This site is now in read-only archive mode. Please move all discussion, and create a new account at the new Victron Community site.
Hi, my Vision 6fm100d-x battery is making noises, faint clicking, bubbling noises when in float mode. The battery is new. It's an AGM sealed battery. Is this normal? I have set the battery settings on the MPPT to the manufacturer's recommendations (below) Thanks
Those could be sound of gassing (hydrogen).
It should not happen during float stage.
Check your charger voltage settings for absorb and float stages.
So you arent charging with more than 30A? Is temp compensation on?
Maybe reduce charging amps. Bubbling is not good. The battery will dry out fast.
My settings look like this on the app:
I have tested the battery with a multimeter while charging and it reads 13.7v. I have now disconnected the solar panels but the battery is still making faint squeaking, bubbling noises
If you are getting 20A from the charger over a longer period?
The stats say it can take 30A max not 30A continuous. Your charger is 20A so also quite high if it is continuous
Is the battery warming up at all?
Hi @danjorourke
This is normal. The bubbles are actually H2 and O2 from the opposie plates, and designed to recombine back to water within the battery. A batt like this is under slight internal pressure, and even in your own batt specs you'll see mention of a 'Safety Valve'. If there's any evidence of discharge there, like a fluid or crusting, then you may have an issue.
The bubbles actually help to prevent stratification of the electrolyte.
That said, it's not a good idea to overcharge them, either by too high a V or too long an Absorb phase.
On ones that can be maintained it can be replaced.
Yours cannot. You need to either reduce the charge current or voltage.
I note from another post you're using a /20 mppt. So for a solar charge I'd go for the 14.4V Abs you're using (but not the 14.7V of the maker's upper limit). For Float, maybe 13.5-13.6. Don't Equalize sealed batts, that's just forcing bubbles, designed to do what you're getting naturally. And take another look at the Temp Comp the maker states.
Use the Adaptive Abs time, but you may need to fiddle a little to set this up too. In your Expert level settings you'll see a Tail value. Maybe set that to 3A or so, and that will terminate Abs when the batt can't accept more than that. With this though, any loads happening at the same time have to be compensated for, unless you have a shunt networked in.
Yeh, bubbles can get hung up from the heavier Abs V, and they can still be produced during Float. An even lower Storage-type V might minimise them though. I use Floodeds, and even when topping them up well into Float phase the 'accumulated' bubble releases can be quite violent. Definitely safety glasses territory..
