Meanwell is here!!

[greenrvgreen]

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_-1

And here is a link to the PDF data sheet from that listing:

http://www.jameco.com/Jameco/Products/ProdDS/202060.pdf


This 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!

[mena661]

joelmyer wrote:
I got mine.

obtw BFL, those are Anderson Power Poles on each side of the meter.

I might just use this setup. Thanks for the post.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

YES!

IT HAS GONE VIRAL!

Mission Accomplished!

[pnichols]

BFL13 wrote:
My wake up was from smk who told me I could run my 20a Vector and 35a Vector at the same time and get 55a. I ended up with more Vectors and was able to recharge with four doing 130a on the Honda 3000.

If I'm recalling correctly, it may have been pianotuna that years ago - ahead of all of us - started mentioning using multiple chargers at the same time in parallel with each other to speed up RV battery charging.

Because of that, I starting using a Sears 2/10/50 charger along with my Parallax converter to charge our AGMs a bit faster when drycamping. I let the Parallax put out whatever current/voltage it wants to (based on the acceptance of the batts in parallel with the Sears) and set the Sears to it's 50 amp position so it can put out whatever current/voltage it wants to (based on the acceptance of the batts in parallel with the Parallax).

I think that the Parallax is trying to wind up at ~13.6 terminal volts and the Sears is trying to wind up at ~15.5 terminal volts. The parallel combination of the three (batts||Sears||Parallax) turns out to be around 14.2volts, or so, actually on the terminals of the AGM battery bank. The result of all three hooked up together is about 50% more current going into the batts than from the Parallax by itself and still within the load capability of our little EX650 Honda portable generator powering the whole thing - including supplying all other 12V power in the RV while the charging is going on. Both the Sears charger and Honda generator are over 25 years old and make a great charging team along with the converter for our particular set of batteries.

[alvinator]

I think that a bank of submarine batteries running down the middle of your RV would solve everyone's battery problems. They would probably last all year.

I started my career at Exide Batteries in Philadelphia years ago. Man, those submarine and mine batteries were awesome!

I like my 8KW diesel generator.

[BFL13]

My wake up was from smk who told me I could run my 20a Vector and 35a Vector at the same time and get 55a. I ended up with more Vectors and was able to recharge with four doing 130a on the Honda 3000.

Got lazy and eg, right now am charging those two T-1275s with the modified PowerMax 100amper, purring away at 103a without me having to connect four Vectors all tangled up (although I could add in my 40a VEC to get 140a--just too lazy! )

Everyone who posts on this forum helps somebody else on some topic. Lots of things that break down in an RV and there is always somebody who knows how to fix whatever it is that broke this time.

[joelmyer]

NinerBikes said:

And lastly, I'd like to thank BFL, for going out there and getting a pair of used T-1275s and making them work again... because without his posts, I wouldn't have done the same, and come back smiling... I love everything about the T-1275 except lifting those mofo's out of the battery tray for an EQ session back home... they are HEAVY.

.....................................................................

Amen and amen.

Thank you BFL for inspiring me and at least postponing a $400 expenditure.

And thank you whoever discovered the MW. One hour generator time when required is reasonable.

My GC-2s are about 40 pounds which is tough but doable for this 70 year old, but the battery tray is very awkward. It wasn't easy getting them out, especially the first one.

Back in is relatively easy. Lift up into the truck, slid down leveling board to the tray.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Wouldn't it be nice to put 2.666 volts to the week sister cell and have at it?

They're never going to go back to over-the-top cell connectors but I can say this:

With my 2-volt cell batteries I can put the screws to the weak sister cell.

With 3 cell batteries needless whipping is limited to 2 cells while the third gets "corrected". With a 12 volt battery 5 cells get punished for the misconduct of the 6th.

Just something to chew on for a Sunday...

[NinerBikes]

joelmyer wrote:
I got mine.

obtw BFL, those are Anderson Power Poles on each side of the meter.

I've been working over my batteries. Interstate GC2-XHD-UTL.

Bought these in December 2010 while dry camping in Key West. Never happy with them. I know now that dry camping without solar that I could never get them "fully" charged, sulfating, progressive loss of capacity, ...

Suffered through 2010, 2011, 2012. In 2013 I picked the worse two of the lot and moved them to the shop and suffered through last winter with the other two, planning to buy four new Sam's Club golf cart batteries this summer. I charged them occasionally with the VEC1093.

Decided to do a BFL treatment:

In the beginning: 24 hours after FUL:
8/22/14 1230, 1260, 1260, 1260, 1260, 1225
watered, recond, eq:
8/23/14 1265, 1260, 1260, 1260, 1270, 1225

Round 1: 10 AMP load 6 hours. Dropped to 12.3 volts at start, 11.93 at end.
Part of my unhappiness was low voltage under load. Maybe this is normal.
Sat for two days because the VEC1093 was busy the other pair.
Wouldn't charge. Recond, charge, eq, charge:
8/27/14 1275, 1275, 1275, 1275, 1275, 1250

Round 2: 10 amp load 6 3/4 hours, ending voltage 11.88
charge, recond, eq, eq
8/29/14: 1275, 1275, 1275, 1280, 1280, 1250

Round 3: 10 amp load, 6 1/4 hours, end 12.0 volts.
charge with VEC1093. "Finishing Charge" with MW S-350-12
8/31/14 1280, 1280, 1280, 1280, 1280, 1260

obtw, that last cell was over watered sometime before this exercise. There is ~3/8" of water above the bottom of the slot. All the others were watered as needed.

The other pair out in the trailer, after one cycle of load, charge, recond and eq
8/25/14 1260, 1260, 1250, 1260, 1270, 1255
so they need to meet MW.

But after that I think I'm good for anther winter at least without new batteries.

Again, thanks all for the advise, counsel, guidance and entertainment.

Your observation of the batteries need multiple treatments of minor deep heated massage matches my experience with my Trojan T-1275s. It took 3 trips over a matter of about 12 to 14 days to really get the specific gravity back up there. You just can't rush a good equalization, it needs some down time for the chemical solution to redistribute itself inside the battery.

I'd hit them with the Meanwell set at 15.05 V first, then my very old 1980's manual Sears 6 amp charger that does go to 16.0V, usually for an hour or two, until the amp meter on the charger showed 3.0 amps for about an hour. That 2 hours usually would let me see 1.275 to 1.280 on all but one cell, again, a cell slightly overfilled.

I thank Mexicowander for educating all of us on how to do the most on fully recharging our batteries, so that we get the most out of our batteries while dry camping.

I would also like to call out and thank landyacht318 for keeping copious notes on his screwy 31 battery. I consider that a "must read" or a Battery 101 course on proper observation, taking notes, and confirming that you need to be a little bit bold in the voltage settings on your charge controller, that the charge controller industry has been lying to all of us on 14.4V, when, in his case, with his batteries, he needs 15.3V daily and 16.0V every 14 days to keep his battery healthy, while using it daily, regularly, and hard, with true deep cycles.

And lastly, I'd like to thank BFL, for going out there and getting a pair of used T-1275s and making them work again... because without his posts, I wouldn't have done the same, and come back smiling... I love everything about the T-1275 except lifting those mofo's out of the battery tray for an EQ session back home... they are HEAVY.

[joelmyer]

I got mine.

obtw BFL, those are Anderson Power Poles on each side of the meter.

I've been working over my batteries. Interstate GC2-XHD-UTL.

Bought these in December 2010 while dry camping in Key West. Never happy with them. I know now that dry camping without solar that I could never get them "fully" charged, sulfating, progressive loss of capacity, ...

Suffered through 2010, 2011, 2012. In 2013 I picked the worse two of the lot and moved them to the shop and suffered through last winter with the other two, planning to buy four new Sam's Club golf cart batteries this summer. I charged them occasionally with the VEC1093.

Decided to do a BFL treatment:

In the beginning: 24 hours after FUL:
8/22/14 1230, 1260, 1260, 1260, 1260, 1225
watered, recond, eq:
8/23/14 1265, 1260, 1260, 1260, 1270, 1225

Round 1: 10 AMP load 6 hours. Dropped to 12.3 volts at start, 11.93 at end.
Part of my unhappiness was low voltage under load. Maybe this is normal.
Sat for two days because the VEC1093 was busy the other pair.
Wouldn't charge. Recond, charge, eq, charge:
8/27/14 1275, 1275, 1275, 1275, 1275, 1250

Round 2: 10 amp load 6 3/4 hours, ending voltage 11.88
charge, recond, eq, eq
8/29/14: 1275, 1275, 1275, 1280, 1280, 1250

Round 3: 10 amp load, 6 1/4 hours, end 12.0 volts.
charge with VEC1093. "Finishing Charge" with MW S-350-12
8/31/14 1280, 1280, 1280, 1280, 1280, 1260

The MW started at 15.29 volts, 4.9 amps. After one hour it was 15.32 volts, 2.86 amps.

obtw, that last cell was over watered sometime before this exercise. There is ~3/8" of water above the bottom of the slot. All the others were watered as needed.

The other pair out in the trailer, after one cycle of load, charge, recond and eq
8/25/14 1260, 1260, 1250, 1260, 1270, 1255
so they need to meet MW.

But after that I think I'm good for anther winter at least without new batteries.

Again, thanks all for the advise, counsel, guidance and entertainment.

[NinerBikes]

landyacht318 wrote:
My solar controller allows the adjustments my battery requires.

I often think of just using the MeanWell power supply as if it were a solar panel feeding my charge controller, and let this controller run through my Algorithm which I have found makes my battery happiest

Limited to 25 amps though.

My 198 watts of solar is usually more than enough though, but when it is not, i do not trust my available charging sources and think the meanwell as a solar panel might be the way to go, for me.

Mine is limited to 30 amps.... Hmmm my Solar 30 and my Mega Watt are both 30 amps. What say ye?

[NinerBikes]

****

[BFL13]

NinerBikes wrote:
Megawatt S350

Review of the Mega Wwtt S-350-12V Power Supply Unit.

Now that I think about it, I could probably run this through my Solar 30 Charge Controller too, with a quick connect electrical RC plug, on the input side, out of 10 gauge wire.

Sorry, I am unclear in what is proposed here, but usually you can't go "through" the controller. Some have the positive neg ground, which would not bother the usual hook-up.

Other, older on/off controllers operate by switching on/off the input by shorting out the panel. This would wreck any other charger passing through the controller.

Point being you need to be on top of these things exactly.

[Almot]

landyacht318 wrote:
Limited to 25 amps though.

My 198 watts of solar is usually more than enough though, but when it is not, i do not trust my available charging sources and think the meanwell as a solar panel might be the way to go, for me.

Meanwell in the link is limited to 13A output, about the same as 198 solar. I don't feel that with my 490W solar there will be too many days when it's "not enough", despite 30A limit of existing controller. And if it will ever be not enough, then will add 250W more, and another controller, but this isn't likely to happen unless I replace my LP fridge with 12V.

[NinerBikes]

Megawatt S350

Review of the Mega Wwtt S-350-12V Power Supply Unit.

Now that I think about it, I could probably run this through my Solar 30 Charge Controller too, with a quick connect electrical RC plug, on the input side, out of 10 gauge wire.