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Heart Interface Inverter-Charger

April 15, 2013, 10:40:04 pm

I'm looking for some anecdotal experience from those with the Heart Interface inverter. I've got two gel coach batteries, one of which has some swelling. I intend to replace them with Lifelines but I want to make certain the Heart is performing correctly before I throw in those pricey Lifelines.

I installed a Trimetric and ran a few tests today.

I wanted to see what kind of voltage the Heart put out in Bulk/Absorb and Float. The remote setting (dip switches) was set for "Warm Gel" which is supposed to put out 14.1v bulk and 13.8 float.

I discharged the batteries a bit by running the microwave for eight minutes on the inverter. That brought them down to 12.45 volts (no wait time after the discharge) Then I plugged in. While the charger was in bulk mode the Trimetric showed 13.5v to 14.1v, constantly moving between those two values. Then, when it went into float it showed a steady 13.4v. So, in the Warm Gel mode, it seems to be bulk charging and float charging lower than it's supposed to.

I then changed the dip switches to a "Wet Cool" setting. According to the Heart documentation this should cause the charger to bulk charge at 14.4v and float at 13.5. This would be close to the Lifeline requirement at 70 degrees (14.41 and 13.39).

Running the same test, this time the Trimetric showed the charger putting 14.1v to 14.6 while in bulk and then settling down to 13.1 in float. So, in this mode it looks like the Heart is close to its described performance in bulk but much lower in float.

The Lifeline documentation says to set the bulk as high as possible, btw. Anyhow, what kind of performance are you getting from your Heart Interface units? I'll replace this one with a Magnum if need be but if it's OK, might as well keep it. Thanks.
jor

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Re: Heart Interface Inverter-Charger

Reply #1 – April 15, 2013, 11:54:04 pm

I have 3 lifelines agm and on my trimetic it shows 13.4--13.6 then every 28 days it is set with my solar to 14.8 to make sure they are topped up. It is not an equalization just a "boost". AGMs can go to 15+ lifeline say.
I do not use my inverter for charging just solar so it is very controlled. It is a Prosine 2500. I have another 1000 watt pure sine for the fridge and tv/stereo system and a cxouple of plugs.
John H

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Re: Heart Interface Inverter-Charger

Reply #2 – April 16, 2013, 07:42:06 am

Your Heart looks like it's running just fine.  The 14.1v bulk charge is the limit for gels, which I'm running.  AGM's require normal 14.5v.

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Re: Heart Interface Inverter-Charger

Reply #3 – April 16, 2013, 10:36:42 am

Thanks for your replies. Still wondering though about this charger's performance on Lifelines. In warm weather the Lifelines should be bulked at 14.4 and floated at 13.4 according to their documentation. My charger does not have a setting designed to produce these voltages and the actual voltages produced don't reflect what the documentation says they will. So, is anyone using their Heart to charge Lifelines and checking charging voltages? Thanks.
jor

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Re: Heart Interface Inverter-Charger

Reply #4 – April 16, 2013, 11:30:27 am

We have a Freedom 25 and Link 2000. The house batteries are three 8D "no name" AGM batteries distributed by CBC in Houston, TX. They are five years old and seem to work well. We don't dry camp much and the coach has been plugged in most of the time since the batteries were installed. Ambient temperature is currently 72F and Link 2000 panel shows float voltage to be 13.40-13.45. I did not check the voltage at the batteries with a DVM.

I did some testing of draw down time at about 10A load and observed values on the Link 2000. I don't recall the exact values of AH, voltage, and recharge characteristics. I do recall that all looked "normal" with respect to the literature I have found regarding AGM batteries. All seems to work well for us with nominal AGM settings on the controller.

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Re: Heart Interface Inverter-Charger

Reply #5 – April 16, 2013, 11:41:27 am

Lifeline told me 2 yrs ago that if the charger cannot be set for AGM then the flooded setting is close enough!  My Prosine does not have an AGM setting so before my solar was working I used the flooded one, now it is custom set for all aspects of charging AGM's thru the Morningstar Solar charger.
John H

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