Renewable Energy Questions/Discussion > Automation, Controls, Inverters, MPPT, etc
DIY auto alternator charge controller advice
ghurd:
I am confused about the application.
Stand alone, 2-stage control, on a modified golf cart.
And "Float charging with a gas motor is nuts!"
Is the regulator just for the starting battery?
G-
madlabs:
Hi All,
Was away for a 48 hour shift.
Ghurd, it's a classic lawnmower/alternator battery charger. In my case a 10 hp Honda 5kW genset with the AC genhead removed (it was blown so I got the unit for free) and replaced with a truck alt, the LN555 mentioned earlier. My charge controller is actually part of my DIY power controller that tracks watts in and out, monitors the well and the windmill and so on.
What I am working on now is a stand alone version, meaning that I'll have the controller mounted on and dedicated to the alternator charger instead of being part of my whole system. The golf cart project will have a 5 hp Honda with a 60 amp alt, for charging the cart if there isn't enough sun and so on.
As to the high/low side switching dillema, it's easy enough to make the board accomadate either, just populate the right parts in the right places. Oz, of course I should use a Darlington tpye like the bd647 or it's PNP counterpart. Duh. Just the sort of thing I don't think of because I don't really know what I'm doing (and I was playing with what I had in the parts bin). That gets rid of the big power wasting resistor.
Cornelius, should be easy beans to convert to a picaxe. Those have a hardware PWM, right? I'm using the F88 for the simple reason that I have a few and they have lots of code space. I have it all working on the bench using some 12V light bulbs for dummy loads. Probably wont get a chance to try it out proper for a couple of weeks, have some other things that need to get done. Do you have a rig that you can test it on?
Thanks for the help!!
Jonathan
ghurd:
OK, lets think about this a second.
10HP 5KW type gen motor.
And it is running to charge a golf cart battery bank?
Somewhere, I missed something.
G-
madlabs:
The 10 hp is charging a 1200aH battery bank. It's still too much motor for the 160 amp alt, I have a bigger alt to put on it and am going to modify the govenor to match the load. It's charge controller is built into my DIY power controller.
However, that is what I already have. What I am building now is a controller for a couple of other projects. The golf cart will have a 5 hp engine and a 60 amp alt. It will have 240 aH bank. A couple of friends want similar chargers. So my plan is to make a charger with the specs listed above and make some PCBs so I can make them all at once, as well as for use in future projects.
Jonathan
ghurd:
NOW I get it. :)
G-
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