I will second your sentiments on Iota. Excellent product, and even better support. You will definitely want to have a dc-dc for the newer MT boards, There are a few decent 18v converters. Unfortunately you don't get voltage monitoring from the MT, but you also don't have to worry about it shutting down when performing an equalizing charge. According to the experts, the biggest way to contribute to the life of your battery is to use a charger that provides clean power. If you want more options for monitoring and control, consider RMS boards from BND. We only use Surrette batteries for storage with excellent results. I might get a little carried away, but I like to monitor the charge/discharge rate on off grid sites and use some handy little IC's for that http://www.allegromicro.com/en/Products/Part_Numbers/0750/
-- Greg Ihnen wrote: > I've had good experiences with the IOTA chargers/power supplies. They're > clean enough to be used directly as power supplies, but they have current > limiting and thermal protection so you can hook one to a dead battery safely. > You can manually adjust the voltage, and they're tough as nails. > > Greg > > On Mar 10, 2010, at 4:32 PM, Scott Reed wrote: > > >> I use Meanwell AD series power supplies. They hold the battery float >> voltage correctly and provide (adjustable) 24VDC to the device. >> >> jp wrote: >> >>> On Wed, Mar 10, 2010 at 11:26:17AM -0600, Scott Piehn wrote: >>> >>> >>>> We a looking to setup a couple of our sites to run directly from DC power. >>>> AC comes in, convert to DC >>>> At this point, plan is to have a 24v setup of deep cycle batteries. >>>> Use a packetflux to monitor the battery voltage level >>>> Use a digital logger DIN relay for remote reboot. >>>> Use the PacWireless DC POE injectors for 12 - 48 volt output >>>> >>>> What I am totally not sure on is the charging/power piece. >>>> The initial site is going to have >>>> Canopy CMM micro with 1 powered port >>>> 8 Mikotik routerboards, >>>> switch >>>> >>>> ?should I run things directly from the battery, or how should it be powered >>>> ?what kind of charger should I get >>>> Scott Piehn >>>> >>>> >>> The Mikrotiks handle up to 24v, but the charging float voltage is higher >>> than they like, so you'll need a DC-DC converter for them. They are >>> cheap and plentiful for a 24v-12v dc-dc converter. >>> >>> You can get a 24vdc switching power supply (or two) from Jameco, Ebay, >>> etc.. and adjust the voltage set screw to the recommended float voltage >>> for your batteries (probably in the 27-28v range). Too low, and you >>> won't fully charge them, too high and you'll boil them away over time. >>> >>> The power supplies should provide power for the load and excess power >>> for charging. Thus you'll have to figure out your load before you get a >>> power supply (or just go for something grossly in excess of your needs) >>> So if you have 240w load, you'll need 10A for the load and extra for >>> charging and expansion, so a 20A (~~ 500w) power supply might be good. >>> >>> Use heavy duty wiring between the batteries and charger, etc.. for >>> minimal voltage drop. A fuse panel like used in boats or traditional >>> autos would be fine for the charging and loads fuses. For larger fuse >>> needs, there are lots of excellent car audio system fuses and fuse >>> blocks available. >>> >>> >>> >>> >> -- >> Scott Reed >> Sr. Systems Engineer >> GAB Midwest >> 1-800-363-1544 x4000 >> Cell: 260-273-7239 >> >> >> >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> WISPA Wants You! Join today! >> http://signup.wispa.org/ >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org >> >> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: >> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless >> >> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ >> > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > WISPA Wants You! Join today! > http://signup.wispa.org/ > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
