Fridge Causes Voltage Drop?

[ckent323]

Rdy2roam,

Questions:

Do you have the IOTA smart charger with IQ4 in your camper?

Or do you have a smart charger/maintainer connected to your battery from shore power such as a NOCO Genius G3500.

If you do not have either then you may be overcharging your batteries. Overcharging will shorten their life just like undercharging does.

In any event, my recommendation for all house battery banks is to have them connected to a battery monitor so you can easily check the state of charge, I like the Victron BVM-712 there are others.

If you find that your battery is not being maintained properly by your existing hardware then you can decide if you want to buy a smart battery charger/maintainer such as the NOCO Genius G3500 or equivalent.

Regards,
Craig

 

[radarcontact]

I have the Zamp 160w panel installed by FWC, and I upgraded to a dual 6v battery set-up when I installed a 2-way fridge a few months ago.

My setup as well. I checked the charging specs on my 6V batteries wired in series (they may be similar or identical to yours - it seems many of those golf cart batteries come from the same manufacturer, and they're shipped out to companies that put their own label on them), and I'm not confident that the Zamp controller is charging them correctly, even when I select "WET" as the type battery. The voltage starts out where it's supposed to be in the charging cycle, but I'll notice peaks and dips outside of the range of the stage. I've ordered a Blue Sky controller like yours.

 

[radarcontact]

I have my camper stored and covered and plugged into shore power. I have a dehumidifier running and the fridge running while covered. I do have solar and was wandering if I need to do anything to the battery in this situation.

I've learned a lot in the last few weeks about batteries, as I had an issue that was hard to diagnose. I'm not nearly as fluent in battery language as some of the people on here, particularly on this thread...they've been very helpful. Had to go back to Electricity 101 to figure out what my deal was. Anyway, Craig's response to you is on point - if your converter doesn't have 4 stage charging capability (i.e., bulk, absorption, float and equalization charging) you may be undercharging or frying your battery. Only other thing I can add is, if you have wet cell batteries and you're storing them for long periods, I'd probably check the water level every few months.

 

[smlobx]

I just installed a Bluesky SB3000 and with a small amount of cabinet trimming (about 1/2 cm on one end) it fit perfectly where my Zamp was. It's a much more sophisticated controller.

dharte were you able to use the existing wires that went to your zamp controller or did you have to run additional wires?
Thanks.

 

[dharte]

dharte were you able to use the existing wires that went to your zamp controller or did you have to run additional wires?
Thanks.

Yes, it was a simple swap. Only 4 wires. Connect the battery wires first, then the PV panel wires. This controller also gives you an output for an auxiliary battery (like the starting battery), but I haven't hooked this up yet.

 

[dharte]

My setup as well. I checked the charging specs on my 6V batteries wired in series (they may be similar or identical to yours - it seems many of those golf cart batteries come from the same manufacturer, and they're shipped out to companies that put their own label on them), and I'm not confident that the Zamp controller is charging them correctly, even when I select "WET" as the type battery. The voltage starts out where it's supposed to be in the charging cycle, but I'll notice peaks and dips outside of the range of the stage. I've ordered a Blue Sky controller like yours.

The Bluesky has the exact absorption and float charging voltages that my batteries specify (multiplying by 2 of course since they are in series). The absorption charging cycle time can be changed from 2 to 1 hour to prevent overcharging. That was the issue with my Zamp-it would not switch to float even when the batteries were full.

 

[Rdy2Roam]

Thanks for the advice, I'm still new at this so I will have to get inside tomorrow and check it out. I know it's the 160 watt zamp solar set up by Alaskan camper and not sure the type of battery yet. Will check it out tomorow. Might have to sign up for that electricity 101 class.lol

 

[radarcontact]

The Bluesky has the exact absorption and float charging voltages that my batteries specify (multiplying by 2 of course since they are in series). The absorption charging cycle time can be changed from 2 to 1 hour to prevent overcharging. That was the issue with my Zamp-it would not switch to float even when the batteries were full.

You and I seem to be having the same problems. After I charge my batteries on shore power with the IOTA converter, the converter has a steady green light, which means float charging. If I then disconnect the shore power and move the camper out of my garage into sunlight and allow the solar panel to do its thing, it stays in absorption charge mode, and never goes to float charge. I think the Zamp controller is overcharging, as the voltage when in absorption mode will stay in the high 14s. Float charge for my batteries is anywhere between 13.6-14.1, from the data I researched online with other owners of the same battery...I'm trying to get further confirmation from the manufacturer, but it's been hard to find.

 

[Vic Harder]

that's a great confirmation of the ZAMP overcharging. What batteries do you have? Maybe someone else here has the same and has the specs.

 

[radarcontact]

that's a great confirmation of the ZAMP overcharging. What batteries do you have? Maybe someone else here has the same and has the specs.

Hey Vic, thanks for your replies. I have a pretty common 6V golf cart, deep cycle wet cell battery. It's sold in just about every auto parts store in the U.S. It's made by East Penn Manufacturing in Pennsylvania, but is supplied and labeled in various ways....Deka batteries, Carquest, Advanced Auto Parts, etc. I bought them at Carquest, and the part number is G110-12, but Deka lists them as a GC15 battery..they're 230Ah, 6V. Their listed discharge rate is 120 min @ 75 amps. Was able to get a hold of East Penn today, and they gave me the following data, in case anyone else on this forum has the same batteries, or wants to replace their AGM or gel batteries with these....I think it's a good idea, BTW. They're cheaper than the sealed AGMs or gels, and I gained some amp hour capacity with these. If you look at how golf carts are put through the ringer, these batteries have a history of holding up pretty well. In any case, the numbers are, for one 6V battery:

Bulk = 7.425V (14.85V for 2 wired in series)
Absorption = 7.275V (14.55V for 2 wired in series)
Float = 6.75V (13.5V for 2 wired in series)
Equilization = 7.875V (15.75V for 2 wired in series)

Here's a link to the batteries I have, in case anyone out there is thinking about replacing their batteries with something else. These batteries fit in my cabinet like a charm, where the old AGM type 24 batteries were. Didn't have to make any modifications in the cabinet to accomodate these (they're also just a little more than half the price of the AGMs I used to have):

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/carquest-hd-battery-battery-g110-12/11151702-P

And this is a link to the East Penn/Deka data sheet on these batteries. The one I have is the
GC15:

http://www.eastpennmanufacturing.com/wp-content/uploads/Deka-Pro-Master-Golf-Car-Flyer-0248.pdf

Any questions let me know.

 

[Vic Harder]

Good info, thanks for sharing. Now, can you ZAMP be configured for those voltages? I know the Victron's can be.

 

[radarcontact]

Good info, thanks for sharing. Now, can you ZAMP be configured for those voltages? I know the Victron's can be.

No, unfortunately, at least from what I'm seeing. The Zamp has the ability to select "AGM", "GEL", "WET", etc, but no specific settings. My understanding is that once you select the type battery you have, it automatically charges it the way it's programmed to do for that specific type. Well, as you can see it's not working the way it should - won't go to float charging. I'm ditching the Zamp and putting in a Blue Sky I got off Amazon. It's programmable like your Victron, and it will fit into the hole I have in my cabinet where my Zamp is.

 

[Vic Harder]

Excellent. Are you (or have you already) put in a battery monitor, like the Victron BMV712? It's always a good idea to know what is really going on.

 

[Wallowa]

Has anyone ran all this by FWC? It is after all the system they put in our campers. What do they say?

Thanks...Phil

 

[rando]

I don't think FWC is using ZAMP any more - possibly for good reason.

 

[Wallowa]

I don't think FWC is using ZAMP any more - possibly for good reason.

Didn't know they dropped Zamp...would like to hear why and what they went to from them.

Phil

 

[radarcontact]

Excellent. Are you (or have you already) put in a battery monitor, like the Victron BMV712? It's always a good idea to know what is really going on.

I'm planning on getting the BMV712 next month, after my wife authorizes some more camper money LOLOL.

 

[Wallowa]

Rdy2roam,

Questions:

Do you have the IOTA smart charger with IQ4 in your camper?

Or do you have a smart charger/maintainer connected to your battery from shore power such as a NOCO Genius G3500.

If you do not have either then you may be overcharging your batteries. Overcharging will shorten their life just like undercharging does.

In any event, my recommendation for all house battery banks is to have them connected to a battery monitor so you can easily check the state of charge, I like the Victron BVM-712 there are others.

If you find that your battery is not being maintained properly by your existing hardware then you can decide if you want to buy a smart battery charger/maintainer such as the NOCO Genius G3500 or equivalent.

Regards,
Craig

I may have missed it but did Craig find out if there was an "IOTA smart charger with IQ4 in your camper? "

Phil

 

[radarcontact]

Didn't know they dropped Zamp...would like to hear why and what they went to from them.

Phil

Me too. My gut feeling is that many owners don't bother to dig into the solar controller/battery stuff. I didn't, until I started having problems. I think it would be interesting to see how many Zamp owners have had short battery life or battery issues. Maybe it's not a widespread problem, but at this point who knows? I left my camper out in the sun all day yesterday, and repeated the process today. Never went to a reduced float charge. Remained around 14.8V all day, too high. When I plugged it in at night, the next morning the IOTA converter would show float, and 13.6V...right on the money. It could be that I am in the minority, and have a lone faulty Zamp solar controller....can't be sure at this point. Now that I know more about solar controllers, I don't like the fact that the Zamp doesn't let you enter values into the controller, like the Victron or Blue Sky.

 

[dharte]

My Amstron batteries are 216AH and the recommended absorption voltage is 14.4 and float 13.2, which is exactly the preset settings for the Bluesky controller (which unlike the Zamp, can be reprogrammed for different voltages).