Eltek Debuts Modular Battery Charger with Built-In Redundancy for Industrial Applications

Based on the state-of-the-art Flatpack2 HE (High Efficiency) switched mode rectifiers, the IBB-250WM significantly reduces the size and weight of battery chargers, allowing capacity of up to 200 amps to be wall, rack or floor mounted. This provides valuable flexibility for space-limited applications and results in simpler, less costly installations.

The IBB-250WM has modular system architecture utilizing multiple plug-in rectifiers to deliver its capacity. If a rectifier fails, the remaining rectifiers will pick up the additional load as their capacity allows. At a minimum, this will greatly extend battery reserve time should those rectifiers not be able to carry the entire load. For more critical sites, this architecture enables the affordable deployment of an N+1 redundant system, which ensures a rectifier failure has no impact on the load.

The IBB-250WM delivers greater reliability than is achieved with conventional battery chargers thanks to its Flatpack2 HE rectifiers, with an MTBF exceeding 380,000 hours, and its redundant, modular shelf design. And, the IBB-250WM's hot plug-in design supports the simple replacement of a failed rectifier with no disruption to the working system.

With typical efficiencies ranging between 94 percent and 96.6 percent, the IBB-250WM family of battery chargers significantly reduces energy usage, as well as the heat generated in the AC to DC power conversion process. This is good both for the operating expense budget and for the environment.

The IBB-250WM features the Smartpack2 comprehensive control system for both local and remote monitoring and control. A built-in Ethernet port enables remote, web browser-based reporting and diagnostics. For local operation, the touch-pad screen has intuitive icon-based menus with high-resolution display. The controller is also capable of performing extensive battery management and testing functions, and can store up to 10,000 entries in its logs.

Customers have been looking for an industrial battery charger that is small, extremely reliable and more powerful than conventional battery chargers, said Lars Dousa, executive vice president of industrial power at Eltek. We have responded by developing the IBB-250WM with functionality that we believe surpasses expectations while reducing operating costs and enabling advanced monitoring and control.

The IBB-250WM power core supports up to six Flatpack2 HE rectifiers and is available in 125V, 48V or 24V output configurations that can be sized to fit customer requirements. For example, a customer may start with fewer rectifiers, and can scale up by installing more units as their growth dictates.

The rectifiers provide a wide output range that enables use with lead acid and nickel cadmium batteries. The system provides capacity up to 120 amps at 125V and up to 200 amps at 24V or 48V. The compact IBB-250WM weighs only 150 pounds fully loaded and has the following dimensions: 22.6 H x 16.8 W x 18 D.

The product line also includes the extended power core IBB-250WME, which has 10 rectifier positions. This system provides capacity up to 200 amps at 125V output. At only 180 pounds fully loaded, the IBB-250WME can also be wall, rack or floor mounted.

All of the WM and WME systems are UL listed; include surge protection, input circuit breaker and output circuit breaker; and require only front access.