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geomz avatar image
geomz asked

Is it possible to configure rate limiter to less than 13A on Quattro

Currently the rate limiter is limited to no less than 13A on my Quattro, which was made available only after an update, lowering that from a much higher limit.


Are these limits physical/electrical or are they software/firmware?


I'd like to see the rate limiter set to something similar to my multi (which allows 7.5A) or even lower.

Sometimes we have available some sketchy power, that is able to reliably provide at most maybe 5-7 Amps. While not great, it's better than zero :) And it's 24/7.


Ideally, I'd like to push this thought further and see if there can be a mode the Quattro or Multi can be placed into, which leaves it still inverting all the time, but also allowing it to continually trickle charge from a power input.

I realize this is might not be possible, since you're probably using the same transformer to move power in/out, depending on shore power available.

But I figured I'd ask in case it trips off some "creative engineering" bells within the Victron mothership :)

MultiPlus Quattro Inverter Chargerbattery chargingLithium Battery
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boekel avatar image
boekel answered ·

It's a hardware limit, there is a trick I use to get around it, it might or might not work for you, it basically disconnects the system from the AC-input when loads are higher than the supply can handle.

see this topic:

https://community.victronenergy.com/questions/8933/example-of-using-assistants-partial-off-grid-boat.html

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geomz avatar image
geomz answered ·

I thought it might be hardware related, alas :)

In situations such as I describe above, I just have a plugin 24V charger that only draws about 5amps AC, and I use that to constantly "back charge" the batteries, while leaving the inverter alone, still inverting.

I use this solution and prefer it much better than having the inverter constantly bounce in and out of powerassist with really sketchy input power.

I love the powerassist feature and it's quite handy when load exceeds line occasionally. But something feels "wrong" just using it and hammering powerassist constantly :)

Please correct me if I'm wrong and am worrying too much about that part.

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boekel avatar image boekel ♦ commented ·

that can work beautifully (separate charger) especially if the input power has a low or fluctuating voltage.

Only downside is some extra conversion losses, but at low power this is probably not a problem. it gives you a good constant island grid, plus isolation from the input.

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Paul B avatar image
Paul B answered ·

Just a Idea Gomez and @Boekel

What would happen if you setup ESS on the Quattro inverter and set the grid point to say 1500 wattsI have only done this on my Multi maybe it will work on the quattro as well


even though you have NO PV set the grid type to other and set it to no export


would that not limit the incoming power to 7 amps


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boekel avatar image boekel ♦ commented ·

No, it would not, it would try to get 1500W continuously, but the settings in the quattro still apply to the maximum grid current. And there are some bugs in ESS that causes it to not follow the maximum grid current setting in some situations.

Also , LOM detection doesn't work well on weak grid connections.

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