question

michaeltenerife avatar image
michaeltenerife asked

What change do I need to do to see Bulk/absorption/float status on Vrm instead of Ext. Control?

Greetings everyone,

What change do I need to do to see Bulk/absorption/float status on Vrm instead of Ext. Control that I have constantly now (see attachments)?


screenshot-from-2022-05-05-11-03-25.png



screenshot-from-2022-05-05-11-03-39.png

The little but of float is because I just connected the MPPT to the Cerbo yesterday.


Thank you

VRM
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1 Answer
Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) avatar image
Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) answered ·

Hi @Michaeltenerife,

In an "externally controlled" system, the built in charge algorithms are disabled. So Bulk, Abs, and float algorithms are no longer used.

This is most often done when a system charge state is being managed by an external lithium battery BMS for example.

There is a little bit more about it in the manual here.


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michaeltenerife avatar image michaeltenerife commented ·
E

ohh, ok. So if understand it well: because I connected my pylontech battery to the cerbo as well, the battery is controlling automatically the mppt? There is no need for configuration here anymore? From Victron advice for pylontech batterie charging configuration (https://www.victronenergy.com/live/battery_compatibility:pylontech_phantom) the following information was given: screenshot-from-2022-05-05-11-34-43.pngEven though I introduced these values in the MPPT configuration, this is now overwritten by the battery for it's optimum care. Is that so?


Thank you for confirming.

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Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) avatar image Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) ♦♦ michaeltenerife commented ·

For the most part, yes, more or less :)

Following the installation instructions as written in that Pylontech battery compatibility guide is exactly the right thing to do. They have been applied to 1000's of reliable systems over many years.

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michaeltenerife avatar image michaeltenerife Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) ♦♦ commented ·
I did follow that guide but the MPPT was not doing any absorption fase anymore and in a victron distrubution shop, they recommended me to set both absorption anf float voltage value with one extra volt: absorption 53 and float 52.

Now all this doesn't matter right? (I am still not sure from you answer as you say it does matter to set up the recommended voltages but now the battery is taking command.)

Thank you for clarifying.


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Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) avatar image Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) ♦♦ michaeltenerife commented ·
It's normal that after connecting a Pylontech battery to a GX device that the Victron MPPT will no longer report 'absorption phase' any more.


No adjustment of those settings will change that situation of the MPPT moving from absorption phase to external control when connected to a managed battery.

There is no absorption phase as such for a lithium battery, there is a target voltage and in almost all instances the lithium battery will be able to absorb all current available until it is reached, then current is reduced to almost nothing.

But this is only very general advice, and if your Victron distributor is advising more specific things to your situation, then I would take their advice and follow their instructions over mine.

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michaeltenerife avatar image michaeltenerife Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) ♦♦ commented ·
Thank you, I went back to the Victron MPPT config and put it back as described on the website as I see power coming into the battery although battery is full, so no need to have it set higher.

I did see though the the tail current is disabled on the MPPT config. Is that good?

I guess the blue LEDs on the MPPT are not relevant anymore.


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Peter Chambers avatar image Peter Chambers commented ·

Thanks for clarifying. It would be useful for the display on the Touch screen to show the charge decision that the BMS decides. The LEDs on the Quattro show Bulk, Absorption, etc even while the screen displays Ext.Control. The Touch screen used to show the charging mode in previous firmware revisions (before last Autumn).

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derrick thomas avatar image derrick thomas Peter Chambers commented ·

In a system with a managed battery the led status is meaningless. Regardless of what the LEDs are indicating, the CV and CC are being controlled by the BMS.

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