Re: (ET) E-15 not getting out of first speed

Thanks for your input on the charge controllers. I've had this one for probably at least 5 or 6 years. It's been quite a while, but if I remember correctly, I adjusted the set point (the battery voltage at which the controller turns the charger on) at somewhere around 39 Volts. It *seems* like it's functioning properly. When the batteries are heavily depleted, the charger stays on almost continuously. I think the charge controller keeps the charger on for something like 5 minutes, then shuts off, and doesn't turn on again until the pack voltage drops below the set point (which I think I put at 39 Volts, maybe even 40 - if I remember correctly there was a set screw to turn to adjust that). With a depleted pack, the voltage drops back down below the set point very quickly, almost instantly such that it only shuts off for a brief hiccup of time. As the pack gets more charged, the charger stays off for longer and longer, as it takes longer for the pack voltage to drop back down below the set point.

It is possible I'm mis-remembering what the set point voltage is set at though - I can try to check it again. Hmmm... that might require bringing some power supplies home from work.... or just measure the pack voltage after the charger shuts off, until it kicks on again, and see what voltage it kicks on at.

From: bushman165s aol com <bushman165s aol com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 17, 2017 11:21 AM
To: Briggs, Michael; elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu; noaddress drmm net
Subject: Re: (ET) E-15 not getting out of first speed

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="" 862-2828">(603) 862-2828________________________________________________________________________From: David Roden Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2017 2:42 PMTo: elec-trak cosmos phy.tufts.eduSubject: Re: (ET) E-15 not getting out of first speedHave you measured the battery voltage under load?  Under those conditions avoltage of 5.25v per battery (31.5v for the pack) indicates fullydischarged.  If they can't maintain that with a fresh charge, they're prettymuch junk.Unfortunately, that's about all I have to suggest. I no longer remember muchabout the GE control scheme since I've been using a solid state controllerfor many years now, so I'll leave further debugging to the GE experts here.David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =Note: mail sent to the "etpost" address will not reach me.  To sendme a private message, please use the address 
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