4–12 975-0467-01-01
Battery Charging
Battery charging is possible only when shore power is present and the
Freedom HW unit is connected to a battery (or battery bank).
The frequency of battery charging is determined by how much energy in
the battery is used up during inverting. Whenever the Freedom HW
detects a battery voltage that falls below 12.8 Vdc, the unit will begin
charging the battery, i.e., enter into bulk and absorption stages then settle
in float stage. If battery voltage does not reach 5 Vdc after 1 minute or 10
Vdc after 15 minutes as shown in the graph, the unit will terminate the
charging process and the error code E12 will show on the display screen.
Figure 4-1 below illustrates the three-stage charging process used to
maximize Freedom HW’s charging efficiency.
Table 4-2 below illustrates the battery charging status as shown on the
Status LED and display screen.
Figure 4-1
Three-stage Charging Process
15 min
Absorption
Voltage
Float Voltage
10V
Absorption StageBulk Stage Float Stage
8 hrs Max
5 hrs Max
Voltage
Time
Charge Current
Setting
Float Current
Absorption StageBulk Stage Float Stage
Current
Time
NOTE:
If an external DC load is
connected to the battery
and it drains the battery
down to 12.8 Vdc, the
charger will start a new
bulk stage.
NOTE:
During the Float stage,
the charger will provide
up to the maximum set
charge current to
compensate for an
external DC load on
demand.
Maximum
Charge Current
Setting
5V
1 min