My Victron Easy Solar 12/1600/70-16 230v MPPT 100/50, purchased from Bimble Solar in June 2018, is fitted in a campervan conversion with a single
260w PV panel rigidly fixed to the roof and a brand new Leoch Xtreme 270Ah 12v AGM battery fitted adjacent to the Easy Solar, using the factory fitted
cables and default settings. I have a 230v Electric Hook Up wired to the unit, for occasional use. The campervan circuitry is fitted via a fuse board
separated from battery by an isolating switch. This system is entirely isolated from the standard vehicle wiring.
I have been in discussion with Bimble about this, which they say the have referred onto Victron, but to date I have had no answers to my questions.
With the three position switch on the front panel in any position, charge is still getting to my battery. With it switched off overnight my plugin voltmeter read 13.9v. Mid morning, still switched off, the reading was at 14.7v.
Last week, under very clear skies, this was the scenario.
Tuesday: 8am. With the unit still OFF the reading was 13.5v
10.45am. the voltage had risen to 15.4v so I tried switching ON which had the effect of reducing the reading immediately and by 10.49am it
had reduced to 14.9v. I switched OFF again and the voltage increased rapidly back to 15.4v. When I switched ON again it seemed to regulate again
and voltage dropped to 14.9v. I did not try the CHARGER ONLY position, so I suppose it could be the effect of the inverter, but there was nothing
connected to the 230v sockets, so no draw. Wednesday: at about 10am I notice that voltage was reading as 16.1v and so I physically disconnected my pv panel cables from the unit. By evening
voltage had dropped back to 13.1v and overnight to 13v.
The off switch does not seem to isolate the battery from the charger and the voltage rises way too high, so the large amount of money spent on an all-in-one one system that would keep my battery in good condition, with minimal input from me, seems to be wasted.
The unit only ever sits on Bulk, according to the blue charging lights and I suspect that I may have lost some capacity in my battery due to overcharging.
If someone can assure me that this is all perfectly normal behaviour, then I can an at least know that I have wasted my money on a Victron product that doesn't do what I was led to believe it would. I would much rather that someone from Victron took responsibility for, what I still consider, a faulty unit, and helped me to get this sorted, before it totally fries my battery.
Yours frustratedly
