How many charging amps from IOTA?

[esimmers]

My 2009 Hawk has the standard IOTA DLS-30 converter/charger with the IQ4 smart charger attachment. Although this is a 30-amp charger, I'm measuring a maximum of 4 amps of charge current to my camper house battery even when the battery is quite discharged.

Has anyone else measured charge current from their IOTA? I thought I'd ask around before I decided to trouble shoot some more.

 

[PaulT]

How/where are you measuring the charging current to the camper battery?
Are there any power using devices energized at the same time?
Do you have solar panels & charge controller also?
Lastly, look at the IQ4 LED pattern which should give an indication of what the IQ4 thinks of the battery SOC.

Paul

 

[DrJ]

4 amps would be very low on a highly discharged battery from the IOTA.

I have often seen amps from 20-28 amps on the IOTA with the IQ4.

I wonder if your batteries are bad. I would disconnect them from the system and try a different charger to see if it makes a difference.

 

[NorCalSteve]

The IOTA (no IQ4) is designed to deliver about 13.6 volts. If you check the charging voltage and it is around 13.6 volts and you do not have the IQ4, it is working properly. With the IQ4, I think it acts more like a charger than a battery and the charging voltage will be higher than 13.6 volts. Someone with the IQ4 can confirm this or correct me.

Steve

 

[cdbrow1]

I see between 11 and 28 amps on mine. It does seem to be temp compensated so at very high temps (over 100) it seems to charge much slower.

 

[LookyLou]

The IOTA (no IQ4) is designed to deliver about 13.6 volts. If you check the charging voltage and it is around 13.6 volts and you do not have the IQ4, it is working properly. With the IQ4, I think it acts more like a charger than a battery and the charging voltage will be higher than 13.6 volts. Someone with the IQ4 can confirm this or correct me.

Steve

All the IQ4 does is make the Iota DSL-30 function like a smart charger when plugged into shore power. It will operate like a solar controller with bulk, boost, float, and equalization charges. It varies the voltage to the battery based on the charge phase.

 

[esimmers]

DrJ, right you are. I knew my old battery (6 yrs old) was about to croak but didn't know that could be the cause of low-amp charging. I just now upgraded to a new 105 amp hour AGM battery and all is well. The IOTA/IQ4 pushed 20 amps to the new battery after I ran it down for a while.

Isn't this forum great!

 

[Ronanmd1]

So, I can just leave the camper plugged into shore power over the winter and the IOTA IQ4 will function as a battery tender? No need to unplug?

 

[LookyLou]

So, I can just leave the camper plugged into shore power over the winter and the IOTA IQ4 will function as a battery tender? No need to unplug?

Yes.

 

[esimmers]

So, I can just leave the camper plugged into shore power over the winter and the IOTA IQ4 will function as a battery tender? No need to unplug?

I was also wondering about long-term winter storage using the IOTA converter/charger and IQ4. The IOTA/IQ4 will switch to an equalization stage if the battery remains in a "float stage" for more than seven days. Most AGM battery manufacturers don't recommend equalization. I wrote to IOTA <TechSupport@iotaengineering.com>
about the specifics of the IQ4 float stage and received the prompt message below.

Here are links to the IQ4 Product Specification Sheet <http://iotaengineering.com/pplib/iq4spec.pdf> and
Owner's Manual: <http://www.iotaengineering.com/pplib/IQ4manual.pdf>.

For 12 volt batteries, these voltages are applicable: Bulk 14.8V, Absorption 14.2V, Float 13.6V.

Given the response from Tech Support, there's probably nothing to worry about leaving the batteries charging all winter. Nevertheless, my practice for winter storage is to charge the battery fully, completely disconnect the battery by pulling the fuses in the + and - battery wires, and then check battery voltage every couple of months or so. My AGMs show very little, if any, voltage drop over several months so I don't bother with long-term float charging.

Email from IOTA:

[SIZE=10pt]Edwin,[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Equalization is the same as the fast charge sequence that is triggered by the battery being discharged. The one difference is it will only be in the bulk charge state for the minimum 15 minutes. If you have the external IQ4, to disable it, simply unplug it from the converter. The converter will drop to 13.6v. If you have a built in IQ4, there is no way to disable it. With our converters, and the way we charge batteries, there is no fear of damaging the batteries. Our converters only provide the current the battery is willing to accept.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Respectfully,[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Daniel Sellers[/SIZE]
DSellers@iotaengineering.com

 

[LookyLou]

What I've read is very mixed about whether or not to use an equalization charge on an AGM battery so I can only go by my experience. My Exide batteries are almost 3 years old and have always been connected to a solar controller that delivers an equalization charge every 28 days. My camper is in the driveway and not covered so the solar panels are always charging my batteries which are the standard Exide 24 series FWC installs. So far so good. I do have an IQ4 installed but the camper is never connected to shore power for more than a day or two prior to a trip mainly for the fridge to cool it down and load it.