Charge controller for nife system

[ycgusc]

Hello, everyone,

I have a small system with a 12V 10Ah nife battery pack, a 20w panel and a xantrex C12 charge controller.
So far the battery and the solar panel are working fine, but there are some problems with the controller.
I think the C12 controller is meant for lead acid and nicad batteries.
Is there anyone what has experiences with nife charge controller? I have been looking for alternatives but so far the ones I have found are either for lead acid or for large systems.
Thank you!

[Sunking]

You are not going to find any controllers for NiFe batteries. Well I think there is one made by Xantrex is the C-series and only available in 48 volts Otherwise you have to make a choice in the number of cells you are running and decide between under charged or over charged. For example a 12 volt system with lead acid charge voltage is 2.35 volt per cell or 14.1 volts. A NiFe cell requires 1.6 volt per cell charge source, so with 10 cells is 16 volts.

One member here by the name of Mike has NiFe and I am sure he will respond and be of some help.

FWIW any charger made for NiCd or NiMh will work with NiFe because both are Nickel chemistry.

[Mike90250]

I think the C-12 does have a Ni-Cad setting, and that is what you would use for NiFe batteries.

But the 20watt panel will be next to useless. (it will provide shade to see the blinky light on the C-12)

20W @ 15V works out to about 1.3A of charge current, and you will need many hours of sun to recharge that 20ah battery.

[AzSun]

Hello, everyone,

I have a small system with a 12V 10Ah nife battery pack, a 20w panel and a xantrex C12 charge controller.
So far the battery and the solar panel are working fine, but there are some problems with the controller.
I think the C12 controller is meant for lead acid and nicad batteries.
Is there anyone what has experiences with nife charge controller? I have been looking for alternatives but so far the ones I have found are either for lead acid or for large systems.
Thank you!

NIFE Cells were originally designed for traction purposes (mining equipment electic motors etc.) Modern day charge controllers and inverters are hard to come by that are well suited for their original design.
I have been experimenting with many types of Thomas Edison Nickel Iron cells. Edison published data suggests charging at 1.65 volts and even up to1.85 volts per cell. The down side is the harder you charge them the more water you need to add. You didn't mention if you are using an inverter or not to use 120V power. My biggest problem is most inverters shut down at over 15.5 volts. This is below what NIFE 12 volt banks are happy at. For a system your size and the equipment you describe, as long as you don't mind adding water, I wouldn't even use a charge controller. I am not aware of any data that suggests overcharging NIFE cells harms them. As crude as they are, these are a great cell chemistry. I am happily tolerant of their annoyances.

[Electricme]

This is my 1st post here, forgive me if it is out of place

Nice to come across a thread dealing with Nickel Iron cells.
I have two complete 24 volt sets out in the back shed, these are rated at 300 AH per cell and use caustic soda as the electrolite

Looking at buying a Charge Controller but have run into a brick wall, they seem to be as shy as hens teeth LOL

Anyone know where they may be hiding?

Also looking for info regarding connecting Charge Controllers in a Parallel configuration, has anyone had any success with this?

In this day and age of expensive point to point wiring, I was thinking about using 1/4 inch copper tubing, insulating it with RED and Black insulation tape.

[Mike90250]

I have had good success with the Morningstar MPPT 60 controller with my bank, and have just added another array with a Midnight Solar Classic controller.
Both are adjustable for the wide voltage range needed by the NiFe batteries. Not sure if you can use the smaller Midnight Kid. There are many options on the interface, the Classic & Kid can be remotely adjusted via the internet. Both have monitor capability, and logging.

What do you plan to use as an inverter, some inverters will shutdown from overvoltage while batteries are charging.

[PNjunction]

In the C-12, if you cut resistor R36, that will add 2v to the voltages shown on the silkscreen - or obviously if you set it manually with a multimeter.

They mention that cutting R36 is for NiCad or NiFe, and have a tip about not setting the bulk voltage too high since some loads may trip at say 15v, like inverters.

Where did you get the small 10ah NiFe battery? Sounds like an ideal way for one to get some hands-on experience before committing to a larger bank!