There's a HENRY in The Shed .......................... !!!!!!!

[Boots in Action]

@Boots in Action , actually caught my ProStar unit in the act of emulating an MPPT unit, I knew it did just never spotted it, fridge ran all night, battery was down to 12.2 and not happy, plugged in the external panel and bugga me it worked its way up to 7.2a for a short time then dropped to 6.1a in a matter of minutes then sat around 4.7a the way it charged up the van batteries years back was always better than other PWM controllers it was always good early morniing and late arvo if panel pointed correctly other PWM woudl be dead ..... I'll have to see if I can scrounge another one for the shed ...................... By the time I had found my meter it was back down so I didn't get to see what the volts were. ............... It all works so now can forget about and let it do its thing, though I think the 10 yr old GEL might be a bit iffy.

View attachment 70177

@Drover , I always had an idea that the "Pro star" and "Morning Star" regulators were suitable for use with "house" panels as a lot of American systems use them for their off grid power systems up to 24 volts output, but can handle higher input voltages than the run of the mill solar controllers that are usually used with solar panels in Australia. Most of the cheaper PWM controllers you see around are not designed for input voltages from "house" panels and would probably have a hissy fit if confronted with around 37 volts. To my knowledge, most cheap PWM solar controllers max out at around 28 volts input to cover 24 volt systems. Unfortunately I believe it was NOT a MPPT performance but still a good PWM controller able to handle 37 volts from "home" solar panels, even though it performed outside/above standard specs. Perhaps the higher input voltage allowed higher outputs at 12 volts???

 

[Drover]

I used it in my shed to keep the boat battery charged from another house panel, the Prostar can operate with up to 60v coming down the line but then if you do the maths, if the volts is lower than whats on the plate the amps is higher, beyond my pay grade I think ............. mostly I see 36v on the feed ............ Big test for last 36 hrs and the GEL not only on its last legs, its down to one leg I reckon, happy as larry with fridge on and panel plugged in but just doesn't hold up all night, fridge kicks in at some time and it must drop below the 11.5 cut out, still okay for shopping use as a tour is way off so might have a new one by then, lithium would be nice but it would mean a new reg and with AGM beiing way cheaper then an AGM it will be...

 

[Drover]

Well Henry has now had the mods done to its Tranny, removed the coolant heat exchanger for the tranny fluid and replaced with 2 air flow coolers so now the ATF doesn't get cooked and when towing stays well below 105c, engine temp sits lower as well and have also fitted a dip stick on the tranny that can be accessed from engine bay, original is on the gearbox and about 2" from the DPF so 3rd degree burns was the norm, not anymore, probably not an issue if you do dealer servicing as they have it to be done at 200,000km, may as well just replace the box, I'll stick to my 40K km changes ............

 

[Drover]

Kings had a good deal going so The Henry now has a slimline 120ah AGM fitted in the tub and the old GEL has gone back to the shed, its okay to run a work light and things .... would have been nice to have a lithium, certainly lighter, 2 hernias later and I had this 30kg slimline in its rack, can leave the fridge running if need be and all is good in morning now ...................

 

[Drover]

With The Henry spending more time in the garage than on the road lately, like many I vehicles I imagine and while normally I was tolerant of these smart alternators now I'm seriously thinking of sorting it out, after 5 or 6 days in the garage the battery charge is way down at about 12.3 or so, bluddy Rangers turn on the parkers each time you open a damn door and if you leave the key in the ignition, even though its OFF they drain power, most stupid design and I fail to see how only charging the battery to 70 -75% is supposed to increase its life when you can dead it so easily .............. So until I sort it a lead from my solar controller in tub to starter battery quickly has it to full charge and all is hunky dory ... the house panel on fence outside garage works really well and I'm most impressed and with the 100w panel on tub lid no need for a Dc-DC Charger or any other set up that would require more $$ and stuffing around .................

The Ranger has an Invertor which is usable while engine running and I have been thinking if I disconnect it from Rangers power and hook it up to my tub battery/solar pack instead, give me anothe rsource of 240v in camp without having to run engine, not that I would anyway... Something to look into but might mean panel pulling so not that desperate.

 

[Boots in Action]

most stupid design and I fail to see how only charging the battery to 70 -75% is supposed to increase its life

Ian, it is not to extend the life of battery, but to reduce fuel consumption when there is no need for alternator output to be connected . The "engineers", in trying to minimize fuel consumption, believe there is no need to keep charging the battery other than replace what was used whilst starting They believe that all that is needed is to input sufficient power back into battery that will enable vehicle to start, hence the early disconnection of alternator input power. I agree, not good for getting a FULL 100% charge into battery to cover longer periods between use. But that's "progress" for you!!!!