Solar gor Centurion gate motor

J

Johnno Mac

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Hi guys
Need advice I want to run my gate motor on Eskom at night and solar during the day
Can I just parrallel the two
The solar will be via a controller
 
Yes. You could use something like this:


For better control add your own regulator:

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You just need a DC output close to what the gate motor provides, probably 13.6 V.

I tried it with a standalone panel and buck regulator and it worked fine.

However if you're just trying to keep the battery charged, solar is probably overkill. In my case the transformer could supply enough current but the onboard charger was too slow. So it's a cheap and simple fix to add an LM317-based rectifier and regulator in parallel. Something like this:

www.rabtron.co.za

Adjustable LM317T Power Supply Kit 5001

PSU - Batt. Chargers-A well regulated power supply, which uses the ever popular LM317T regulator IC. Adjustable voltage: 1.5 to 30Vdc.
www.rabtron.co.za www.rabtron.co.za
 
I would change the battery for lithium first as adding a panel big enough to keep battery usage to a minimum, will most likely exceed lead acid charge rate

If ever the battery isn't full for some reason, then it would need to be able to handle the amps pushed

And then just get a panel size that will be able to replenish the battery in a short period of time

No need to really run it of the panel imo , though as long as the the amps pushed by the panel is less than what the battery can handle charge wise and be enough to carry the motor you could surely run it of the panel
 
Johnno Mac said:
Hi guys
Need advice I want to run my gate motor on Eskom at night and solar during the day
Can I just parrallel the two
The solar will be via a controller
Click to expand...
Why go to all that cost & effort?

Just pop in a Lifepo4 battery and leave it on Eskom.

I fitted a Lifepo4 in October last year, in addition to stage 6 (3x), a 134 hour outage due to a fault and another 54 hour outage 3 weeks later (same fault), my gate has NEVER once not opened....
 
Mannydefreitas said:
Why go to all that cost & effort?

Just pop in a Lifepo4 battery and leave it on Eskom.

I fitted a Lifepo4 in October last year, in addition to stage 6 (3x), a 134 hour outage due to a fault and another 54 hour outage 3 weeks later (same fault), my gate has NEVER once not opened....
Click to expand...
If the gate is opened a lot, ie business/property with a lot of traffic the charge rate can still cause the battery to run flat as it can't recharge in 4 hrs what was used in shedding

Can be solved with additional charger too if the lifepo4 is enough to carry the worst load shedding/outage experienced
 
Hope someone sees these queries.
I am in PE and we have had no power for 3 days.
If I fit an all in one 12v solar charger to my Centurion D5 gate motor which has a Lifepo battery (2 years and still going), I have a couple of questions:
1. I do not have to worry about overcharging as the battery has a built in batteryt management system?
2. If I leave the AC connected, do I need to fit a diode or anything to protect the solar charger? (I am guessing the cheap Chinese solar panel has limited protection)

Next, my electric fence has a sealed lead acid battery.
1. Do I need to fit something to stop the solar panel overcharging it?

Thanks
 
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