13.1. FLS Introduction & System Requirements

Introduction

Multiple battery chargers are sometimes employed in dc power systems to provide redundancy. Two (2) or more chargers of the same voltage rating can be connected in parallel, each of them capable of powering the connected dc load(s) and charging the battery. When two (2) or more chargers operate in parallel, they normally will not share the load current equally. Since any two (2) chargers will usually have slightly different connection paths, one of the chargers in a system will typically have a slightly higher dc output voltage, and will therefore assume more of the burden of providing the necessary load current.

ATevo’s forced load sharing feature supports a single ‘Primary’ charger, and up to three (3) ‘Secondary’ chargers. The Primary charger communicates with Secondary chargers over a serial connection. Each charger requires a Serial Communications Adapter (A13) set for RS-485, wired to all other chargers, to create the forced load sharing communication network.

System Requirements

All battery chargers must be ATevo Series. The ATevo forced load sharing feature will not operate with legacy AT10.1 and AT30 Series battery chargers.

• All connected chargers must have the same voltage settings, have the same dc output current rating, and have the same version of ATevo Main Control Board (A1) firmware.
• Each ATevo requires a ‘FLS’ Serial Communications Adapter (A13) to be installed in either Port 2 or Port 3 of the Main Control Board (A1).