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dewitpj avatar image
dewitpj asked

Quattro and ZCell running batteries flat ?

Hi Guys,


We have 1 x Quattro 48/10000 with 5 x Redflow Batteries. The site is on Grid only (no solar) with generator backup. ESS is enabled (ZCell and Venus talking via Can Bus)


The Grid is limited to 35 Amps and the generator to 120 Amps. I have instructed the Victron to "keep batteries charged" and set the min. SoC to 50%.


The Victron seems to never want to charge at any rate and prefers to suck energy from the battery.


Also, our grid has a set point of 50W - not sure if this is relevant :)


How can I this "fixed" - I want to limit Grid to 35 Amps, keep the batteries at 50% and if needed, use PowerAssist to get the rest from the batteries.


or - How can I debug this - something must be saying not to charge ?


Thanks ! :)

MultiPlus Quattro Inverter ChargergridRedFlow ZCell Flow Battery
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1 Answer
Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) avatar image
Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) answered ·

EDIT: I see you have no solar, which changes my answer a little bit.

Change the ESS setting to Optimised (no BatteryLife) and then minimum discharge while on the grid to 95%.


“Keep batteries charged” shouldn’t allow any discharge from the batteries at all.

Set grid set point to 0W. Or even -50W (does that trickle power into the battery?

But with no solar and Without any grid feedback, Why use ESS at all?

Why not just treat this like an normal installation ?



Check the charger voltage settings are set to 56V as per this manual:

https://www.victronenergy.com/live/battery_compatibility:redflow_zcell

Also update to latest firmware all round.

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dewitpj avatar image dewitpj commented ·

I think I found the problem....



Firmware version		 423


As per the pages you linked to, we need 424 or higher.


I forgot to mention that DVCC is also turned on, so I would have expected the ZCell and Quattro to have a good old chat and sort things out.


So what is the next steps for us here, given that this is quite a remote site ? I am happy to talk about this off forum if needed.

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

The multi firmware update proceedure is described here:

https://www.victronenergy.com/live/updating_firmware:updating_ve.bus_products

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