Good evening,
We just witnessed that the choice in VRM console is changed about the equalization of lead acid batteries without updating any firmware on the installs.
Before, choice, after EQ go to float or after EQ go to absorption, now, that choice is gone in VRM.
Tomorrow, we will check a local install directly from a GX display, and see it works still from there…
Any others noticed this recently?
Regards, Jeroen.
Good evening,
@lxonline @Barbara @nickdb @dognose
One of my colleges and myself already checked it, there is now a button, “interrupt and go to float”, that doesn’t work either as it stays then in absorption, so we are forced to switch charging completely to OFF now.
Anybody witnessing the same issue?
We think it’s in the latest GX firmware update, as till about 2 weeks ago that menu was still the same…and working perfect…
Please set it back to the previous settings, as these lead acid installs are now “cooking” big time…(If used as normal once a month).
We advised to our customers to NOT use EQ till solved…
Regards, Jeroen.
Hi, lx has asked about this on the internal groups. Since most of us have emigrated to lithium land it isn’t something that would be easily noticed or checked.
Hi, could you screenshot what you are seeing, and ideally show what it was before? Helps with context and finding the right people to chat to. Thanks
Good afternoon,
No, we checked, not one has its batteries full at the moment and then the EQ charging is not possible and doesn’t open that page.
Before, EQ charge and back to float or EQ charge and back to absorption buttons.
Now, EQ charge and back to absorption only, the float button is missing, both in console (local and VRM).
Regards, Jeroen.
Good evening,
We pinpointed that it must have happened between GX firmware V3.72 and V3.75, maybe that helps?
Regards, Jeroen.
Yeah, that’s a known bug in the new GX firmware. The “go to float” option is gone and the interrupt button doesn’t work. Best bet for now is to avoid EQ entirely and manually switch to float. Hope Victron patches it soon
Is this the new or the old UI?
Good evening,
Indeed, that’s what we told our install owners Monday evening, do not equalize till solved!
2 big batteries are now permanently damaged due to it, bended plates were discovered and now with one only 1/3 capacity left in the cells and one with a broken cell, fully overcooked not going to float after 1 hour EQ but staying in absorption for another time, 8+K through the drain and I hope we will not discover more…
Regards, Jeroen.
Good evening,
Old UI.
Regards, Jeroen.
Try the new one. The old UI is no longer maintained and is starting to show its age.
Good evening,
Something changed in the menu what was perfectly working before, lots of lead acid owners do not know what happened suddenly overcooking their bats, but, tomorrow I will check one when in absorption and then check again all, VRM, old/new gui, should not make any difference with these buttons btw as it is programmed in the advanced page of the inverters as since forever ago.
Regards, Jeroen.
The UI controls how settings and controls are rendered. As firmware changes the UI is changed. If one UI is not maintained, those settings stop working correctly. In 3.80 the old UI no longer shows vebus AC/DC data, as reported on several other topics.
This is what happens when it is not maintained.
I have raised this with the teams but cannot speak on Victron’s behalf wrt to it being expected or not or the probability of it being fixed.
The reality is new features are not included in the old UI.
The current one has been out a long time and is the future.
It is time to change.
Good evening,
Since the firmware of 2018 where is mentioned some settings for EQ last time, no changes are mentioned in the firmware update sheet about these EQ settings, till 3.72 all worked perfectly and since 3.75 this changed without any notice, so, how do customers and installers know that it is changed, only after updating and we found that this is overcooking bats now…with the done damage already…
But, tomorrow we will show all info.
Regards, Jeroen.
It is likely a regression due to other changes. Not intentional.
The more info you share, the more we can try raise it.
Good evening,
Indeed, that’s why I raised the bell Monday, and till today we discovered 2 bats damaged already, till now we have to wait if it will be changed again very soon to “go to float after EQ” as an option, as that is the normal setting after an EQ charge…
Btw, I had to fill just under 50 liters of demi-water in my own bats that evening at my farm, imagine the mess and these lost also a significant amount of life time and charge, but still do work…one barely…
We just got news again, it also damaged all the catalyzers of the bats we have seen so far, as the gasses passed to much to long creating to much heat in these, another additional damage.
Tomorrow I will check my farm as well as I have 24 of these cats there.
Regards, Jeroen.
Thank you. Appreciate the impact. I have raised this, so hopefully we can get someone to help.
If you can test on 3.90~4 as well if possible, some other UI fixes are there, not certain if this may help your issue.
Good evening,
I went to my farm today, “the test site” and see the results.
Here we go, so we “lead acid” installs have to interrupt to go to float or to absorption manually, no, completely wrong.
Before you choose, after EQ go to float or absorption as was normal.
So, now we have to physically stop EQ, and choose, see the point…so overcooking occurs big time.
Now I will show the “new” gui.
See the screenshot …
It’s over the old gui, my dear…
So next,
There in the “new” one I do not have anything to choose from …even worse …
So, please, revert to the “older” firmware because we cannot wait for an EQ charge an hour and then we have to interrupt to float or absorption ourselves.
Besides, these pictures are from a 24g processed phone, so, see my point now.
I used the first edition books from Victron in my study in the 90-ties, and Reinout was correct, now ..sorry to say, but here with lead acid its now a disaster.
Please, please, change next GX update asap to before.
Check this.
It went just some minutes to float at about midnight, but check this without any intervention, after it went again to EQ…
Please, solve this now asap NOW!
Regards, Jeroen.
Good night,
Tomorrow I will not be available, 3 flights outbound, then at Sea.
Hopefully back in town somewhere next week.
Can we be sure its then solved?
Regards, Jeroen.
Hi Jeroen,
Your post here was escalated and the VRM data was reviewed by the developers. They have an explanation, and don’t think this is a firmware issue.
@wiki21 - you said this is a known issue? Can you give me more info on where you saw this?
@Jeroen2 - you said lots of lead acid owners are suddenly overcooking their batteries? Do you have any more links to these other complaints? Were these on this community or somewhere else?
I need to see some more examples and information from others, before I can say definitively there is some unknown bug occurring here.
This information I have got back from the Venus OS developers is:
The inverter/charger controls equalisation process. The GX device can only send a request to the inverter/charger to start it. Once it starts, the inverter/charger raises the charge voltage 1V above absorption (2V on 24V, 4V on 48V), limits charge current to 25% of the configured value, holds that for one hour, then goes to float by itself. The one exception - if the battery voltage drops too low, it goes back to bulk.
You can also start equalisation and forced absorption from the on/off/charger-only switch, without any GX device.
The interrupt menu (restart absorption / go to float / do not interrupt) has been the same since 2018. Nothing changed there between v3.72 and v3.75. Those options are only for stopping it early. There has never been a setting for what happens after equalisation ends.
On your site the system was inverting during equalisation. The charge current was held at 25% and the loads were higher than that, so the battery discharged and the voltage dropped a long way. When equalisation finished, the inverter/charger saw a discharged battery and went back to bulk. That is working as expected.
It appears that on 28 September someone switched equalisation to forced absorption while the discharge was still going. With that load it could never reach absorption voltage, so it went back to a bulk charge state again.
Before you equalise again, make sure the loads stay under that reduced charge current for the full hour. If the battery is discharging, it isn’t equalising.
