| Author |
Message |
jay gerlick (205.188.116.135)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 15, 2004 - 9:28 am: | |
The wiring diagram shows that the 12v output be connected to 1 of the batteries before the 12v load. This doesn't make sense to me I'm trying to avoid pulling off of 1 battery so I don't wear out 1 battery before the other.
Is it wrong to connect the 12V load to the equalizer skipping the battery?
Does anyone have a manual or for a Vanner 60-50A ? |
Bus Jock (4.41.169.129)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 15, 2004 - 9:48 am: | |
Jay,
You are absolutely correct. Even with the equalizer working perfectly, the lower battery will be ar a few millivolts below the top battery.. Over time you will end up with the lower batteries at a lower charge. We went through this problem. First tapping the bank, then using a sepatate small battery (buffer battery) and now finally for the past 2 years we run our 12 volt loads directly from the 12 volt output of the Vanner. Works great. We can still cross tie the the generator start battery if needed.
If you email me, I can send you a write up that covers some of these isssues (take out the NOSPAM)
I am pretty sure that Vanner manuals are avalible on line.
Jock Fugitt |
BrianMCI96A3 (69.34.169.50)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 15, 2004 - 12:43 pm: | |
I have a Vanner equalizer as well, and I was puzzled about that very same thing...
I decided to do a little research...
Attaching the 12v+ output of the equalizer to 12v pos. of one of the batteries before the 12v load insures that if a sudden surge in the 12v load occurs, one that the equalizer can't cope with, it will be drawn from the one battery first, with the Vanner designed to resupply
that battery after the surge passes.
Dissabling this feature, while it seems like a reasonable idea... if a voltage surge does occur your equalizer can be damaged.
Another thing to think about, if you are traveling down the road and have some 12V function that is critical(like perhaps a 12V rear view camera system) if your Vanner blows it's circuit breaker you lose your 12V supply!
With the system as designed, the loss of the equalizer still gives you 12V power...
One last thing, with the system as designed the battery is a buffer for the equalizer with the equalizer resupplying the battery, eliminating the buffer will without question, shorten the life of your equalizer
Brian |
Bus Jock (4.41.170.150)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 15, 2004 - 1:43 pm: | |
Brian,
I have fought this problem for about 5 years (12 volt battery not fully charged by the vanner. It only takes a few millivolts to make the charge less over a long period of time.
I believe the Vanner is very overload tolerant. I have even had it open and scoped the waveforms and mapped most of the circuits. ( mine is before all the potting , throw away stuff.. I don't see anything in the circuits that would indicate shorter life at ocasional peak loads (providing there is good cooling on the heatsink)
I have overloaded the vanner accidently several times while we were still cross tied to gen start battery. The CB on the vanner merely tripped.
If you have routine loads above 50 amperes, then you will need a buffer, However we have almost everything we can think of..
The high draw are the water pump and the marcerator(rarely used) In our normal dry camping over the last 2 years we have not ever overloaded the Vanner. Our typical load is about 15 amperes, popping up to about 30 while the pump is on.
I am fully convinced for our use on bus conversions, a DC to DC converter that takes in 20 to 30 volts, and puts out 13.8 all the time. Then a buffer battery will not slowly run down, and you will always have at least 13.5V to run stuff
Sorry for rambling on
Jock Fugitt |
WA David (Wacoastmci) (148.64.136.193)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 15, 2004 - 4:05 pm: | |
Vanner has good telephone customer support. Call 800 227-6937 x 290 (Jeff) and ask him that question. Some Vanner info learned the hard way:
Vanner is designed to take charge from high side battery and give to low side battery to equalize. 12V load comes off low side battery so Vanner in theory is replacing 12v load as it is drawn. However, earlier Vanner equalizer families (Family 2), require at least 3 amp load to equalize, hence when coach is parked, batteries can get out of balance and Vanner stays asleep. Newer Vanner equalizers (Families 5 and 6 as memory serves) equalize batteries without respect to load, so batteries will stay equal when parked with small or no load.
We had same experience as Jock...small 12v load over time drew down low side battery. Could never figure out why (we had a Family 2 equalizer). Switch to Family 6 equalizer, problem went away. |
Buswarrior (Buswarrior)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 15, 2004 - 10:08 pm: | |
Hello Vanner fans
If the potential for long term low side battery is of concern, then rotate your battery set on some periodic schedule, to even them out.
This strategy also works for a straight centre tap.
Perhaps not the absolute perfect solution that is often strived for...
happy coaching!
buswarrior |
Stephen Fessenden (Sffess)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 15, 2004 - 10:17 pm: | |
I have two Vanner Equalizers, and both are connected directly to the battery. The Vanner senses the diffence in voltage between the two batteries that make up a 12 volt system and transfers current to from the 24 volt terminal to the 12 volt terminal until they are within a few millivolts. If the 24 volt terminal reads 26.2 volts, the 12 volt terminal should read 13.1 volts or the Vanner will send current to the 12 volt terminal until the voltage is almost exactly half the 24 volt terminal voltage.
That is the way they are supposed to be connected, to the battery terminals before the load. I would hook up by factory instsructions and change only if there is a problem. I have had no problem for three years with the factory recommended hook up. Be sure the cables are short and large enough.
One thing a Vanner cannot do is correct a bad 24 volt battery voltage. If the 24 volt terminal reads 25 Volts and the 12 volt terminal reads 13.2 volts, the Vanner does nothing. This would happen, for example, on a Prevost with a center tap for running 12 volt headlights and a blown or lower wattage right headlight. The left gets 12 volts between the 24 volt terminal and the 12 volt terminal while the right headlight gets 12 volts between the 12 volt terminal and ground. So it is possible to draw down the 24 volt battery terminal more than the 12 volt terminal. My bus originally had circuits run that way for heater fan motors and pumps too. I changed all circuits to either 24 volt (to ground) or 12 volt to ground. Don't tap between the 24 volt terminal and the 12 volt terminal for any 12 volt circuit. It will drain the battery in a way that the Vanner cannot compensate for. On the headlight center tap system, just keep the left and right equal. Don't put a 65 watt bulb on the left and a 55 watt bulb on the right.
If your wiring is right, the Vanner will work well when wired as specified. And as Brian wrote, you have the ability to draw a very short term 200 or more amp load and then let the Vanner play catch up.
You should not need to rotate your batteries if the Vanner is working. |
BrianMCI (Unregistered Guest)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, October 16, 2004 - 8:52 am: | |
Jock, does sound as though you have worked your situation out fairly well.
But I do worry... I plan on running my rear view camera system off the Vanner and if a sudden surge trips the circuit breaker... poof goes my "mirror"!
Brian |
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