iPack battery

[vinhquyen]

Hello everybody,

 

I have a question about connecting from Solar Panel  BSP5-12 5W to PV 15...28V termianals in Ipack.

 

In this connection, i don't need to use the charge controller.

 

 

Could you please tell me that mainboard iPack have the charge controller? if it have no the charge controller, it will not be good for solar panel and battery

 

Thank you

 

vinhquyen

[pcorcoran]

Hello Vinhquyen,

 

Yes - the iPack has an internal charge controller that will supply the iPack with a steady 12v supply. The maximum input voltage it can handle is  28v DC. This is when using the "PV" terminals on the side of the iPack.

 

When connecting an external battery and PV panel system, you'd want to use the "12v External Battery" terminals. Please note that these terminals do NOT have a built in charge controller, so the voltage needs controlled before entering the iPack.

 

Also, the 12v External Battery terminals will power the iPack while there is a charge in the external battery system. They do not however charge up the internal battery of the iPack. This means that an interruption in the external power supply may result in a low power situation (if the iPack battery is also dead).

 

Please feel free to post any questions or send emails to support@rnrgsystems.com.

 

Pearse

[svallverdu]

Hi, my name is Sebastián and I have some questions regarding recommended power supply for IPack Access.

According to what I´ve read, if I connect a power supply (230Vac/12Vdc) that delivers steady 12Vdc in the "Ext Bat" terminals, this will power up IPack but *as long as the power surce is running*, it won´t charge the 12V internal battery. Is that correct?

 

So far, we have always used a small solar panel (30x15cm aprox with an output of 15Vdc) that powers the IPack GSM and Datalogger. Then, when we replace GSM for CDMA IPack we connect a 12Vdc power supply on "Ext Bat" terminals, and the small solar panel in the PV terminals.

 

So, I have the following questions:

1) Does the small solar panel have enough power to feed internal charger and charge 12Vdc batteries?

2) Can I connect both power sources, I mean, the small solar panel (15Vdc on "PV" terminals) and 12Vdc power source on "Ext Bat" terminals?

3) Which is the best solution if I have 230Vac in the panel where the Ipack is mounted? Use a unique power source 230Vac/24Vdc and connect this to PV terminals?

 

Thank you very much!!

[Drew Lepple]

Hello Sebastian,

 

Thank you for your post.

You are correct that the "Ext Bat" terminals on the side of the iPack are utilized to power the unit, but not charge the internal 12V battery. 

Answers to your questions:

1)  Yes, the 5W PV panel does have enough power to keep the 12V battery charged

2) Yes, you can connect a 12 V dc power sorce to the "Ext Bat" terminals and also attach the 5W PV panel to the PV terminals.  The iPack is designed to dump any unwanted/over power if needed.

3) The best solution if you have a power source available (230V ac) then you will need to convert that to 110V ac, then plug that into the PV terminals.  This will power your iPack and keep your battery charged at the same time.  if power is lost, your battery will take over to keep the iPack functioning for a couple of days.

Regards,

Drew

[svallverdu]

Dear Drew, thank you for your answers. I have one doubt though. You said the best solution (if I have 230Vac available) is to convert to 110Vac and then plug that to the PV terminals? But, isn´t the PV terminals maximum voltage 28Vdc?

 

Thank you again,

 

Best regards,

 

Sebastián