Keeping a 100ah AGM topped up (while in continuous use) by using AC battery charger/maintainer

[Scort]

Greetings To All,

After 2 years and 3 winters, I am finally in the process of getting my solar system build started in my converted cargo trailer. I am heating the trailer with a 5Kw 12V Chinese diesel heater on a 24/7 basis til the weather warms up. The single 100ah AGM battery is currently being maintained by a NOCO 5 amp charger plugged into a single 15A AC wall outlet. The NOCO is failing and often over volts causing the heater to kick off. It does have an AGM mode, but after a long winter, it isn't cutting it anymore.

I have an Iota DLS 30A battery charger/maintainer and was thinking of swapping it for the NOCO, but I am concerned that the 30 amp unit might try to push more amps to the battery than the 15 amp AC circuit can handle, thus kicking the ac breaker off constantly. As it is the only outlet I have access to atm, I'm thinking this Iota is too much for my purposes.

Am I correct in my assumption? What alternatives do I have, if so? All advice and suggestions greatly appreciated

 

[LakeHouse]

According to the specs here: The Iota charger should put out 13.4V at up to 30A, which is only about 400W. Your 15A AC circuit should be able to supply about 1800W. The charger won't be 100% efficient and so will draw more than 400W, but there should be no tripping the breaker.
That particular 'charger' also claims to be capable of running as DC power supply. You could eliminate the battery and just run the diesel heater directly off the power supply if you wanted to. But leaving the battery in the loop should be fine.

 

[Scort]

According to the specs here: The Iota charger should put out 13.4V at up to 30A, which is only about 400W. Your 15A AC circuit should be able to supply about 1800W. The charger won't be 100% efficient and so will draw more than 400W, but there should be no tripping the breaker.
That particular 'charger' also claims to be capable of running as DC power supply. You could eliminate the battery and just run the diesel heater directly off the power supply if you wanted to. But leaving the battery in the loop should be fine.

Thanks for your feedback on this. I am a newb when it comes to electrical stuff. Any thoughts on wire size from the Iota to the battery? I was thinking 8, or possibly 6 gauge. Distance will be somewhere between 6 and 10 feet, I expect.

 

[LakeHouse]

Thanks for your feedback on this. I am a newb when it comes to electrical stuff. Any thoughts on wire size from the Iota to the battery? I was thinking 8, or possibly 6 gauge. Distance will be somewhere between 6 and 10 feet, I expect.

10 AWG is ok for 30 Amps, but bigger is fine too.
In that setup where you’ll only ever pull the full 30A when charging the battery, and otherwise probably much less, I’d stick with 10 gauge.

 

[Scort]

10 AWG is ok for 30 Amps, but bigger is fine too.
In that setup where you’ll only ever pull the full 30A when charging the battery, and otherwise probably much less, I’d stick with 10 gauge.

Thanks again !

 

[HRTKD]

Check the specs (charge profile) on the DLS-30. It may have a equalization phase that you don't want with an AGM battery.

The IQ4 AGM Smart Charge Controller will have the appropriate charge profile for AGM. It's a plug-in for the DLS series chargers. A standard lead acid charge profile may degrade an AGM over time. I had that problem with a set of Odyssey batteries when using a CTEK smart charge on the wrong setting.

 

[Scort]

Check the specs (charge profile) on the DLS-30. It may have a equalization phase that you don't want with an AGM battery.

The IQ4 AGM Smart Charge Controller will have the appropriate charge profile for AGM. It's a plug-in for the DLS series chargers. A standard lead acid charge profile may degrade an AGM over time. I had that problem with a set of Odyssey batteries when using a CTEK smart charge on the wrong setting.

Thanks for your response. Sorry for the delay but was away for the summer. I forgot to mention that I have the IQ4 AGM module for this charger and was certainly going to use it. The Noco 5 has an AGM setting and I was assuming it was doing the job properly ... perhaps not though. Seems the battery likes to sit at around 12.55 - 12.6 volts after charging and sitting for a bit. That seems a bit low for an 100Ah AGM. The overall health of the battery might have deteriorated perhaps. I would like to see what the Iota can do for this battery before I think about buying a new AGM, or perhaps switching to LifePo4.

 

[Scort]

Just an update >>> I installed the Iota after getting all the feedback. It has been working perfectly since then, and I am relieved that I no longer need to worry about whether that unreliable NOCO will leave me in a lurch somewhere down the road. Many thanks once again to LakeHouse and HRTKD for their input. Cheers all !