electronic field controller

[potter]

Hi anyone familiar with the field controller version 8.3 in Home Power mag august 94. I have a 95 amp motorcraft alternator that I have belted to my Lister SR 1 (1.9 HP).I have had to bypass the regulator in order not to stall the engine with full output, by using a rheostat but with my age and memory do not trust myself to babysit this
I am hoping this will solve my problem it looks as if you can adjust the max amps out and that it will cut back on the charge rate when the batteries are full. I am not much on electronics but I think I can handle this with less than a 30 pc. part count Appreciate any info or if anyone knows of a better circuit it would be appreciated.

  Potter     

[captndiet]

Potter

I have the same basic issue.

I have not tried the Home Power controller as I am working with 24 volt.

Anybody got a circuit for 24 volt?

What ohm and wattage rheostat are you using Potter?

Jeff

[mobile_bob]

reostat control is fine for emergency bulk charging, provided you can do a bit of babysitting

anything more than that, like buck, absorption and float is asking for a full time job in front of a meter,

for equalization the use of reostat control would be insanity, or nearly so very quickly.


if the system as outlined by homepower mag, will do at least the two functions, amp control and voltage setpoint
control, then it would be adequate for a battery charger with some caveat's

the one problem that their system doesn't address is temp compensation of the batteries and their need for differing
voltages at differing temps, which is less of an issue "if" the batteries are in a temp controlled environment and kept
somewhere around 77degee's F, or some other cooler temp that is stable such as that found in an underground bunker.

even if the ambient temp is stable, if the charger is relatively large compared to battery capacity, the batteries can still heat up
and there can be reduction in lifespan if they are allowed to be used at elevated temps

the other problem is no provision for temp sensing of the alternator, without this it is likely that the motorcraft alternator could be cooked and damaged, unless you set the max amps to perhaps no more than 50-60% of max output and monitor for stable temp
in continuous operation,, trial and test with a temp gun until you know for sure where stable operation occurs and tweaking the
regulator to maintain this would be necessary.

aside for all this, balmar, xantrex, hehr, ample power, and at least 2 other manufactures in england make very sophisticated regulators
that do the amp manager, volt setpoints for bulk, absorption, float, and equalization, and also they have a ramp up function that is particularly useful in easing the load in steps up on the engine, this saves belts and reduces emissions.

they come in 12 and 24volt versions, also the 12volt version can be used with a 12 volt alternator for 24 or in some cases 48volt charging as outlined in my pdf file down in the white paper section of our forum.

bob g

[mobile_bob]

check these out, sterling has been around for quite a while and should be a very good unit
and at an excellent price

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Sterling-ProReg-B-Marine-12-Volt-Advanced-Regulator-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem4a9ee7cea9QQitemZ320493571753QQptZBoatQ5fPartsQ5fAccessoriesQ5fGear


no i am not connected to sterling or the ebay seller
and have never used one of the sterling units.

fwiw

bob g

[rcavictim]

they come in 12 and 24volt versions, also the 12volt version can be used with a 12 volt alternator for 24 or in some cases 48volt charging as outlined in my pdf file down in the white paper section of our forum.

bob g

Can you provide a link to that page Bob?  I tried unsuccessfully to find the paper you refer to.  Thanx!

[mobile_bob]

http://www.microcogen.info/index.php?topic=157.0


bob g

[potter]

Jeff I am using a rheostat out of an old Ford F150 used to control the dash lights, works fine dont know the Ohms.

     Potter

[rcavictim]

http://www.microcogen.info/index.php?topic=157.0


bob g

Thanx Bob.  I didn't find a white paper, just a discussion thread. 

Do you or anyone else know of a off-the-shelf available charging controller for a 48 volt battery bank that does the 3 step process?  I need to make one as large as 10 kW throughput in bulk charge mode and was thinking that a small, low power controller could be hacked to handle more current (power) by adding parallelled power mosfets or IGBT's.

I am thinking that a commercial forklift charger rated at 48 volt with 3-phase input that has the 3-step controller inside may be as close as perfect for my application as I can find pre-made.  Something in the 200 amp DC output range is sought with  208V, 3-phase input.

[captndiet]

Potter,

I just got done installing a 35 ohm, 50 watt rheostat in between the voltage regulator and alternator on my 24 volt, 140 amp Leece Neville.

Works like a charm.

Turn it down, start the engine, let it warm up, turn it up. The original voltage regulator still works fine.

A side note is that it was 42 degrees in the generator shed today. Aside from it took three tries to crank over the 6/1, the rheostat allowed me to turn the alternator down and let the engine run longer putting more heat back into the engine and concrete building.

Anyone want to recommend a propane back-up heater for a 200 square foot building that won't be the fuse for hydrogen gas?

Or I could put a couple hot water heater elements in a 55 gallon drum of water and run it when done charging batteries?

Or........

Jeff

[316204]

look for alternator24vdc.pdf in BLUE LETTERS

http://www.microcogen.info/index.php?topic=157.0


bob g

Thanx Bob.  I didn't find a white paper, just a discussion thread. 

Do you or anyone else know of a off-the-shelf available charging controller for a 48 volt battery bank that does the 3 step process?  I need to make one as large as 10 kW throughput in bulk charge mode and was thinking that a small, low power controller could be hacked to handle more current (power) by adding parallelled power mosfets or IGBT's.

I am thinking that a commercial forklift charger rated at 48 volt with 3-phase input that has the 3-step controller inside may be as close as perfect for my application as I can find pre-made.  Something in the 200 amp DC output range is sought with  208V, 3-phase input.