Economy charge controller BOARD 12 volt for wind turbine and solar panel USA

Use this controller to regulate and prevent battery overcharge in:

Solar Systems,Wind Systems,Hydro Systems

Some of the key features of this controller are:

• Microprocessor controlled -- This is very important for both stability and functionality.
• User changeable settings -- Several controllers on the market set the dump level, and that's that!
• High amp rating - 160 amps, 3600 watts.
• 12 or 24 volts, no modification is necessary, simply change the jumper.
• Battery Voltage Meter -- High contrast, super nice meter that has an on/off switch!
• Battery status LED - Several controllers do not tell you what's going on - This one does!
• Push to test. Ever wonder if your controller & load are working OK?
• Steel enclosure, with two conduit openings.
• Large enough terminal blocks that you can actually terminate large wire (See notes below.)
• Super large heat sink -- Pulling in multiple relays takes energy - which generates heat. This one handles it!
• Can divert the source from the batteries to the load, or dump both the batteries along with the source. 

Some specifics about the points made above.

The microprocessor is the heart ofthe controller. It is given the battery voltage and the user changeable trip points.  This information is analyzed and acted upon.

The Battery level is checked, and based on that info, the Green LED flashes or is illuminated as follows

1. (One) Flash indicates the battery is less than 12 volts (12 volt system - Double for 24 etc)
2. (Two) Flashes indicates the battery is 12 to 12.5V
3. (Three) Flashes indicates the battery is 12.6 to 13v
4. (Four) Flashes indicate the battery is 13.1 to 13.5V
5. ( Five) Flashes indicates the battery is above 13.5V but less than 13.9V (Settings are adjustable)

Steady green means the battery is full.

The red LED is illuminatedwhen the battery is being dumped at 14.5v (or the charge source diverted.)

The dump remains active fora min. of 5 seconds, at which time it is checked by the microprocessor. If battery voltage drops below the "Dump Cancel " level, the dump is disabled, otherwise the dump is continued and rechecked every 5 seconds.

When you click the "TEST" push-button- the 5 second cycle is started (one time, unless the batteries are within the "Dump Start" and "Dump Cancel" zone.)

Settings are user changeable!! By simply turning a simple potentiometer with a small screwdriver, you can quickly adjust the trip point.

High amp rating -- 160 Amps as configured!-- This is a big controller.

160 amps is a lot of current! -- The terminal blocks inside the case will handle #8 wire and are better used for switching loads of 60 amps or less. If your system will likely run at the high end, then a better connection is to simply remove the two relay contact wires from the internal terminal blocks and terminate them to your larger wire directly via a wire nut, or compression lug etc.

The enclosure is heavy gauge, solid steel, ready to mount. -- No plastic, no junk, simple and rugged, built specifically for this purpose in our CNC machine shop.

High contrast super clear, LED volt meter with on off switch.

Finally, by popular demand, we have added a high quality LED voltage (battery) meter to our most popular controller. This meter is a super high quality meter with auto-contrast brightness. (It gets brighter as the ambient light is increased.) The meter draws only .0013 amps, so it's a real miser, yet because we know that no one wants to waste that hard earned energy, we have put a on/off switch on the front panel, so the meter can be shut off when you do not need it!

The picture simply does not do justice to the clarity of the LED meter, the camera just can't focus this close.

About load diversion.

The basic operating philosophy of a diversioncontroller is quite simple. Monitor the battery voltage,and if it should rise to a predetermined level, connect a diversion load (or "Dummy Load"), of sufficient size, to the battery or energy source to prevent the battery voltage from increasing any further.This is a very simple, yet very effective way of preventing battery overcharging. All alternate energy systems should have some form of battery overcharge protection.

Several schools of thought on the subject.

1. The source of power (wind turbine, solar panels etc.) -- should remain connected to the batteries while the dump is active.
2. The source should be diverted to the load directly and disconnected from the batteries.

We happen to believe that is far better to leave the wind turbine connected to the batteries at all times. Why? When you remove the battery level voltage from a wind turbine and send it's power directly to a load, then it sees for all practical purposes a short circuit(depending on the resistance of the load and lead wires.) This may cause the turbine blades to slow dramatically and in some cases bring it to a halt. This braking action can cause heat build up in the stator if it is repeated every few seconds or so (if the battery is just a little over the top). When you allow the turbine to see the batteries, along with the load, the turbine remains more within it's design realm --always a good thing.

The internal relays are configured to dump the batteries along withthe source, but if you desire to disconnect the source from the batteries and send it to the load directly, simply utilize the N/C contacts of the relays as well. We'll be happy to send you a diagram -- this is a very simple change.