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Precautions when working with batteries.
-
Batteries contain very corrosive diluted sulphuric acid as electrolyte. Precautions
should be taken to prevent contact with skin, eyes or clothing
-
Batteries generate hydrogen and oxygen during charging resulting in evolution of
explosive gas mixture. Care should be taken to ventilate the battery area and follow
the battery manufacturer’s recommendations.
-
Never smoke or allow a spark or flame near the batteries.
-
Use caution to reduce the risk of dropping a metal tool on the battery. It could spark
or short circuit the battery or other electrical parts and could cause an explosion.
-
Remove metal items like rings, bracelets and watches when working with batteries.
The batteries can produce a short circuit current high enough to weld a ring or the like
to metal and thus cause a severe burn.
-
If you need to remove a battery, always remove the ground terminal from the battery
first. Make sure that all the accessories are off so that you do not cause a spark
DC SIDE CONNECTIONS
The DC input power to the inverter is derived from deep cycle batteries of the required
capacity. Read under
“Specifying Batteries, Chargers and Alternators” on page 14
for
details on sizing and charging of batteries.
Preventing input over voltage
It is to be ensured that the input voltage of the inverter does not exceed 16.5 VDC for
PST-150S-12A or 33 VDC for PST-150S-24A to prevent permanent damage to the
inverter. Please observe the following precautions:
- Ensure that the maximum charging voltage of the battery charger / alternator / solar
charge controller is below 16.5 VDC for PST-150S-12A or 33 VDC for PST-150S-24A
- Do not use unregulated solar panels to charge a battery. Under cold ambient tempera-
tures, the output of the solar panel may exceed 18 V for 12V system or 36 V for 24V
system. Always use a charge controller between the solar panel and the battery.
- Do not connect the inverter to a battery system with a voltage higher than the rated
battery input voltage.
Preventing reverse polarity on the input side
When making battery connection on the input side, make sure that the polarity of battery
connection is correct (Connect the positive of the battery to the positive terminal of the
inverter and the negative of the battery to the negative terminal of the inverter). If the
input is connected in reverse polarity, DC fuse(s) inside the inverter will blow and may
also cause permanent damage to the inverter
Connection from the batteries to the DC input side of the inverter – cable and fuse
sizes
The flow of electric current in a conductor is opposed by the resistance of the conductor.
The resistance of the conductor is directly proportional to the length of the conductor and
inversely proportional to its cross-section (thickness). The resistance in the conductor
produces undesirable effects of voltage drop and heating.
Thus, thicker and shorter
conductors are desirable
.
The size (thickness / cross-section) of the conductors is
designated by AWG (American Wire Gauge).
Please note that a smaller AWG # denotes a
thicker size of the conductor up to AWG #1.
