amps

New to the group. To lay the groundwork for the question:

• We have a 50 amp fifth wheel.
• We bought the unit used from a private seller, very happy overall.
• The solar / Victron was installed by the seller or he had it done.
• We have 4x Battle Born 100ah LifePo4, 4x 190W solar panels, 2x MPPT, SmartBMV and the Victron 12/3000/120-50
• We (the wife, the dog and I) are fulltimers, three months now!

We have been, in the past three months, mostly on shore power, and always on (confirmed) 50 amps. We found that one of the monitor panels (not listed above) showed us at 30 amps continually. Reached out to seller, he indicated that if I had the inverter on, I'd be limited to 30 amps. Turned it to Off, and I'm back to 50 amps and I can run the air conditioners. Excellent for the Texas heat we'd been dealing with.

Two days ago, we relocated to a park, and were fortunate enough to park in the shade. Sure, solar will be very much reduced, but that's okay: we have 50 amps.

Tonight...the generator kicked on. Turns out we ran down the batteries to 50%. Direct DC usage in the rig, like lights, whatever else is straight DC, ran them down. With the Victron set to off, the shore power doesn't recharge the batteries. If I turn the Victron to just "Charger" (not Inverter), it will recharge the batteries, but I will still be limited to a 30 amp system.

This feels wrong to me. I'm a programmer, have been for 30 years. I'm decent at debugging, but I haven't examined all the the wiring and gotten a deeper understanding of the layout. It just feels wrong that it's this way.

When we have good sun, the batteries always get charged up the next day, even on cloudy days. We've been here, in the shade, for... two full days, I think.

I'm trying to determine if one or more of the following are true:

• Is this a standard solar implementation scenario? That there is only ONE possible charger/converter to replenish the batteries installed at one time?
• Is there a possible wiring / schematic / system design oversight or bug. (I don't have a schematic yet, I have reached out to get one, if available.)
• There would have been an original charger/converter installed on the rig, before the Victron, etc. was installed. Does anyone ever have that still wired into the system?
• Really, my only choices are "have sun" or "be limited to 30 amps even when 50 amp shore power is available"? This cannot be right.

I'm trying to determine that, if the Victron being on limits me to 30 amps, is there a different way to charge the batteries when on shore power? I know my question might be difficult to many without y'all knowing more about how it's wired up. But I'm hoping I kept my questions as free of the implementation as possible and focused on generalizations, and typical scenarios.

For the moment, there's a chill coming into the area tonight and I don't need two A/C's. I'm okay with the 30 amps for now, and I'll get my batteries replenished. Not a long term solution.

I truly appreciate any help anyone can put forth, or any education I can glean out of your answers. I did do extensive research into solar, DC, AC, converters/chargers, inverters, MPPT, etc. before we bought the rig. I feel sort of comfortable in my general knowledge. I was a little sad I didn't get to do the install myself so I'd REALLY know it, inside and out, but the deal was just too good to pass up and our seller was a pleasure to work with. But I lack the intimate knowledge that installing it myself would have gained.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

- Will B.
Somewhere in Kansas at the moment.

hello all,

Spent a lot of time trying to find the answer to what might be a simple question. A buying guide would help iron this out.

I have two engines, one engine goes to an isolator which charges the following

two x XV31MF (aft) for the bow thruster (Total 220ah)
three x XV31MF (stern) for entertainment and engine start.(Total 330ah)

Reading the posts a 500am might be ok? My concern is the engines which are large volvo Penta start from battery bank 2. The batteries are say 1000 cold crank amps that’s 3000 CCA the shunts go up to 2000 amps.

So I am confused what amps I look at for the shunt

CCA is a lot higher than the amps

the above two groups are in parallel

I just installed a new BMW 712, it updated the firmware twice 2.XX something then to upgraded to 4.XX version so far so good. But it always shows about 19 Amps no - or + just 19 amps. So I started to look for the drain but there isn't any. I turned everything on and the amps never change. Volts do drop with the load but the amps are steady at 19 ish... So then I plugged in the charger ... guess what still says 19 amps. Being in the 5th wheel I just disconnect the - side and inserted in the shunt.

White bottom is going to the 5th wheel and Black is going to the negative side of the battery. On the battery there is nothing but the black cable.

I did connect both voltage red wires to the shunt but I haven't hooked up a second battery yet, doubt that matters

As I recall the charger was unplugged as well I never recall ever seeing a - sign for current.

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I have a BMV 712 and am testing my battery bank. I have 4 6v 230ah wire in series parallel for 460ah. I used a 1000W inverter to run a hair dryer which was pushing 600 watts which if my math is correct should be 5amps. The BMV was reading 50 amp out going this seems really wrong. am i missing something or is something really wrong

Hallo Zusammen,

habe hier ein BSC IP67 Ladegerät an einer Victron 90Ah LiPo hängen. Ladestand der Batterie ca. 50% (BMV-712) bei 13.11 Volt (Multimeter). Wie dem Screenshot zu entnehmen ist das BSC IP67 da anderer Meinung.

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Habe jetzt auch mal alles von der Batterie abgeklemmt und nur das Ladegerät angeschlossen. Gleiche Situation.

Hat wer eine Idee?

Hi All

I have a 6ooAh AGM batt bank on a sailing boat (3 x 200Ah)

What is the max safe current drain for said bank, especially with longevity in mind?

Reason:

I have a 1,6kW 230V AC watermaker and would like to run it off the batt bank through an inverter for about 30min at a time. (and some other power tools on the odd occasion)

I do have a generator so that watermaker can be run for longer periods but for 30min (making 50L of water), it would be very convenient to not use the generator, not to mention saving petrol, fumes, and noise.

I have 640W solar and 300W wind gen which should be more than enough to deal with the discharge, I believe, on a sunny day.

So, is there a rule of thumb for a max safe discharge current for (AGM in my case) Lead Acid Batteries?

My gut feeling is that 300A for an hour on a 600Ah bank should be safe. But then my 2nd gut will freak out when it sees 200A of discharge on the BMV.. Even 100A is a hell of a lot in my mind.

Regards

My Orion Tr Smart 12/12-30 Charger runs hot, and the output current folds back considerably. Anyone else with this problem? When cold, it will output 33A. When hot, it will fold back to 26A or less. Parts of the case may exceed 134dg F, in a cool (60dg F) environment. By adding a 80CFM fan above the fins, the case temperature is lowered by 20 degrees F, and the unit will continuosly output 30A. It would appear that the heat sink is undersized. Comments?

I need some advice. I have a MPPT 150/85 MC4 unit. I recently set this up and I have three banks of 4 panels in series (100w / ~18V panels). The charge controller is brand new out of the box (albeit in storage a few months) only opened a few days ago. All functions seem to work on the controller itself.

I've done my due diligence with the wiring, polarity, and confirmed each bank of panels has the expected voltage. Here's the report and I can produce the settings file for anyone if that's useful. VictronConnet_report.log

It's 9am on a sunny Saturday here in Arizona. I'm seeing 73-90 volts and no current or wattage. The batteries are calling for a charge (12VDC, bank of 4 - 6 V flooded batteries wired in series parallel). I've even reset my settings to default and even reset the unit (disconnecting all input, using battery disconnect switch I installed in the battery bay).

Did I miss something? The panels work. The CC works. The batteries are new and working to produce power for the 12V system with no issues. I've scoured the manuals to see if I missed a step but I don't see anything that I missed.

Did I get a dud? If so, how do I get support from Victron?

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Hi all,

i'm struggling to get my solar set up to charge the batterie of my battery bank.

The solar panels give the right output voltage of about 37-something volts but 0 Amps and Watts.
I've tried resetting and re-detecting the system on the EasySolar unit to no avail.
Also it gives no errors in the notifications section of the menu.

I reckon it's something relatively simple I've been omitting but I just can't get my head around it...
Any ideas and help would be appreciated.
Also let me know if you would require some more information if needed.

Here are the specifications of my set up build in on a MAN 4X4 overland camper truck.

5 x Canadian Solar CS6K-295MS panels (1475W in total).
One set of 2 panels and one set of 3 panels.

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On the picture the panels are not wired up yet but you'll get the idea.

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4x12v Victron Deep Cycle 220 Ah Gel Batteries in set up 24V / 440Ah configuration.

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Here are the readings from the Connect app

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Dear All,

I have a Smart Blue Power IP22 Charger 24v/16amp for my boat engine. I need to charge a 24v system consisting of two AMG 12 batteries (vestus marine batteries). The batteries were delivered with a voltage of each 14.2 volt and the system showed me (using a multi-meter) 28.x volt. It is my second pair of batteries having just lost the first once (chronically discharged).

Now, as I have used the new battery a bit, it shows me 24.6 volt, meassured with the multi-meter. When I connect the Smart Blue Power IP22 charger and look into the App, it says 28.x volt, but 0.0 amp., So, I'm afraid I have connected the chrarger wrongly or that it is broken (?).

Unfortunatly, the guideance in the manual is not sufficient for me as it only shows the side of the charger, not the batteries. As I was unsure whether I have connected the system in the right way, I changed the connectons, but the system still showed the same values. I would have expected that it would show me an error if I connect them in the wrong way (?).

Through this questions may not be difficult for most of you, I'd be glad to understand whether we should already see amps flowing, or should this only happen when the batteries has reached a discharge below 24v? Can I find better information on how to connect the system and is the above written (connection in different order does not change anything) an indication that the system is defect?

Thank you very much!

Olli

I'm the new owner of an off-grid system (2kW PV, 10kWh 24V Atlas-ESS LFP, BlueSolar Charger MPPT 150/70 (VE.Direct), dual MultiPlus 24-120 master & slave, with Color Control), and a novice at its care and feeding. About 10 days ago, the 7500W propane backup generator began having voltage control problems, and I cannot recharge during an extended cloudy/rainy period. I bought a Predator 2000 gas generator to serve while I wait for repairs to the propane generator.

After the required 30-hour break-in period serving loads directly, I attempted to plug the Predator (1600W steady, 2000W peak) into the cabin system using the existing A/C circuit. Apparently, the 15.5A current setting is a floor that is too high for the 13.3A maximum output. [Color Control sees AC1-In L1 as 121V and 60.3 Hz, vs. AC-Out L1 s 120V/60Hz, but Active AC Input stays Disconnected.]

I am now faced with attempting to reprogram that limit to <13A. Is that really the problem, and what hazard to the system do I face in attempting to reprogram settings?

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Maybe a dumb question. I have a lot to learn. I bought a BVM-712 to install in a new to me truck camper this weekend (2013 Lance 825). I will use the VictronConnect Android App to monitor. I note that the setup wizard will ask me to input the battery capacity. Unfortunately, I don't have a clue what my battery's AH rating is, and would appreciate advice on how best to proceed. The battery is a single 12 volt flooded lead acid. The label on top reads "MARINE-RV" ;"EXTREME CYCLE DUTY"; "Distributed by ABSS, Everett, WA." That, along with a yellow "8/18", is the only information provided. (I have reached out to the named distributer, but haven’t received a reply yet.)

My question is, how important is it for me to ascertain the battery’s capacity rating and input that into the app? Is it required for State of Charge and Time to Go? If I just guess, will the monitor self calibrate over time? If I should instead manually determine the capacity, any suggestions for how best to do that either using the BVM itself, or a DVM?

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I have a 12V 2 batteries in parallel system with two revolution power lithium 60Ah batteries with 1m of 2B&S cable running from the positive to a circuit breaker then load. The Victron shunt probe (Supply cable) is connected to the line side of the circuit breaker (I.e. always on and before any load). All load, charger and earth are connected to the correct side of the shunt with only both batteries connected to the other side.

All load components are working normally and voltage is as expected around 13V however my Victron BMV712 is only reading 7V and says that there is an idle draw of over 700A, This is definitely false.

I've tried factory reset and linking to my phone to update firmware, the errors persist.

Any Ideas what's going on or if I've done anything wrong? is the unit just faulty?

It’s currently producing 17 volts but only 0.8amps ? Is this correct ? It does not charge my leisure battery very well

I have just installed a Victron bmv 712 unit in my boat. Setup for house and started battery banks. The display shows voltage of main and auxillary batteries, but is giving a fixed amp and watt reading, both positive and both excessive, I have worked the setup program and consulted the manual, making sure all functions are turned on. I tried the synchronize and zero calibrate functions on both the head unit and phone and they do nothing. I did this with all input power shut off, batteries fully charged. Then applied fridge & other components to see the draw...no change. ie. it is not reading current or power. I tried reversing the negative battery terminals on the shunt...no change.

I see others have had similar problems but do not clearly see the answer. Is this a defective unit? Surely not the cable. I have not taken a photo of the shunt installation but will attach soon.

Thanks.

712 connections at shunt are ok, the unit keep showing 0ah .

What is wrong , no reverse shunt connection

Watt from Solar-

How to know the total of watt generated before the reduction?

i understand that the SmartSolar will send only Watt-Volts-Amp when the batteries need it but i am curious to know what is the value before.. directly coming out of the panel

Any tips?

Bonjour,

J’ai un problème avec le battery monitor BMV-702.

Même en l’absence de production d’energie, l’afficheur indique une consommation d’ampères alors que les appareils’ électrique en consomment.

J’ai pourtant respecté le plan de montage.

Merci d’avance pour vos réponses !

Hi everyone. I have 2x Sunpower E-20 327w solar panels that i'm going to install. The output of these panels is shown in the image below:

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Now, my question is about wire sizing. I will use 6AWG from the panels to the Victron 100/50 smart solar controller which will be within 3' of the batteries. 6AWG is good for 37amps effective use current, so that should be more than enough for the approx 20' fun from the panels to the controller (i'm open to other suggestions on wire size if you have advice).

My biggest concern is wiring size from the controller to the batteries. The 100/50 MPPT can only accept up to 6AWG (37amp wire). From my research, that can be a problem given the panels statistics. When the MPPT uses the extra voltage to create more charging amps, the amps can spike considerably on the MPPT output side to the batteries. The panels are approx 650w together, divided by 12v = 54.17amps potentially coming out of the 100/50 MPPT to the batteries. I know there are losses here and there, but it will still be way above the max current rating of 37amps for the MPPT's max wire receptacle size of 6AWG.

Feel free to blow my limited knowledge of all this out of the water. Im new to it all but the brain cells are firing on all cylinders, but I could be completely off the rails with it all.

I apologize if this sounds a little long winded or confusing....probably because I am confused! haha.

Looking forward to any and all advice, help. Thanks in advance.

Scrimma

I had 2x200 watt 12v nominal panels connected in series attached to my Victron 100/20 charge controller. The most watts they ever pulled was ~270 according to VictronConnect. I figured it was due to a very long cable (70 feet). So recently I added two more panels to get the panels up to 48 volts, and should be 800 watts. But in VictronConnect it's still showing only around 270 watts on a perfectly sunny day. In Connect, the voltage is showing that it has doubled since there were just two panels, so that looks good, but the amps is showing that it's been halved. Any ideas?

Hallo !

I have a 1200 watt oven that has drawed that (almost 1200 watts and approx. 45 amps) every time I have switched it on. (I bought the oven new last summer)

However, the last three times I have used the oven has used almost 3600 watts at about 125 Amps (!!).

-I get an "Overload L1" message followed by "Recovery" every time (VE.Bus).

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What could be the cause of this?

I dont understand how or why this could happen (the only other appliance i a fridge that pulls about 70 watts for a few minutes every hour).

(I have an offgrid Easysolar 3kVA (24/3000 - 150/70) with 10 kW lithium ion and 1,8 kW panels.).

Alittle disturbing that my system draws almot three times more amps than I expect, so would greatly appreciate views/solutions to this.

Eric

I have 3 domestic batteries and one engine battery. I assume all negatives go to the shut? The voltage goes down to 12.1 v yet the bmv says 100% and infinity time remaining. Any clues? Thanks

I'd like to be able to see amp hours in the Color Control instead of just watts, including input and output on all connected devices. Does anyone know of a program that can do this?

I have installed a new BMV-712 on my camper that has 2 x 12v 115AHr AGM's in parallel. I also have a separate Volt/Amp meter installed. The BMV reads current lower than what it actually is. 3-5 Amps on Charge and Discharge. 10mm cable used to connect the shunt?
I have no idea if the BMV is just not a very accurate device or how to investigate the problem

Just one more question; IT was sunny, solar panel deliver 17-18 volts, says my victron 75/15. The battery is full (over 13 v). Is that why victron only deliver 1,5 amps? If the battery was low, lets say 12,2, my victron would deliver up to max amps? My solar panel says Max 3,98 amps ....

Just help me - on my Victron connect. What is solar current and Battery current? And why is battery current higher than solar current? Is that the Mppt magic?

i have a 3000 watt inverter running off a 660 amphour 12 volt battery bank. i occasionally will pull close to 300 amps for several minutes from the battery bank. this seam like it would exceed the amp rating on the 220a smart battery protect unit. could i run 2 of these units in parallel to provide the amperage capacity? or is there another similar product. my primary desire is adjustable/programmable low voltage cut off protection.

Hello, anyone else having an issue with the app showing very low amps on the solar side. Have hooked up to old controller and VTVM, both show 10.9 amps, App shows 2.5 or less. Thx for the help.

Mike