Ordered a Meanwell SP-200-15 from Jameco on Thursday, it arrived Saturday, looking all shiney and new. Here is the link to the listing on Jameco:http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10001_10001_202060_-1And here is a link to the PDF data sheet from that listing:http://www.jameco.com/Jameco/Products/ProdDS/202060.pdfThis morning I performed the unboxing and setup, and now I have some questions.--Using a reliable multimeter on the 15V studs, I get an adjustable voltage range of 12.6v to 17.5v. It is the same under no load and a light load (LED lamp). The specs state a voltage range of 14.3 to 16.5. Did I just get an early Christmas gift with this wider voltage range?--I have not clamped it to my battery bank yet. First I want to get an idea of best practice for charging. Am I right that I should first verify and/or adjust the voltage on the Meanwell (14.6 for AGM?) with no load, and then monitor the voltage at the battery as it climbs? And what would be my target voltage at the battery?--Since it seems I now have the capability to ease down to a Stage 2 (or float) charge, can I get a reliable voltage reading at the Meanwell 15v studs while it's connected to the batteries, or will the 14.6 output voltage of the meanwell already be equalized to the voltage of the batteries at the studs?Battery bank is 100ah - 160ah (depending on config), AGM batts.Meanwell is 13A output, level (14.6v) output unless manually adjusted.Thanks!

I bet there aren't 2 people on here that have any idea what you're talking about...B.O.

A shriek of a hall monitor whistle.Someone who speaks (out of hand) for several hundred readers.Yep. The response made me cross...

I'd set for 14.4V at the Meanwell, unless you are running wire a long enough distance that will cause voltage losses. Measure V at the terminals on the Meanwell, and V at the end of the wires right before it hooks up to the battery banks, but not connected to the battery yet.You'd like to get 14.4V at the battery connection right at the terminal, for AGM battery packs. Set accordingly at the Meanwell to achieve that.The second post shows that some folks have not been reading much in the tech section for very long. Disregard the comment. My post along with Mex's confirms he lost that bet.

Thanks for asking these questions. It may help improve all of our knowledge. My take, which may be incorrect. The actual adjustment range on a power supply is often greater than the quarantined range to allow for manufacturing variance. Neglecting any voltage drop in the connection leads, the voltage on the battery and the output studs of the power supply will be the same. Basic electric theory sStates they cannot be different. Provided you are not exceeding the output capacity of the power supply, and you don't want to release smoke by doing this, the load and no-good voltage must be within the regulation tolerance of 2%.As the battery charges the current from the power supply will decrease. This is one way you can determine charge rate. Voltage will not be a good indicator on its own. All this presumes the SP200 is an adjustable, regulated power supply without a charge controller. If I read the spec incorrectly, my comments aren't worth the time to read them. I assume it would be used by monitoring charging current and voltage. Adjust the output voltage to give the correct value for stage 1,2 or 3,without exceeding the output current of the power supply. Commercially, the voltage is set at a higher voltage periodically to equalize the cells. Curious what good values would be.

NinerBikes wrote:I'd set for 14.4V at the Meanwell, unless you are running wire a long enough distance that will cause voltage losses. Measure V at the terminals on the Meanwell, and V at the end of the wires right before it hooks up to the battery banks, but not connected to the battery yet.You'd like to get 14.4V at the battery connection right at the terminal, for AGM battery packs. Set accordingly at the Meanwell to achieve that.The second post shows that some folks have not been reading much in the tech section for very long. Disregard the comment. My post alone with Mex's confirms he lost that bet. Perhaps a link to the meanwell thread might be the proper way to handle it!!!!!!!Sam

Meanwell is here!! | Good Sam Community

86 Replies

greenrvgreen
Explorer
Aug 26, 2014
UPDATE:

Fired up the little gennie and plugged in the Meanwell. Voltage at Meanwell studs is 14.40. Voltage at charging clamps with 3 ft of 12awg is 14.40. On a 3-batt bank (103ah) I applied pos and neg to batt 3 and got say 14.20 at batt 3. Measured across all three batts, pos to batt 1 and neg to batt 3, I got 14.10, a tenth of a volt lower. Charging across all three batts and measuring only one, I get the same relationship, one tenth of a volt lower. Can I infer anything?

BTW, it runs well on my 450w gennie!
Hurricaner
Explorer
Aug 26, 2014
NinerBikes wrote:
I'd set for 14.4V at the Meanwell, unless you are running wire a long enough distance that will cause voltage losses. Measure V at the terminals on the Meanwell, and V at the end of the wires right before it hooks up to the battery banks, but not connected to the battery yet.

You'd like to get 14.4V at the battery connection right at the terminal, for AGM battery packs. Set accordingly at the Meanwell to achieve that.

The second post shows that some folks have not been reading much in the tech section for very long. Disregard the comment. My post alone with Mex's confirms he lost that bet.
Perhaps a link to the meanwell thread might be the proper way to handle it!!!!!!!

Sam
Sea_scape
Explorer
Aug 26, 2014
Thanks for asking these questions. It may help improve all of our knowledge.

My take, which may be incorrect.

The actual adjustment range on a power supply is often greater than the quarantined range to allow for manufacturing variance.

Neglecting any voltage drop in the connection leads, the voltage on the battery and the output studs of the power supply will be the same. Basic electric theory sStates they cannot be different. Provided you are not exceeding the output capacity of the power supply, and you don't want to release smoke by doing this, the load and no-good voltage must be within the regulation tolerance of 2%.

As the battery charges the current from the power supply will decrease. This is one way you can determine charge rate. Voltage will not be a good indicator on its own.

All this presumes the SP200 is an adjustable, regulated power supply without a charge controller. If I read the spec incorrectly, my comments aren't worth the time to read them.

I assume it would be used by monitoring charging current and voltage. Adjust the output voltage to give the correct value for stage 1,2 or 3,without exceeding the output current of the power supply. Commercially, the voltage is set at a higher voltage periodically to equalize the cells.

Curious what good values would be.
NinerBikes
Explorer
Aug 26, 2014
I'd set for 14.4V at the Meanwell, unless you are running wire a long enough distance that will cause voltage losses. Measure V at the terminals on the Meanwell, and V at the end of the wires right before it hooks up to the battery banks, but not connected to the battery yet.

You'd like to get 14.4V at the battery connection right at the terminal, for AGM battery packs. Set accordingly at the Meanwell to achieve that.

The second post shows that some folks have not been reading much in the tech section for very long. Disregard the comment. My post along with Mex's confirms he lost that bet.
MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Aug 26, 2014
A shriek of a hall monitor whistle.

Someone who speaks (out of hand) for several hundred readers.

Yep. The response made me cross...
B_O__Plenty
Explorer II
Aug 26, 2014
I bet there aren't 2 people on here that have any idea what you're talking about...

B.O.

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Meanwell is here!!

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