Battery Fuel Gauge [RE-wrenches]

[Lance Barker]

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Jay Peltz, Peltz Power wrote:

> I await more wrenches feedback on this controller.


Hello all,
We are testing an Apollo T80 charge controller with integral SOC meter 
on our off-grid system, alongside our two MX-60s (which, of course, we 
love our OutBacks). Thus far I am very pleased with the performance and 
features. It is as Ezra said, a “work in progress” but this is made 
possible (even fun) because the T80 is field upgradeable (by downloading 
firmware into a laptop PC and then installing on the T80 from the laptop).
Apollo has been very responsive to suggestions for improvement, which 
are incorporated into the revisions. At this point, the SOC meter 
appears to be more accurate than the E-Meter in our system, since we are 
in a late fall/early winter Northwest weather pattern where meters tend 
to accumulate negative amp hours.
It is my hope that other wrenches will install a T80 on their own system 
(if battery-based or -backed) and contribute to the refinement process. 
We have long lamented the lack of coordination between charge control 
and SOC meters, so this is a great opportunity to get what we want.
Lance Barker
Morning Hill Associates
Canyon City OR

Bob-O Schultze, Electron Connection, also wrote:
 > Hiya Wrenches,
 > I've been beta (well, started with Alpha.2-yikes!) testing the Apollo 
T80 for many months now. As Ezra said, the SOC algorithms are a work in 
progress
 > although there is a new firmware rev that I'm soon to download which 
may allay my reservations about that. Having the ability to upgrade the 
firmware from the > web is very cool. Takes a PC portable which is a 
PITA for us Mac freaks, but wadda ya gonna do... Hopefully, Apollo is 
past the major revisions-seems like, > but once the machine gets out 
there in lots of different systems and situations, there are bound to be 
tweaks. Haven't seen a product yet that didn't.
 > At this point Apollo has the MPPT controller part of the unit working 
very well. It's harvest is as good as and sometime a bit better than the 
MX-which I love.
 > I'm really looking forward to the wireless remote when it becomes 
available. IF they get the SOC part sorted out -and there's no reason to 
expect they won't-
 > that'll save running twisted pairs from the batteries to wherever. 
That's always worth something and sometimes a lot.
 > Winter is coming. Time for all us northern RE bozos to take a little 
time off and enjoy life a little, eh?
 > cheers, Bob-O


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