question

hilsdon avatar image
hilsdon asked

Quattro switching out of absorption mode

On mains my Quattro 12v 3000 120, on my narrow boat when it has mains power via shore line or generator it will switch to bulk charge the batteries , however now after it has completed its bulk charge and started the absorption stage, it restarts, switches back to bulk until it reaches absorption stage when it restarts. Any ideas why?

MultiPlus Quattro Inverter Charger
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3 Answers
Alexandra avatar image
Alexandra answered ·

@Hilsdon

Is there a set time that it stays in absorption, for example half an hour or an hour? You don't mention what type of battery you have, or if it is controlled by the batteries themselves or by the Victron.

Some passively balanced lithium batteries use half or one hour absorption to top balance then switch down to bulk and back up gain until all the cells are balanced and then if you have not drawn from them they may float. THis behviour may be settings related or if your BMS is plugged into the Inverter either through the GX device or into the VE Bus it may be the batteries themselves triggering the behavior to optimise their condition.

Without more information it would be hard to say.

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hilsdon avatar image
hilsdon answered ·

The batteries are 4 x 120amp lead acid batteries, it stays in absorption first time for about 4 minutes then after that 30 seconds.

This is the first time this has happened in 8 years, I changed the batteries 18 months ago, due to lock down we have not been to the boat since February.

I have not changed the settings since it was installed by the boat builders.

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tony-c avatar image tony-c commented ·

to the best of my knowledge the time a quattro sits in absorption is a calculation of how long it stay in bulk. The following is a excerpt from the help documents.


With this setting one can choose between three different charge curves:

  • Fixed
  • Adaptive
  • Adaptive + BatterySafe

The Fixed charge curve will have a fixed absorption time

The Adaptive and Adaptive + BatterySafe curves derive the absorption time from the Bulk time. The maximum absorption time of these charge curves is determined by the absorption time setting.

The Adaptive + BatterySafe curve has a special regulation in the absorption phase. The absorption phase will start when the voltage reaches 14.4V (for a 12V battery) regardless of the specified absorption voltage. During the absorption phase the voltage will increase with a fixed ramp until the voltage reaches the absorption voltage or until the calculated absorption time is over. In the latter case the absorption phase will end before the absorption voltage is reached.

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hilsdon avatar image
hilsdon answered ·

No BMS system plugged into the inverter.

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