|
Was trying to follow this thread, but getting lots of good input. I noticed you said you're using a Landis charge controller and asked for opinions. Here it goes: I purchased 10 of these controllers from Harry a few years ago. I installed a few in place of the timer for my own tractors and my parent's. Within a few weeks, all of the solid-state relays had stopped working, leaving batteries low on charge. Harry sent me some extras to replace those that quit. I have spoken to a few other people that use them, but no explanation for my problem. I connect them the way they're intended, just can't make them last. On to my next point... I have an instrumentation background, s o after relay failures and charge concerns, i setup a bench test for checking setpoint of each controller that i had in the drawer. Using a new Tenma benchtop multimeter and an adjusted Heathkit power supply, i was able to determine and adjust setpoints on all of them to a nominal voltage. I don't remember the value exactly, but somewhere around 38.5V. With this bench setup, I found that setpoints were all over the place and no two were set the same, with ALL of them being lower than suggested values for indication of full charge. I know that voltage is not necessarily indication of charge, but this is how the controller works, so that's the process variable to measure. All of that said, I have stopped using them because I couldn't get a reliable relay. I still have a drawer full of them. If anyone has insight on what I might be doing wrong to cause the issue, I'd gladly listen and start to use them again. My input is that it is possible the setpoint on your controller is too low to get to a full charge. Chad ------ Original message------ From: Briggs, Michael Date: Tue, May 16, 2017 8:35 PM To: elec-trak@cosmos.p hy.tufts.edu;noaddress drmm net; Cc: Subject:Re: (ET) E-15 not getting out of first speed The batteries definitely aren't completely dead - they can hold a charge well enough to mow for a while. I'm wondering if I'm just not charging long enough. I'm using a Landis charge controller. For people using a Landis charge controller, how long do you normally charge your batteries after they've been pretty thoroughly depleted?I installed a 240 V EVSE capable of up to 10 kw for charging my Nissan Leaf (which can only charge at 6.6 kW max), so maybe I've just become too accustomed to quick recharging, and haven't been charging these lead acid batteries long enough....Mike________________________________Michael S. Briggs, PhDUNH Physics Department< a href="">(603) 862-2828________________________________________________________________________From: David Roden |