FAQ

Quickly find answers and general information about our products.

Charger behavior and charging mode

A few hours later, in float mode, the charging voltage drops significantly and the charging current increases. In the next few minutes, the voltage increases back to the holding voltage and the current decreases. Is this the normal operation?

No, it is normal that every 110 minutes the voltage decreases for 5 minutes, but you should not see an increase in current; you should read zero. It is normal, however, that after 5 minutes the voltage and current return to normal trickle charge conditions. It appears that there is an external load connected directly in parallel with the battery.

How/when do you decide to change from fast charge to maintenance?

The transition from fast charge to menten occurs when the current drawn by the battery falls below 12% of the current set by the trimmer.

The charging diagram shows that in the Trickle / trickle charge, the voltage is reduced below the fast charge voltage and the current varies as per function. When our battery (SLA) enters the trickle / float charge, we do not observe any voltage reduction and the current does not act as per function but remains constant around 10-20 mA. Is this reaction expected?

Yes. The voltage and current change only occurs if you have set the fast charge jumper to position 6. You probably forgot to insert it.

Could you provide more details on the time period for the " recovery," " Charge -boost / absorption" and " Charge - trickle / float " modes of battery charger operation? The specifications indicate 15 hours minimum and 1 minute maximum for boost mode. What governs this period and what are the terms for the other charging modes?

The transition from one phase of battery charging is not determined by the

Time but rather by voltage and current measurements.

Recovery: the batteries are supplied with current pulses until the voltage exceeds the threshold of 18V.

Charge -boost / absorption: the condition is terminated when the current drawn by the batteries falls below 1/8 of the current set by the trimmer (time out of 15 hours and a minimum of 1 minute per period)

Trickle / Float: return to Boost Charge with the closure of the fast charge jumper (pos.6 ) or when the battery voltage drops below 24V and the current drawn by the batteries is greater than ¼ of the current set by the trimmer.

There is a parameter "maximum time of fast charge -bulk" in the specification of 15h. Does this, mean that the transition to maintenance is controlled by a timer? Or perhaps this timer is a security?

The maximum charge of 15h is intended as a timeout guarantee. The switch to maintenance occurs when the current drawn by the battery falls below 12% of the current set by the trimmer.

There is a battery efficiency test every 220 minutes in float mode. How is this efficiency test conducted?

Durability testing is conducted by an impedance test every 110 min. The internal software has a proprietary algorithm that can discriminate whether a battery is sulfated. This test is performed every 110 min, and if after 2 cycles in sequence (2 x 110 = 220 min) in which the test is negative, the alarm will activate indicating that the battery is sulfated and must be replaced. The life test can be enabled by setting a jumper in position 4 (see page 5 instruction manual).

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Technical specifications and product features

Do you have BTU (heat loss/heat) specification for DIN CBI models?

We specify power dissipation in our manual as "dissipation at maximum load " in watts. The conversion from watts to BTUs is as follows: 1 watt is equal to 3.41214163513 BTUs per hour.

There is a comment in the instruction manual that suggests that the battery connection is tested every 60 seconds, but the "battery not connected " Led lights up within a couple of seconds after the battery is disconnected. What battery connection is tested every 60 seconds?

These are 2 different tests. Every 60 seconds, we test the status of the terminal connections. This is based on impedance measurement, and we have to draw current from the battery for a short time. The LED signal "battery not connected" will appear immediately after the battery is disconnected. This is based on voltage measurement.

What are RTCONN, RJTEMP and ERJ.CBI.004 accessories?

RTCONN: is the cable for position 5 and position 6 (Fast Charge)

RJTEMP: is the external temperature probe for battery charge compensation

(please refer to the instruction manual pages 6-7)

ERJ.CBI.004: is the RJ45 cable for connecting two CBI size 3 devices in parallel (please refer to the instruction manual)

The charge controller is rated for a temperature of -25 °C. When the ambient temperature is below -20 °C, it is not possible to charge Sealed Lead, but it is possible to continue discharging until -40 °C. When the ambient temperature is below -25 °C, how will the performance of the charge controller be? Will the system continue to supply power to the battery at -25 °C?

Our CBI can work smoothly with performance down to -40°C. We are outside the warranty zone but the products work properly. If your concern is to avoid charging below -20°C, the best option is to install a separate thermostat on the battery output. This can be a simple external bimetallic thermostat.

Does the FLEX28024A power supply have an output diode?

The FLEX28024A has a built-in diode.

If the request is in reference to a redundant system, MR220 must also be entered as shown in the instruction manual on page 2.

Last week I started testing the DC-UPS CBI245A and noticed that the Vdc output is 27.8 Vdc, similar to the battery output. Are these outputs the same? Is this normal?

This is the normal condition of the CBI world, the Charge output follows the battery output, but the maximum voltage is 28.8 Vdc (2.4 Vdc / cell max 15 hours)

Only if you set the jumper to position 6 (Fast Charge Enable) as shown in the instruction manual on page 6.

Otherwise, the output follows the maximum voltage set by Trickle charge depending on the position of jumper 1-2-3 (see instruction manual page 5).

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Battery types and differences

When choosing the type of battery, there are options for both Low Sealed Lead and High Sealed Lead. I am not familiar with these terms and do not understand what is the difference between the two drum options. Can you please explain?

Sealed Lead High is also called AGM type. The only thing that differs from Low Sealed Lead is the higher voltage in trickle charge (27V instead of 26.76V).

Occasionally in the Float charging mode, there is a reversal in current for a few milliseconds. Is this expected?

Yes Performs connection quality and internal battery impedance test every two hours.

What is the difference between CBI2410A and CBI2410A/S? (I'm not sure I understand the meaning of battery startup) Does the same apply to CBI485A and CBI485A/S?

"Start from battery" means that the device can power the output load even without mains input but only with battery connected; either by pressing the button on the front panel of the device or by closing contact 5 via the RTCONN cable and an external button.

CBI2410A and CBI485A: Without "start from battery" (jumper in position 5 for Boost or Trickle Charge)

CBI2410A/S and CBI485A/S: With "start from battery" (Jumper position 5 for connection to RTCONN cable and external button)

I know that to have a regulated output you need to add a regulator circuit, but would it be nice to have a regulated output for the load?

You should know that the output voltage is a stabilized voltage protected against overload and short circuit. It means that any change in the load absorption current does not change the output voltage, which still continues to follow the battery voltage.

You need to put a 24/24 DC/DC regulator only if the customer needs a fixed 24V voltage, for those devices that do not have a large industrial input (20 to 30 VDC) that is enough.

We would like to know how the devices differentiate between current to batteries and current to load.

Our All in One series CBI has two independent outputs, one for the load and one for battery charging, so we can differentiate the current drawn by the load from the current flowing in the battery. The load always has headroom, e.g., CBI2410A with a trimmer in the middle: we have a maximum of 5 A for the batteries and the other 5 A for the load; if the load requires 7 A, the CBI will lower the maximum current to the batteries to 3 A.

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