Deep dive into Victron solar controller- battery settings.

sarabande

sarabande

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In process of RTFM. For a change :)

There is no setting for standard boat domestic lead acid battery, so I am moving to the Expert Mode (Ho ! Ho! ) where the controller wishes to be told the following voltage settings for the charging process. (Figures are the default)

AbsorptionV - 14.9

FloatB - 13.8

Equalisation -16.7


All suggestions for the voltage figures for good quality (Vetus) batteries gratefully received. Equalisation is not presently relevant as I have only 1 battery in my test rig.


TIA
 
sarabande said:
In process of RTFM. For a change :)
There is no setting for standard boat domestic lead acid battery, so I am moving to the Expert Mode (Ho ! Ho! ) where the controller wishes to be told the following voltage settings for the charging process. (Figures are the default)
All suggestions for the voltage figures for good quality (Vetus) batteries gratefully received. Equalisation is not presently relevant as I have only 1 battery in my test rig.


TIA
Click to expand...
Aren't these figures on the data sheet for the battery concerned
 
Figures are for a Tubular Plate PzS traction battery, Vic. I have not yet found data suitable for a simple lead-acid one, and all the Victron recommendations are for rather specialised batteries.

My Ctek charger manual is full of advice about different voltages, but I am reluctant to treat my Victron 100/15 smartsolar controller as a complicated multi-stage charger. Perhaps we need to be less rigorous and keep charging rates simple, but Annageek used to be super precise about the charging values.
 
Vetus Marine 108Ah, CCA 733 at present, on a home test rig with 20W solar panel into Victron 100/15 controller. Moving the kit to 2 x 40W panels on the boat in the next couple of weeks where there are 2 Vetus batteries, when I have 'learned' about charging profiles.

and I might be installing

2 x Rolls AGM 210Ah, with 120W of solar panels on board for a swinging mooring. It's all a bit undetermined ATM but Rolls have good technical advice heading my way as soon as Canada wakes up.. And I am likely to get huge amounts of sun only intermittently on the mooring, hence going for a Victron SmartSolar 100/30 to optimise the harvesting.
 
sarabande said:
Vetus Marine 108Ah, CCA 733 at present, on a home test rig with 20W solar panel into Victron 100/15 controller. Moving the kit to 2 x 40W panels on the boat in the next couple of weeks where there are 2 Vetus batteries, when I have 'learned' about charging profiles.

and I might be installing

2 x Rolls AGM 210Ah, with 120W of solar panels on board for a swinging mooring. It's all a bit undetermined ATM but Rolls have good technical advice heading my way as soon as Canada wakes up.. And I am likely to get huge amounts of sun only intermittently on the mooring, hence going for a Victron SmartSolar 100/30 to optimise the harvesting.
Click to expand...

Google doesn't come up with any results for the Vetus battery. If they are SLA batteries i'd definitely disable the equalisation and set absorption to 14.4v with 13.4v for float.
 
These are the settings I have configured for my 110ah SLA Numax lead acid. I have automatic equalisation disabled, so it would only happen if I triggered it manually.

Absorption 14.50V
Float 13.50V

IMG_2966.PNG
 
OK, so this is a very simple question, probably with a complicated answer involving Puekert, Galvani, and St Elmo.

Why don't equalise SLA batteries pls ?
 
...and any 24V folks, careful when equalising FLA as the recommended value is over 30V and certain el. float switches don't seem to like that. Have two dead ones to prove it :rolleyes:
imho, if you have to equalise, best to turn off all service breakers or main switch
 
sarabande said:
In process of RTFM. For a change :)

There is no setting for standard boat domestic lead acid battery, so I am moving to the Expert Mode (Ho ! Ho! ) where the controller wishes to be told the following voltage settings for the charging process. (Figures are the default)

AbsorptionV - 14.9

FloatB - 13.8

Equalisation -16.7


All suggestions for the voltage figures for good quality (Vetus) batteries gratefully received. Equalisation is not presently relevant as I have only 1 battery in my test rig.


TIA
Click to expand...
What solar reg are you using? My smart solar reg doesn't need you to go into Expert mode to change the battery settings.
 
This may not be applicable to OP but I end to smile at the concept of bulk and float charge voltages on a solar array controller when in reality you have limited sun and limited solar power so solar is always struggling to keep up let alone top off your battery charging. ol'will
 
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