[RE-wrenches] OB Battery Charging

[R Ray Walters]

I just wanted to comment on Outback's superb battery charging  
algorithm. (since I was ragging on the flexware last week)
I have a customer still with his original Trojan L16s that were truly  
abused in off grid mode in the construction of his house. They  
regularly were run down to 22 vdc, and probably only reached full  
charge once a month for years. We finally switched the system over to  
grid tie about three years ago. The batteries are now 10 years old  
(twice the normal life span I see with L16s) and battery voltages are  
amazingly close, water use is very low, and corrosion of terminals was  
fairly low considering the age.
I was really expecting to have to replace the batteries, but was  
pleasantly surprised to see how good a shape they were in.
That's why we like Outback inverters, even if we're not so high on the  
Flexware.
BTW this system also had a Bergey Wind turbine, and an Apollo charge  
controller, but the GVFX inverter basically regulates the battery  
voltage.
I still haven't figured out just how the GVFX works, (i.e. when it  
goes thru a full charging sequence, whether it uses the renewable  
sources or the grid, etc)
because the AC Kwh meter wiring configuration I used doesn't show AC  
input to the batteries.
but what ever it does, it works.
Anyone have a better meter configuration? We're using the recommended  
5 jaw digital meter from Austin International, and the base is wired  
per Outback's white paper on the subject.
It cancels energy readings that just pass thru to the loads and  
tabulates sell back, but it doesn't seem to register AC use from  
battery charging. (my system shows 0 Kwh after 2 years)

Thanks,

R. Walters
ray at solarray.com
Solar Engineer