2-0020 pages

HYDRAFORCE

®

SP Valves and Coil Operating Parameters
INTRODUCTION TO SP VALVES AND COIL OPERATION

In order to maintain maximum flow at high temperatures, it
is important to know the actual applied voltage to the coil
including any voltage drop across the controller. Generally, on
engine-driven equipment where alternator voltage is several
volts above battery voltage, a coil rated at nominal voltage
may work well. On battery-operated equipment, a coil rated at
several volts below nominal voltage works best.
In general, it is expected that in actual application, the current
applied to the SP valve will vary. Sometimes the current applied may be close to maximum, while at other times it may
be close to the threshold current. Therefore, the increase in
coil resistance resulting from the power applied will typically
stabilize around a nominal or average value. This stabilized,
average current value is defined as:

08 SIZE COIL

PERCENT OF NOMINAL
SYSTEM VOLTAGE

120
110
100
90
80
70
60
50

For example, the graph for the 08 size 10 VDC coil shows
that at an ambient temperature of 20°C, maximum current is
available with only 83% of nominal system voltage. If ambient
temperature rises to 80°C, maximum output is achieved only if
102% of nominal voltage is available to the coil. However, with
the 12 VDC coil, 102% of nominal voltage is required at 20°C.
Notice that the voltage required at 80°C is above the maximum 115% of nominal voltage line. This indicates that the
12 VDC coil is not suitable for this ambient condition regardless of the system voltage available.

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0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

AMBIENT TEMPERATURE (°C)

10 SIZE COIL

120

Percent of system voltage required to maintain
average current (I-ave.) at various ambient temperatures
10 or 20 VDC Coil Operating Range: \ \ \
12 or 24 VDC Coil Operating Range: / / /

110
100
90
80
70
60
50
-20 -10

I-Average = (I-Threshold + I-Maximum) ÷ 2
The graphs illustrate the operating range of HydraForce
standard coils on the SP valves. The graphs show the voltage required to continuously maintain average current. The
voltage supplies sufficient power to reach maximum current on
an intermittent basis. Since it is recommended to use the SP
valve with a closed-loop current controller, a voltage drop of
1.5V across the controller has been taken into consideration in
these graphs.

Percent of system voltage required to maintain
average current (I-ave.) at various ambient temperatures
10 or 20 VDC Coil Operating Range: \ \ \
12 or 24 VDC Coil Operating Range: / / /

-20 -10

PERCENT OF NOMINAL
SYSTEM VOLTAGE

For proportional valves, performance depends on the current
in the coil. Coil current is a function of the applied voltage and
the resistance in the coil. Increasing voltage will increase the
current level while increasing resistance will decrease the
current level. In most mobile equipment electrical systems
the applied voltage is not controlled; instead it varies around
the nominal battery voltage. In the case of battery-operated
vehicles the voltage decreases continually until the battery is
recharged. The internal resistance of the coil is a function of
the material used in the coil winding, and the ambient temperature around the coil. As the temperature of the coil winding
increases, the electrical resistance increases. This results in
a decrease of the current in the coil, which can decrease the
output of a proportional valve. To assure that constant current
is delivered to the coil regardless of this change in resistance,
a closed-loop current controller should be used.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

AMBIENT TEMPERATURE (°C)

Coil Electrical Rating
Valve Sizet

Coil Voltaget

Maximum Control Current

08t

10t

1170 ±115 mA

08t

12t

1000 ±100 mA

10t

10t

1320 ±120 mA

10t

12t

1100 ±100 mA

Note: I-Threshold varies from product to product. Refer to
the Flow vs. Current graph shown for each product.
The tolerance is the same as that given for I-Max.

2.002.1