question

tore-1 avatar image
tore-1 asked

Is Battery Life supposed to be used off grid with a manual genset?

Our supplier here in Norway configured multiplus ii like like that just found out, but seems like we emptied the batteries. One day the power cut off. 37v is the lowest in smartshunt history tab. So it seems multplus ii never cut off the mains as a precaution, but let the main draw to the bitter end. Probably damaged the 48v 200Ah battery bank.

MultiPlus-II

1350 W solar panels and MPPT

Victron carbon lead batteries 200ah

Honda 2kw genset

Feedback appreciated :)

Multiplus-IIoffgrid
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4 Answers
Paul B avatar image
Paul B answered ·

The battery life is a personal preference and wont affect cut offs

as you are using carbon lead battery I do not think it will be damaged.

Cant help much more without pictures of your settings in the ESS and knowing all the equipment thats installed


The preferences they would have set would be generic settings more than likely, so if you want to change them then please do your research and adjust as you think its needed.

or discuss this with your installer


Read all the information on how ESS works from download on the victron website.

there are lots and lots of diferant ways to configure the system suit YOUR needs. but reading and understanding is required.


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tore-1 avatar image
tore-1 answered ·

Thanks @Paul B ! The supplier who installed it is no good. It's my sister's system and she got no training or documentation of setup. One day everything stopped working. I found out Charged voltage was not set, so the smartshunt never synchronized. Asked the supplier what the setting should be and he said 48 V. Then we charged to SOC 100%. Then she got 46 volts readings within 24 hours which I found out is no good. Reading the SmartShunt troubleshooting guide I found out it should be 56,2V for an off grid ESS. So now she is running the genset and today the smartshunt will synchronize correctly. Going forward she will run the genset when hits SOC 60%. She is getting between 200 and 750wh per day from the panels and use approx an average of 1200wh per day. I am now looking into how best can protect the ESS against draining the batteries. The Multiplus settings are correct per the battery product sheet. 57,6 absorption voltage.

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tore-1 avatar image
tore-1 answered ·

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nickdb avatar image
nickdb answered ·

Isn't Battery Life a function of ESS? Something which is not meant to be used in off-grid installations.


screenshot-2021-11-13-at-141839.png

https://www.victronenergy.com/media/pg/Energy_Storage_System/en/ess-introduction---features.html


6 comments
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tore-1 avatar image tore-1 commented ·
Thanks @nickdb! I don't understand how an authorized dealer can install a system like this and not configure it correctly. Cheers.
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nickdb avatar image nickdb ♦♦ tore-1 commented ·
The thing with technical people is sometimes they like to rewrite the book because they believe they know better, or in their opinion, it works better going off piste.

When there are problems, it is always best to go back to basics.

That guide has almost all the info you need to find your way.

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tore-1 avatar image tore-1 nickdb ♦♦ commented ·

received-611183376747614.jpegreceived-599358994720860.jpegThanks again @nickdb . We just completed charging the batteries and did a manual sync of the smartshunt. Now I'm hoping the voltage wont drop below 50,7 as long as we stay above SOC 60? received-940298946578860.jpeg

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JohnC avatar image JohnC ♦ tore-1 commented ·

@Tore

Don't be too concerned at the V dropping under load, especially with pb batts. This a snip from my own system shunt just now..

1636857466382.png

I've positioned the cursor at the load peak, and the V is pretty 'ordinary', but SOC right then was 97%.

There's 2 heavy load cycles there from dishwasher water heater cycles. And some passing rainclouds to mess the curves up, but note that it soon returns to Absorb V. The Current tailing then nearly to 7A, where I have it set to drop to Float.

Offgrid, NO ESS, don't need nor want it..

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1636857466382.png (82.8 KiB)
tore-1 avatar image tore-1 JohnC ♦ commented ·

received-1235542353591349.jpegThanks @JohnC . That makes sense. Your loads are heavy though. If you look at my sister's voltage under load she is drawing 0,8A and after 19 hours since charge (we reset the smartshunt when charge current was 7,9A and 56,2V) her SOC is now 94 and only 49,75V.

received-158966146406896.jpeg


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JohnC avatar image JohnC ♦ tore-1 commented ·
@Tore

I'd consider that normal. Can also change a little with batt temp and type. Best to avoid the charts on the web which compare V with SOC, I've never seen any that are useful for my floodeds, even when new..

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