voltage regulator questions

Sean Griffin wrote:

Hi Walt,

I have just fitted a CARMO CARR5005 charging an Earth X  - It is delivering similar numbers to your Silent Hektik😈

Hi Sean,

I'm not sure that is a good thing, that yours is doing the same thing🙀

After a flight I used the OptiMate Lithium 4s 10A charger, (the charger EarthX recommends), and it took 1.5 hours to reach a full charge. I have to assume the airplane is not fully charging the battery. Also the 10 minute delay after starting the engine before a charge starts concerns me.

The PMR1D regulator https://bandc.com/product/pmr1d-regulator-14v-homebuilt/ was recomended, anybody have a review of this?

I also have the OptiMate Lithium charger. The few times I have used it, it goes through its whole charging cycle, irrespective of initial battery charge condition. I have never timed it but it does take a long time😈

I have not tried it on the EarthX but have used it on another LiFePo4 12V 25A battery. I charged it to full with the OptiMate, came back 3 days later and put it on and it went to full in 10 seconds. I will try it on the EarthX tomorrow since I topped it today before leaving the airport.

Silent Hektik regulators have a somewhat strange charging algorithm that starts out low and then gradually increases. Supposedly, this is "better" for the battery. At least that's the way it used to be. They may have changed things. I recommend that you fly for an hour, then turn everything off and measure battery voltage after a couple of hours resting. If it measures 13.2 to 13.3 then your system is fully charging the battery.