I wish to add sensors to my Victron charger - is this possible?

[tudorsailor]

I recently had an issue where my engine start batteries failed. I did not realise this initially and found that they were overheated from the charger

I have a Victron Blue Power Charger IP22 12v 30amp 3 output charger for the engine start batteries and the generator start battery. The charger was installed 10 years ago.

Ideally I would like sensors from bother batteries back to the charger and also a display

I have emailed a couple of companies and so far have had no reply. So can someone recommend a supplier who can tell me if I can upgrade my setup or alternatively by a newer charger with sensors and display???

Thanks

TS

 

[PaulRainbow]

Sensors for what ?

Sounds like you might need a Victron battery monitor, which connects to the batteries. It will tell you the voltage, current, etc of one bank and just the voltage of the other. You can have a display or you can view the data on a phone or tablet, depending which model you buy.

It would be somewhat odd for the Victron charger to overheat the batteries, given your setup (assuming no connection to the domestic bank, as you didn't mention that). How hot were the batteries ?

 

[AngusMcDoon]

I recently had an issue where my engine start batteries failed. I did not realise this initially and found that they were overheated from the charger

More likely the charger is fine and the batteries overheated because they failed at the end of their life. The charger provided the power to overheat them, but it was not the underlying cause.

 

[tudorsailor]

I thought that a sensor connected to the charger stops the charge if/when the batteries get hot. On the current version of the 12/30 charger it talks about linking the charger to sensors https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Datasheet-Blue-Smart-IP22-Charger-230-VAC-EN.pdf

The current charger is only connected to the 12v engine start batteries (2 in parallel) and the 12v gen start battery. The house batteries are 24v and controlled by Mastervolt
The batteries were 70 deg C

I realise that the charger is fine. I now have new batteries (oh so cheap in Croatia - not). I am simply trying to improve the setup for the future

Thanks

TS

 

[AngusMcDoon]

I thought that a sensor connected to the charger stops the charge if/when the batteries get hot.

Do you have a temperature sensor on your batteries? I have a Victron Smart Shunt which allows a temperature sensor to be connected and that temperature is then shared with the other Victron devices by its Bluetooth network. This setup is on my domestic batteries but I expect it would work on an engine battery instead. I don't know if your charger allows the temperature sensor to be connected directly or if you need something like the Smart Shunt to connect it to.

 

[tudorsailor]

Essentially that is my question. I do not have a temperature sensor on the batteries and I too do not know if this older model charger can have a sensor connected. Hence I need to find a dealer who can tell me how to achieve want I want.
Thanks
TS

 

[Alex_Blackwood]

Essentially that is my question. I do not have a temperature sensor on the batteries and I too do not know if this older model charger can have a sensor connected. Hence I need to find a dealer who can tell me how to achieve want I want.
Thanks
TS

Why not ask Victron?

 

[lektran]

If the charger isn't the "smart" version and doesn't have bluetooth then the options mentioned in the PDF you linked won't be possible.
I think the more applicable manual is this one Blue Power IP22 Charger which doesn't seem to have any options for temperature sensing at the battery itself.

 

[tudorsailor]

It seems one cannot ask Victron directly, only their distributors. I emailed two in the UK. One has not replied. The other has but does not seem to understand what I am trying to achieve! Hence I am asking for a recommendation for a supplier who is familiar with all the many options
TS

 

[[2574]]

It seems one cannot ask Victron directly, only their distributors. I emailed two in the UK. One has not replied. The other has but does not seem to understand what I am trying to achieve! Hence I am asking for a recommendation for a supplier who is familiar with all the many options
TS

I’ve had Victron respond to questions on the Victron community: https://community.victronenergy.com/index.html

 

[PaulRainbow]

Essentially that is my question. I do not have a temperature sensor on the batteries and I too do not know if this older model charger can have a sensor connected. Hence I need to find a dealer who can tell me how to achieve want I want.
Thanks
TS

The "Smart Battery Sense" is Bluetooth, so cannot work with your charger. The sensor Angus is using also cannot be used with your charger.

Pretty sure you'll need a new charger.

In addition to the new charger you will need one of the sensors above. The "Smart Battery Sense" will only monitor battery voltage and temp. The one that Angus uses only monitors temp, but connected to the Smart Shunt, you get full battery monitoring of one battery bank and voltage of the other, all viewable on a phone or tablet. You can also bit a BMV battery monitor instead if you want a fixed display.

Temp monitoring is intended to adjust charging voltages, depending on battery temp, i'm not sure how far this goes, whether it would completely disable charging if the batteries reached a particular temperature.