question

Jon S avatar image
Jon S asked

MPPT 150/85 TR does not use voltage from victron lithium batteries

@Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff)


I have an issue with the MPPT's not using voltage from the victron lithium batteries. The MPPT 150/85 TRs are connected to a GCCX via USB cable. The 2 MPPTs are connected together via a bluetooth group. The GCCX is also connected to a Lynx-ion 800 amp shunt.


The solar controllers go to float before they should. It was mentioned to try DVCC but I cannot find that setting in my GCCX.


Any ideas?


Below is a diagram of my system.

Thanks,

Jon


MPPT Controllers
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2 Answers
Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) avatar image
Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) answered ·

Hi @Jon S

Please read:

https://www.victronenergy.com/live/ccgx:start#dvcc_-_distributed_voltage_and_current_control


And please control the Balmar charge regulators, not the output.


I -strongly- advice you to hire an experienced installer, this is a lot of expensive equipment that you can damage like this.

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Jon S avatar image Jon S commented ·

@Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff)


See my other post regarding hiring a so-called Victron certified expert.

My GCCX is at firmware 2.11. I do not see DVCC in any of the menus on my version. The article mentions 2.3, but didnt indicate if DVCC came in some newer version or not. I can upgrade the GCCX, but there is a warning that enabling DVCC can have some problems for some systems. There is not much detail in that statement to know if DVCC will help.


Based on the models of devices attached in my system. Do you believe DVCC fixes the early float by the MPPTs? The GCCX has auto selected the Lynx shunt as the battery monitor. The GCCX displays the same voltage that using bluetooth from my phone and connecting with victronconnect to the batteries shows. I am still trying to figure out why this info is not shared with the MPPTs so they go into float at the right voltages and come out if I am at 100% and the hot water heater comes on and uses 100amps.

Any ideas?


Jon

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Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) avatar image Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) ♦♦ Jon S commented ·

Hi @Jon S

v2.11 is very old, please update it. the manuals are about the latest version.

https://www.victronenergy.com/live/ccgx:start

all other requirements are in the manual also

https://www.victronenergy.com/live/ccgx:start#dvcc_-_distributed_voltage_and_current_control

'early float' of MPPT's: that is due to the MPPT's settings, please read the MPPT's manual for that.


DVCC is helpful but not a 'must'


When trying to fix a system, the first step is always to have all products on the latest firmware.

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Jon S avatar image Jon S Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) ♦♦ commented ·

Hi @Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff)

I was able to update the CCGX to the latest firmware version 2.53.


I also got the CCGX connected to the VRM portal and updated the MPPT controllers to 1.47.

I need to update the Quattros to a newer version. They are both on 2633413.


The Lynx BMS is on v1.08.


How do I get the software to update these?


More info on what I am seeing: I have 3 LG 365 panels connected in parallel to one MPPT (A) and 2 connected to the other MPPT (B). The 2 panel MPPT (B) seems to always stay in bulk as it should. Only the 3 panel MPPT (A) drops to absorption and float too early. By too early I mean it's noon and the CCGX is showing 70% with 13.1v.


My assumption is DVCC enabled will have the batteries telling all connected devices what they can take which should keep both MPPTs in Bulk up to 95%ish before going to absorption.


Let me know if this is accurate.


Thanks,

Jon




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Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) avatar image Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) ♦♦ Jon S commented ·

Hi @Jon S

With DVCC, your Multi will control the MPPT's, not the batteries. The Lynx Shunt is a battery monitor, not a BMS

DVCC can / will also conflict with the smart network you setup.

Can you show us what the MPPT's settings are?

on upgrading the inverter firmware:

https://docs.victronenergy.com/victronconnect-vebus.html#firmware-updates

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Jon S avatar image Jon S Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) ♦♦ commented ·

@Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff)

Looks like I read the DVCC docs wrong. I missed the note in section 4.5 that the Victron VE.bus BMS is excluded, I thought it would manage the MPPTs. Hopefully the Quattro can send the correct battery state.

I dont know what exactly you want from the config on the MPPTs. I have selected the the Battery Preset Lithium Iron Phosphate LiFePo4 on MPPT B (2 panels). As you can see this controller rarely makes it to float. Its more in bulk which I would expect.


On MPPT A (3 panels) I also chose the LiFePo4 preset. I then changed the Float voltage to 14.2 (I make sure I never hit 100% or will set it back to the preset during daylight hours)

In the image below where you see that float was short or did not happen was because I try to keep an eye on when the MPPT went into Absorption. If I see it, I stop the charger, wait 10 or 15 seconds and restart it. It will usually go back to bulk when I do this, but I dont always have time to catch it as you can see below.


I read the blogs regarding the smart network so removed it while updating the firmware on the MPPTs. Right now there is no smart network configured.


Here is a screenshot from the VRM portal of devices. I expanded the Battery Monitor so you can see version there.



I will review the docs on updating and configuring the Quattros using the VictronConnect app on my phone. It will take me a bit of time to review the current config and make sure I can either restore it once updated or know all the parameters that need to be reset if the config gets set back to default with the update.


Thanks for the help,


Jon

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Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) avatar image Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) ♦♦ Jon S commented ·

@Jon S

Are you sure your SOC is correct? can you show the detailed history of the MPPT(s)?

if a LiFePO4 battery hits 14.2 volt, it is at least 95% charged, and the remaining couple of % are added in the Constant Voltage stage (absorption).

What are the Lynx Shunt settings?

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Jon S avatar image Jon S Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) ♦♦ commented ·

Hi @Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff),

Here are screenshots from the CCGX showing the Lynx Shunt settings.



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Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) avatar image Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) ♦♦ Jon S commented ·

Hi @Jon S


is your battery bank 1800 Ah? (I read 6x 150 Ah = 900 Ah)

'tail current 4%' this means that the battery monitor will synchronize when charge current is below 4% of 1800Ah = 72A
That is not a good setting and can / will lead to sync to 100% before the battery is charged.

I also asked: can you show the detailed history of the MPPT(s)?


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Jon S avatar image Jon S Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) ♦♦ commented ·

@Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff)


I have 6 - 300ah Victron batteries. The 1800ah is accurate. Here is a shot of the info page of one of the 6 in VictronConnect:


Here is the detailed history of MPPT A (3 - LG365 panels connected in parallel):


MPPT B (2 - LG 365w panels connected in parallel):

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Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) avatar image Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) ♦♦ Jon S commented ·

Every time the absorption voltage is reached for as long as in your logs (2-3 hours) your batteries are fully charged.

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Jon S avatar image Jon S Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) ♦♦ commented ·

@Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff)

The batteries show their voltage is in the 13s. Granted there is some load. I dont have exact numbers for you, I have never grabbed screen shots at the time, but the CCGX shows ~13.1 - ~13.2 and indicates somewhere between 79%-85% SOC. I will pay attention tomorrow and see if I can grab some more data regarding loads and SOC.

I have some questions for you:

  • Why does MPPT B not go to absorption and float? The previous 12 days it never hit absorption when MPPT A did (The line 0 in the history I was connected to shore power and was at 100% so this was expected).
  • Both MPPTs are showing a reading of same min battery voltage, but a different Max voltage. The MPPT A is showing a higher max voltage which explains why it is going to absorption/float, but why is it showing something different than MPPT B?
  • If the MPPT logs are accurate why does CCGX show a voltage in the 13s and indicate SOC is below 90% when MPPT A is going to absorption/float?
  • What data or tests can I run to prove definitively the system is indeed at 100% and reset the CCGX so it shows accurate information?
  • Is there anything else in the config that looked out of place? You had mentioned tail current of 4% was wrong. What do you recommend?
  • As I stated I bought and had the equipment installed by a certified Victron dealer/installer. Does Victron provide any recourse for faulty installation and configuation work?

Thanks,

Jon


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Jon S answered ·

@Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff)


I wanted to give everyone the final update on this issue. First off thank you Daniel for all your efforts to educate me on my setup. Without your support my issue would not have been solved.


The solution to get both MPPTs to charge correctly was several things.

1 - enable DVCC. This required firmware for all parts of the system to be updated (versions listed below).

2. MPPTs - need to be updated to 1.47 and disable the ve.smartnetworking (eg bluetooth network) they were connected in.


Firmware versions currently being used:

CCGX - 2.53

MPPT - 1.47

Lynx Shunt - 1.08

Quatro 5000 - Product ID 2633 Firmware 474


I upgraded the Quatros on the morning of May 11th and setup DVCC. As you can see, after that date, the only day the MPPTs went to float were because we had reached 100% (I had left the boat connected to shore power over night so we were already at 100% in the morning). We are an all electric galley and I turned on the hot water heater which is why we still generated 5kWh that day.


Thanks again Daniel.


Cheers,

Jon


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