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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hugh,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The Blue Sky Energy 2512iX, IPN Pro, temp
sens. and shunt is about $420 online. This combination provides the very best in
fully programmable battery charge control for systems under 40 amps. There is no
equal for the IPN Pro battery monitoring that I can find. I have tried them
all and put the BSE in the top of the class. We have sold over 1000 Blue Sky
controllers and will continue selling until something better is available.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>If you are looking for a lower cost solution, make
sure you use a 3 stage controller with temp compensation. We sell the Samlex
America SCC-30AB (about $200) as a low cost 3-stage charge alternative to
the Blue Sky product.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Will your diversion load control charge in multiple
stages? Holding high voltage on an VRLA battery will shorten the life
or may cause thermal runaway. You must, according to every manufacturer,
reduce the voltage once the battery is full. "Who actually follows these
guidelines?" I hope everyone as the customer is paying you to do it right. Sure,
an AGM can survive alternative charge methods but after recycling more than 70
tons of batteries at our little store, I am a believer in proper battery
charging and maintenance.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Larry</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=hugh@scoraigwind.co.uk href="mailto:hugh@scoraigwind.co.uk">Hugh</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org
href="mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org">RE-wrenches</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, April 25, 2011 11:06
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [RE-wrenches] AGM battery
charging, more details</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>.........My questions to the Wrenches List is: "What hardware do wrenches
use to regulate the charge on an AGM battery?" Does everyone use this
Blue Sky Energy device? Is it possible to use AGM batteries with a
conventional diversion controller such as the Morningstar Tristar, and if so
how do you determine the transition from 2.45 V/cell to 2.3 V/cell?
Morningstar offer a timed transition, but without knowledge of current or of
SOC this is rather less precise.</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Both of the charging methods in the agm-faqs linked below (and in the
Fullriver document) require measurement of the charging current to determine
the correct transition from one stage to the next. Measurement of dV/dt
is also suggested in the case of constant current charging. Who actually
follows these guidelines, and can AGM batteries operate successfully
without?</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>thanks!</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Hugh</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
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