Dumpload/Charge controller

[WindJuggler]

Hello everyone,

It has been a long time since I posted about my charge controller.

Work for school has kept me buzzy.

I learned a lot the past year especially about SMD components and that it is actually easy to work with them. This made me rework my design.

And special thanks to scottsAI He helped me a lot with some mistakes I made.

This is my new design. The changes I made include:

• I made a common ground which makes it easier and better ADC.
  
  
• I used the max4080F/4081F for current measurement. These are easier to use and there is less power over my circuit board. They are amplifiers for shunt current measurement and 1 of them can work bidirectional. They can measure up to 50 amps and more if you lower the shunt resistor. Required resistance is 10mOhm.
  
  
• I changed the power regulators. The one providing 10V is rated 150V on the input. The other is 76V.
  
  
• I removed the logic I used before. Only the schmitt trigger remains for better digital results.
  
  
• I upgraded to the pic4550. I now have a lot more pins to work with.
  
  

Header J1 is a low power header.

P1 is connected to an AC phase of the generator for measuring the rpm

P2 By toggling this pin you will switch between dumpload1 and dumpload2

P3-P4 are connected to the current sense resistor for the battery. Every current to and from the battery should go trough there.

P5-P6 are connected to the current sense resistor from the genny. This is to log the total current produced by the generator.

Header J2 is High power. I halved the amount of high current connectors.

P1 comes from the generator

P2 P3 P4 are batteries DL1 and DL2 respectively.

I was wondering if I needed to improve the accuracy of the 5V voltage regulator. It is now rated at 5% but I think that this is not accurate enough for the ADC.

I'm trying to make the design compatible for 12V,24V,36V and 48V and maybe some odd voltages in between that some odd people want to use. The only components that needs adjustment are the resistors for the adc for measuring the battery voltage and the generator voltage.

Has anyone any design improvements/cost reduction ideas?

Wim

[scottsAI]

WindJuggler,

Not much time today, so will be quick about it.

Nice improvements.

U14 gate not connected

U2 pin 2 not tied to ground.

D1 redundant, D6 protects reverse, same current in R8 both directions.

U19 DPST switch, is this just what you had?? Looks like SPST would work.

R28 LCD contrast adjustment? Consider a Digital pot?

Will spend more time on it this weekend.

Have fun,

Scott.

[cslarson]

Thanks very much for sharing your work. A 48V diversion controller that we could build here in Afghanistan would be really great! When finalized what kind of license will you have on it?

Carl

[WindJuggler]

When it is finished you will be free to make your own controller.

I will provide complete kits and boards alone. I can even solder it for those who want that.

I still have to determine the actual cost of the product but I'm aiming under 50 euro.

I will provide the software too with several different types of charging cycles for different kind of batteries. You will be able to see the power output of your mill and it will keep track of the power in the batteries. All data will be logged on an SD card.

[cslarson]

How much power will it be able to handle?

[WindJuggler]

That will depend on the MOSFET you will use. The design I'm making now will be able to handle 40-50A but with a few minor tweaks it will be able to handle even more.

The major limiting components are the Terminal blocks and the MOSFETs. The connections on the board will have to be adjusted by placing a wire parallel with it.

[waterleat]

I have just looked for your new schematic but file not accessible.

Any chance of new version?

Building from Hugh's book but small version with 1.4m Diameter blades