SARV3 Questions

[Suzanna]

I have ordered a SARV3 Regulator and have some questions. The unit is being installed on a yacht with a dedicated start battery run by the original internally regulated alternator. The SARV3 will be connected to my dedicated house bank consisting of 2 x 255AH batteries connected in parallel. My questions are as follows

1. What are the bulk, absorbtion and float charge voltages for the Lifeline AGM setting? I need these parameters to set up my battery monitor (Xantrex LinkPro)

2. What is the Float Current? Need this as well for battery monitor.

3. Where is the best place to mount the temp sensor in a parelleled bank? will either +ve battery post do?

4. Can the SARV3 control 2 alternators from the one field wire without using a dual alternator controller?

5. Does the SARV3 have an alternator temp sensing option to detect and compensate for alternator overheat? I understand that the Xantrex until has this.

6. Don't understand what the headlight (lock) circuit is for. In what situation would it be required?

7. What is the maximum distance from the regulator to the alternator?

8. What is the maximum distance from the regulator to the battery?

9. Are there any distance limitations fro the current limit & equalization switched circuits?

10. Do the fuses f1, f2 & f3 need to be at the battery or can they be located on my battery management panel about 10-15 feet away?

11. Don't understand the parallel circuit. Does this just operate a solenoid whenever charging is in progress? Does that mean that the starter bank will charge for as long as the house bank & therefore risk overcharging?

12. Can I use the "Current Limit" to permanently limit the output current of the alternator (I don't want to run alt. at 100% all the time) and then use the "Equalization Enable" to switch alternator output on & off as required to gain engine horsepower when required?

13. What ids the ABS function used for? In what situation would it be required?

14. If the on/off wire is connected to the ignition switch, does that mean that the regulator is powered by the start battery even though it is only charging the house bank?

Thanks for your help.

[Coulomb]

1. AGM settings and temperature compensation values are not published.
2. Float current is entirely dependent on the batteries.
3. The positive post that feeds the system.
4. You need the DAC if the alternators are not on the same engine, otherwise you're heating the field on a non-spinning alternator, (no fan cooling).
5. The Xantrex regulator is made by Balmar, and alternator overheating appears to be a problem with their alternators, hence the over temperature sensor.
Ample alternators are sufficiently cooled that protecting them from over temperature is not required. You might note that automotive alternators using internal regulators also cut back current when the alternator heats up, just like a Balmar alternator/regulator.
6. Headlight feature is mostly used on RVs with halogen bulbs, but is also applicable for boats with halogen lighting.
7,8,9. Forty feet, but it's good practice to twist field and alt. gnd wires.
10. Fuses are there to protect wires from burning up and therefore should be located as close to the power source as possible.
11. If you use a lead-calcuim plate starter battery it can tolerate the high voltage indefinitely. In any case, it only sees the high voltage during the absorption cycle.
12. There are two limits for alternator current limit, and two pots to set the limit. Without internal jumper P1 installed the 'Equalization' input overrides the 'Current Limit' input.
13. The 'ABS' input can be used to hold the regulator at the absorption voltage. Switching it off trips the regulator to float. Either function has occasional usage.
14. Power for the regulator is taken from the B+ input, not the on/off input.

[Suzanna]

Thanks for the reply. I need to know the float voltage on the AGM setting to program the battery monitor.

[Coulomb]

The monitor isn't controlling the SARV3. Is it controlling a charger that needs float voltage set?

[Suzanna]

Thanks for you quick reply.

Below is a copy of some setup instructions from the manual of the LinkPro battery monitor.
Sync/Auto Sync

In order to keep your LinkPRO battery monitor delivering accurate status information about your battery, it is important to regularly synchronize your battery monitor with your battery. As explained in the quick start guide, a synchronisation step is also needed before you can actually use your battery monitor. During operation, the battery monitor automatically indicates when a synchronisation is required, by displaying the message SYNCHRONIZE.
A synchronisation step means nothing more than performing a complete charge cycle on your battery. A charge cycle will be considered complete when both Auto-sync parameters F1.0, F1.1 and F1.2 (see Function setup menu) are met. This typically means : when the battery charger switches to float mode. By meeting these conditions, the battery is considered full, which will be indicated by a flashing FULL message on the display. Besides this, the State-of-charge readout will be set to 100% and the Amphour readout reset to 0Ah. The FULL message will disappear when a key is pressed, or automatically, when the battery starts discharging again.

F1.0 Charger's float voltage (Auto-sync parameter). This value must be equal to your battery charger’’s float voltage which is the last stage of the charging process. In this stage the battery is considered full. Default: 13.2V Range: 8.0 –– 33.0V Step size: 0.1V

F1.1 Charger's float current (Auto-sync parameter). When the charge current is below this percentage of the battery capacity (see Function F01), the battery will be considered as fully charged. Make sure this Function value is always greater than the minimum current at which the charger maintains the battery or stops charging.
Default: 2.0% Range: 0.5 –– 10.0% Step size: 0.1%

Thanks for taking the time to help.

[Coulomb]

At what battery temperature are you to program these values? Does the
manual tell you? Without knowing the value at a specific temperature
there is no way to preset float voltage.

Not only that, why isn't the monitor smart enough to determine float
voltage on its own?

And, since it's not doing that, I can see at least one way the monitor
is going to determine that the battery is full, when it isn't.

About float current: First, the parameter is mis-named. It should be
called "end-of-charge" current. Float current will be much less than 2%
of battery capacity.

And what does the manual tell you about battery technology versus float
current?

The monitor is going to mis-lead you most of the time. Unless you learn
a lot more about batteries and the charging process you will have
sub-optimal performance from the system.

Once you get the SARV3 connected and operating you'll be able to
determine what values will be best to set the monitor.