At $50 for the inverter and the "CostCo" warranty, I guess I shouldn't complain about an alarm, but the point was that the specs said the low voltage alarm shouldn't go off until the batteries were below 11VDC. That's why I was wondering why the alarm went off at 11.7.
I am using the wires that came with it, but you're right, they might be undersized. I'll have to use my DVM to check the voltage at the inverter terminals next time I get the alarm.
Thanks for the heads up.
* This post was
edited 05/27/09 07:35am by EandRG *
97 31-foot "Minnie" Winnie (Ford V10 w/ a serious case of Banks-envy)
Onan MicroQuiet 4000, PD9160A w/ Wizard, 2 Optima D34M AGMs, K&N Filter, sleeping for 7.
I've heard gel batteries have a lot of quirks... specifically in how high a voltage you can put on them during a charge. I have the "Intellicharge" PD9160A 60-amp converter/charger, and I recall reading where in bulk charge mode, it might not be the best for gel batteries. AGM's appear to be the way to go, but both gels & AGMs are $$$!!! (Although, I have two Optima D34M AGMs now ... but that's only ~110 AHrs total. A coworker used to work for TROJAN and said he might be able to hook me up with a couple T105s.)
AGM is Absorbed Glass Matt technology, liquid acid/electrolyte is absorbed in the 'glass matt' separators that act like a sponge to hold the electrolyte
GEL batteries, the acid/electrolyte is GELLED like jello or petroleum jelly, totally different way of being built
Do not exceed the recommended charging voltage or current and AGM's are more forgiving than regular lead acid batteries
typically regular 'flooded cell' 'liquid electrolyte' batteries pack a more amps into the same size/group number than say say a line life AGM
spiral wound AGM optima etc.. have a lot less amp hrs per battery than the same size 'flooded cell'
Options, always have options, and the journey goes much smoother ....
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I can report after several trips with my MSW Vector 2000 inverter connected by its wiring kit to my four batteries that it all works great!
I use it for boiling water in the 1000w small kettle and it doesn't eat much battery. The inverter fan is not too loud. The inverter is in the cargo bay up front of the 5er under the bed and doesn't wake the DW up.
With the microwave I am getting braver using it each trip. The Sharp microwave's readout goes wonky, showing only some lines for each letter or number so it is hard to read times as it counts down, which is sort of weird, but ISTR somebody warned about that in the thread earlier on.
The microwave does take longer to cook on the MSW than when on shore power or gen, but it still gets it done. It will "cook" frozen veggies, heat left- overs, and even cook an Idaho "baking" potato in about 8 minutes similar time to when on shore power. Of course this eats lots of battery but I don't care.
The only thing that ticks me off is Can Tire was selling those MSW Xantrex 1750s last winter for $299 so I got this Vector 2000 for half price instead over the Internet for about the same price after all the currency exchange and shipping. So sure enough, Can Tire had a sale recently on those Xantrex 1750s--$ 114 !!! Drat and double drat.
Anyway, you don't need a PSW inverter to do simple microwave jobs. Maybe popcorn--can't say about that
GTYE - I'm not sure what you mean by "susceptible".
There are limitations that apply to GELLED Batteries (Gel Cells), not AGM's. This is what I found on Gels: They cannot be fast charged on a conventional automotive charger or they may be permanently damaged. This is not usually a problem with solar electric systems, but if an auxiliary generator or inverter bulk charger is used, current must be limited to the manufacturers specifications. Most better inverters commonly used in solar electric systems can be set to limit charging current to the batteries.(1)
AGM's, on the other hand: The charging voltages are the same as for any standard battery - no need for any special adjustments or problems with incompatible chargers or charge controls. And, since the internal resistance is extremely low, there is almost no heating of the battery even under heavy charge and discharge currents. The Concorde (and most AGM) batteries have no charge or discharge current limits. (1)
We use Black & Decker "Thermal Carafe" coffee maker Model TCM 308 rated 1100W @ 120V AC @ 60Hz. To make a full pot of coffee the coffee maker runs on inverter(Prosine 2.0 as mentioned before) for 7.5 minutes @ 12.3V and draws 84A. The voltage and a current draw stays constant during the 7.5 min. run. This was measured in the morning with battery bank capacity at 87%. Our daily(nightly) use of power brings the battery bank capacity down to about 83-87% capacity. When we start the generator in the morning the Prosine 2.0 charges with a current in 80A range for a few minutes and then start tapering down.
The gel cell battery bank (4x6V 8GGC8 East Penn) has 360Ah capacity and according to the manufacturer the maximum recommended charging current @ 0.25C is 90A. Each battery post is connected to the shunts and fuses with 36" 2/0 cable.
The Prosine 2.0 has a fully programmable 100A charger built in and the Blue Sky SB3024i MPPT solar controller with IPN Pro/s display
panel/programmer is also fully programmable so proper charging of the battery banks is not a problem. Both chargers have a temperature sensors attached to the battery posts and monitor battery temperature continuously. The system works flawlessly-could not hope for better working DC/AC system.
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