PD or Iota for my upgrade?

Salvo wrote:
There's no guarantee Iota starts in bulk.

Thanks.

Unlike other converters, Iota monitors battery voltage when converter ac supply is off. Don't know where the threshold voltage is, but if battery is below (perhaps) 12.9V it will start in bulk.

OK. As a matter of interest, I've noticed that the PD also seems to be monitoring the battery when there's no AC power, although I don't know what it does with that info. The LED on the remote will flash according to the mode it's in, and you can force it into the different modes and it will switch to different modes automatically, even though there's no AC power being supplied.

2. If the battery requires bulk, the converter will charge at the specified current limit. As battery voltage rises, Iota's output voltage keeps pace, maintaining max current. As voltage within the converter reaches 14.6V, a 15 minute timer is initiated. Bulk mode will end after 15 min. During this time the output voltage can still rise up to 14.8V.

Thanks. That explains how it decides to switch into the absorption/topping/normal mode. I think the PD also uses a time measurement to decide when to switch, but I don't think it's based upon the time it reaches a voltage during charge the way the Iota's 14.6v for 15 minutes works. Based on something I read in the patent, I think the PD decides based on how long it's been in the bulk/boost mode and uses a different countdown time depending on if it entered automatically according to its programmed charge profile vs.being forced in via the manual switch. However, changing the charge profile is easy - just change the programming of the microcontroller, so they may have used a different method after the patent was filed.

At some point down the road, we can discuss our disagreement over the importance of SG measurement to making the decision to transition out of bulk.