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owenfi avatar image
owenfi asked

Quattro with no battery and no solar

Sorry to ask yet another no-battery question, but I believe my situation is a bit different from the sources I've been able to find so far.


I currently have a lithium (LiFeP04) battery bank, that is below freezing (10F/-12C) so I can't charge it in a camper van. I'd like to connect the shore power, which goes via a breaker to the Quattro. I'd like to keep the batteries disconnected (via BlueSea switch that usually is used to cut power to the Quattro, not the other way around) while I run an electric heater from the grid power while it is hooked via the external port (i.e. not leave a door to the van open while heating). My solar will also be disabled until the batteries are up to temp.


I see the manual has recommended battery sizes, but has anyone tried this passthrough mode approach? Many answers linked above talk about low voltage alarms/ripple warnings, some say it'll work, some recommend against.


I would be doing this for hopefully < 5 hours (but perhaps from time to time if the weather is cold and the van is unused), and simply to avoid adding a dedicated outlet powered by the the shore power circuit.

MultiPlus Quattro Inverter ChargerLithium Battery
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kevgermany avatar image
kevgermany answered ·

I can't speak for the Quattro, but on the multis when switched off, mains is passed through. Breakers need to be closed of course. You should be able to check in the manual / from the circuit schematic.

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owenfi avatar image owenfi commented ·

From this diagram (outdated Quattro 120+240V, but at least the relays are labeled) which is similar to the Multiplus diagrams (and other Quattro diagrams, but obviously only have one Line connection per AC in/out), it looks like R1/2 would default to open to me, and it's somewhat supported base and this passage in the manual:

"If an external AC supply is provided, the ground relay H will open before the input safety relay closes (relay R1 or R2)." but if it passes through for the Multiplus, I plan to give it a try on the Quattro to confirm if it's the same, and works for a bit. Will confirm the answer once I do.

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owenfi avatar image owenfi commented ·

Well, in my experience, this did not work. Not sure if it would be wiring dependent, but I have my shore power coming in to AC-IN-1 and neither AC-OUT-1 nor 2 were live when the inverter was off (but shower power was verified via NCV). Somewhat disappointing but I guess I’ll just add a shore-only plug upstream from the inverter.

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kevgermany avatar image
kevgermany answered ·

What it's not showing is a switch for the inverter/charger. There needs to be on, set off.

R1/2 have to default to open to prevent the batteries discharging to mains if there is a mains outage.

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Rob Fijn avatar image
Rob Fijn answered ·

Hello @owenfi , what I do know is with a Quattro that if it gets a signal "Do Not Charge" if will work in Passthough mode. This you can see on the CCGX or Cerbo display.

This signal "Do Not Charge" should not matter if it comes via the VE.BUS or via a 2-wire BMS signal.

Hope this helps,

Rob

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owenfi avatar image owenfi commented ·
This sounds like exactly what I needed, but I wasn’t able to find it in the documentation anywhere yet.
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