Just wanted to share pictures and random thoughts from a recent project. I really applaud all you folks on here with super neat and tidy builds! Mine is pretty sloppy by comparison, but gets the job done, haha.
Last summer I built a small 800W array and 400Ah AGM 12v battery, which was fun, and...
Nice work, and all top-shelf gear too! You might think you're finished...but I'm afraid it's just the beginning? You'll find yourself wanting to use the "emergency backup" system for more and more stuff. By this time next year (or sooner) you'll be wanting bigger panels, bigger SCC, bigger...
Last update (hopefully): to answer my own question, "yes", they appear to be plug-and-play. Don't *need* the ECU...unless you need to update their firmware or settings or anything I guess...
After a nail-biting 5 minutes or so, when I threw the switch connecting the string to my Sol-ark, they...
@GOO5E looks like the 48th week of 2020, if I'm decoding the serial# correctly. I'm just west of Denver, but I don't mind driving around especially this time of year. I'll be out in Palisade/Grand Junction area in a couple weeks actually.
@Haze Good to be cautious, and yeah there's a lot to...
...aaaaand the weirdness continues! The Victron just won't work properly for this setup, or battery, or who knows what... I can "trick" it to work, for a few days, but it eventually just randomly stops providing any power.
In the meantime I got a Schneider Conext MPPT to try, and it works...
I'm having a similar issue, but less extreme so far...I'm wondering if I have a bad cell?
One cell (in a 16s bank) started both 1) reading higher up to 0.06v more than average on charge, and 2) dipping up to 0.06v lower on discharge. I top balanced all cells a few months ago and everything was...
@chrisski Yes, exactly. I use them to disconnect the battery and the inverter, when fiddling with stuff. (and those midnite solar DC breakers are to power-off the charge controller and isolate the panels, if needed)
@MisterSandals thanks! I'm hoping this takes a big bite out of my grid energy...
Victron Quattro inverter/charger (48 VDC input, 5kW 120VAC output) and Conext (Schneider) solar charge controller. I used these briefly on a small off-grid system, about 6mo (before moving houses and dismantling that system). I had 3 parallel strings of 3x 350W panels, feeding a 10kW DIY lifepo4...
My 15K is on 7.2.2.2, roof mounted array using TS4-A-O Tigo optimizers, supposedly. Arc fault has been enabled since installed, no issues at all for first 2-3 months UNTIL...we got the first big snow. It was a couple days after it snowed, when it really warmed up and everything started melting...
@Ampster Thank you for that info!! For #1, I realized it does seem to be adding it to the daily production. For #2, yep, that makes sense. For #3, yes the grid is up...
Yeah, I posted this in the "BMS" section because initially I thought it was the BMS blocking charge. But then I removed it from the loop, and same behavior, so it must be the Victron being weird. It used to work perfectly with AGM, even totally over-paneled worked fine (3000w of panels but could...
Ooooh!!🤦♂️There's a completely new app, wow, I really missed the boat here🤣 Got the new MySolark app and logged in with my old PV Pro credentials, working great, amazing, thank you so much for the tip!
Ah but as others have noticed, the "E-Today" value (top summary section) only shows PV...
Yes I'm starting to feel that way. There are 2 different installation guides - one says the trunk cable has "brown, blue, and yellow/green", the other guide says "black, red, and green". None of those descriptions match my cable, which has black, red, and blue...?♂️ I'm assuming black and red...
Hi, I'm having a similar issue, except my diode seems intact...and I don't see anything else obviously burnt/singed/blown on the inside.
After using my Dr Meter to top balance 16 LiFePO4 cells, on the verrrry last cell (exhausted after 9hrs of balancing), as I was disconnecting everything one...
Ok thanks for that info! How does that compare to the expected behavior if the only box checked is Grid Sell (and no TOU settings)? Seems like it would be identical. It'll obviously export excess solar power to the Grid terminals, same as with Limit to Load selected...and sell all your battery...
That's my point, what if I can't? It was a random electrician working for the company I hired, I don't have his contact info, even if I did what if he doesn't comply? I'd have to pay $135 for a new dongle...? Crazy
@chrisski yeah the cheapo Daly units are frustrating because they do work, but you have no insight. My battery came with one of those, but I picked up an Overkill and a Chargery, to try those out. What is maybe happening with your battery is one of your lithium cells is running away and tripping...
The second/bottom type (surface mount) can only be used on the low voltage side of your system - like on the positive line from battery (12-48v) to the charge controller, or maybe from battery to inverter. Victron sample system diagrams actually show that exact style of breaker used from battery...
Yes, that's about it.
...except all the other stuff, haha! That I could "kick start" it into functioning, which I randomly discovered, by throwing open the disconnect to the turned-off inverter branch...but even then the SCC would only function normally for a few days then eventually revert to...
So on that diode (D30) I get almost 0V in both directions using multimeter diode test, indicating that it's toast. Whereas other diodes on the board I tested, I get 0V one way and 0.6V the other (expected for a good diode). So, I guess I'll try to get my hands on a new one and replace it. My...
I have a couple related questions on TOU settings. In my case though, I *don't* want any TOU stuff enabled - BUT, my sol-ark keeps re-enabling TOU after I've disable it! So I go in and uncheck the box, then go back later and its re-checked...wtf! Anyone else experienced that? (I walked in a few...
Eventually the Victron decided to start charging again, once battery voltage dropped to 53.1V (float is 54V). No idea why it waited, maybe it's just not sensitive enough for the lithium flat curve? Luckily this morning it started charging as soon as sunlight was available. I'll keep an eye on...
Huh? No, my BMS (Overkill) would only shut it off when a cell reaches an extreme minimum or maximum, 2.7 and 3.6 in my case.
I'll probably just do a whole battery top balance again sometime soon - if it's still wonky after that, then I'll know it's just that one cell. I just wonder if the...
I just ordered six DS3 units, the 750w version, for an add-on array I'm building (tying into the GEN input to my Sol-Ark 15k). I purposely didn't get an ECU with them though, because 1) I don't really care that much about monitoring individual performance and 2) more importantly, it doesn't seem...
Putting my new 16s Overkill BMS through its paces with 200Ah 48V battery. Been a rocky start so far, several issues. Victron Quattro kept tripping the "short circuit" protection (I guess initial start-up current was too much?), and slow/buggy Bluetooth.
But the weirdest thing is how my trusty...
@bruceb58 I removed BMS from the loop during troubleshooting, to rule it out. But fwiw, I think I set BMS to start balancing at 53.8v, and then SCC "absorbs" at 54.5 for a while so all the cells can even out to about 3.4V.
@kgol Happens in both Float and Bulk. In the screen shots above it...
The second diagram makes sense to me: during inverter mode (power from battery), your device automatically completely disconnects from all house AC sources, for obvious reasons (although it's weird that the cartoon doesn't show a battery anywhere).
The first diagram looks wrong, it almost looks...
Same here, my PV app puked out a bunch of error codes (false errors, sol-ark is fine) earlier this week, and hasn't provided any data since. The dongle is definitely connected to my wifi, and it shows up as "online" in the PV app, but...no data...
I missed the earlier discussion, was there...
Hi all, I studied this very informative(!) discussion prior to using my GEN input to expand my system. All 3 PV inputs were already full, so I built a 4.8kW array (using AP DS3 microinverters) and basically plugged it right into the Sol-ark, amazing!
But I have questions about Sol-ark behavior...
Um, ok...which thread...? I did experience weirdness with some Victron mppts (totally unrelated to these), and the Quattro tripping my BMS over-current at one point (not the Quattro's fault, easily fixed in a BMS setting).
Let me know if you want me to get a shipping quote to your zip code.
Sorry if this has been discussed, but I can't find anything about how tough or fragile these cells are, in terms of physical handling.
Several of my new (hopefully, ha!) 200ah cells tipped over and fell from about 5 inches, flat onto their sides, onto hard basement concrete floor. No external...
I ordered from Renvu and I assume they just cut me a section with 6 connectors. What they had listed was the split phase 10awg (B/R/G), I didn't even know a 3-phase version (with blue) existed until I got it?♂️
Pretty proud of myself on the box mounted to the rail!? Drilled 2 holes in the box...
Trying to add my "Plant" (sol-ark 15k) to my PV Pro app. Scanning QR or entering info manually, get an error that it's "bound". I assume this means my installer added it to his account, and never removed it, and now I'm locked out...?
I took the dongle apart but didn't find any "reset"...
Yeah, could be. What I didn't mention in my original comment (or to AIMS) was that I actually *did* bond its ground and neutral and ran it for a while. It seemed fine. But after I getting their dire earnings against it, I decided I didn't want to deal with it blowing up at some later point and...
Well if anyone's still reading/wondering, the Victron SCC finally settled into its normal routine, after it "woke up" it's been fine since. It charges until there's no light left in the evening, then starts up again the next morning at first light. Bulk for a while, then Absorption, then Float...
@cinergi Agree with everything you said above. Although my cells were "matched and balanced" when I bought them, in initial charge-up tests I did, I had cells running away to 3.65 when the rest were around 3.5ish. I've been meaning to get a little 3.7V charger, so I can do a proper cell-by-cell...
Thanks @RichO!! I guess what I lack in cable management skills I made up for in panel aesthetic...
I wish I got to look at my handiwork on those panels from my house, but they actually face my neighbor's yard. But at least she won't hate me for making her view ugly.
Yes Unirack (with IronRidge flashfeet). The conduit goes straight down the roof from there, just a short section, then over the gutter to wall. So no parallel conduit-to-rail connections needed.
Yep, this cable is labeled "3 phase" upon closer inspection, which means Renvu sent me something different than what I ordered... But on the other hand, 3 wires is still 3 wires, right? I wired it up using the blue for ground, and everything seems okay?♂️ (1 panel plugged into 1 DS3, got the...
Same problem here, just got my new AIMS 48v 6000w inverter last night, hooked it up, saw the open ground. So I thought, oh I'll just bond the ground-neutral externally. Emailed Aims to make sure that's okay, and good thing I did because I got this reply:
"You CAN NOT bond the neutral and ground...
@cinergi this is what I sent tech support, when they asked to see that info.
@kgol you're right, that was a bad example I gave originally, since it appears like the re-bulk value was reached which is why it restarted. But in hours of testing since, it exhibits this behavior regardless of...
It doesn't matter. Even when the SCC is in Bulk mode, it does nothing. When it's in Float, it's not *floating* at the specified voltage (54 in this case).
That is intentional. I have no need to push them to their high or low limits. My understanding is that LFP cell lifespan is drastically...
Well all my celebrating and gloating was bad karma because, after only 9 months last night my Sol-ark threw a Arc-fault error, and even though the rest of the system is working fine now, the Gen/Inv input is getting nothing from my microinverter array now. I see 240V, but no watts...ugh...
Once the SmartCharge decided it was done (54.8V "absorbed" for 2hrs), it stopped charging (0W, vs a few watts to "float" my old AGM).
Now normally, with my old AGM battery, if a load came on the inverter, the solar charger would pick up its output to match (net current nearly zero), thereby...
In diode mode, the meter pushes a small current thru, which I guess more accurately mimics the diode's function. Resistance/ohms is another way tho, but maybe less accurate...?
Yup, that's EXACTLY how I progressed. First my garage and e-bike, then tried to run my fridge for a few days (but cloudy days would spoil it). So...had to up-size everything! I ended up installing several new plug/outlets in strategic locations around my house then wiring them back to my...
Wow that one looks pretty good and for a totally decent price.
Only ones I've found are surprisingly expensive... This is what I thought I'd probably end up getting. I'd charge up the battery pretty far with normal solar charger, like normal each day, then start each cell individually from...