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The DuoGen is capable of delivering sustained levels of high power.
Therefore it is important to ensure that overcharging does not occur.
Overcharging is characterised by excessive battery terminal voltages and loss
of electrolyte. Permanent battery damage can result.
The two main strategies to avoid this are:
Manual Monitoring
This entails monitoring battery state and simply starting or
stopping the DuoGen as required, For owners who live aboard this is a
viable option, particularly if the battery bank is of high capacity.
Dump Regulation
Eclectic Energy Limited or your supplier can supply a dump regulator
which is installed close to the batteries. The regulators are factory set at
14.2 (12 V) and 28.4 (24 V). The regulator is adjustable between 11.5
and 17 V. You set the voltage in accordance with the battery
manufacturer's recommendations and as this voltage is reached, the
regulator progressively diverts the DuoGen’s output to a pair of large
wire wound resisters where the excess power is lost as heat.
The Pros and Cons of Regulation
Eclectic generally recommends that the DuoGen is used in conjunction with a
regulator. However it is important to be aware of their limitations.
As regulators work by sensing battery terminal voltage, any other device that
raises that voltage, such as a solar panel, can cause the regulator to dump
power prematurely.
For this reason, where possible, a single regulator should be used. The
regulator usually supplied with the DuoGen is rated at 40 amps (12 V) or 20
amps (24 V). As well as the DuoGen, the regulator will also accept the input of
up to 150 watts of solar panel.
If this is not practical, an alternative solution is to install the regulator with a
bypass switch. On passage when you can monitor the system, bypass the
regulator and avoid unwanted dumping of power. When you leave the boat,
switch it back on.
Note that
where a bypass switch is fitted
, the charge splitting function of the
regulator is also bypassed when the switch is activated.
We recommend that the bypassed output is fed to the largest bank (usually the
service batteries). Alternatively, a dedicated charge splitter can be installed to
distribute the unregulated output across two banks.
Regulation
Regulation
Regulation
Regulation
