Been busy fitting Solar, Inverter, 6 Leisure Batteries, and B2B Charger (1 Viewer)

[Bart]

Just read this thread , lovely job @Robert Clark & @Lenny HB and OFC anyone else who helped
Super job I'm Sure it will serve you's well Robert

 

[fairford rambler]

Goodness gracious Robert, well done indeed. You are a hero mate. But on the lighthearted side of all this, why are you not plugging in when at home and selling your spare leccy back to the grid.

 

[JonP]

Yep, get perfect HD reception with it & the DAB is very good as well.

I think the TV reception it depends on how near you are to the transmissions.

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[Abacist]

Great thread and good quality kit!

Out of interest why did you decide to use 6 * 90 amp hour batteries rather than fewer batteries with higher amp hours? Fewer connections to make the battery bank although heavier to lift individually and would have fitted perhaps better across the van garage with the weight marginally further forward. I have 2 * 180 of those Varta batteries and you could have had three.

 

[Robert Clark]

Great thread and good quality kit!

Out of interest why did you decide to use 6 * 90 amp hour batteries rather than fewer batteries with higher amp hours? Fewer connections to make the battery bank although heavier to lift individually and would have fitted perhaps better across the van garage with the weight marginally further forward. I have 2 * 180 of those Varta batteries and you could have had three.

I’m not sure that the Varta LFD range comes in other sizes and it was that specific battery type I was interested in.

 

[Abacist]

I’m not sure that the Varta LFD range comes in other sizes and it was that specific battery type I was interested in.

They do LFD 140, LFD 180 and LFD 230 above your LFD 90's with terminals on the end which can be useful for keeping the joining leads short.

See the attached link

https://www.varta-automotive.com/en-gb/battery-finder?battery_code=LFD&find=find

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[aztecannie]

Pleased that Mrs C was allowed new curtains...you didn't price that little project!!

 

[manda3000gt]

Very similar to our setup
8 x T145 Trojan batteries
Morningstar MPPT solar controller
600w Solar
3000w Invertor to run the ring main
300w Invertor to run TV’s Sky Box Soundbar
We very rarely go on sites with hook up, rallying with different groups in the UK with no on-site facilities (a field) our set up enables to enjoy our RV to the full with no restrictions

 

[funflair]

Very similar to our setup
8 x T145 Trojan batteries
Morningstar MPPT solar controller
600w Solar
3000w Invertor to run the ring main
300w Invertor to run TV’s Sky Box Soundbar
We very rarely go on sites with hook up, rallying with different groups in the UK with no on-site facilities (a field) our set up enables to enjoy our RV to the full with no restrictions

Nice set up, when we go to outdoor shows and get parked next to the RV's with all that roof space I think "why do they not fill it withy solar" but of course a penny is cheaper.

Martin

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[Robert Clark]

Nice set up, when we go to outdoor shows and get parked next to the RV's with all that roof space I think "why do they not fill it withy solar" but of course a penny is cheaper.

Martin

Penny ?

 

[Popeye]

but of course a penny is cheaper

 

[BwB]

Genny?

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[Clarky]

Don't you just love predictive text!

 

[Robert Clark]

Pleased that Mrs C was allowed new curtains...you didn't price that little project!!

8 Curtain panels complete !

Laura Ashley Willow fabric is normally £25 per m, but we managed to find two offcuts on EBay at 6m cost us just £60

 

[funflair]

Penny ?

Yes "Genny" thanks @BwB

Martin

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[Andysprinter]

Hi Robert, quick question - does your Victron mppt go through its charge cycle daily even if the victron charger is on float,

Andy

 

[Robert Clark]

Hi Robert, quick question - does your Victron mppt go through its charge cycle daily even if the victron charger is on float,

Andy

No Andy
It sees the batteries as full

 

[bellabee]

Love the curtains .

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[TheCaller]

Hi Robert, quick question - does your Victron mppt go through its charge cycle daily even if the victron charger is on float,

Andy

I have 2 x Exide ES900 gel & a Victron 75/15 mppt solar regulator. When the batteries are fully charged & the van is sitting outside but not being used, the regulator does go through it's bulk/absorption/float cycle each day. The bulk period varies - usually a couple of hours. The absorption period is down to 39 minutes (from a max of 4 hours) & the total Wh generated is 70Wh - which at an average of 14V over the bulk/absoption stages would equate to 5Ah per day.

Question - does that equate to a maintainence trickle charge or is it too much? The charger itself, it's bluetooth sender unit & the main control panel (which is generally left switched on) will all drain some power. There will also be some trickling through to the starter battery & we all know that a Fiat can drain it's starter battery quite quickly even without any after-market alarm systems.

Out of interest, I've turned the solar charger off for a few days & it will be interesting to see the starting voltage when it is turned back on & also how much it puts into the batteries in the first 48 hrs.

 

[sallylillian]

I have 2 x Exide ES900 gel & a Victron 75/15 mppt solar regulator. When the batteries are fully charged & the van is sitting outside but not being used, the regulator does go through it's bulk/absorption/float cycle each day. The bulk period varies - usually a couple of hours. The absorption period is down to 39 minutes (from a max of 4 hours) & the total Wh generated is 70Wh - which at an average of 14V over the bulk/absoption stages would equate to 5Ah per day.

Question - does that equate to a maintainence trickle charge or is it too much? The charger itself, it's bluetooth sender unit & the main control panel (which is generally left switched on) will all drain some power. There will also be some trickling through to the starter battery & we all know that a Fiat can drain it's starter battery quite quickly even without any after-market alarm systems.

Out of interest, I've turned the solar charger off for a few days & it will be interesting to see the starting voltage when it is turned back on & also how much nit puts into the batteries in the first 48 hrs.

On the Victron inverter charger you can set a number of parameters in VE configure like absorption repeated to keep the plates alive although I thought it was weekly. But maybe the solar regulator has additional settings available?

 

[sallylillian]

Just googled, there is Victron connect software for managing the solar controller, worth looking at.

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[TheCaller]

On the Victron inverter charger you can set a number of parameters in VE configure like absorption repeated to keep the plates alive although I thought it was weekly. But maybe the solar regulator has additional settings available?

That sounds more like Equilisation then Absorption. Equilisation is only required for wet cell flooded batteries. You can adjust the maximum length of the daily absorption period though.

Just googled, there is Victron connect software for managing the solar controller, worth looking at.

That's what I'm using to get my information. In addition to the software, you need to buy a bluetooth sender unit to plug into the solar controller. Worth it though for us nerds who like to know what's going on!

If I'd had it when I first had the regulator fitted, it would have shown up at an earlier stage that the regulator was (or became) faulty & was overcharging the original batteries.

 

[sallylillian]

Definitely adsorption, its referred to as "repeat absorption" and a time also an explanation it is normally set when using storage mode but let's not get into that. I can understand your confusion if you are unfamiliar with the ve configure manual.

 

[Robert Clark]

That sounds more like Equilisation then Absorption. Equilisation is only required for wet cell flooded batteries. You can adjust the maximum length of the daily absorption period though.


That's what I'm using to get my information. In addition to the software, you need to buy a bluetooth sender unit to plug into the solar controller. Worth it though for us nerds who like to know what's going on!

If I'd had it when I first had the regulator fitted, it would have shown up at an earlier stage that the regulator was (or became) faulty & was overcharging the original batteries.

How often would you equalise?

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[TheCaller]

How often would you equalise?

I've got gel batteries, so I didn't pay much attention!

'Not very often' is about the best I can do from memory. You need to keep an eye on the electrolyte level too, because it works by forcing the battery to gas - so the bubbles mix the electrolyte.

I suspect it's more important for stationary batteries too. The purpose is to mix the electrolyte & I imagine just driving about will help with that a bit.

EDIT: @Robert Clark The default setting in the Victron 75/15 solar controller is 30 days.

 

[TheCaller]

Definitely adsorption, its referred to as "repeat absorption" and a time also an explanation it is normally set when using storage mode but let's not get into that. I can understand your confusion if you are unfamiliar with the ve configure manual.

It was your reference the 'weekly' in your earlier post that threw me. In the Victron Connect program that works with the 75/15 solar controller, the daily charge cycle goes bulk/absorption/float. If you have wet cell batteries, there is also the Equalisation option, which you can set to happen every so many days (& defaults to every 30 days, but could be set to weekly).

 

[Musicboy]

Great project . Well done . Looks great. ..

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[Ralph-n-Bev]

Cracking setup Robert

Its almost a mirror image of our little Pug.
Love the Victron stuff its quality high end gear. We are now 100% Victron from Solar panels to batterys after installing two of their Super Cycle AGM`S. Very happy with their performance in our power hungry Van

www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Datasheet-AGM-Super-Cycle-battery-EN.pdf

The Multiplus itself is so much more than just a charger inverter when set up right. Do you have the usb lead to connect the Multiplus to a laptop ?? This in my opinion is the best way to setup the Multiplus to your requirements. In fact some setting can only be set using this method. Its also easier than using the little dip switches.
Also love how most of the Victron equipment is going Bluetooth, very handy to keep an eye on things.

Good job done right first time, my type of thing

Cheers.....Ralph

 

[Robert Clark]

Cracking setup Robert

Its almost a mirror image of our little Pug.
Love the Victron stuff its quality high end gear. We are now 100% Victron from Solar panels to batterys after installing two of their Super Cycle AGM`S. Very happy with their performance in our power hungry Van

www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Datasheet-AGM-Super-Cycle-battery-EN.pdf

The Multiplus itself is so much more than just a charger inverter when set up right. Do you have the usb lead to connect the Multiplus to a laptop ?? This in my opinion is the best way to setup the Multiplus to your requirements. In fact some setting can only be set using this method. Its also easier than using the little dip switches.
Also love how most of the Victron equipment is going Bluetooth, very handy to keep an eye on things.

Good job done right first time, my type of thing

Cheers.....Ralph

Thank you Ralph
Yes I do have the PC link - very useful

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

Thank you Ralph
Yes I do have the PC link - very useful

If I had read your post properly the first time i would have realised that

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