Got a problem with the flow on one of my pumps ... 2 man system set up as follows
Pump 1 wired thru standard controller direct to van battery
Pump 2 wired thru split relay controller to leisure battery
Pump1 voltage shows 12.8 as does pump2 however when pumps are turned on to clean the voltage on pump1 drops to 11.6 on pump2 it drops to 12.6 or 12.7 so after a few minutes of work pump1 is flashing BATT and the flow unless engine is running is crap.
Seems to be a huge drop in voltage on pump1 ??
Van battery is 2 months old which I know don't mean its faulty.
Any ideas chaps ?
Hi Ian
Ok so the two pumps are running from two separate batteries
Pump 1 Van battery
Pump 2 Leisure battery
1st It is worth mentioning that the way the batteries discharge and recharge is different. The Vehicle battery is designed to discharge a high current in a short burst, then recharge slowly from the alternator.
It is not unusual for vehicle battery to show a sudden and rapid volt drop as this is what happens when you start the engine.
When you start the engine to boost pump 1 the Alternator is supplying the volts not the battery, I would expect that voltage on control 1 jumps to 13V give or take?
This means a vehicle battery is not best suited to long slow current draw associated with a wfp pump
Conversely a leisure battery is designed for long slow current draw. My suggestion is to connect pump one to the leisure battery. For a two pump system you probably want 110AH, the split relay will trickle charge as you drive between jobs.
Running tow pumps is going to draw around 8 amps an hour in current, So even taking 50% of the battery capacity with 110AH is likely to give you 6 - 7 hours working.
Have a look at this link Plus I would suggest looking at the battery basics link to Progressive Dynamics
http://www.springltd.co/node/139