Charger: Meanwell 10a or Iota DLS 15?
This is a followup to the thread I posted a couple weeks back. I want a capable portable charger for a 100ah AGM battery bank, mostly fed by solar. The constraint is that my generator is limited to ...
Forum Discussion
greenrvgreen wrote:
This is a followup to the thread I posted a couple weeks back. I want a capable portable charger for a 100ah AGM battery bank, mostly fed by solar. The constraint is that my generator is limited to 450 watts output. The max draw of the DLS 15 is 400 watts (3.7a @108v), while the meanwell appears to draw 350 watts. Both are fine in that respect.
My question is, which will give me better charging performance? I can set the meanwell to a high voltage (14.5 or higher), but I am limited to 10a. The dls 15 will go to 14.8 if I let it (14.4 normally), but its internal logic will decide the charging voltage. It appears to charge at 15a throughout, as long as the amps will fit.
The Iota is more than twice the price, but 50% more amps. Will I get 50% better performane, even though the volts will drop down?
Thanks!
Your 450W genny is limiting your options.
With AGM, you want to maximize Amps over Volts.
I have one system with a 100AH AGM, 170W solar and a 50A Magnum MMS1012 - inverter/charger. The charger uses a BTS cable to adjust Volts according to actual battery temperature. The genny is a Yammi 2k and during bulk, the Magnum pulls as high as 1055W. The Magnum is PF corrected to .99 so Volt-Amps(VA) are the same 1055W.
The BTS helps with unattended charging by automatically adjusting Volts throughout the charge.
Now, with that 450W charger, you will be hard pressed to find a automatic charger with BTS and PF features to realize the fast charging advantage of AGMs. A 10 - 15A rate is a far cry from a bulk charge rate for a 100AH AGM.
If the two chargers you propose have a PF of .65, which is normal for small portables, the VA could be much higher than the Watts. I have a small portable 12/8/2A charger. At the 12A setting it displays 250W and 360VA on my Kill-A-Watt.
The PF affects the genny's fuel consumption; lower PF means more fuel.
At a minimum, get an IR gun to measure your battery's temperature before jacking up Volts. You do have a charging temp chart for your AGM, right?
HTH;
John
