Magnum Energy Battery Monitor Kit ME-BMK - Manual (Page 31)

27 © 2010 Magnum Energy, Inc.
Using the ME-RTR Router with the BMK
The battery’s state of charge — which is the best indicator of the condition
of the batteries — is indicated on the SOC display. This display will show that
the batteries are fully charged (i.e., SOC = 100%) once the following three
conditions have been met:
The charging voltage has stabilized over a period of time.
The charging current has decreased to a low percentage of the amp-
hour capacity – normally less than 2%.
The amp-hours that were removed from the battery are within 1% of
fully being returned.
After the batteries have reached 100% SOC and have discharged ≥ 0.5% of
the battery capacity setting, the charge effi ciency value will be recalculated
and the AH I/O read-out will reset to the recalculated value.
Info: To help maintain the accuracy of the SOC display and to keep
the batteries in good condition, they must on occasion be 100%
charged (approximately once a week).
Info: Charging from a generator (non-inverter topology) adds some
concern about the cost of fuel. A balance should be considered
between the use of fuel and the need to charge your batteries to
100% SOC – to maintain the full service life of a battery. Batteries
discharged to 50% SOC and then normally recharged to 85-90% SOC
would be an effi cient compromise between fuel cost and battery life.
Trying to restore the last 10-15% of a full battery charge requires a
long time – typically several hours.
5.6 ME-RTR METER Menu Items and Settings for BMK
From the BMK Home screen, press the METER pushbutton, and then turn
the SELECT knob on the ME-RTR router to access the different meters that
determine the status of the battery system.
1.
2.
3.
Press the SELECT
knob to “select” a
METER menu item
METER
press the
METER
pushbutton
Rotate the
SELECT knob to:
From the BMK
Home screen:
04A BMK SOC
** %
P#A View BMK Meter
04H Maximum VDC
** VDC
P#A View BMK Meter
Figure 5-5, Accessing the METER Menu Items (ME-RTR)