Trimetric 2030 battery monitor
I'm in the process of installing my solar setup. I have everything installed except the solar panels. I am having issues with my Trimetric 2030 battery monitor. After charging to 95%, according to ...
Forum Discussion
I have the 2025, and as mentioned I think its instructions for "full" are sort of insane. So I never used them. I ASSumed the 2030 was the same for that, and the solar controller would just tie in with that so I ASSumed the whole combo would be insane too.
It seems from what is being said, there is more to the whole 2030 combo, and I was wrong about it. Good.
Why is the 2025 "full" insane IMO?
1. It says to set P1 (the voltage for "full") to 1 or 2 % LESS than the Vabs of the charger being used.
This is so the Tri will indicate Full, "just before the charging system decides the batteries are charged and stops charging your batteries."
Insanity? The charger (some/many of them) will reach Vabs well before that, and hold its voltage at that Vabs for the absorption stage which could take hours. Meanwhile the Tri has rolled over back at the start of the Absorption stage? Not quite, because amps are not down yet.
However, he might be referring to the old shunt type solar controller which would stop charging at its high set point until Batv got down to the low set point. Or perhaps an Iota or PowerMax converter which have a lower "Vabs" than the voltage they get the battery to at the end of their Bulk.
2. It says to take 2% of your AH capacity as the P2 amps for "full" I know with my batts, they are somewhere near 98% SOC at that point. Not full!
So when the battery voltage goes above P1 and the amps go below P2 for a time so it is not just bouncing around, the AH counter resets itself to zero and the Tri says you are at 100%
The real control item there is the amps, which have to be low enough, so who cares what the voltage is doing above or below charger Vabs?
IMO just bizarre. So I trust the 2030 instructions are more sensible than that from what has been posted above by owners.
Meanwhile I will stick with my own system for saying when to MANUALLY reset the AH counter, when I decide the batts are full.
I get great value from my Trimetic using it as a voltmeter, ammeter, and AH counter. But the whole "full" thing is just goofy so I don't even have it turned on, having never entered anything for P1, P2, and P3.
It seems from what is being said, there is more to the whole 2030 combo, and I was wrong about it. Good.
Why is the 2025 "full" insane IMO?
1. It says to set P1 (the voltage for "full") to 1 or 2 % LESS than the Vabs of the charger being used.
This is so the Tri will indicate Full, "just before the charging system decides the batteries are charged and stops charging your batteries."
Insanity? The charger (some/many of them) will reach Vabs well before that, and hold its voltage at that Vabs for the absorption stage which could take hours. Meanwhile the Tri has rolled over back at the start of the Absorption stage? Not quite, because amps are not down yet.
However, he might be referring to the old shunt type solar controller which would stop charging at its high set point until Batv got down to the low set point. Or perhaps an Iota or PowerMax converter which have a lower "Vabs" than the voltage they get the battery to at the end of their Bulk.
2. It says to take 2% of your AH capacity as the P2 amps for "full" I know with my batts, they are somewhere near 98% SOC at that point. Not full!
So when the battery voltage goes above P1 and the amps go below P2 for a time so it is not just bouncing around, the AH counter resets itself to zero and the Tri says you are at 100%
The real control item there is the amps, which have to be low enough, so who cares what the voltage is doing above or below charger Vabs?
IMO just bizarre. So I trust the 2030 instructions are more sensible than that from what has been posted above by owners.
Meanwhile I will stick with my own system for saying when to MANUALLY reset the AH counter, when I decide the batts are full.
I get great value from my Trimetic using it as a voltmeter, ammeter, and AH counter. But the whole "full" thing is just goofy so I don't even have it turned on, having never entered anything for P1, P2, and P3.
