Ghurd Has Done It Again With A New Device!

[freejuice]

 I'm the proud owner of a timer which Glen put a lot of time and effort into!
The timer is a nice setup, I use it with his charge controller.

It works real nice with controlling things on the inverter ( AC) or the DC side.
 For example, if I want dump excees power I can use my inverter to do this (ata boy for Chris Olson for  pointing out to me)
I can simply use a relay to open and close a 120V ac line which I use to heat water...here is where Glen's timer is real handy...when the timer senses voltage from his controller, it kicks on the timer for about 1-1/2 mins and allows inverter power to run any kind of dump load...such as a water heater element in my case.... oh but wait, theres more! The timer does not automatically kick off after the 1-1/2 mins, as long as it keeps getting a dump signal from his controller it keeps firing the relay.....ahhhh the comfort knowing that a relay no longer has the potential to ruin itself from fast switching!


Ok for those who like to save precious inverter power for other uses, well this timer also works just fine on the DC side too!



I wanted to brag about this a little while ago but Glen being the swell guy he is, asked me not to until all his testing was done...well it looks like he's just gonna have to prove to me it can fail
 Oh how big is this timer? well its on a board about 2 inches by 2-1/2 inches.

[zvizdic]

I know , I have GHurd 48V charge controller whit big range.
It is been tested through the winter on a 54V nominal set to dump at 62V no trouble .

I abused that controller with over voltage and runaway mill at 200v no batteries, you cant kill it.

LVD is good to.

[freejuice]

Zvizdic,
 How are you doing this...his controllers are for 12 or 24 volt?
I use them on my 48 volt system, but I have one on each side of the 48v.

I can get his 24 volt controller to kick on the timer at  54-62v as you are speaking about.
I usually take a meter and check my trigger points for my 48v system and adjust his controller accordingly.

But I'm confused, did you buy a 48v controller from him, or are you taking a controller and modifying it or doing like I do, take a 24v controller and set the pot trip points to match up to a 48 v system?

I'm confused as to what you're doing???
 Thanks,
 Gavin

[zvizdic]

I ask him to make modifications for 48V.
It takes some extra parts on a same board .

If GHurd allows I well post a list of parts and schematics .

[dave ames]

like the sound of that add on timer circuit ..a whole category of loads that we have to run a bit to get them up into working zone. compressors and the like.

wondering just how many "flavors" of this original Ghurd controller are running out there? ..we must have seen over a dozen different common tweaks published. and have seen reference to a bunch of other custom one offs!   cool

our friend has some neat led kits available now as well, ..looking forward to having a go with some of the new additions!


cheers, dave

[Madscientist267]

I did a mod to one of the controllers I was sent... ok actually it is one of those 'what can possibly be done with what is left' type deals, but whatever. LOL

I use it to drive an LED in a 'battery full' detector. I inadvertently damaged some of the board when I was trying to do other mods to it as a dump controller, so it wasn't really ideal for use as a controller anymore.

BUT...

Basically, I got rid of both the N and P FETs and removed anything else that was associated with those components, leaving only the output from the voltage sense IC accessible. I then just hooked up a blinking green LED (of the flavor from Radio Shack) and glued it to the case of the implement.

I don't have a schematic to put up, but as I recall the LED is between the output pin of the sense IC and high, through a ballast resistor of course.

The hysteresis is about 1.75V in this configuration and setting, coming on at 15.75V and turning back off at 14.00V (set of 4 AA size LiFePO4 in series).

The 'controller' uses virtually nothing when it is not on, so it can be left connected all the time.

Considering also adding one of those peizo buzzers to it to grab attention before overcharge sets in for too long... 

Steve

[ghurd]

Before I come out with very many details about the timer circuit, I'd like to get just a few more up and running in other systems.
There were countless glitches in the numerous versions leading up to this version, like TWO batches of bad parts (tried to save a $ during prototyping with ebay  ) caused various failures that could not be narrowed down to a specific reason.
There should be a couple more up and running shortly.

It is a fairly simple circuit to understand.
Not so simple to actually build.
It is not much of a project for someone without experience soldering lots of parts on generic perf or vero board.  Lots of 'stuff' to get in the right place for it to work correctly.  Lots of stuff on 0.1" centers too.  Lots of stuff to make mistakes in parts placement.

Between assembly mistakes, bad parts, etc, the timer circuit has been an ordeal.
Seemed simple when I started.


The 48V 'ghurd controller' circuit seems solid.
Apparently my concerns about what could go wrong were mostly unfounded.
Not many in use on real systems at the moment... because I still try to talk 48V guys into something a little fancier?
I would like to get a few more reports of perfect operation before saying it is good enough.
2 or 3 more 48V ghurd controllers should be up and running in the next 2 or 3 weeks.
G-

[SparWeb]

"...Between assembly mistakes..."

You could have hired some better beta-testers.   

For fear of anyone thinking that Ghurd is the one goofing up, I'll put my head on the chopping block.
I made a stupid mistake installating mine, and fried several parts, which set me back nearly to zero.
Ghurd was waiting for me and some other folks to deliver results too, who aren't as far along as Gavin.

Gavin you let the cat out of the bag - but I can't blame you, 'cause I'm excited about this too.

Ghurd, it's sill possible to have a big "roll-out" ceremony with all the usual magazine supplements and cheerleaders.

[TomW]

My 24 Volt Version has operated flawlessly driving the big IGBT brick and dumping a nominal 24 volts into .8 ohms for a solid kilowatt of dumping power.

Must be a year of 24/7 use by now?

Waiting on my timer board so I can put that KW of heat into hot water.

I say the controller itself is a solid design.

Just my humble opinion.

Tom

[ghurd]

Waiting on my timer board so I can put that KW of heat into hot water.

It should be in your mail box today.

"...Between assembly mistakes..."

You could have hired some better beta-testers.   

For fear of anyone thinking that Ghurd is the one goofing up, I'll put my head on the chopping block.
I made a stupid mistake installating mine, and fried several parts, which set me back nearly to zero.
Ghurd was waiting for me and some other folks to deliver results too, who aren't as far along as Gavin.

Gavin you let the cat out of the bag - but I can't blame you, 'cause I'm excited about this too.

Ghurd, it's sill possible to have a big "roll-out" ceremony with all the usual magazine supplements and cheerleaders.

Hard to find a Beta Tester worth what I pay them.   

I still say it had the "questionable" (meaning bad) parts in it.

I DO like the idea of cheerleaders!  Not sure my wife will.
G-

[ghurd]

our friend has some neat led kits available now as well,

The LED packets are sort of an afterthought after hearing people are paying 65 cents each for 5kmcd marketed as 'best and brightest' in an un named catalog that sells All electronics.
And the same place getting $1.65 each for a considerably less bright white LED.
And they charge $7 S&H too.

So I packed up some LEDs, suitable resistors, and reverse protection diodes that will save people some money when they start tinkering with LEDs.
Kind of DIY LED bulbs in a bag!
G-

[freejuice]

 Simply Irresistible Timer
....with Cheerleaders: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrGw_cOgwa8

[wooferhound]

I'll try and get my timer built here real soon. Sorry it's taking so long, I ended up pretty sick with a persistent flu thing for awhile. Trying to get the veggie garden dug in and then I'll get to the timer. Nice to hear the good reviews for it.

[SparWeb]

Trying to get the veggie garden dug in ...

Yeah that's my excuse, too.

[Steve Trumann]

Thanks Ghurd for another great controller. Got the 48 volt version running for a while now with now problems. No inverter yet, so it's taking a lot of abuse. Hanging in there strong.

Also thanks for the low voltage alarm. It's doing fine too. Also thanks for the extra LED. I burnt one up with a stray wire. Had a bright light for a second. I'll be darned, when I got done building, had an extra LED. Put It to use. Saved me a trip to Radio Shack.
Thank You much, Steve Trumann

[Madscientist267]

Saved me a trip to Radio Shack

Yeah, but green and yellow are SOOOOO cliche... <nudge G> 

Naa I can't say anything bad about either controller I have. They're both working without incident from day one. Been in service for a while now, and one even survived a ID10T glitch with the attachment method the dumas user originally had in place to secure the MOSFETs to the heatsink. 

Well designed indeed, now if I could just do something about the idiot that keeps assembling them... 

G - got a schemo for yer timer you wouldn't mind parting ways with? I'd like to take a gander at this thing...

Steve

[SparWeb]

Coming soon to Fieldlines TV.  Don't touch that dial.   

G - got a schemo for yer timer you wouldn't mind parting ways with? I'd like to take a gander at this thing...

[DanG]

http://www.ghurd.info/index.html

Ask nicely and write a big check.

[ghurd]

Mr Trumann had Green, Yellow, and Red LEDs. 

Send 2 checks.  One will not cover it.

Best wait for the commissioned version of the schematics to appear on FL TV.  That version should be better, considering his compensation is double what Admins are paid.

My schematics below...
G-

[Madscientist267]

So if I understand this correctly...

...attach the 4 prong device to the squiggly parts...

Hmm... yeah I'm a bit confused... I guess I'll wait for the revised version.

Mr Trumann had Green, Yellow, and Red LEDs

Oh yeah? Well... well... um YEAH... I got a red one, a pink one, a blue one and even a flashing red one!

So THERE! 

Steve

[ChrisOlson]

For example, if I want dump excees power I can use my inverter to do this (ata boy for Chris Olson for  pointing out to me)

Hugh told me about this - I got a Morningstar RD-1 Relay Driver to test out.  It has four channels that can either drive relays or accept inputs from voltage or temperature sources.  It's easy to program (using a PC and a serial cable with the MSView software) and has high to low and low high delay, min and max off and on timers up to 18 hours.

I have mine set to monitor my system voltage and if it rises above 29 for more than 10 seconds it turns on two 1500 watt water heater elements for 15 minutes then checks the voltage and if the system voltage has not fallen below 26 it leaves the elements on for another 15 minutes.

Channel two and three are backup in case an element, or both elements, burn out.  Channel two turns the solar panels off if the system hits 29.5 volts for more than 1 minute and doesn't turn them back on unless the voltage drops below 27 for at least 5 minutes.

Channel three shuts the turbine down if the system voltage hits 30 and doesn't release the turbine brake unless the voltage drops back below 27 for at least 10 minutes.

I'm going to configure Channel four to auto-start my 24 volt DC generator and run it for a minimum one hour if the system voltage drops below 24 for more than 20 minutes, then if the system voltage is still below 26, run it for another hour.

They call it a "relay driver" but it's really more of a programmable logic controller.



--
Chris

[SparWeb]

Okay okay, everyone's getting excited!
I just posted a new story about Ghurd's latest and greatest:

http://fieldlines.com/board/index.php/topic,145256.0.html