Equalization with Ample Power V3

[Sailmonkey]

I just finished installing an ample power V3 regulator. Before I go all crazy twisting pots I was wondering how to set up the current limiting for the equalization stage. I'll assume that I need to be at float voltage already, enable equalization, then check the current output from the alternator and adjust to 3-7% of house bank total AH capacity?
I can't for the life of me think of anything I'm missing. I just installed this thing, and was going to equalize last night, but the EQ cycle only runs for a few seconds at idle and less than that at 1800rpm (I have not yet adjusted pot r12).
If it's just that easy no problem, but the directions leave a little interpretive room.

Thanks

[Sailmonkey]

anyone?

[s/v Jedi]

Make sure you have jumper P1 set right.

cheers,
Nick.

[Sailmonkey]

I've got P1 shorted. Without that all the eq input does is current limit the alternator. It tries to run the equalization cycle, but cuts off like it's pegged the pre-set limit....for the 30 secs or so that I have been able to run the equalization the status indicator was giving the correct 6on6off and the voltage was nearing 16V

[s/v Jedi]

I don't understand that. what pre-set limit do you mean? the pot is just for adjusting the maximum current during equalization and it should last for some time period much longer than 30 seconds. Time to call them I think!

cheers,
Nick.

[Sailmonkey]

I'll go that route, I was rattling around my brain the possibilty that during equilization that if the current limit was exceded........but then that would only make sense if you weren't using the pot to limit it.

[Roy M]

Good grief! This is going to ignite a firestorm, so be forewarned!

First, equalization is performed by unwitting folks who wish to do a reasonable thing, reduce the accumulation of sulfates on the lead plates of the batteries. Regulators do a fair job of getting most of the sulfate ions back into the electrolyte, but there are always a statistically small number that need just a hair more "oomph" (technical jargon for voltage) than the regulator lets out. Over time, the level of sulfates just build up, gradually holding on to the sufates that would ordinarily be available to give up an electron to light that lamp. Eventually, there are so many sulfates plated out on the batteries that there is little remaining charge to get you through a night listening to the Stones or Beethoven.

Enter the equalization cycle, brought to you by your favorite battery supplier, and spread via the battery charger suppliers. Every once in a while you ram 16 volts through the system, popping electrons into the recalcitrant sulfate ions outer valence ring (remember high school chemistry classes?). Meanwhile, a nefarious agent is doing clever damage that reduces the life and integrity of the battery. Heat. Put your hand against the side of the batery case while subjecting your battery to equalization. Yykes! It's hot! Think what it's doing to the plates, or if you have no idea, imagine what warped plates do for the longevity of the battery. It's not pretty, but it is pretty expensive over the short run your batteries survive the repeated experience. So, the question I pose is this: Is there no other option?

Yup. Now comes the firestorm. NASA dealt with this issue before many of you were born. It doesn't get much credit because the folks who sell you batteries (with the exception of Batteries Plus) want to keep selling you some more, regularly. Battery desulfation is available from little black boxes, that pulse the batteries once a second. There are now several suppliers, though my favorite is Pulse-Tech (Welcome to PulseTech - the leaders in battery performance technology!). I have been installing them for almost twenty-five years on my customer's boats. My last set of batteries lasted eleven years (I screwed up and completely discharged them), and the previous set lasted fourteen years. My customers keep asking me when they need to change their own batteries.

This concept is dramatically resisted by seemingly rational folks who can't comprehend that batteries only should last more than three or four years. Knowing there will be a huge resistance to this periodic need of mine to prosetilyze, I will be brief: Don't equalize. Desulfate.

[Sailmonkey]

Well, I'm pretty sure my batteries are shot.....when we bought the boat the batts were only 1/4 full, and the plates were dry. I am planning on new batts when it's time to toss the dock lines, and have looked extensivly at a small solar powered battery pulsed maintainer. But for the time being, I am doing everything I can to revive these poor old cells. I do know that in the entire life these batteries have never seen an equalization cycle, and this is one of the few times I can justify to myself beating them up this way.

[s/v Jedi]

Well Roy, the thread is yours. When it's finished I'll post the links to the General Electric research that shows it's snake oil. In the mean time, please post your links to the NASA studies on the subject and explain why NASA uses vented lead acid batteries ... I thought they were big with fuel cells instead.

cheers,
Nick.

[Roy M]

Gosh! I've been found out. Rats!

Seriously, though, last time I checked, NASA was still driving trucks and starting internal combustion vehicles. And those tanks and APCs at Ft. Hood are still using Pulse-Techs to get started. And the folks at Scripps Institute of Oceanography, down the street from me are still buying these useless items. Oh, and the Air Force is still sticking them in their runway snowclearing equipment. And a bunch of other folks still haven't gotten your good news, but perhaps you can correct that. In the meantime, I keep installing them, and my customers keep NOT buying new batteries. I guess it's the power of suggestion. It's not working with some folks, though. So I guess the economy will still be able to function smoothly.

I thought they were snake oil, at first. Then I started renovating discarded batteries at my yacht club. Where do you suppose those electrolyte solutions picked up more density? Must have been the gingerbread crumbs I distributed in concentric circles around them. It's easy to disparage. It's harder to test your hypothesis. Harder still to explore new ideas. Some folks have an easier time at it than others. There are some folks out there who are willing to give it a chance. Then there are some that are sure they don't need to. You pays your money and takes your chances.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Roy M

Gosh! I've been found out. Rats!

Seriously, though, last time I checked, NASA was still driving trucks and starting internal combustion vehicles. And those tanks and APCs at Ft. Hood are still using Pulse-Techs to get started. And the folks at Scripps Institute of Oceanography, down the street from me are still buying these useless items. Oh, and the Air Force is still sticking them in their runway snowclearing equipment. And a bunch of other folks still haven't gotten your good news, but perhaps you can correct that...

NO - none of the above-mentioned organisations use or endorse the use of Pulse Technology (DeSulphation), or "PulseTech"® products for battery DeSulphation (nor any other use) .

I might add that I’ve NOT found any there are NO independent tests/studies that verify the various manufacturers’ performance claims, nor any scientific papers that substantiate the theoretical basis of this (so-called) “technology”.

[Roy M]

Gentlemen, I have asked Pulsetech to send me verifiable documentation of their claims. On receipt of these I will post the resource location. If the documentation is supportable, you get to make a personal call on the caliber of the study. I am a great believer in the scientific method. If you still have misgivings, then you can defend them with equivalent documentation. I must admit, my own bias for these units is personal experience and testing, though hardly scientific. Sounds fair, doesn't it?

[Sailmonkey]

On another note I figured out my equilization problem. Turns out I had my head wrapped the wrong way around the current limit......i am limiting the field current.....obvious right?! My limit was up all the way allowing equalization to hit the 16.2 volt threshold instantly and stopping the cycle.
No more worries, but by all means, lets continue the pulse conditioner conversation

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Roy M

... I have asked Pulsetech to send me verifiable documentation of their claims. On receipt of these I will post the resource location. If the documentation is supportable, you get to make a personal call on the caliber of the study...
... Sounds fair, doesn't it?

Yes, if it removes their claims from the unsupported by evidence category.

If I could (I cannot) I’d provide similar evidence for my unsupported claims.

PulseTech® contracted with Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan and Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, to conduct separate evaluations of the technology. I wouldn’t consider this to be an “independent” review.

[Tropic Cat]

Hang on Gord, studies or no studies, I want to hear more about how my almost new batteries can last 11 years. My last set was dead after just 4 years, and I'm at the dock most of the time.

Are there testimonials?