Battery Fuel Gauge [RE-wrenches]

[Daryl DeJoy]

We have had one installed for about a month now in my home system and I am
cautiously optimistic. the SOC monitor seems to be very accurate, more so
than my TriMet, but since Ralph (from Bogart Engineering) is sharing
technologies with Apollo, it is possible that over a year or so this might
change. I'm hoping the "smart shunt" (sorry OutBack guys, just my nickname
for it right now) will prevent that. It is important to note a couple of
things;
1) It is very easy to use the existing 500A Deltec shunt in your system.
You can just undo the two screws on the side of the smart shunt and remove
the board from it. You simply undo the two screws on the existing shunt
(say, the pre-installed one in a PS2)and re-install the board onto that
shunt, making sure polarity is correct.
2) Make sure you attach the two sensor wires from the shunt board TO THE
BATTERIES. Don't try to attach it in the DC disconnect. We seem to get
more accurate readings with it connected as close to the battery as
possible, preferably on it.That is the recommendation from Apollo, anyway.
  I do like that a temperature sensor is standard equipment. It should be.
I, too, look forward to more wrench input as this controller is used more.
Daryl
Penobscot Solar Design
NABCEP Certified installer
>
> 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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>


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