I tried to send a number type of 4 to turn the charger off using a custom control node, but instead of turning off the battery charger, it just turned off the entire unit.
I think you need to use VE.Bus System Control node which is used to control MultiPlus devices.
Also, Off mode turns off whole Multiplus (inverter and charger), I think you may want to use Inverter Only mode (=2).
This is a quick test I did on my MultiPlus Compact 1600VA, I suspect it should be same on MultiPlus II.
Thanks for taking the time to look at this. You’re right, off mode does turn off the inverter and charger.
I am trying to leave the Multiplus in state 3 (on) but also while it is on, turn off the battery charger only, that way i can still pass AC to my loads but not charge the battery.
I played around with this last night and i found a temporary work around, basically i’m using a custom node to set the MaxChargeCurrent to 0
It just seems like there has to be an easier way. Surely there is a VE.Bus system control that will allow you to charge or not charge the battery when AC is available.
The system does not have separate charge/invert components. It is one system that switches between the two modes, so it either inverts, with no grid, or charges, with passthru.
It is not architected to behave differently.
You would have to get creative to try force it to do what you want.
I was kind of worried that may be the case, I haven’t tried this out yet, but in the VE Configure 3 app, it appears that there IS an option to Enable or Disable the charger by setting that check box. Does this mean if you disable the charger in this app that it would also shut off the incoming grid load and possibly switch to inverter only?
If it does in fact leave the grid intact and passes through AC to my loads but does NOT charge my battery, then this is what I am looking to do. Might try this tonight just to see what it does. If it does work, then there should be a ve.bus path i could use to set the charge mode in node-red.
If you have the ESS assistant setup ie this is a grid tied system then you could use scheduled charging or minimum SoC to change the charging behaviour during the day.
I’ve been been curious to try out ESS but haven’t enabled it yet. I will have to try it out and see how it goes. Thanks for the options WhiteCitySolar.
I think based on all the comments here it is safe to say that there isn’t a way to just turn the battery charger on and off exclusively . I’m really surprised you can’t, because it seems like a trivial thing to do for such a capable device.
Thanks everyone for for your comments, I think we will call this one closed!
Setting MaxChargeCurrent=0 typically leads to a slight discharge situation.
I made good experience to keep it at 1A with a 15kWh battery. This leads to a stable SOC.
In my case, it would be for charging only with the incoming DC current. Most of my solar panels are connected via a Fronius inverter on the AC side. But a small amount is connected via a SmartSolar MPPT. In summer, and hopefully in autumn too, the DC side deliveres enough energy to fully charge my battery. So, it would be more efficient to use the DC current for charging.
