Sutron Corporation 8310 & 7310 Users Manual 8800-1125Rev. 2.7 (BETA) 4/16/2014 pg. 187
the power required for collecting. It is best if you come up with these numbers yourself using
actual measurements of the power consumption for an operating 8310. Once you have a value
for the average consumption, record it and use it as a reference when troubleshooting a station.
A site that shows a marked change in power consumption warrants a closer look.
Note: Remember and use the simple equation:
Power = current * voltage
and keep the units straight. If current is in milliamps (mA) than power is in milliwatts (mW).
Once you have the average power required by the 8310 you are able to make two important
calculations. First compute the battery capacity. To do this, divide the battery capacity by the
average power needed by the 8310 as follows:
battery duration = battery capacity/8310 Average Current
Example: Compute the battery duration for a 24 amp-hr battery powering an 8310 with average
power consumption of 50 ma.
battery duration = 24000ma-hr/50ma = 484 hrs
Since you cannot use 100% of any battery the actual duration will be less. We recommend you
only plan on using 75% of the capacity of a battery which reduces the actual duration by 25%. In
our example, the 484 hrs duration would become 363 hours.
The size of the solar panel needed for the site depends on both the average power needed and
the location of the site. As a general rule of thumb, use a panel that provides at least 10 times
the average power needed.
Example: Size a solar panel for a site with average current of 50ma.
Power needed = 10 * (current * voltage) = 10 * (50ma * 12 volts) = 6000 mW
The minimum size panel should have an output of at least 6000 milliwatts. A 9 watt
panel should work just fine.
Note that the internal charger in the 8310 has been designed to handle up to a 20W solar panel.
If a larger panel is needed to handle the station load, then an external regulator should be
utilized. The full benefit of the larger panel would not be achieved with the internal regulator
since it will limit the amount of power that will be passed through to the battery.
For sites with AC power, an AC/DC power supply can be used as the charging source. To fully
charge the battery at cold temperatures, the output voltage of the DC supply needs to be at
least 15V DC. The required current capability of the AC/DC supply depends upon battery size
and the acceptable recharge time. If the required current is more 2A, then it is recommended
that an external regulator be utilized.
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