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peter-du-plessis avatar image
peter-du-plessis asked

Lithium Battery Charging

I am a first time Victron customer and have installed a 6kW Solar array into 250/100 MPPT solar charger feeding a 13.5kWh LiPo Balancell battery, and a Quattro 48/8000/100 Inverter charger linked to the grid and critical loads.

I have setup the battery voltages as per the supplier specs, but neither the solar charger nor the Quattro will charge the battery, but reach and maintain "Float voltage" without charging. The battery shows a 30% SOC at around 51v and "float" at 56,5vdc but idles at 0,5 A

Any ideas as to where to correct the setup??


MultiPlus Quattro Inverter Charger
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Justin Cook avatar image
Justin Cook answered ·

@Peter_du_Plessis, this sounds like it may be an issue with the battery BMS; it sounds like it may not be allowing more than .5A charge current into it. A possible reason for this is if the temperature is too low to allow high-current charging, or if perhaps the BMS shut down the charge/discharge contactors due to previous low-voltage - or, possibly, a defective BMS. Unfortunately, since this battery pack is not tested to work with Victron components (you can find a complete list of supported and approved batteries here), there's very little that we can offer in the way of troubleshooting beyond suggesting that you double-check all DC cabling connections and fusing to ensure that you don't just have a loose connection or blown fuse somewhere, and failing that, suggesting that you contact the battery manufacturer for troubleshooting assistance.

Edit: I'll also note that you're nearly 2kW over on that MPPT; the 250/100 nominal power handling is only 4.3kW per the spec sheet.

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peter-du-plessis avatar image peter-du-plessis commented ·

Thanks for the advice ... The battery was working fine using only the Quattro with a Fronius grid-tied MPPT. I then removed the Fronius and rearranged the PV array to supply the Victron 250/100 MPPT battery charger. Connected all to the same CCGX ... The battery was at 99% SOC when I changed over, and has since been discharging.

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peter-du-plessis avatar image peter-du-plessis commented ·

Is there a possibility that the Quattro and 250/100 DC charge settings be in conflict?

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Justin Cook avatar image Justin Cook ♦♦ peter-du-plessis commented ·

@Peter_du_Plessis hmmmm not exactly... do you have DVCC enabled in the CCGX from when you had your Fronius connected? I'm not familiar with the Fronius-coupled systems since we don't really have them here in the US, but I know there are a number of settings related to that coupled system that would likely need to change when in a non-coupled configuration.

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peter-du-plessis avatar image peter-du-plessis commented ·

Checked all DC wiring fuses and connectors .. All good. Nominal PV power at 48V is 5,8kW ... 4,35kW @ 36v ... Summertime here in South Africa and maximum loads recorded thus far are around 5kW on the MPPT (midday) when the grid is off. The moment the grid is "on" the MPPT falls to zero. ???

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ejrossouw avatar image ejrossouw peter-du-plessis commented ·

@Peter_du_Plessis Are you running any assistants, ESS? Did you change the Fronius settings in the ESS? What are the actual readings on the battery terminals?

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