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litninrod13 avatar image
litninrod13 asked

Battery only charges to 60%

First some background:

I'm setting up a new system at my weekend cabin. I've been running solar for 6 years with lead acid, but this new set up is using LiFePO4. I'm using 4 - Time USB 12v 100Ah batteries connected in series to create a 48v battery bank. I have a Camway battery monitor with a shunt.

I have a Victron SmartSolar MPPT 150/45 powered by 4 new 350 watt solar panels. I have the rotary switch set to position 7 for LiFePO4. I have verified through the app that the SmartSolar unit recognizes it as a 48v system and is using the absorption and float values listed in the manual.

I got the system up and running Sunday Nov 19, then went home for the work week. When I got back here Wednesday Night (Nov 22), my battery monitor shows 60.5% after 3 days of charging and no load. This morning Nov 23 The unit came on and stayed in bulk for 15 seconds, then absorption for about 2 hours before going into float. My battery monitor still shows 60.5%, and does not indicate that it is charging.

Now the questions:

Why won't the system charge beyond 60%?

The SmartSolar acts like it thinks I'm at 100%. I notice there are no battery capacity or SOC settings in the app for the SmartSolar controllers like there are with the SmartShunt I've use previously, so I can't tell if it recognizes the system as 100Ah or try to reset/synchronize the SOC.

Are there settings I need to change on the Victron 150/45?

Is there possibly an issue with my batteries or monitor/shunt (both new)?

MPPT SmartSolar
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3 Answers
Glen avatar image
Glen answered ·

Hey litninrod13,

What is the voltage reading of the system it should be around 57.6 at absorption and 55.2 at float at 100% SOC. If this is correct the Charge Controller is working and the Shunt needs to be synchronized to reflect the true state of the charge.

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litninrod13 avatar image litninrod13 commented ·

image000000-1.jpgThese are the default settings for absorption and float

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litninrod13 avatar image litninrod13 commented ·
I'll have to check the Camway manual to see if I can synchronize the shunt. But how would I know if it actually is 100% to synchronize it to 100%? I don't want to tell it that 60% is 100%.
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kevgermany avatar image kevgermany ♦♦ litninrod13 commented ·
The Victron monitors self synchronise once fully charged parameters are met. No idea about camway stuff. But from the charger shots, it looks like the batteries are full and the solar controller recognised full and shut down.
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litninrod13 avatar image litninrod13 commented ·
I had to find a video for the Camway battery monitor, but it did need to be synchronized. Thanks for the help!
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kevgermany avatar image
kevgermany answered ·

The solar controllers work on battery voltage and current.

It would be good to see the Victron connect status and history screens for the charger.

What battery monitor are you using?

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litninrod13 avatar image litninrod13 commented ·
The battery monitor is a Camway - similar to the Victron BMV 700
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litninrod13 answered ·

Update: I plugged my refrigerator into the inverter to create a load. The battery monitor immediately started showing a charging state, and it's up to 62.4% now. Was it holding at 60% because I had no load on it at all? I'll update if the % continues to rise.

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litninrod13 avatar image litninrod13 commented ·
Another update: It's about 30 minutes since I plugged the fridge in. The Camway battery monitor is no longer indicating that it's charging, and it topped out at 62.4%
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