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A New Charger/Inverter for Our
Elec-Trak
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The built in charger that Elec-Traks come with from the factory was
missing on our E15, and the external charger that came with it seemed a
bit doubtful. In addition, I wanted to have a setup that would
allow me to use the Elec-Trak to battery pack to power 120VAC loads out
in the field or during power outages. So, what I really
wanted was a combination charger and inverter.
The new inverter/charger and its mounting shelf on the Elec-Trak.
Charger/inverters for 36 volt battery packs are not common, and I
ended up buying a
3600 watt Tripplite that is larger than what I really
need, but appears to do the job well and appears to be well made.
The $800 price as more than I wanted to pay, and a smaller one would
have been fine, but just could not find one.
Back to the Elec-Trak Table of Contents... |
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Mounting and Wiring the Charger/Inverter
I did not want the new charger/inverter to be permanently mounted in the
Elec-Trak, as is seems like it could be damaged by all the bouncing around.
But, I did want to be able to use the charger/inverter with the Elec-Track out
in the field when 120 VAC is needed to run tools etc. So, normally, the
charger/inverter sits on a low shelf in the garage next to the Elec-Trak parking
spot such that the Elec-Track can be easily charged when parked.
For times when the charger/inverter is needed with the Elec-Track, I built a
platform off the back battery pack housing that supports the charger/inverter
when its used with the Elec-Trak.
< pictures of charger/inverter both on and off elec-trak
-- need the wall shelf >
Since the charger/inverter has to be able to be separated from the Elec-Trak,
a heavy duty disconnect is needed to break the cables between the battery pack
and the charger. I used an
Ancerson SB disconnect
The SB disconnect that hooks the charger/inverter to the Elec-Trak
Battery pack.
The two wires on the right go to the battery pack, and the two on left
to the charger/inverter
which you can just see the corner of. |
New breaker in the cable to the charger/inberter. |
<should replace the right pic above with one that just
has the breaker>
With the charger/inverter mounted on the back of the Elec-Track, it can be
used out in the field to power 120VAC tools.
< pic in the field>
In case power power outages, the Elec-Trak and the inverter can be used to
power loads in the house by using a heavy extension cord between the Elec-Trak
and the house. The plan is to use this to cover a few critical
loads like the the fridge, a few lights, a small TV, ... and, maybe the furnace
(but we do have another emergency source of heat).
<pic of elec-track powering house loads>
In addition, for extended power outages, our PV array
can be rewired a bit to to charge the Elec-Trak battery pack ...
PV charging the Elec-Trak battery pack.
Gary
December 13, 2011
