5000W/ 48V water heater dump load element [RE-wrenches]

[Darryl Thayer]

Hi Guys and everybody
I have been involved with this scheme three times, and
have had trouble every time.  In the most recient
case, a Solar Boost from RV products attemps to charge
the battery, tristar diverts, SW plus charges
batteries if there has been a outage or from generator
during outage when battery insufficent to carry load. 
Perhaps 3 to 8 outages per year.  

When the batteries are fully charged, the Tristar
diverts the charge from the batteries to the water
heater (the tristar working as a diversion controller)
 If the water heater is full (hot), senced by
thermostat on water heater the charge is dumped to
space heater using a power relay.  

The tristar lives, the Solar boost lives, the SW plus
lives, but the batteries die in one to two years. I
can never get the batteries to be charged correctly. 
They either get overcharged or undercharged.  It
sweems as if the setting on the Solar boost, tristar,
SW Plus drift constantly or change.   Some times the
solar boost will sence overvoltage and cut out or
other times the SW will be charging the battery and
the tristar will be selling the power to the water
heater then the space heater.  It seems to me the
setting on the controllers are not accurate enough to
play this game.  
Thanks Darryl
BTW what do you guys or anybody use to measure solar
radiation.  I have a situation where the customer is
angry and wants an analysis of the solar module
performance, some one put me on track.
    
--- "Jay Peltz, Peltz Power" <jay at asis.com> wrote:

> 
> HI Hugh,
> 
> Do you like the Tristar external relay package?
> thanks and happy holiday
> 
> jay
> 
> peltz power
> On Dec 23, 2006, at 8:35 AM, Hugh Piggott wrote:
> 
> >
> > I normally recommend using a water heater on the
> tristar  
> > controllers I install.  It's well worth the hassle
> if there is a  
> > significant amount of power being dumped.  I use a
> relay (battery  
> > or inverter powered) via the thermostat to
> transfer the current to  
> > a space heater when the water is hot.  Obviously
> the relay needs to  
> > be able to handle the current, which tends to be
> high.  Also you  
> > will need a suitable wire run from the battery
> shed to the hot  
> > water tank.  A bit of power loss in this wire run
> is no big deal.
> > -- 
> > Hugh
> >
> > Scoraig Wind Electric
> > http://www.scoraigwind.co.uk/
> >
> 
> 
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