Re: (ET) Breaking in a new pack

["harry landis" <hlandis hotmail com>]

There seems to still be some misunderstanding of what the Landis charger 
controller does. It is not a float charger. It is not a stand alone charger. 
It basically replaces the timer. If you use the timer, the ET charger turns 
on when the operator turns it on , and turns off after the set time elapses. 
If you use the Landis controller, the ET charger turns on when the resting 
no load voltage of the pack falls below 38 volts. It turns off 5 minutes 
later. When the resting no load voltage falls below 38 volts again, the 
charger charges another 5 minutes. The charging voltage has nothing to do 
with the 38 volt setpoint. The charging voltage is the voltage the ET 
charger puts out, which depends on all the things that have been discussed 
numerous times on this list (capacitor, state-of-charge, etc).
So the Landis controller is not a float or sort-of-float charger. It is a 
triggered timer that merely turns on and off the ET battery charger. It will 
(via the charger) charge the pack if it is discharged, and then maintain it 
and keep it equalized.

BTW, I have sold about 30 of them now, and as far as I know, everyone is 
happy. I still have more available.

Harry Landis


From: "David Roden (Akron OH USA)" <roden ald net>
To: Steve Gaarder <gaarder ecovillage ithaca ny us>,   Elec-trak 
<elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu>
Subject: Re: (ET) Breaking in a new pack
Date: Sun, 25 Aug 2002 22:24:48 -0400

On 25 Aug 2002 at 16:55, Steve Gaarder wrote:

> I'd like some advice
> on breaking them in.

First, I'd give them a long, slow equalizing charge before running them the
first time.  If you have a good constant-voltage 36v charger, charge at 
44.1
volts until current falls to 5 amps.  Then hold current at 5 amps for about 
2-4
hours, or until ON-CHARGE voltage stops rising, or until ON-CHARGE
voltage hits 45 volts.

If you have a good automatic 12 volt charger, you can do this individually 
to
each of the three 12v series pairs.

Unfortunately the GE charger is really too crude for this.  If that's all 
you
have, just charge as you would any other battery and don't sweat it.

The other part of the break-in is to cycle them shallowly at first -- 
staring with
10%, then 20%, working up to 50% of capacity per cycle.  Batteries that are
new, or haven't been used for a while, are like athletes that have gone 
soft.
They need to work up to their peak level gradually.

For sure don't over-discharge them when they're new.  That is, don't run 
them
until the tractor stops.

The Landis controller doesn't really have anything to do with this.  It's 
mainly
for sort-of-float-charging batteries that won't be used for several months.

Can anybody think of any other suggestions?

David




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