GOALZERO GZ96110 Boulder 20A Charge Controller One Color One Size User Guide

GOALZERO GZ96110 Boulder 20A Charge Controller One Color One Size User Guide

IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

The controllers have a waterproof design, suitable for indoor or outdoor use.

Do not disassemble the controller.

Lead acid, LiFePO4, LTO batteries can be dangerous. Ensure no sparks or flames are present when working near batteries.

Eye protection should always be used. Never short circuit the battery

Given sufficient light solar panels always generate energy even when they are disconnected.

Accidental ‘shorting’ of the terminals or wiring can result in sparks causing personal injury or a fire hazard. We recommend that you cover up the panel(s) with some sort of soft cloth, so you can block all incoming light during the installation. This will ensure that no damage is caused to the Solar Panel or Battery if the wires are accidentally short circuited.

Always install a battery fuse on each circuit including the solar controller. Fuse inlcude with Goal Zero cables.

Do not reverse connect the wires to the solar panel or battery

Features

• Advanced MCU control pulse width modulated (PWM) technology, high efficiency.
• Target for LiFePO4, LTO (Lithium Titanium Oxide), Gel, AGM, Conventional lead-acid (WET) and Calcium Batteries.
• Built in regulator to prevent your battery from being overcharged. Overcharging occurs when the charge voltage is unregulated. This can result in premature battery failure.
• Comes with a regulator to prevent undercharging of your battery – a condition that is very common in solar charging but especially with conventional lead-acid or calcium batteries. The unit provides an automatic Equalization feature for deeply drained Conventional lead acid battery or Calcium battery, as well as provides a cycling automatic Equalizing feature every 28 days.
• Can be connected to the battery permanently to keep the battery fully charged by using a process called “floating”. This means the controller will stop charging when the battery is full and will automatically start charging the battery as required. This process will also reduce water loss and help prevent the battery from ‘drying out’.
• Protects your battery from discharge at night. Under low light or no light conditions the solar panel voltage could be less than the battery voltage. The unit contains a special circuit which prevents current flowing back from the battery and into the solar panel.
• Colored LED’s to easily indicate the operational status and battery conditions.
• Digital LCD to directly display battery voltage, charging current, charging capacity (Amp hour), battery types and fault codes.
• Provides external battery temperature sensor (Requires additonal wires – not included).
• Multi charging protections against reverse polarity, short circuit, over temperature, over voltage, etc.
• Surface Mount, Flush Panel Mount or Portable solar kits Mount options.
• Conformal-coating circuit boards and plated terminals for inclement weather.

Get To Know Your Gear

The Goal Zero 20A Charger Controller is used to connect Goal Zero Solar Panels directly to external batteries. The Charge controller connects Goal Zero Solar Panels to 12V battery (AGM, LiFePO4, LTO, Gel, Lead Acid, and Calcium Batteries) to charge and monitor the charging of the battery. Perfect for RV’S, motorcycles, snowmobiles, tractors, watercraft, lawnmowers, cars, etc.

Note:

• Will not work with Nomad 5,7,7+,and 10.
• Optional SAE to Ring terminal and SAE to Alligator Clips sold separately

Mounting The Device

The Solar Controller has two mounting options.

1. Surface mount:
   The quickest and easiest way to mount the unit is to use self-tapping screws and mount the unit to a flat surface.

2. Portable panel kit mount:
   Mounting Bracket
   (Sold Seperately on Goalzero.com SKU 98365)
   

Wiring Connections

To protect the Battery and the Solar Panel, we strongly recommend that you place an in-line fuse on the positive wire on both the “Solar” and “Battery” Circuits. 25A fuse for 20A controller (As close to the Battery /Panel as possible). Fuse included with Goal Zero cables.
For the Battery connection we recommend using Goal Zero Spade to SAE cable (98370)
The Solar Controller has 4 terminals which are clearly marked ‘Solar’ and ‘Battery’.
There is a (12V) and earth (GND) terminal for each circuit.
Refer to the wiring diagram below.

Correct Wire Size:
Please refer to the wire size chart below to determine the minimum size wire needed for each connection. This will also ensure you get the best performance out of your solar regulator.

Rated Current| Cable length One-way distance| Solar panel – Controller – Battery (Meter)
---|---|---
< 3M| 3-6M| 6-9M| 9-12M
20AMP| Cable size (AWG)| 16AWG| 14AWG| 12AWG| 10AWG

1. Using the stranded wires, screw tightly the wires to the “Solar” and “Battery” terminals on the back of controller and connect to the Solar Panel and Battery.
2. If the cable gauge is too large to fit into the terminals of the controller, please properly peel the part of copper wires prior to installation.

When the connections are completed, the Solar Controller will start working automatically

Operation – LCD Display

Please check your battery manufacturer’s specifications to select correct battery type. The unit provides 6 battery types for selections: LiFePO4, LTO, Gel, AGM, WET (conventional lead acid), and Calcium.

Press BATTERY TYPE button and hold for 3 seconds to go into your battery type selection mode, the battery types you select will be shown on the LCD meter, the default setting is AGM Battery; the controller will automatically memorize your battery type setting.

Caution: Incorrect battery type setting may damage your battery.

When the controller powers on, the unit will run self-qualify mode and automatically show below items on LCD before going into charging process.

After going into charging process, the LCD displays the charging statues as below:
Press VOLT / AMP button in sequence, the LCD will display in turn with Battery Voltage, Charging Current, Charged Capacity (Amp-hour) and Battery Temperature (if external temperature sensor connected).

Display in the daytime-

Display during the night-

Alternatively Display voltage and FUL when battery is fully charged-

Charging Stages

You also can visually monitor your battery charging condition via an LCD bar on the top of LCD meter, if the battery is in the charging process, the LCD bar will be flashing; if the battery is fully charged, the LCD bar will turn on.

The VOLT / AMP button can be changed at any time during charging process.

The LCD also can be treated as an independent voltage meter or thermometer. A voltage less than 11.5V Volts indicates that the battery is discharged and needs re charging.

CHARGING STAGES

The unit has a 5-stage charging algorithm.

Soft Charge (Level 1) –Bulk Charge (Level 2)-Absorption charge (Level 3) – Equalizing Charge*
(Level 4) – Float Mode (Level 5)

Soft Charge- When batteries suffer an over-discharge, the controller will softly ramp the battery voltage up to 10V.

Bulk Charge- Maximum current charging until batteries rise to Absorption level

Absorption Charge- Constant voltage charge and battery is over 90%.

*Equalization Charge-** Only for WET battery or Calcium battery type, when the battery is deeply drained below 10V, it will automatically run this stage to bring the internal cells as an equal state and fully complement the loss of capacity. (LiFePO4, LTO, Gel and AGM battery do not run Equalization charge)

Float Charge- Battery is fully charged and maintained at a safe level. A fully charged Lead acid battery (GEL, AGM, WET battery) has a voltage of more than 13.6 Volts; A fully charged LiFePO4 or LTO battery has a voltage level of 13.4V.

Operation – LED Indication

The 6 LED’s indicate the charging status and the battery condition| | | | | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---
Red| Blue| Green| Green| Yellow| Red
Solar Power Present- No battery connected| ON| OFF| OFF| OFF| OFF| Flash
Soft charging| ON| Flash| OFF| OFF| OFF| ON
Bulk charging| ON| ON| OFF| Subject to battery voltage
Absorption charging| ON| ON| OFF| ON| OFF| OFF
Equalization charging| ON| ON| OFF| ON| OFF| OFF
Float charging| ON| OFF| ON| OFF| OFF| OFF
Solar panel weak| Flash| OFF| OFF| Subject to battery voltage
At night no charge| OFF| OFF| OFF| Subject to battery voltage
Battery Voltage below 11.5V (+/- 0.2V)| ON| ON| OFF| OFF| OFF| ON
Battery Voltage between 11.5V – 12.5V(+/-0.2V)| ON| ON| OFF| OFF| ON| OFF
Battery Voltage above 12.5V(+/- 0.2V)| ON| ON| OFF| ON| OFF| OFF

Abnormal Operation – LED Indication

Solar panel Abnormal Mode| LCD Display| LED Indication| LCD Backlight
---|---|---|---
Solar panel weak| |
Flash| ON
Solar panel reverse connection| |
Flash| Flash
Solar panel over voltage (> 26.5V)| |
Flash| Flash
Solar panel Abnormal Mode| LCD Display| LED Indication| LCD Backlight
---|---|---|---
Battery disconnected or less than 3.0V| |
Flash|
Flash|
Flash| Flash
Battery reverse connection| |
Flash| Flash
Battery over voltage than > 17.5V| |
Flash| Flash
Battery temperature over 65°C| |
Flash|
Flash|
Flash| Flash
Solar panel Abnormal Mode| LCD Display| LED Indication| LCD Backlight
---|---|---|---
The controller over temperature protection| | | Flash

Maintenance

The controller is maintenance free. If the connection wire is damaged or loosed, please replace the new wires or tighten the screws. The case should be cleaned occasionally with dry cloth.

Technical Specifications

Gel battery-14.1V
LiFePO4 battery-14.4V
AGM battery-14.4V
WET battery-14.7V
Calcium battery-14.9V
Equalizing voltage at 25°C| WET or Calcium battery-15.5V
Float voltage at 25°C| Gel, AGM, WET, Calcium batteries – 13.6V
LTO and LiFePO4 – 13.4V
Battery temperature compensation coefficient| -24 mV/°C
Protection
Against reverse polarity or short circuit
No reverse current from battery to solar at night|
Over temperature protection during charging| 65°C

Electrical parts

GOAL ZERO HEADQUARTERS

675 West 14600 South
Bluffdale, UT 84065
1-888-794-6250
Designed in the U.S.A.
Made in China

Goal Zero Yeti is a trademark of Goal Zero.

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.
• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

This device complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions:

1. This device may not cause harmful interference, and
2. this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

GOALZERO.COM

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