I know this has been discussed before, but is there any other information regarding the pulse-width modulation methodology that
Iota Engineering uses in its chargers?
I haven't had the opportunity to fully test the two DLS-75/IQ4 3-stage chargers we bought for Beausoleil, other than to say that once I set both the Magnum MS-2800 inverter/charger and the
Iota charger to have virtually identical
charging profiles, I can now verify that I can bulk charge our 800Ah
AGM house bank at around 170 amps (125 amp capacity from the Magnum
charger and 75 amps from the Iota). I haven't yet tested what adding the engine's 190A
alternator to the mix would do...
But back to PWM
charging: I don't have an oscilloscope, so I don't know exactly what the output waveform of the Iota looks like. I assume it's similar to that used by MPPT-style
solar charge controllers - vary the output
current by pulsing at a constant voltage while in the absorption phase. And by closely limiting
current, it can reduce out-gassing without having to use a
battery temperature
sensor. It certainly does seem to
work - our Magnum
inverter charger will switch from absorption phase to float, and the Iota will continue in absorption for quite a bit longer before it to float. But the
engineer in me wants more details!
Iota's web site is pretty mum on the specifics - I don't think they even mention the PWM capability...