
(Should mention the regulator is a BP GCR- 1200)
Thanks
Daryl
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Alcohol is not the answer. It only makes you forget the question.
Daryl, your BP regulator is a re-badged regulator, Steca I think. Steca, and the similar Plasmatronics regulators may be extended with external current shunts and proprietary circuitry to measure currents not passing through the regulator. They are used where you have heavy loads like inverters and additional battery charging facilities. These external shunts feed charge and discharge currents to be added/subtracted from the solar panel current so that your SOC readings continue to be reliable.
If you have a DC-DC charger or 240 V charger on your battery system and you are not using the external shunt system your SOC readings will be unreliable.
Quote "Can anyone supply me with any info or advice on the SOC metering, and if the dc to dc charger can still be used in conjunction with a regulator." The short is answer you can still use your SOC readings if you use some add-on circuitry to your solar regulator.
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PeterD Nissan Navara D23 diesel auto, Spaceland pop-top Retired radio and electronics technician. NSW Central Coast.
Daryl, your BP regulator is a re-badged regulator, Steca I think. Steca, and the similar Plasmatronics regulators may be extended with external current shunts and proprietary circuitry to measure currents not passing through the regulator. They are used where you have heavy loads like inverters and additional battery charging facilities. These external shunts feed charge and discharge currents to be added/subtracted from the solar panel current so that your SOC readings continue to be reliable.
If you have a DC-DC charger or 240 V charger on your battery system and you are not using the external shunt system your SOC readings will be unreliable.
Quote "Can anyone supply me with any info or advice on the SOC metering, and if the dc to dc charger can still be used in conjunction with a regulator." The short is answer you can still use your SOC readings if you use some add-on circuitry to your solar regulator.
Hi Peter, to what extenet are the readings unreliable. I service a van with 135 watt solar panel & 15 amp Steca. All load is drawn through the regulator, except a purpleline caravan mover that can pull up to 40 amps. The battery is also charged directly from the tug when driving. I can understand the readings being incorrect after a load or charge directly on the battery. Would the reading be corrected after a couple of days with charge & load going through the regulator (parked up on solar), or do they always remain incorrect???
wasn_me wrote: Hi Peter, to what extenet are the readings unreliable.
Pete, the SOC calculations are done by measuring the current flowing into and out of the battery. This is done with two shunts in your controller, one in the solar panel circuit and the other in the load terminal circuit. The calculator circuitry adds the solar current and subtracts the load current. If you have a standard simple installation without external shunts, any charging current or discharge current that does not pass through the regulator is not included in the SOC calculations.
When you use your purpleline caravan mover you are drawing current direct from the battery. The regulator's calculator will not take tis into account. After you have used the mover a bit you will have discharged your battery a fair bit but the SOC reading will not have changed because the regulator did not see this discharge current. You wil be lead to think your battery is in a better state of charge than it really is. Or in other words your SOC reading is unreliable.
You can fix this up by using an external shunt if your regulator has provision to accommodate one. You run the supply to your van mover and any other heavy current through it. If you have an external charger you run the charge current through the shunt. That way the shunt supplies current readings to your regulator's SOC calculations. Your SOC readings will then be reliable.
Sorry for the dalay. Computer problems yesterday and was at the caravan show today.
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PeterD Nissan Navara D23 diesel auto, Spaceland pop-top Retired radio and electronics technician. NSW Central Coast.
Hi Peter, Thanks for your reply. Something has been bugging me since this topic started. I've always thought the SOC reading was too high. After your reply & reading the Steca operating instructions, I think I've found what's been bugging me.
The Steca instructions say the charging method & deep discharge protection are controlled by the calculated SOC value. (Factory preset). If loads are directly connected to the battery, or the battery is charged from another source, then the voltage control mode must be selected.
It's a simple step to change this mode from SOC reading to voltage reading, just means won't have an SOC reading (which was, is, incorrect anyway) but will have correct battery charging & deep discharge protection <11.1 volts
This goes to show, never to old to learn. Many thanks for your help.
Cheers Pete
-- Edited by wasn_me on Thursday 25th of April 2013 08:59:56 AM
