How does a progressive controller work?
How does a progressive controller work? At first I thought that it varied the voltage to the solenoid, but that doesn't make sense since a solenoid is basically open or closed. I bought the NOS mini, which seemed like the best bang for the buck. Any explanation on how this works would be greatly appreciated. By the way, I run a Nitrous Outlet dry fogger system.
Teching In
Joined: May 2017
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I don't want to get into a N20 war but I have run a lot of different Nitrous Systems and at least 3 or 4 different Progressive Controllers. The reason I say I don't want to get into a war is because some n20 mfg's will tell you only their solenoids are made to pulse and only solenoids made to pulse should be used with a progressive controller. I will simply say No Comment there and explain how any controller I have used worked.
Basically you have
Delay = How long do you want to wait BEFORE the n20 Starts to come on AFTER you go WOT
Start Power= What power level the n20 is when it FIRST comes on (that would be after the Delay setting after initial WOT)
Build Time= How long do you want it to take to go from Start Power to Final Power
Final Power= After the Delay, After the Start Power, After the Build Time, WHAT IS THE FINAL n20 HP YOU WANT
The Fancy Controllers have other settings like Multi Stage and you can use that to PULL POWER or ADD POWER
Some also have Retard Settings (you can pull timing)
Some also have a n20 Delay Setting which means you will only shoot fuel on a Wet system at first and then the n20 will come in based on that setting
And other settings...
Here's an example of the way I set my NX Maximiser Controller on what I was hoping to be a 10.0 run
(my old Brand X Supercharged Truck, ran 9.9's with this set up)
NX Maximiser Settings100HP Jets (math based on a 10.0 run)
Delay .5 Sec
Build Time 1.5 Sec
Start Power 50%
Final Power 100%
Retard "ON" and set at 20%
Reset Options Start(resets to initial Start Power setting when throttle switch is cycled on/off)N20
Delay Off
Stage 2 Power 40%(% of power change when the Stage 2 Timer activates)
Stage 2 Timer 6.0 Sec (6 seconds into the run it goes to 40% power)
So at the 1320 for me this is how it worked...
1/2 sec of nothing, 1.5 sec of build from 50HP to 100HP, 4 sec at 100HP, 4 sec at 40HP
Hope that helps
Basically you have
Delay = How long do you want to wait BEFORE the n20 Starts to come on AFTER you go WOT
Start Power= What power level the n20 is when it FIRST comes on (that would be after the Delay setting after initial WOT)
Build Time= How long do you want it to take to go from Start Power to Final Power
Final Power= After the Delay, After the Start Power, After the Build Time, WHAT IS THE FINAL n20 HP YOU WANT
The Fancy Controllers have other settings like Multi Stage and you can use that to PULL POWER or ADD POWER
Some also have Retard Settings (you can pull timing)
Some also have a n20 Delay Setting which means you will only shoot fuel on a Wet system at first and then the n20 will come in based on that setting
And other settings...
Here's an example of the way I set my NX Maximiser Controller on what I was hoping to be a 10.0 run
(my old Brand X Supercharged Truck, ran 9.9's with this set up)
NX Maximiser Settings100HP Jets (math based on a 10.0 run)
Delay .5 Sec
Build Time 1.5 Sec
Start Power 50%
Final Power 100%
Retard "ON" and set at 20%
Reset Options Start(resets to initial Start Power setting when throttle switch is cycled on/off)N20
Delay Off
Stage 2 Power 40%(% of power change when the Stage 2 Timer activates)
Stage 2 Timer 6.0 Sec (6 seconds into the run it goes to 40% power)
So at the 1320 for me this is how it worked...
1/2 sec of nothing, 1.5 sec of build from 50HP to 100HP, 4 sec at 100HP, 4 sec at 40HP
Hope that helps
A progressive does not lower the amount of nitrous or hp of the shot...if you have a jets in for a 100 shot and set the progressive at 50% its not a 50 shot....its a 100 shot 50% of the time. Hope that doesnt make it more confusing.
Lots of the info here is "off"....
Progressive controllers work by cycling the solenoid on/off at a specified frequency. Solenoids will react differently based on the cycling frequency - larger solenoids typically need a lower frequency to allow the plunger to lift, and close.
So the electronic side would be similar to this.
On @ 50%
Ramp time 2 seconds to 100%
15hz Frequency
15hz frequency says each cycle can be 0.0667 seconds.
at 50% the solenoid will be energized for 0.0667 seconds, and deengergized for 0.0667. As the ramp increases the energized time increase and deenergized decreases.
Mechanically what is happening like this....(for a fogger)
Solenoid is energized/deenergized and the magnet lifts/closes the plunger, nitrous/fuel flow past the solenoid into your distribution blocks. At low duty cycle, the line between the solenoid and nozzle never become fully pressurized - at this point the jet is of zero consequence. Effectively at this point your solenoid is behaving as your main point of metering. As the duty increases, the line between the solenoids and nozzles begin to be restricted by the jet until the pressures level - this happens ALWAYS before 100% duty cycle (depends on solenoid size and jetting) - this is when you are getting "100%" of the "power"
50% on the progressive is never 50% of the flow/power and depending on jet/solenoid sizes 100% of the flow/power will always be before 100% on the progressive.
Its not practical for most people, but I have Race Pak pressure sensors after my solenoids to monitor this
Progressive controllers work by cycling the solenoid on/off at a specified frequency. Solenoids will react differently based on the cycling frequency - larger solenoids typically need a lower frequency to allow the plunger to lift, and close.
So the electronic side would be similar to this.
On @ 50%
Ramp time 2 seconds to 100%
15hz Frequency
15hz frequency says each cycle can be 0.0667 seconds.
at 50% the solenoid will be energized for 0.0667 seconds, and deengergized for 0.0667. As the ramp increases the energized time increase and deenergized decreases.
Mechanically what is happening like this....(for a fogger)
Solenoid is energized/deenergized and the magnet lifts/closes the plunger, nitrous/fuel flow past the solenoid into your distribution blocks. At low duty cycle, the line between the solenoid and nozzle never become fully pressurized - at this point the jet is of zero consequence. Effectively at this point your solenoid is behaving as your main point of metering. As the duty increases, the line between the solenoids and nozzles begin to be restricted by the jet until the pressures level - this happens ALWAYS before 100% duty cycle (depends on solenoid size and jetting) - this is when you are getting "100%" of the "power"
50% on the progressive is never 50% of the flow/power and depending on jet/solenoid sizes 100% of the flow/power will always be before 100% on the progressive.
Its not practical for most people, but I have Race Pak pressure sensors after my solenoids to monitor this
