Hello Cruisers,
Recently I found that my Aerogen 6
regulator is cutting out at a too low voltage level and was switching to the dump load. I was given some good
advice that there was an adjustment available on the
regulator to fix this problem. Alas, this is true for all of the models other than mine. My regulator is completely sealed and therefore is probably the original model.
So, before I start the surgery in an attempt to unearth the adjuster pot, it struck me that this might be a time to stand back and think things through.
The
current situation is that I have installed a decent quantity of
solar with a smart new
MPPT controller and I am about to take
delivery tomorrow of 2 x 125AH
AGM batteries. These
batteries are to see us through while we are just weekending, with the aim to go to around 400AH (or less) of useable capacity, either in FLA or
Lithium when we are ready to do some serious sailing, in about five years time. So just to be clear, the
boat is a bit of a
dock queen till then, hence the AGMs seemed the best bet.
I have a 100Amp Hitachi
alternator on the
engine, which will need an external regulator to provide the best output, I mention this as it might be relevant to the question of choosing a regulator for Aerogen.
I am keen to get the most I can out of the Aerogen, so perhaps I should consider some "better" regulator, something that I can adjust to the installed
battery chemistry should I change to
Lithium for example, before we travel.
I have the dump resistors for the Aerogen, and they are in excellent condition, so a good regulator with a diversion circuit that recognises different
battery chemistries, including Lithium, should be a cinch to install. The maximum
current output of the Aerogen is 30 amps at a maximum open circuit voltage of 45 volts, DC.
Can anyone recommend a regulator with all of this in mind? Failing that, a map to that pot in the regulator would be a great help too.
So far, I have been pointed in the direction of the Morningstar Tristar series, which look good, but are there others I should consider?
Matt