Operation of the RV-45D
A) With "Auto-Equalize" Setting Activated - ("Bulk/Equalize/Constant Voltage" Strategy)
As the sun rises and the solar panels reach a voltage that is slightly higher than the House battery voltage, the RV-45D will deliver all available charging amperage to both the House and Engine batteries. The House battery voltage will rise under this influence until it approaches whatever battery voltage setpoint you have selected. The Engine battery voltage will rise until it reaches 13.4 volts and then taper off the charging amperage going to it. The charging amperage that was being delivered to the Engine battery is then redirected and added to the charging amperage being delivered to the House battery.
At this point, the controller will begin to taper off the charging amperage slightly and check to see if the House battery is really at the battery voltage setpoint. After about 1 or 2 minutes, the controller will go into its Automatic Equalization cycle.
During this Equalization period, (which only happens once a day after the first time the House battery reaches its battery voltage setpoint), the controller allows full charging amperage to continue to be delivered to the House battery for about 30 minutes. This effects a short term “overcharge” during which plate sulfation is driven back into solution and weaker cells are allowed a little extra time to reach full charge.
Depending on how much solar power you have and how many electrical loads you have on, your House battery voltage may climb as high as 0.8 volts above the battery voltage setpoint. The RV30SE will not allow the voltage to go higher than that.
After this 30 minute Equalization period, the controller will enter its Pulse Width Modulation “Taper” cycle and only deliver whatever amperage it takes to maintain the battery voltage setpoint. This will hold the House batteries at their highest state-of-charge with the least amount of water consumption.
As the sunlight fades and evening approaches, the House and Engine battery's voltages will begin to fall from their respective setpoints to a lower point that is closer to their “at rest” voltage.
This cycle will be repeated the following morning.
B) With "Auto-Float" Setting Activated - ("Bulk/Absorption/Float" Charging Strategy)
As the sun rises and the solar panels reach a voltage that is slightly higher than the House battery voltage, the RV-45D will deliver all available charging amperage to both the House and Engine batteries. The House battery voltage will rise under this influence until it approaches whatever battery voltage setpoint you have selected. The Engine battery voltage will rise until it reaches 13.4 volts and then taper off the charging amperage going to it. The charging amperage that was being delivered to the Engine battery is then redirected and added to the charging amperage being delivered to the House battery.
The controller will then begin to taper the charge to the House battery until it reaches a value equal to about 60% of the charging amperage. About 1 or 2 minutes later, it will cut off all charging until the House battery voltage falls to the battery voltage setpoint.
The RV-45D will then operate in its Pulse Width Modulation “Taper” cycle and only deliver whatever amperage the House batteries need to maintain the battery voltage setpoint.
As the sunlight fades and evening approaches, the House and Engine battery's voltages will begin to fall from their respective setpoints to a lower point that is closer to their “at rest” voltage.
This cycle will be repeated the following morning or any time the House battery voltage falls below the setpoint.
C) With the "Fixed" Setting Activated - ("Bulk/Constant Voltage" Strategy)
As the sun rises and the solar panels reach a voltage that is slightly higher than the House battery voltage, the RV-45D will deliver all available charging amperage to both the House and Engine batteries. The House battery voltage will rise under this influence until it approaches whatever battery voltage setpoint you have selected. The Engine battery voltage will rise until it reaches 13.4 volts and then taper off the charging amperage going to it. The charging amperage that was being delivered to the Engine battery is then redirected and added to the charging amperage being delivered to the House battery.
At this point, the RV-45D will enter its Pulse Width Modulation “Taper” charge and deliver whatever charging amperage the House battery requires to maintain the selected battery voltage setpoint.
As the sunlight fades and evening approaches, the House and Engine battery's voltages will begin to fall from their respective setpoints to a lower point that is closer to their “at rest” voltage.
This cycle will be repeated the following morning.
The RV-45D is a fully automatic controller. Basically, after all the settings are made and the controller is installed, just sit back and let it do its job!
