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TM 2020 User Manual

1. M terminal must be connected to with short wire except as noted on page 3 of instructions For unusual cases Magnified view of 5 SCREW NOTE The SIG wire must be connected to n the small screw kelvin Back view of TriMetric connection on the battery monitor without shunt not the larger bolt back cover which connects to the battery Otherwise amps measurements FOR SAFETY Place a will be inaccurate 2 amp fast blow fuse in series with the wire IMPORTANT Be sure the near the battery as negative lead from your shown That way if solar charge controller is there is ever a short NOT connected here 7b between this wire and g the other wires you won t melt down the wires you will only blow the fuse 12 OR 24 VOLT BATTERY SYSTEM SHUNT 50 MV 500 AMP OR_100 MV 100 AMP TriMetric BATTERY MONITOR CONNECTIONS Please read all notes carefully Technical notes optional SHUNT TO METER CABLE Can be up to 150 ft long if cable has 18 or larger wires or 50 feet using 22 wires Twisted pair wire should not be necessary However if it is used we recommend wiring it as shown in the diagram Use one twisted pair for the G1 and wires and another twisted pair for the G2 and SIG wires as shown For long cable runs the M terminal can be connected separately as described on page 3 For unusual cases IMPORTANT NOTE The two wires G1 G2 must be connected to ea
2. When the number exceeds 999 a flashing decimal point means multiply the result by 1000 When you see 1 02 with flashing decimal point this means 1020 amp hours D 8 A more precise and technical description of BATTERY FULL The way this is displayed is influenced by the PREFERENCES which are programmed as described in section C3 This allows a choice of showing BATTERY FULL in 5 increments or in more precise 1 increments The reasons for this option are explained in section C3 If the PREFERENCES are selected for the 1 option see section C3 this is how the TriMetric computes BATTERY FULL Amp hours from full here means displayed Amp Hours from Full Capacity here means Programmed battery capacity in amp hours see section C4 Casel1 If AMP HOURS FROM FULL is less than 0 negative but not less than Capacity Capacity AmpHoursfomfull then BATTERY FULL _ x 100 Capacity 10 Case2 If AMP HOURS FROM FULL is less than more negative than Capacity then BATTERY FULL 0 Case 3 If AMP HOURS FROM FULL is greater than 0 positive then BATTERY FULL 100 If the PREFERENCES are selected for the 5 option then this number gets rounded to an approximate value If between 93 100 it will display FUL When between 27 to 93 it will display the closest 5 value e g 65 70 75 etc When it is below 27 it will show
3. etc Every other push changes the efficiency factor by 1 Once you get the efficiency factor you desire you may or may not need to push one more time to set in the correct shunt type Purpose of data charge efficiency factor The purpose of the Charge efficiency factor is to compensate for the fact that you don t get as quite as much energy out of the battery as you put in it causes the amp hours from full display to discount the charging amps slightly compared with discharging amps The amp hours from full display becomes gradually more negative when the batteries are discharging i e whenever the amps display is negative For example if the batteries are discharging with amps minus 10 0 the amp hours from full display always gradually decreases by exactly 10 for every hour that goes by Similarly when amps are positive 10 amps charging the amp hours from full display gradually increases by almost 10 amps for every hour The almost has to do with charge efficiency factor If the efficiency factor is set to 100 the amp hours will go up by exactly 10 per hour in this case however if the efficiency factor is 90 the amp hours from full display goes up by only 90 of 10 or 9 amp hours for every hour The purpose of this is to account for the fact that you don t get as many amp hours out of the battery as you put in so that the TriMetric amp hours from full display will give a reading of amp hours which reasonabl
4. slowly or equalized for many hours When they are charged reset the amp hours from full to 0 Then discharge by putting some loads on your system so it is discharging at an amps rate of C 10 or C20 where C approximate rated capacity of your battery system in amp hours For example if your battery system is about 500 amp hours C 20 is 25 amps the exact value isn t important at these low discharge rates until the voltage declines to a low battery voltage of about 11 0 volts At that time read the amp hours from full which indicates the approximate capacity You ll need to be carefully watching the voltage from time to time to be able to catch the system when it is about this voltage The capacity is affected by temperature so you should note the temperature as well the capacity declines with lower temperature You will want to enter a capacity that represents the capacity at the lowest temperature you expect since you won t usually know in advance the temperature when the battery is nearly empty A lead acid battery at 32 F 0 C has about 70 the capacity at 77 F 25 C It should also be noted that the effective capacity of the battery is less at high current draw although this is not a significant factor for the typical rates in a renewable energy system it becomes more significant at rates exceeding C 5 amperes C 5 Days before time to charge full reminder or recharge interval Purpose of data Every day which ela
5. with Trojan wet cell batteries For the perfectionist only Practical utility doesn t demand perfection and the reality of changing battery temperature makes this difficult But if you wish to try and your batteries are fairly constant in temperature the ideal is that the TriMetric amp hours should be at 0 at the time that the charging system has fully charged the batteries This will generally be shortly after the charged lamp lights on the TriMetric as explained in the next section below If you find that the AMP HR reading is somewhat below 000 negative after the charging system has fully charged your batteries then you could increase the efficiency factor If you find that the numbers are going substantially above zero when your charging system has finished charging then decrease the efficiency factor Note that the amp hours should read 0 at about the time that your charging system has just stopped charging not necessarily when the TriMetric charged lamp first comes on provided your charging system is not over charging or equalizing your batteries But note that if the battery temperature went up since the last full charge was reached the amp hours will be somewhat negative the next time reaching charged And if temperature went down they ll be somewhat positive C 3 Preferences changing the way Battery Full is displayed and auto reset on off Purpose of data The Preferences allows you to make two separate choi
6. 6 the Batteries Reminder light will flash and will show Ch E in the display When you equalize batteries the days since equalized function should be manually reset to 0 with the reset button by pushing and holding the RESET button until DAYS SINCE EQUALIZED flashes 3 times This will return this display to 0 and turn off the Time to Equalize reminder if activated D 11 Cumulative battery discharge amp hours Displays how many amp hours have been withdrawn from the battery system over its lifetime This number starts at 0 when manually reset which would usually be at the time of initial installation of the batteries Every time the current is negative charge is leaving the battery the display counts amp hours down but doesn t count any charging current amps positive It analogous to a car odometer to tell how much service the batteries have seen When the batteries are replaced this number can be noted measure the total energy which your battreies have delivered in their lifetime which can be used to evaluate performance of the batteries and the level of care which they received In case of power interruption to the meter you will only lose a maximum of 3 2 hours of this data because this data is automatically stored every 3 2 hours So if power should be temporarily disconnected from the meter the number showing here will usually be slightly less than before representing the value that was present when it was last stored into permanent
7. familiar with safe electrical practices and the local electrical code should install this meter particularly when installing the shunt Refer to wiring drawing on last page please read all notes Do not install into a 32V or 48V battery system without TM 48VA adapter The TriMetric will be damaged eA 2Amp fast blow fuse shown located near the battery in the wiring diagram is for safety Such in line fuses are available at Radio Shack STEP 1 Assuming you want to use the TriMetric in the usual way to measure total amps in and out of your battery the shunt must be wired in series with the negative lead of the battery system as shown on diagram last page You ll usually need an additional short length of the large cable of a size typically used to connect the inverter to battery with large bolt lugs at each end to connect from the negative battery terminal to one side of the shunt The battery cable size must be large enough to accommodate the maximum system charging or discharge current from the battery Note that there should ordinarily be nothing but the one large cable connected to the negative of your battery systems to shunt terminal Please avoid this VERY common mistake if there is a wire from the solar array and charge controller which is connected to the minus terminal of the battery be sure it is moved to the other side of the shunt on the SAME side as the inverter is connected as shown on the wiring diagram otherwise so
8. memory and will continue from that number This number can be displayed to 999 000 amp hours which is longer than most batteries would be expected to last Should it ever reach this high it should be reset since it does not as of this edition of instruction just roll over to zero by itself after 999 999 Often battery life of deep cycle batteries is rated by the number of discharge cycles it will undergo without failure however this always assumes a fairly complete discharge during each cycle followed by complete recharge The life of deep cycle batteries is increased if the discharge depth is less in fact the number of cycles of life is inversely related to the depth of discharge of each cycle so if one discharges only half the amount during each cycle the battery will last about twice as many cycles This is really just another way of saying that the battery life is related to the number of amp hours removed D 12 Maximum battery voltage This display shows the maximum battery voltage reached since the display was last manually reset with the reset button Pushing reset and waiting for display to flash 3 times resets this to the present battery voltage One use for this function is to check that a charging system is reaching the correct voltage specified by the battery manufacturer when charging your battery system If this voltage is too high or too low the life of batteries will be compromised D 13 Minimum battery voltage
9. the ones you ve just done some people have had problems with this one Follow these steps 1 while displaying volts amps or battery full push and hold SELECT down for a few seconds until you see AH appear in the display then release Now you should OVER observe the AH in the display alternating every few seconds with the number amp hours from full If not repeat this step until this happens 2 Next go to the program mode in the usual way as follows Hold SELECT down then quickly push RESET then release both Now you should observe a number in the display and the 3 lights volts amps batt full should be simultaneously flashing If not push the SELECT button to start from step 1 again 3 Enter the desired battery capacity value using the RESET button You can enter a number from 10 to 2550 amp hours Start by entering a value that is 50 75 of your actual battery capacity Note that while showing the data if the decimal point is flashing that means multiply the number by 1000 For example 1 20 with flashing decimal point means 1200 amp hours When you are finished push the SELECT button again to revert to the display mode C Read the one page summary of TriMetric operation page 12 of instructions Note that Battery Full or amp hours from full will not be correct until the system is fully charged at least once To understand these in more detail read section D6 in the
10. 0 OTHER EXTRA DATA FUNCTIONS D 9 days since charged Lead acid batteries should not go too long without being fully charged as explained more fully in section C 5 This display shows how many days have elapsed since the batteries were last charged It shows with resolution to 01 day about 14 minutes and will read up to 650 days after which the number will roll over to O again When the charged parameters are met see section C 1 this number will be reset to 0 When this number equals or exceeds the number programmed as days before recharge time the Batteries Reminder light will flash and will show Ch F in the display see also section C 5 When the meter is first powered up days since charged begins at 0 It may be reset manually to 0 while viewing days since charged by pushing and holding the RESET button until the display data flashes 3 times D 10 Days since equalized Equalization is an occasional deliberate overcharge of the batteries usually recommended for wet cell lead acid batteries not sealed lead acid types See section C6 for more explanation of equalization This function can be used to tell you how long ago since your batteries were equalized It is just a simple timer with resolution to 01 day and will read up to 650 days which can be used to see how long ago equalization of the battery set was performed When this number equals or exceeds the number programmed as days before equalize time see section C
11. 16 gauge 220 feet 14 gauge 375 feet These represent distances for approximately one ohm wire resistance For unusual cases the more technical description of cable requirements Use wire with resistance less than ohm total for the G1 wire The G2 and SIG wires can each be over ten times higher than this with no problem If the single wire connecting from the meter and M terminals to the battery is over 1 ohm the volts will read slightly less than true If the wire is less than 1 ohm the meter volts error will be less then 0 03 volts almost negligible However wires of ten times this resistance may be used with no volts error if a separate additional wire is run for the M terminal Disconnect the short wire between the and M terminals at the meter terminal block and connect two separate long wires to the fuse at the battery terminal and run one of these to the terminal of the meter and the other to M terminal Shunt requirements The shunt used must be either a 500 amp 50 mV or else a 100 amp 100 mV type Whichever you select you must tell the TriMetric which you are using in order that the meter will display the AMPS and AMP HOURS FROM FULL correctly i e with the decimal point in the proper position This is done by properly programming the TriMetric as described below in section C2 Incidentally it is only the shunt ratio between amps to mV which is important to the meter so for example a 200 amp 200 mV s
12. 1JBATTERY FULL data after display select Normal or 1 BATTERY 2 Auto reset of amp hours from full FULL select on or off P00 P01 P02 or P03 POO auto reset on BATT FULL display normal P01 auto reset on BATT FULL display 1 P02 auto reset off BATT FULL display normal P03 auto reset off BATT FULL display 1 See section C 3 Calibrates battery full display see section C 4 D 6 and D 8 AH Amp hours Battery capacity amp hours from full 10 to 2500 amp hours Note flashing decimal point means multiply number by 1000 so 1 02 means 1020 amp hours dSC Days since Days before time to recharge reminder When Days since charged exceeds this time to charged 1 63 days or OFF recharge cH F reminder will display see section C 5 dSE Days since Days before time to equalize reminder equilized 1 255 days or OFF cAH Cumula NONE tive amp hours bHD Highest Puts factory values Hold RESET until N A Reinstalls factory data for all the programmable data as batt voltage ALL flashes 3 times shown on this table column 3 see section C 7 bLO Lowest Low battery voltage point 10 0 When VOLTS is less than low battery volts low batt batt voltage 10 0 to 65 0 Volts reminder will display see section C 8 TABLE 1 When Days since equalized exceeds this time to equalize cH E reminder will display see section C 6 Z gt N A 13
13. 3 and 14 8 volts Double these numbers for 24V systems The main rule for setting the charged voltage and current setpoints in the TriMetric is to follow the lead of the charging system you have so that the TriMetric charged lamp comes on just before the charging system decides that the batteries are charged and stops charging your batteries This is particularly simple with PWM solar controllers such as the Trace C40 which charges up to a certain voltage such as 14 4 and then limit the voltage to that value by gradually reducing the charging current With this type you should set the TriMetric voltage setpoint to just below the charger s voltage setpoint If you have two or more chargers such as solar and generator both chargers would normally be set to charge to approximately the same voltage and the TriMetric should be set with the voltage low enough for either one to reach when the batteries approach full charge If you have an older on off relay type charge controller that charges to 14 7 volts and then stops charging set the TriMetric for slightly below this voltage say 14 6 or 14 5 volts Choosing the charged setpoint amps If you have generator or other charger that has high charging current capability it becomes important to also set the charged setpoint amps in the TriMetric This is because a high current charging source can force the battery voltage to rise and meet the charged voltage setpoint even though the batteri
14. ET so they are both momentarily pushed together then release both If you don t do it quickly enough you ll get the A HR display instead In that case you will have to start with step 1 again Flashing volts amps Battery lamp s confirms you are in a program mode The numerical display will now show the programmable data shown in table 3 To change data slowly push RESET button repeatedly To change data faster hold RESET down for several seconds 4 When desired data is shown push SELECT to exit program mode Now you have set that data into the TriMetric 5 Now decide on the next itemyou wish to program and repeat starting at step 1 DISPLAY PROGRAMMABLE DATA Factory WHAT IT IS FOR SUMMARY MODE and ADJUSTMENT RANGE value Where to find more information Your value VOLTS Charged setpoint voltage 14 4 TriMetric determines that battery is charged when actual 10 0 to 65 0 volts volts is greater than setpoint volttage and amps is less than setpoint amps see section C 1 AMPS Charged setpoint OFF sae ee aes ea NOTE When voltage setpoint is greater than 35 0 Volts 1 to 100 amps or OFF TriMetric goes automatically to 48V mode BATTERY Charge efficiency factor and shunt type FULL Efficiency factor 60 to 100 Charge efficiency factor determines discount rate for amp hours charging See section C 2 and D 7 Shunt type H or L Shunt type H SOOA 50 mV L 100A 100mV blank display Preferences
15. FAC in the display Push the reset button until ALL flashes 3 times C 8 Low battery setpoint voltage Purpose of data When the value of volts equals or is below this programmed value the battery reminder lamp will flash indicating Batt volts low If the battery voltage drops too low this indicates that little energy is left in the battery Obviously that means that power could go off soon thereafter In addition keeping the battery at low voltage condition for a long time is not good for a lead acid battery These are the reasons for the low voltage reminder Low voltage is a good indicator of when the battery is nearly out of power in contrast to the usual case when the battery is 30 90 charged where the BATTERY FULL is usually more reliable If you see that your batteries are at low voltage when your BATTERY FULL indicator shows otherwise you may want to check that your entered battery capacity section C 4 above is correct Choosing value of low battery voltage A 12 volt lead acid battery system could use from 10 5 11 5 volts 24V system 21 23V A reasonable value could be 11 2 volts for a 12V system Double this for 24V systems To turn off reminder about low voltage put in 10 0 volts D TriMetric OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS Most questions on TriMetric indicators and controls will be answered on TriMetric operation summary on page 12 The section below contains more detailed information D 1 VOLTS Batter
16. Orientation page for TriMetric model 2020 Please read this first Rev February 2003 A INSTALL A qualified person should install the TriMetric STEP 1 Read or at least quickly review section A pages 2 3 of the manual METER INSTALLATION PRELIMINARY STEP 2 Study the wiring diagram on last page of manual STEP 3 Install according to section B METER INSTALLATION B ENTER DATA To get the TriMetric working the first time particularly the Battery Full and Amp Hours from full you need to enter some system data For Battery Full to work properly data in Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 and Step 5 below must be entered correctly For Amp Hours from full and days since charged to work properly data in Step 2 Step 3 and Step 4 must be correct For Amps to read correctly not off by a factor of 10 Step 4 shunt type must be specified correctly STEP 1 Refer to table 1 on page 13 of the instructions which summarizes the TriMetric programmed data that may be changed and shows how to change it To get started enter the data shown below steps 2 thru 5 later read the references to the instructions shown on table 1 the last column to fine tune the data STEP 2 Enter the charged setpoint voltage refer to first item of table 1 p 13 Setting all other programmed data is done in a very similar manner so once you ve done this one changing the others should be easy 2 1 Push SELECT until the display shows volts 2 2 Pre
17. This display shows the minimum battery voltage reached since the display was last manually reset with the reset button Pushing reset and waiting for display to flash 3 times resets this to the present battery voltage This function gives some information which indicates if the battery set was discharged too low 11 TriMetric model 2020 operation Summary General notes A flashing decimal point in the display means multiply the number by 1000 The AMPS VOLTS or BATTERY FULL lamps flash when the TriMetric is in a program mode See right for how to enter data in the TriMetric program modes SELECT button Momentarily push SELECT to view VOLTS AMPS BATTERY FULL or to blank the display Blanking the display reduces the TriMetric current draw from 30 to 16 milliamperes Hold the SELECT button down for more than 2 seconds to select the AMP HOURS FROM FULL function and the other EXTRA DATA functions which are shown below on the panel VOLTS hws geen fe bs CHARGING light Shows that batteries are charging i e amps are positive Starts flashing when the battery is charged i e when charged parameters are being met See section C1 for information on charged parameters Then remains flashing until battery first starts discharging expressed as a percentage of a full ba amp hours from full below divided b amp hours battery capacity must be programn into the TriMetric See section C4 Also it is
18. actual capacity It s recommended that you use a conservative low value for the TriMetric 50 75 of their factory rated value considering that the stated capacity numbers for batteries tend to be optimistic They are also usually neasured at 77 degrees F and capacity will decrease somewhat at lower temperatures Furthermore they are rated from when they are completely and utterly charged which probably won t happen often in a real system Computing battery system capacity The battery capacity of a set of batteries in series and parallel can be computed if the capacity in amp hours of each individual battery in the system is known There are two simple rules If several batteries are connected in series the capacity of the series string is equal to the value amp hours of the least capacity battery in the series This is like a chain whose strength is determined by its weakest link After figuring this for each series string you have if the battery system has several series strings which are placed in parallel then add up the capacity of each series string to get the total for the system Measuring battery capacity Another way to determine actual capacity is to use the TriMetric to measure it directly First charge the batteries until they are charged according to the charged criteria This means in reality that they are pretty well charged perhaps to 90 or so because to get batteries really fully charged they need to absorb charge
19. ads and charging sources The shunt is usually located near the batteries since the high current carrying wires must be kept short The TriMetric measures the current amps by measuring the very small voltage drop across this shunt If it is desired to measure only total solar input current or only total load current and amp hours this can be done by wiring the shunt such that only the solar current or load current will pass through the shunt The Battery Full display will be meaningless in this case Meter to shunt cable requirements The meter may be located up to hundreds of feet away from the shunt if desired in an indoor location with four power and control wires connecting between the shunt and the meter These 4 wires are labeled on the connector on the circuit board inside the TriMetric G1 G2 SIG and The meter can be connected to the shunt with 4 wires or a cable with 4 conductors It would be advisable to use twisted pair wires in the cable if any other power wires are being run near and parallel with these however it should not be necessary otherwise If twisted pair wire is used it should be connected as shown in the drawing The simplest way to connect the meter is to use wire size large enough as shown by the following Maximum cable length from meter to shunt for the following wire sizes are 26 gauge 22 feet 24 gauge 35 feet 22 gauge 55 feet 20 gauge 90 feet 18 gauge 150 feet
20. al electrical usage and occasionally check that it is not excessive which would indicate some appliance has been unknowingly left on Using the BATTERY FULL display or Amp hours from full readout you will be able to see approximately how much energy you ve withdrawn from the battery bank If you have lead acid batteries the most commonly used type the Volts readout gives useful information about the extreme cases when your batteries have gotten a nearly full charge which while charging a 12 volt lead acid battery will typically show voltage above 14 3 volts or on the other hand when they are in a low charge state which while discharging a 12 volt lead acid battery will typically show voltage 10 8 to 11 6 volts depending on how many amps are being withdrawn However volts is not too informative when the batteries are between 20 90 charged since in this case exact voltage depends on several factors including whether the batteries are being charged or discharged how fast they are being charged or discharged temperature of the battery and the recent past history of charge discharge in other words if they are charged hard for awhile the voltage will gradually rise due to what are called polarization effects The TriMetric therefore uses the battery voltage as an indicator for when the batteries are charged Then when discharging the batteries from there the BATTERY FULL or amp hours from full reading
21. ard The five connections are labeled G1 G2 SIG and and M First connect the and M terminals together with a short wire Thread the other wires through the hole in the box if necessary from the outside and strip insulation off each wire 1 4 inch or so Use a small screwdriver to loosen the 4 screws on the connector and insert each wire in a separate connector hole using the chart above to determine which wire goes to which terminal and tighten each screw to hold the wires securely taking care that there is no danger of shorts between the wires Install meter in box STEP 4 Finally using the chart above and the wiring drawing on the last page connect the other end of the cable First connect the Gl and G2 wires to the correct Kelvin terminal on the shunt farthest from the minus battery terminal lead These two wires must join together only right at this terminal Then connect the SIG wire to the other Kelvin connection closer to the minus battery connection STEP 5 Connect the fuse holder to the battery terminal but don t yet put in the fuse Connect the wire from the fuse to the TriMetric terminal Then please make a final check of the wiring and then finally insert the fuse in the fuseholder The digits should light up on the meter and battery volts should be displayed STEP 6 To check that you ve wired the meter and shunt properly you can do a simple check as follows 1 Turn all charging sources and all loads off with the i
22. ays being better Some conservative users will prefer a lower number however if one tries to charge the batteries fully very often it may be good for batteries but may make the system less practical If you do not want to have the battery reminder feature activate put OFF as the number of days C 6 Days between Time to equalize reminder Purpose of data This causes the Time to equalize Ch E battery reminder to flash after this number of days has elapsed since equalizing your batteries i e when this programmed number equals or exceeds the days since equalized display shown in the extra data display group on the bottom front panel It reminds you when to perform a periodic equalization charge Equalization refers to a process of occasionally overcharging your batteries which is usually recommended by manufacturers of wet cell lead acid batteries but however is usually not recommended for sealed lead acid batteries and can seriously damage these types The Trojan battery company for example recommends that their wet cell batteries be equalized every 1 2 months This helps to completely recharge the battery which helps maintain the battery capacity Some charge controllers or battery chargers have an equalize mode which is controlled either manually or automatically This TriMetric function is intended for use primarily for systems that require manual equalization and reminds you to perform this after the prog
23. ces as described here 1 You can choose the way the Battery Full display shows data The Battery Full is determined by dividing the amp hours from full display by the battery capacity programmed data see C 4 and the result is calculated internally in the TriMetric to 1 However realistically the accuracy in an actual battery system is not as good as 1 especially as days pass since the batteries have been charged resulting in gradual loss of synchronization of amp hours from full with the battery That is the reason that the normal display for Battery Full shows FUL when the internally calculated percent is between 92 100 and over and LO when the internal percent value is less than 27 and in other cases it shows percent value in 5 increments for example 80 85 90 If however you wish to show the data in its raw 1 form you can do this by selecting this preference which will show the data to 1 The normal display is recommended because it gives a more honest view of the accuracy to be expected from the Battery Full display and which is normally quite adequate for practical use 2 You can turn auto reset on or off Normally the amp hours from full automatically resets its value to 0 whenever the batteries are charged i e the charged criteria are met as described in full detail in section C1 above In fact this is necessary in order that the BATTERY FULL display read correctly Howev
24. ch other ONLY right at the shunt terminal at the small screw Kelvin connection for accurate current measurements Don t connect them together at the meter and run one wire to the shunt Otherwise meter will show residual amps when it should be showing zero Also good connections must be maintained for accuracy TECHNICAL NOTE The reason the G1 and G2 wires must be connected together ONLY at the shunt is that to measure current through the battery the TriMetric measures voltages across the shunt between the SIG and G2 wires as small as 10 microvolts On the other hand the voltage drop across the G1 wire from the shunt to the meter due to current flow through the wire can be 10 000 times this or 100 millivolts Only when the connections are made as shown the G2 wire carries no current thus there is no error causing voltage drop across it 1 volt 1000 millivolts 1 000 000 microvolts KELVIN CONNECTIONS These are the two smaller screws on the shunt which should be used for current sensing wires only For measurement accuracy never connect wires containing high currents to these connections SYSTEM GROUND if used Be sure the minus terminal of charge controller inverter and all other loads and chargers connect here not the negative post of battery TO CHARGING SYSTEM SOLAR PANELS including controller CHARGER ETC AND ALL LOADS i INVERTER ETC SHUNT NOTE Use either a 50 mv 500 amp shunt or 100 mv 100 amp shun
25. ection C1 pages 4 5 of the manual STEP 4 Enter the charge efficiency factor and shunt type Programming this is similar to STEP 2 except that instead of starting from the volts display you start from the Battery Full display If you have a 500A 50 mV shunt the most common enter H which is the factory default If you have a 100A 100 mV shunt enter L Use 94 for the efficiency factor for either Hor L You should end up seeing either H94 or L94 displayed More detail on setting shunt type and efficiency factor may be found in section C2 of the instructions STEP 5 Enter battery capacity To give a correct BATTERY FULL display the TriMetric must know how large a capacity your battery system has Determine your battery capacity that is the total amp hours which your battery system can hold when full Refer to section C4 p 6 of instructions for information about capacity or ask your dealer who sold you the batteries what this value is If you do not plan to discharge your batteries very far we suggest that you enter a smaller value than calculated capacity this will expand the scale of your Batt ful display so that the display will go down more rapidly as you discharge your batteries Alternatively you can have the BATTERY FULL display show in 1 increments instead of the normal 5 increments refer to instructions see section C3 Please note entering the battery capacity is a little different from
26. er it is possible to turn off this feature if you do not want the amp hours from full display to automatically reset For example if the TriMetric is being used to measure total load amp hours for some period or total solar input amp hours you may not want this number to reset to 0 by itself You can still manually reset this by using the reset button while displaying amp hours from full After deciding choices for 1 and 2 above choose P0 P1 P2 or P3 according to this table POO Battery full display mode normal mode Automatic reset on normal PO1 Battery full display mode 1 mode Automatic reset on normal P02 Battery full display mode normal mode Automatic reset off P03 Battery full display mode 1 mode Automatic reset off C 4 Battery capacity Purpose of data This programmed data calibrates the Battery Full display For the Battery Full display to work the TriMetric must know how many amp hours the battery holds when full called battery capacity The Battery full display shows FUL or 100 when the when the amp hours from full equals 0 The Battery full display shows 0 or LO when the amp hours from full equals the battery capacity entered Choosing battery capacity The battery capacity means the number of amp hours that your battery system holds when it is full A value of battery capacity should usually be selected that is equal or lower than the
27. ery the float voltage may be 13 4 volts for 12V system For a system that is usually in float mode the TriMetric voltage setting can be just below 13 4 or whatever the float voltage is and the amps setting can be for some low value such as C 90 or so or to a value which the amps would only go below during the float condition Then the TriMetric will reset only after the float condition is attained Important When the voltage setpoint is above 34 9 volts the TriMetric will go into the 48V mode which requires the 48V adapter TM 48V Otherwise the voltage will read twice its correct value C 2 Shunt type and charge efficiency factor Purpose of data Shunt type This must be set according to the shunt type you have This determines the sensitivity of the amp input to the TriMetric so that it reads correctly for the shunt you have If your amps readings appear to be off by a factor of 10 the most likely cause is this is not set correctly for your shunt Choosing value of shunt type If you have a 500A 50 mV shunt enter H High current shunt If you have a 100A 100 mV shunt you should enter L Low current shunt Only the ratio shown is important to the TriMetric so that from the TriMetric s point of view a 200A 200 mV or 300A 300 mV shunt is equivalent to a 100A 100mV shunt Changing the data Note that when adjusting this data each push of reset button causes the shunt type to change H to L to H to L
28. es are not yet well charged With such a charger once the voltage reaches its maximum bulk voltage the charging current amps will start out high then gradually reduce as the batteries become more charged Proper adjustment of the current setpoint will insure that the TriMetric will not consider the batteries charged until the charging current goes below the setpoint amps The lower you set this value the more charged the battery must be before the TriMetric will declare the battery to be charged To set this value you must know the amp hour capacity of your battery system A reasonable value for the current setpoint setting would be C 50 to C 20 where C battery system capacity in amp hours For example if your battery set has a capacity 700 amp hours then amps setting 14 35 or so Some experts recommend a setting as low as C 90 for the battery to be really charged however it may require extra charging hours to reach this lower value After you enter the current setpoint the TriMetric will require that both the voltage setpoint be exceeded and the current amps value be less than the current setpoint for a continuous 20 seconds before the TriMetric will indicate that the batteries are charged Usually in float mode Another possibility we should address is if your charging system stays much of the time in float mode which may be true for a line tied systems With a lead acid liquid electrolyte batt
29. hunt can from the meter s point of view be considered equivalent to the 100 amp 100 mV shunt The implication when a shunt is rated at 100 amps 100 mV is that it may safely carry up to 100 amps maximum however unfortunately in many cases so called 100 amp shunts will not carry this much without overheating especially some of the mini shunts of this type For more information request Information on Shunts from Bogart Engineering or get it from the internet address shown on page 1 Which shunt should you use Most systems with medium and large inverters should use a 500A 50 mV shunt which will work for systems to 400 amps maximum 4000 watts with 12 V systems and 8000 watts for 24V systems With this shunt you can measure current as low as 1 10 amps You can use a 100 A 100mV shunt with smaller systems which don t use or charge with over 75 amps 800 watts for 12 system or 1600 watts for 24 volt system or if the shunt is used only for measuring solar or wind input with currents less than 75 amps This shunt has the advantage that it will show an extra digit to the right of the decimal point and resolve currents as low as 1 100 amp TriMetric maximum current capability The TriMetric will measure current properly up to 999 amps with the 500 A 50 mv shunt With the 100 A 100 mv shunt the meter measurements will be OK up to 300 amps However at these currents the shunt is going to get too hot the 100 A shunt as described will be producing
30. if the charged parameters are not programmed correctly see section Cl instructions After the batteries are charged the first time causing the charged parameters to be attained FUL indicates a full battery After discharging energy from the batteries for awhile the number will show 90 85 etc to show about how much battery energy is available When the number becomes less than 30 the display will say LO which indicates that the batteries are getting low on energy and should be recharged To make this display read out in 1 increments instead of 5 see section C3 of instructions For other information see sections D6 and C1 of instructions For a more detailed explanation of how Battery full is measured refer to section D6 in the instructions This is useful for users wishing to optimize this function VOLTS gives an approximation of how charged the batteries are especially at the extremes of fully charged and almost empty It is an important diagnostic tool for checking charging systems and troubleshooting problems BOGART ENGINEERING 19020 Two Bar Road Boulder Creek CA 95006 USA Tel 831 338 0616 www bogartengineering com INSTRUCTIONS FOR TRI METRIC m Battery system monitor Model TM 2020 revised October 2005 INSTALLATION AND OPERATION INSTRUCTIONS For technical users Note See also the user s instructions available from Bogart Engineering and from the internet at www bogartengineering com wri
31. importa to occasionally charge fully to synchronize the TriMetric with the battery once a week or more recommended for this number to be accurate There is a choice of two ways to display this number See section C3 and D6 B BATTERY REMINDERS light lamp flashes when 1 batteries should be recharged or 2 should be equalized or if 3 battery voltage drops too low When flashing and when VOLTS AMPS or BATTERY FULL is being displayed the letters Ch F Ch E and or b LO whose meaning is explained on panel will flash in display every 5 seconds to tell you what the reminder is Ch F time to charge full means that too many days have passed since the batteries were last fully charged i e since the TriMetric charged parameters were met see section C1 You can program the desired maximum number of days section C5 Ch E time to equalize means that the user programmable equalization interval in days has been exceeded and that batteries should again be equalized After they have been equalized it is necessary to manually reset the days since equalized number to 0 to turn off this reminder Equalization is a controlled overcharge of the battery see section C6 b LO battery low means that the battery voltage has dropped below the user programmable low battery voltage See section C8 Disabling these functions Any or all of these one Cota Hae be disabled if they are undesired See sections AH Amp Ho
32. instructions The factory default setting on your meter has been set so that all three functions which would illuminate the battery reminder light are selected off To activate them read sections C 5 C6 amp C8 of instructions D Afterwards Read the instruction manual to become more familiar with the TriMetric Review section C to check and fine tune the programmed data which is entered You may also want to read Using the TriMetric or other battery system monitor to maintain your battery system conserve energy and troubleshoot system problems written for persons with less technical background It is available free on the internet at www bogartengineering com or by calling or writing Bogart Engineering Quick description of what the main numbers mean AMPS tells how fast energy is being put in or removed from the batteries useful for conservation awareness and checking charging systems The minus sign when lighted indicates discharging When the minus sign is not lighted and the charging lamp is lighted indicates charging Turning on and off an electrical load will tell you how much current draw the load takes by comparing the difference Turning on or off a charging source will tell you how fast it s charging BATTERY FULL tells how full the battery is based on the number programmed in B Step5 reverse This number is not valid until the first time the batteries are charged fully Also it will not be meaningful
33. is a better guide for determining intermediate battery state of charge Voltage can again be useful for seeing that the batteries are in a state of near discharge this is useful since it is not good for lead acid batteries to be too often or remain too long nearly discharged Multiply voltages above by 2 for 24 volt systems or 4 for 48 volt systems Permissible battery voltage This meter is suitable for battery systems with nominal voltage from 8 to 30 volts It should not be connected to systems which will ever exceed 35 volts without the following adapter A special adapter model TM 48VA is available for 32 48 volt systems which will allow operation up to a maximum of 70 volts and in addition will provide substantial protection from lightning for use in 12 48 volt systems Lightning considerations The meter is not well protected against lightning The TM 48VA adapter mentioned in the paragraph above will greatly increase the resistance to lightning damage in areas where this threat is frequent Also the warranty will extend to lightning damage too How current amps are measured by this meter A shunt a very low resistance accurate high power resistor must be used with this meter The amps shown on the meter measures whatever current passes through this shunt Therefore the shunt must be wired in series with the wire which carries the current to be measured This is usually the cable from the negative terminal of the battery to all lo
34. l unsatisfied call me personally at 831 338 0616 Comments about improving this manual are also welcome Ralph Hiesey at Bogart Engineering BOGART ENGINEERING 19020 Two Bar Road Boulder Creek CA 95006 phone 831 338 0616 fax 831 338 2337 Web internet address http www bogartengineering com A gt METER INSTALLATION PRELIMINARY what you need to know before installing the TriMetric meter Please follow instructions closely Failure to follow instructions could result in meter failure if the connections are made wrongly Also substantial Amps reading inaccuracy could result Please refer to wiring diagram on last page of instructions Choosing meter location and some battery monitoring philosophy To make best use of this monitor we recommend that it be located where it can be readily observed in the living area where the electrical power is used such as a kitchen or living room It is designed to be located up to hundreds of feet away from the battery bank using 4 wires One important use is to learn how much electrical power various appliances draw by looking at the amps readout first with the appliance off and then observing how much the current increases when you turn it on This is inconvenient if the meter is located away from the living area After a while you will become instinctively familiar with the electrical usage of your appliances so you won t need to refer to the meter Also you can become familiar with norm
35. lar charging current from this source will not be measured by the TriMetric STEP 2 Making connections from meter to battery and shunt We suggest a cable with different colored wires to reduce the probability of wiring errors The cable wires at the TriMetric end of the cable must connect to a terminal block located on the green circuit board in the TriMetric If cable with twisted pair wires are used the wires labeled G2 and SIG should be run with one twisted pair and if another pair is used G1 and can be run an another pair The terminal block on the circuit board accommodates wire size from 16 to 26 AWG If twisted pair wires in a cable are used which is not necessary unless other power wires run near these wires clearly establish which wires in the cable are paired together This often requires stripping quite a bit of insulation to see which pairs are twisted together Then choose one twisted pair for G1 and and record the wire colors for that pair below in the chart You may want to use a piece of tape at each end of the cable to tie these two together to clearly mark the pair Then choose a pair for G2 and SIG and record their colors Similarly mark these with another piece of tape If cable with non twisted pairs is used just select any 4 wires and record the wire colors here CONNECTION WIRE COLOR Twisted pair S E STEP 3 There will be visible a terminal block with 5 screws on the green circuit bo
36. nverter completely off not even in standby Be sure that the meter shows very near 0 0 0 to 0 1 amps 2 Turn on a load and see that it measures correctly Turning on a 40 W light bulb should cause the amps reading to become more negative by about 3 to 4 amps 12V system or 1 5 to 2 amps 24V system plus possibly a little more for the inverter power 3 Check charging from each charging source As you turn each charging source on solar wind battery charger etc be sure that the amps become more_positive by about the amount you would expect from that source C PROGRAM MODES entering system parameter data into the TriMetric After installing TriMetric you must enter data characteristic of your system into the TriMetric for some displays to show correctly First refer to table 1 page 13 for summary of program modes which briefly describes all data which can be entered e For step by step instructions for how to enter and change the data see Table 1 page 13 The following section describes in more detail for each programmable data shown in table 1 1 the purpose of the data and 2 how to choose data appropriate for your system C 1 Charged setpoint voltage and charged setpoint amps As mentioned above refer to Table 1 p 13 for how to observe and change these data Purpose of data The charged voltage and amp setpoints provide information the TriMetric needs to determine when your battery set is cha
37. ny value from 60 100 into the TriMetric see section C2 A precise more technical description of how Battery FULL is measured is given in section D8 D6 B You have two options about how to display BATTERY FULL It can display in 5 increments 80 85 90 etc which is the factory default or in 1 increments Refer to section C3 1 for more information Keep in mind for Battery Full display to work accurately several conditions must be met These are 1 The Charged setpoints for voltage and current must be correctly programmed in the TriMetric for your system see section C 1 pages 45 2 The correct battery capacity must be entered into the TriMetric see section C 4 8 The battery system must be synchronized with the battery by being fully charged at least once and thereafter needs to be periodically fully charged recommended at least once a week so as to keep the neter in sync with the battery The battery reminders feature is useful for this section C 5 4 A reasonable value of EFFICIENCY FACTOR should be entered in program memory see section C 2 and the normal automatic reset feature for amp hours must be selected see section C 3 to allow the meter to periodically synchronize with the battery when charged D7 AMP HOURS FROM FULL This is the first display shown in the Extra display group shown on the bottom half of the TriMetric front panel As indicated on the f
38. of a battery than you put in See section C2 Purpose of data charge efficiency factor for more information When the amp hours from full is equal to the amp hour capacity of the batteries you are out of power Efficiency factor may be programmed from 60 100 D7 B The TriMetric amp hours from full can also be used to monitor only a charging input source such as solar or wind charging or only a load to see how much accumulated energy or more precisely charge has accumulated over some period of time Usually the efficiency factor will be set to 100 in this case see section C2 Also the shunt will be wired differently in this case the shunt needs to be wired so that it is in series with the desired current path to be measured For example if it is desired to measure solar input the shunt must be wired in series with the negative wire to the solar charge controller In this case it is measuring accumulated amp hours In these applications the automatic reset would be turned off see section C3 Typically you would begin the measurement by manually reset the Amp hours to 0 by pushing and holding the RESET button for 3 or 4 seconds while observing the amp hours from full display After that time true amp hours will be accumulated negative or positive until the RESET button is again used Display range of amp hours from full This display will show amp hours up to 9 999 AMP HOURS
39. plained on the front panel below the RESET button In all cases you need to hold the RESET button long enough to flash the data 2 or 3 times before the data will be actually reset The flashing data shows what the RESET will accomplish before actually implementing the RESET function The purpose of this is to avoid resetting something you didn t intend to if the reset button is accidentally pushed D 5 Battery reminders display See Operation Summary page 12 This function is described in more detail in sections C 5 C 6 and C 8 on pages 7 8 D6 A Battery full Exactly how does the TriMetric do this measurement The water tank analogy Imagine a water tank that is closed so you can t easily determine the level of water inside the tank but you can tell when it is full because then the water flows out of the top This is analogous to a battery because it is difficult to sense how much energy is in a battery when it is partially full but it is not so difficult to sense using Volts when it is full Now assuming you know the total volume of the tank when you withdraw water from the tank you could tell how much was left if you precisely measure the volume of water that you removed from the tank and subtract this and when putting water back in add that back This is analogous to how the TriMetric measures how full the battery is The TriMetric first senses that the battery system is full by sensing that the battery voltage is
40. pses in which the batteries are not fully charged will cause the days since charged display an extra data function to increase by one When days since charged equals or exceeds this recharge interval the Time to charge full Ch F battery reminnder will flash to tell the user that the batteries haven t been fully charged during that interval This reminds you to fully recharge the batteries periodically There are two reasons to recharge your battery system frequently 1 it is good for lead acid batteries to be periodically recharged to completely reconvert the chemistry back to its charged state Lead sulfate back to lead and sulfuric acid If this is not done the battery reaction products become gradually more difficult to convert to the charged state which is termed sulfation See also below for dis cussion of equalization section C 6 2 For the TriMetric to show a realistic value of Battery Full or amp hours from full it must be occasionally fully charged sufficiently to reach the charged criteria so that the meter synchronizes with the battery The Battery Full and amp hours from full will be most accurate right after this synchronization takes place and will gradually lose accuracy after many days of use The reminder will indicate that the BATTERY FULL may be becoming less accurate Choosing days before recharge time 1 63 days or OFF We recommend a number from 5 days to 14 days with 5 7 d
41. rammed time Placing the charger in equalize mode involves extra charging after the batteries have reached the charged criteria which allows the voltage to rise extra high for a period of time for example the Trojen Battery Co recommends charging to 15 5 volts for 12V systems double this for 24V systems and keeping the batteries at that level for 2 hours Other manufacturers may have different recommendations It is usually advisable to check water levels in the batteries after equalization as it causes some water loss After equalization has taken place you must manually reset the days since equalized display by pushing reset when the days since equalized extra data is displayed this does not take place automatically This will turn off the time to equalize reminder which will reactivate only after another equalization period has elapsed Choosing days between equalization time Enter 1 255 or OFF The time generally recommended is between 1 2 months or 30 60 days Check with the supplier of your batteries To prevent this reminder from coming on put OFF C 7 Reinstall all factory values Purpose of this function This enables you to reinstall all factory values in the programmable values and will overwrite any values previously installed The factory values are shown in column 3 of table 1 To reset all values first enter the program mode from the maximum voltage function as described in table 1 You will see
42. rged As batteries are being charged their voltage gradually rises and or the charging amps gradually falls The TriMetric determines that the batteries are charged when 1 the voltage exceeds the charged setpoint voltage and 2 the amps drops below the charged setpoint amps and 3 both conditions remain true for 20 seconds When this happens the CHARGED lamp will begin to flash as indicated on front panel At the same time the following happens eThe days since charged display one of the extra data displays shown on the lower part of the front panel will reset to 0 days Also if the automatic reset of amp hours preference is selected which is usually the case see Preferences section C 3 below as soon as the batteries begin to discharge again i e the amps become negative eThe Battery Full display will reset to FUL or 100 eThe Amp hours from full display will reset to 0 About voltage and current charged setpoints Of these two setpoints the voltage setpoint is the most critical and the current setpoint less so If you have only low current charging sources you can set the current setpoint to OFF however both should be used if at least one of your chargers is a high current charging source such as a generator charger or inverter charger More specifics follow Choosing charged setpoint volts For a 12 V lead acid battery system the voltage setpoint will usually be between 14
43. ront panel you can view this by holding the SELECT button down for 3 seconds starting while viewing any normal display D7 A There are two ways that this display can be used It is most commonly used to show the amp hours that have been removed from a full battery This is what happens when the TriMetric is used and wired as shown on the wiring diagram last page It starts at a beginning point at 0 amp hours after the amp hours are fully charged and therefore reset to 0 This reset usually happens automatically when the battery is sensed as charged as described in section C1 of these instructions However this reset can also be manually accomplished by pushing and holding for 4 seconds the reset button while observing the amp hour from full display As energy or more precisely charge is withdrawn from the battery the amp hours from full decreases in proportion to the amps and the time For example 2 amps for 5 hours would cause the amp hours to decrease by 10 amp hours When charging the opposite happens However when charging the true amp hours is slightly discounted according to the programmed value of Efficiency factor programmed So if the battery is charged by 2 amps for 5 hours and the Efficiency factor is 94 then the amp hours will increase by only 94 of 10 or 9 4 amp hours This is to compensate for the fact that you don t get quite as many amp hours out
44. set then this is the bottom line number showing how much service yo r batteries have given so far This number is not lost if TriMetric power is disconencted Shows to 999 000 amp hours a flashing decimal point means multiply the number by 1000 See section D11 bLO minimum battery voltage and bHI maximum battery voltage Shows the lowest and highest battery voltage since the this function waslast manuallyreset Seesection D12 D13 rev 02 20 03 TriMetric Program mode summary entering system data into the TriMetric After installing the TriMetric correct data relating to your system should be entered in the program modes of the TriMetric so that the TriMetric data shows correctly This data is retained even if power is disconnected from the TriMetric Each of the display modes left column of table has a program mode which allows you to enter some programmable data characteristic of your system Note that column 3 of this table has space for you to record the data you put in and also shows the preinstalled factory values You can reinstall these factory values see second to the last row of table Follow the first 4 steps to change or observe one of the programmable data shown in the table 1 Choose a PROGRAMMABLE DATA that you want to change column 2 Use the SELECT button to select the DISPLAY MODE column 1 corresponding to the PROGRAMMABLE DATA you wish to change 2 First push SELECT then quickly push RES
45. ss and hold down SELECT then quickly press RESET Release both and the volts light should flash and a number will show in the display the charged setpoint voltage If you hold SELECT too long before pushing RESET the meter will show Ahr and you will have to push SELECT a number of times to display volts again and try this again 2 3 This displayed number must be set to the correct value Push RESET a few times to change the numbers As you do so notice that the numbers increase by 1 with each push Holding RESET down scrolls the display After the numbers go above 65 0 they cycle back to 10 0 again If you have wet cell lead acid batteries start by entering 14 3 if you have a 12 volt system or 28 7 if you have a 24 V system More detail on choosing charged setpoints may be found in section C1 pages 4 5 of the manual Put in the number you desire and press SELECT again to get out of the program mode STEP 3 Enter the charged setpoint amps Programming this is similar to STEP 2 except that instead of starting from the volts display you start from the Amps display Start by programming OFF This appears just after 100 and before 1 OFF means that the TriMetric will not use the amps data when determining whether the batteries are charged If you charge with a generator or other high powered source you should eventually change this or the TriMetric will declare your batteries are charged before they really are See s
46. sufficiently high and battery amps is sufficiently low Exactly how the TriMetric determines that the batteries are full is explained in section C1 in these instructions Correct parameters must be programmed for your battery system as explained there When this occurs the Battery full is automatically reset to FUL or 100 Starting from that reference point flow of energy out of the batteries is measured by amps analogous to gallons per minute flowing out of the water tank The TriMetric totalizes the amount of energy removed by multiplying the amps times the time resulting in amp hours flowing out of the batteries which is analogous to gallons in the water tank analogy This value is subtracted from the value representing full To give a percentage full reading the TriMetric must be programmed by the user see section C4 with the capacity of the batteries in total amp hours analogous to total gallons capacity of the water tank To complete the analogy imagine that the tank leaks a small amount of water which is analogous to what is called self discharge of a battery To be sure you don t have an over optimistic view of how full the tank is you could count the volume removed exactly at 100 rate but when adding water back count only 94 of that volume This is analogous of the efficiency factor which is set at the factory at 94 however you may set a
47. t Shunt must be connected to minus side of battery To read correct current and amp hours TriMetric battery monitor must be programmed for correct shunt type being used as described in instructions BOGARTENGINEERING 5 1 98
48. the heat of a 90 watt light bulb and the 500 A shunt will produce heat equivalent to a 100 watt light bulb The heat produced by the shunt will be proportional to the square of the current passing through it so each time the current is doubled the heat increases by a factor of 4 Mounting the meter TM 2020 model 4 7 16 x 41 2 in front panel is designed be mounted in any standard dual gang electrical box used typically to mount two standard light switches in a wall The box needs to be mounted 90 degrees from the usual position so that if wall switches were mounted in the box they would go right to left instead of up and down A standard metal box may be used or if surface mounting is desired a Wiremold surface mount double gang plastic box may be used Wiremold 2348 2 offered as an accessory which allows flexible and easy mounting options Before installing any box be sure to check that the meter fits especially if the 48 volt lightning adapter will be used If a metal box is used we recommend using an oversize box that will accommodate the TM 48V lightning protector 48 volt adapter should the user wish to later retrofit this with the TriMetric The Wiremold box mentioned will accommodate the lightning 48V adapter B METER INSTALLATION Even momentarily connecting wire from battery to meter incorrectly or backwards will destroy it Carefully following these steps will minimize that possibility eA qualified person
49. tten for those with less technical background A_TriMetric User s Manual Using the TriMetric to maintain your battery system conserve energy and troubleshoot system problems CONTENTS A METER INSTALLATION PRELIMINARY What you need to know before installing the TriMetric meter B METER INSTALLATION How to make connections from meter to battery and shunt C PROGRAM MODES ENTERING SYSTEM PARAMETER DATA INTO THE TriMetric After installing the meter how to enter data related to your energy system for some of the TriMetric displays to give you meaningful information D TriMetric OPERATING FUNCTIONS Description of controls functions and operation Note additional TriMetric information including beginning user s guide troubleshooting shunt information and more is available on the internet at http www bogartengineering com Limited warranty Meter is warranted for 1 year against any manufacturing defects Any meter not meeting the specification or performance description will be replaced or repaired within one year of purchase provided it has not been subject to abuse or misapplication and provided the defective unit is shipped to us if we request it Contact your dealer or us before shipping I want you to be satisfied with this product If for any reason you are unhappy with the performance of this meter and you are not sure if it is covered by the warranty or if it is out of warranty call your dealer first If you are stil
50. urs from Full display mea number of amp hours which have been removegfrom g battery It shows about how many amp hour full that your batteries are For an accurate nu dSC Days since charged spon LF TIME TO CHARGE FULL Ih TIME To EQUALIZE 4 BATT voLTS Low AAU E BATTERY FULL Pe LTS AMP Q EXTRA DATA Push SELECT3 seconds A AMP HOURS FROM FULL L DAYS SINCE CHARGED RESET to 0 days d5E ZE DAYS SINCE EQUALIZED A RESET to 0 days y HOURS RESET to 0 Amp hours RESETito present volts RESETito present Volts BESET to 0 Amp hours aa button Each EXTRA DATA display function as chosen by the ECT button has a RESET function which is described below on the panel RESET button does not do anything when VOLTS AMPS BATTERY down the reset button so this display first flashes 3 or 4 times to make sure you don t accidentally reset something you didn tintend to batteries you must use the reset button to Manually reset the Days since equalized to 0 this will also turn off the time to equalize batte dSE Days since equalized JE of how many days ago since the batteries were equalized When you equalize the reminder See section C6 CAH Cumulative battery discharge g p hours Shows the total amount of battery discharge that has taken place in the life of the battery Does not count charging only discharging This number should be reset to 0 when changing the battery
51. y closely estimates your battery amp hours Choosing values of charge efficiency factor If you do not know what efficiency factor to use and if you have lead acid batteries we suggest that you start with 94 The actual charge efficiency factor for lead acid batteries while they are not at the top of charge is generally higher than 94 so this will usually give a conservative value for amp hours from full that is the meter will generally slightly over estimates the actual amp hours removed from the batteries which will give a useful practical result for knowing state of charge Optional technical note Some people familiar with batteries will be surprised that the suggested efficiency factor is as high as 94 Without going into all the details here there are two reasons for this 1 The number entered in the TriMetric is not true battery efficiency or energy efficiency which is often quoted at 70 80 for lead acid batteries but charge efficiency Charge efficiency the ratio of total amp hours you get out divided by total amp hours to charge the battery is always greater than energy efficiency 2 What is entered in the TriMetric is not even the overall charge efficiency of the battery but the charge efficiency while the battery is not at the top of charge and not gassing A battery is not charge efficient while at the top of charge so if this part is excluded the battery is very charge efficient We have measured this to be 95 98
52. y voltage as displayed is accurate to 0 08 volts from 10 to 35 volts With the 48 Volt adapter it will read up to 70 volts D 2 AMPS This gives an instantaneous picture of energy entering or leaving your battery system Use this to check that your charging system is working properly and to see how much electricity your loads draw from the batteries Current into the battery charging is displayed as positive and discharge current is negative with lighted minus sign It is accurate to 1 the least significant digit The CHARGING lamp will be lighted whenever this value is positive D 3 How to display the 6 EXTRA DATA functions which are shown on the bottom of the front label While displaying Volts Amps or Battery Full push the SELECT button for several seconds until you see AH in the display Release SELECT and you will find that the letters AH will alternate in the display with the actual value of amp hours from full These will alternate in the display until you push and release SELECT again which will show dSC in the display which will alternate with the days since batteries were charged Likewise successive pushing of SELECT will allow you to progress through the remaining 4 EXTRA DATA functions after which the Volts Amps or Battery Full displays will reappear D 4 Reset functions Each EXTRA DATA display function shown not volts amps or Battery Full has a reset function These are ex

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