question

harrison-wilson avatar image
harrison-wilson asked

System design 24/7 operations

The goal is to design a system that can run for 24 hours a day for 10 days while being able to continuously operate at 120A for the 12V bank and 66A for the 24V bank. The plan is to split the 12V and the 24V banks into two (Primrary and secondary) and alternate between charging one side and using the other.

This is where I am at with the preliminary design.

  • Battery Bank 1 (12V):
    • Capacity: 440Ah
    • Full Load Amps: 370A
    • Running Amps: 120A
    • Depth of Discharge (DOD): 50%
    • Charging Sources:
      • 12V/125A Alternator
      • 12V/70A Charger
  • Battery Bank 2 (24V):
    • Capacity: 220Ah
    • Full Load Amps: 135.5A
    • Running Amps: 66A
    • Depth of Discharge (DOD): 50%
    • Charging Sources:
      • 24V/60A Alternator
      • 24V/35A Charger
  • AC Power System:
    • Input: AC 230V
    • Generator: 5.5kW
    • Inverter/Charger/UPS: 24/5000 Victron Quattro
    • Running Wattage: 5227W

Is it possible to just having the charging inputs constantly on? to allow for 24/7 operations or will i need to allow the batteries to discharge and then be recharged?


system design
4 comments
2 |3000
Toggle Comment visibility. Current Visibility: Viewable by all users

Up to 8 attachments (including images) can be used with a maximum of 190.8 MiB each and 286.6 MiB total.

Alexandra avatar image Alexandra ♦ commented ·
You will need a bigger inverter. The running wattage is already higher than the VA of the inverter.
0 Likes 0 ·
kevgermany avatar image kevgermany ♦♦ Alexandra ♦ commented ·
@Harrison Wilson

Also looks as if your batteries are undersized.

Not sure why you want to split the banks. Much easier to charge a single bank and draw from it at the same time. You could argue redundancy, but you could isolate half of each bank if needed, without overcomplicating management.

0 Likes 0 ·
harrison-wilson avatar image harrison-wilson kevgermany ♦♦ commented ·
hi there thanks for the reply, what size bank would you reccomend?

wasnt sure if using the chargers constantly without allowing batteries to discharge could shorten the life of the batteries.

appreciate any and all info



0 Likes 0 ·
harrison-wilson avatar image harrison-wilson Alexandra ♦ commented ·
Hey mate what you thinking, maybe the 24/8000. only reason i was thinking the 5000 was so that I could run the generator at below 100%. putting out 5000 would be 90% of the gene's capacity. Your right though if the power use is 5227 then its greater than the output of the quattro 5000 anyway.

thanks in advance


0 Likes 0 ·
1 Answer
abrahamsolar avatar image
abrahamsolar answered ·

Hi, from the States, @harrison-wilson

When I was a pup, nickle-cadmium batteries (ni-cads) had a well publicized "memory" effect. It was important to drain them before recharge, but those days are long gone. None of the batteries on offer for a project like yours will have a memory problem. (...other problems instead, esp if you use lead-acid...)

In the setup menus for Quattro, one can tell the system the amperage of the AC circuit breaker on the generator. The charging appetite will be automatically modulated, so even an oversized Quattro can't overload the generator.

Victron Connect is a free download available for phones but it's more useful if you download the app to your Mac or Windows computer. In that, one can click on Device List, then Demo Library. The app will simulate how it would work if the computer was actually connected (via MK3-USB widget) to a real Quattro, etc. Taking a free test ride before you buy is highly educational. Some of the setups require other software which is also free, but Connect revisions are coming along strong so you might start there.

"Sunny days..."

1 comment
2 |3000
Toggle Comment visibility. Current Visibility: Viewable by all users

Up to 8 attachments (including images) can be used with a maximum of 190.8 MiB each and 286.6 MiB total.

harrison-wilson avatar image harrison-wilson commented ·
Awesome! thanking you for your reply. loos like ill be going the 24/8000 quattro then.
0 Likes 0 ·

Related Resources

Additional resources still need to be added for this topic