Optimal programming of Balmar regulator for Lifeline batteries

[transmitterdan]

Greg,

Thanks for your input. Can you tell me which parameters are set wrong? I have the bulk and absorption set at 14.3V which is what Lifeline says.

[rgleason]

...can be pretty warm. This past short motoring day they were 32C.

89F isn't that warm. Did you mean 52c perhaps?

Also make sure you have the SLP correct. My notes say this. I hope they are right!
SLP Trojan Flooded =5.0 mV per cell / °C or 2.8 mV per cell / °F
I looked up the value for Trojan in their literature.

[tanglewood]

The Balmar literature and terminology are FUBAR like nothing else I've seen in the industry. Here are a few key points that I've figured out through reverse engineering/observation, and struggling to get proper charging, which I finally got.


1) The "bulk" stage in Balmar's lingo actually covers what in industry standard terms is BOTH Bulk and Absorb. The "Absorb" stage in Balmar lingo is pretty much a useless stage that attempts to charge a little longer and less than the bulk voltage, with the same current cutoff as bulk, i.e. it will end after the minimum time. Set Bu correctly for the bulk voltage.



2) FbA is NOT the Bulk to Acceptance current per industry terms. There really is no such thing in industry norms. FbA is ACTUALLY the Absorb to Float transition current. Set FbA to the final desired acceptance current. Note it's entered as a percentage of the alternators rated current output. And be sure to compensate for house loads. So if you want a final acceptance current of 10A, have typical house loads of 15A, that's 25A, or 25% for a 100A rated alternator. You need to do some math. If you want a minimum bulk time, set that in b1c, but keep in mind that it is the time for both Bulk and Absorb (using industry terminology).


3) FFl is also NOT the Absorb to Float transition current. It's actually the current at which the charger, once in float, will re-enter Absorb. This is really important because if you set it too low, you will find your alternator switching back to absorb every time you run a heavy load on your boat. Turn on the kettle while underway, and you alternator gives your batteries another absorb cycle, effectively over charging them during extended motoring. I have found it best to set FFl to it's max possible value to prevent this.


4) Balmar's description of how their time values are entered just makes it more confusing, at least to me. It's actually very simple. The displayed time value, say "1.8" is simply the number of hours. So 1.8 hrs. Introducing all the "6 minutes" crap just confuses things, even though that is how the math works out.


I'll bet that 95% of the Balmar regulators are incorrectly programmed, thanks to Balmar's instruction. In fact, I'm not even sure Balmar understands how the regulator works.

[rgleason]

One could also be critical about Balmar's regulators "user friendliness". Trying to program one with the "clever" magnet screw driver (where did I put that?) is like trying to unlock some safe, requiring timing and knowledge about what the next step is and the bizarre short LED acronyms are not at all helpful.

This interface is from a completely different era of electronics, perhaps arranged to prevent unknowing users from programming, and I would hope that Balmar has plans for a newer and better regulator lineup which has a programming interface for mere humans, that also uses the Balmar Smartgauge communications busway, and better support for all battery types, and perhaps an explicit user friendly field cutoff for HV for lifepo using the shunt in the SG200 as sensor. and perhaps the same for LV disconnect sensing and control?

It seems to me that Balmar could provide sailors with a more comprehensive set of devices to accomplish LV disconnect and HV disconnect.


So that's the end of my grumble.

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by transmitterdan

Greg,

Thanks for your input. Can you tell me which parameters are set wrong? I have the bulk and absorption set at 14.3V which is what Lifeline says.

bv and av can not be set the same. bv needs to be 0.1V higher than av.

This and other little details are covered here:
Programming a Balmar Voltage Regulator

We will typically set Lifelines to 14.5V or 14.6V for the minimum bv duration (b1C) of 6 minutes. It then goes to an av of 14.4V....

For any type of PSoC use we have found the highest allowable voltages per the manufacturer result in the longest life. With Lifeline's we tend to exceed this with a Balmar regulator by 0.1 - 0.2V for a short duration and then drop to 14.4V the max recommended absorption voltage.

[transmitterdan]

Originally Posted by Maine Sail

bv and av can not be set the same. bv needs to be 0.1V higher than av.

This and other little details are covered here:
Programming a Balmar Voltage Regulator

We will typically set Lifelines to 14.5V or 14.6V for the minimum bv duration (b1C) of 6 minutes. It then goes to an av of 14.4V....

For any type of PSoC use we have found the highest allowable voltages per the manufacturer result in the longest life. With Lifeline's we tend to exceed this with a Balmar regulator by 0.1 - 0.2V for a short duration and then drop to 14.4V the max recommended absorption voltage.

Ok, that makes sense.

Do you agree that 65% field threshold is the right value for switching between bulk, abs and float?

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by transmitterdan

Ok, that makes sense.

Do you agree that 65% field threshold is the right value for switching between bulk, abs and float?

That is the factory default. Generally speaking by extending the a1c duration you can get an adequate absorption duration..

How the field % transitions work will depend upon your system loads etc. when charging. You can experiment with it as much as you want. To go back to default, if you think you messed up, just change the battery type, let it save and you can then start over..

[Tsuru]

Originally Posted by transmitterdan

I searched ‘Balmar Lifeline programming‘ but did not get a hit.

What is the optimal advanced programming set of parameters for Balmar MC-614 regulator charging 4X group 31 Lifeline batteries in parallel?

Below is the list of codes and values I deduced from the Balmar (http://www.balmar.net/wp-content/upl...ion-Manual.pdf) and Lifeline (https://2cw8eb1vmmgg3g5i7jzt6upo-wpe...al-5-06-19.pdf) manuals.

Our boat has one 80A small case alternator driven by a serpentine belt. Alternator and battery bank each have a Balmar temp sensor installed.

Balmar MC-614 programming Lifeline batteries codes/parameters:

bA=AgL
bEL=b-0
Ab2=b2
dSP=Ld
bdL=OFF

Advanced

bLc=30
AHL=15.6
CL=14.8
bu=14.3
b1c=0.3
Au=14.3
A1c=2.5
**=13.2
F1c=0.3
ALL=12.7
FbA=50
FFL=65
AL1=86
b1l=46
SLP=7.2

Hello,
I realize this is an old thread but I just installed the Balmar battery TI and need to reprogram our MC 614. Lifeline gives the Slope temperature in deg C and Balmar programs in deg F.
I’m a simple guy, can someone provide the proper Slope number for our lifeline AGM’s?

System
4 - Lifeline GT GPL-6CT (2x2 in series to support 12 VDC system)
Balmar 175 Amp alternator
Balmar Mc 614

Thanks,
Ray