16 replies to this topic

[bignerdski]

Hey guys, 

 

How's everyone doing?

 

I'm the proud new owner of a Fleet that was installed on Monday. I've been reading up on forums, the user manual, and all over the internet in order to educate myself as much as possible and to avoid paying unnecessary idiot tax.

 

 

An area where I continue to get lost is battery management. As I've sifted through the information, the answers are so granular that I'm having a hard time grasping the larger concept. If anyone can explain in layman's terms, or their personal approach, it would be appreciated greatly.

 

My goal is to know how to use my FWC properly so I don't kill my batteries and understand the relationship between my 160 watt solar panel and 2 battery set up (Exide group 24, 75ah x2).

 

Some specific questions are as follows:

• Does the Zamp Solar Controller act as a tri-metric battery monitor as well as monitoring the solar data?
• Can you explain the relationship between Volts, Amp and Amp/hours in general?
• During the day, the zamp controller shows various values for Volts, Amps and Amp/hours. Are the values instantaneous values of what is happening at that moment. Do volts indicate the current state the batteries are in? 
• Should I be weary of running the fridge (85L) too long?

Again, thanks so much for the advice.

 

Best,

Adam B

 

[PaulT]

--snip--

Some specific questions are as follows:

• Does the Zamp Solar Controller act as a tri-metric battery monitor as well as monitoring the solar data?
• Can you explain the relationship between Volts, Amp and Amp/hours in general?
• During the day, the zamp controller shows various values for Volts, Amps and Amp/hours. Are the values instantaneous values of what is happening at that moment. Do volts indicate the current state the batteries are in? 
• Should I be weary of running the fridge (85L) too long?

Again, thanks so much for the advice.
 
Best,
Adam B

Congratulations on your camper.
1. Zamp controller has some features of Trimetric but not as complete plus the Zamp is also a charge controller.
2. Think of volts as how hard the electrons push, amps as rate of flow down the wire, and amp/hours as how much energy is stored in the battery or how much of the battery's contents was consumed by a device over time
3. Displayed volts and amps are instantaneous readings. Amp hours on the Zamp is not a useful reading because it does not take into account charging by the truck or the Iota power supply.
4. Voltage gives a poor approximation of State of Charge unless the battery has been sitting for hours withoun charging or power being removed by devices.
5. Use the voltage to tell you when your running the fridge has pulled the batteries low and then run your truck to recharge the batteries if you have insufficient solar to keep it charged.

The 160 watt should be able to more easily keep the batteries charged than the 100 watt panel FWC used to supply. For a while record the Zamp voltage in the morning before solar charging and in the evening after charging stops untill you get familiar with how your system works. You will get in the habit of staying aware of your battery SOC and learn when to start the truck to charge the batteries before they get too depleted. Use your camper like you want but be aware that continued overcast or camping under trees in hot weather may require running truck more than usual.

Paul

[longhorn1]

Adam, first welcome aboard. You are in for some fun. I'm one who reads this forum on a regular basis, but some of the topics are way over my head. I chose not to get caught up and get myself more confused. We have a 2014 Grandby with 2 batteries and 100W solar panel on the roof. We have the 80L compressor fridge and I use a CAP Machine. We watch the AMPs very closely and have never gotten close to the danger zone. When we drop the top to sight see we are also charging the camper. I held off purchasing the 80W portable solar panel for a year. When we are going camping off grid I take the portable panel. Right now my camper is Covered and I check on it every week. All power is off and I plug the portable panel in every 3-4 weeks. Saturday was sunny and I charged for 4 hours getting my amps up to 13.3. We have camped with lots of rain and never have I gotten nervous. With 2 batteries and 160W you shouldn't have any issues or concerns. You didn't mention whether you are going camping anytime soon or storing your camper for warmer weather. Like I said, the electrical is completely off and the fridge door is open. If you aren't going anywhere you can turn the power off or just the fridge. Enjoy your camper. jd

Sent from my SM-G900V using Wander The West mobile app

Edited by longhorn1, 15 February 2016 - 01:17 PM.

[MarkBC]

• Can you explain the relationship between Volts, Amp and Amp/hours in general?

 

Here's an analogy for what Paul explained on this fundamental point.

 

It's like water stored in a reservoir behind a dam (like a battery, a way to store and provide energy), with a pipe coming out of the bottom of the dam (the pipe is like the wires):

"Volts" are analogous to how deep the water is behind the dam (over the pipe) -- how hard the water can push, how much pressure at the pipe

"Amps" are analogous to the flow rate of water coming out of the pipe (e.g., "10,000 gallons per minute")

"Amp-hours" are analogous to an amount of water -- how much water is stored behind the dam or how much water has flowed out of the dam (e.g., "10 million gallons")

 

 

And welcome to WTW, bignerdski

[longhorn1]

Mark,  now that is something even I can understand.  Thanks for the simple explanation.  jd

[northshorehenry]

I find this to be an excellent read.12 volt life 

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Edited by northshorehenry, 16 February 2016 - 12:09 AM.

[ntsqd]

I find this to be an excellent read. http://www.marxrv.co...volt/12volt.htm


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Period in the URL (not the text) is going 404, try: http://www.marxrv.co...volt/12volt.htm

 

the link above looks to cover the basics and there are some good books on the topic. I have these two for reference:

http://www.amazon.co...&s=books&sr=1-1

 

http://www.amazon.co...&s=books&sr=1-1

I think either will be a good choice, but it is my recollection that the Barre book is a little more user friendly.

 

When you feel that you've got a good grasp on the basics have a look at: https://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/

 Without a grasp of the basics I fear that Handy Bob's blog will be more hurtful than helpful. Some of what he says doesn't apply or is way over the top given the way that pop-tops tend to be used. To be fair, he is writing from the full-timer's perspective with other full-timers in mind.

Edited by ntsqd, 15 February 2016 - 04:16 PM.

[ETAV8R]

Welcome...

 

Here are my suggestions...

 

https://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/

 

This one has a bunch of links and takes a lot of time to get through.

http://www.expeditio...Solar-Power-FAQ

[Timothy McGowen]

Adam,

 

Congratulations and welcome to the group.

[bignerdski]

Everybody, thanks for all the great info. I’m currently reading through the links you sent, which will probably result in more questions. Until I get through them all, I've responded to everyone below.

 

@PaulT

All this is great. I’m pretty sure I get what you’re saying. Bear with me, and let me summarize in my own words to see if I’ve got it right:

1. Besides the Zamp’s main functionality as a charge controller, I can roughly use it to gauge the current state of the battery but without the exact specs a true Trimetric would provide.
2. Got it. Basically, Amp Hours is how much energy I have to use in my batteries. From what I’ve read as well, you never want to drain more than 50% of the batteries. Correct?
3. Instantaneous Voltage is the reading of the batteries is at the current state. Instantaneous Amps is how much current is being generated by the solar panels at that moment. I understand that Amp/hrs is how much energy is stored in my batteries, but does the Amp/hrs reading on the Zamp controller indicate how much energy is being put back into the batteries?
4. If Voltage is a poor approximation of the SOC, should I pay much attention to the Voltage reading on the controller?
5. Is there a do not dip below this number? I think I read if you dip below 12.2 Volts, that’s no bueno.

 

@longhorn1

What’s a CAP Machine? Cappuccino? (kinda serious/kinda joking). When you watching your AMP’s closely, what exactly are you looking for? Do you mind giving me a couple specific scenario for context? Also, I live in Portland, OR so we’re not exactly the sunshine state. I’m starting to think my camper will live on my truck permanently (my drift boat took up the extra driveway space). I’m taking the family out for an inaugural trip this coming weekend, so I’ll put everything to the test then.

 

@MarkBC

I speak fluent analogies. Thanks Mark. I understand the basic difference between Amps and Amp/hours, but am still unsure of when to pay attention to one versus the other. You got another analogy up your sleeve?

 

@northshorehenry

Reading this now. Thanks bud.

 

@ntsqd

I’ll get to these after I get my solar/battery legs firmly planted in the ground. Appreciate the resources.

 

@ETAV8R

That Expedition Portal link looks deep. Appreciate that as well.

 

@Timothy McGowen

Thanks for the kind words. Looking forward to contributing more as I learn more.

Edited by bignerdski, 16 February 2016 - 06:43 AM.