Changing Program Options in the 2424LV

USER’S MANUAL
Needed some programing help with the MPP (PIP-2424LV-MSD) controller/inverter.

I need to change some of the programming options in my controller and I’m not able to change any values.

Here is what the manual says to do:

LCD Setting

After pressing and holding the ENTER button for 3 seconds, the unit will enter setting mode. Press the “UP” or “DOWN” button to select setting programs. And then, press the “ENTER “button to confirm the selection or ESC button to exit.

Note that it does not tell you how to change the options for any program.

I need to change the option in program 2 to 10 amps. Right now, it is in the default option of 60 amps.

How do you change the options?

Humm?

Program 2 is AC input voltage range.

Program 11 is Maximum charging current, set at 60A (default). Should be adjustable with each click of 10A. Range is 10A to 140A.

Press UP or DOWN button to make selection.

OK different model. Program 2 is charging current. SORRY.

But still press up/down to make selection

mopat said:

OK different model. Program 2 is charging current. SORRY.

But still, press up/down to make a selection

Click to expand...

I press the up and down and it does make the selection for program #2, but it doesn't change the option setting. It's the option I'm trying to change. For program #2, I want to change the default value of 60A (02_60) to 10A (02_10).

The reason is that I'm still building my system and testing. Right now the 2424LV is plugged into my house 110v receptacle and the breaker for that receptacle is only 15A. If I blow the breaker, it's no problem to reset it, it's the ass-chewing from the wife that is the issue. The less I can piss her off, the better off I am in testing.

The unit IS hooked up to batteries, correct?

After selecting Program 2, what happens if you hit ENTER again before UP/DOWN buttons?

Yes, it is hocked up to a battery and a 360w floor fan for a load. - No solar panels connect as haven't bought them yet.

I just checked as you asked and when I hit the Enter again, it takes me out of the programming mode. However, by pushing the up and down buttons in different combinations, I finally got to where I could drop my charging amperage.

But don't recall the final sequence. So tomorrow I will play with it again and this time I will write down the steps. - Dang, what do manufacturers (all manufacturers) have against writing good processed steps? I wonder if it is because they want us to call them on Chat!

Anyway, what I don't know and will find out tomorrow when I continue my testing is if the charging in programs #2 is for the charging limit for the Solar array and or the Utility line in.

This morning the batteries (2 - 12v 35ah throw away batteries I find in a battery dumpster) connected in series were charging at 13 amps. But not sure if the Utility side was pumping 13 amps to the batteries.

Doing dirty math, the battery wattage in charging was 312 watts (24v*13A=312w) then excluding the power the 2424LV is using, the Utility Current (not the RMS value) is 2.71A (312w/115v=2.71A) - basic electronics dealing with transformers. Power in has to equal power out minus small losses.

So if that is the case this 13A discharge current is controlled by the 2424LV converter and this program#2 option amperage setting, is the maximum amperage the controller will put out to charge the batteries. - still have a lot to turn about this 2424LV.

Program 2 = Maximum charging current = Solar charging + Utility charging

I believe, on your unit/model, Program 11 = Maximum Utility charging current; this can be set as low as 2Amps, but...

In Program 16 you can select ONLY solar charging if you like.

for the growat version you can not change setting for program 02 if your have Li selected in program 5

mopat said:

Program 2 = Maximum charging current = Solar charging + Utility charging

I believe, on your unit/model, Program 11 = Maximum Utility charging current; this can be set as low as 2Amps, but...

In Program 16 you can select ONLY solar charging if you like.

Click to expand...

Ohhhh! - Dang, I think I got tunnel vision again. You are right, its Program 11that deals with my primary concern about poping my house circuit breaker. And program #16 to control the priority charging source. While Program # controls how much current will be delivered to the battery to charge them.- That's for pointing that out and it is slowing starting to fall into place.

Looking at the Programs, there are two other terms I'm not familiar with and they are Bulk charging voltage and floating charging voltage. In program #26, I think it is telling me that I can set the voltage that I want to charge that battery at. Hence I can control the power going into the batteries. (voltage limit and current limit)

But the Floating charging voltage, I'm not sure what that is about, I can take a guess that it may be the voltage that the controller will try to keep the batteries at during light usage.

Maybe read a little about battery charging (bulk, absorption, & float) first; then settings will/should make more sense.

Try batterystuff.com, or chargingchargers.com, or batteryuniversity.com, or others

mopat said:

Maybe read a little about battery charging (bulk, absorption, & float) first; then settings will/should make more sense.

Try batterystuff.com, or chargingchargers.com, or batteryuniversity.com, or others

Click to expand...

Thanks for the input. I will have to do that. Although I worked in the Lockheeds research lab for a year on Ni-Cd and fuel cells, that was 50 years ago in the middle '70s. I have forgotten everything. I feel so stupid now.

Just a quick point for clarity, you are talking about your LV2424 being connected to 15A breaker, do remember that that is 15A at 110V, which means that it can deliver 1,650W without tripping the breaker. On the DC side, 1,650W is 68.75A into a 24V battery. All I'm saying is that you don't need to restrict the charging current to 10A in order to avoid tripping the breaker. 10A at 24V would only draw circa 2A from a 110V supply.

Your battery manufacturer's datasheet should provide the authoritative charging parameters but typically, for SLA batteries this would be:

BULK: C/10 Amps
ABSORPTION: 14.7V
FLOAT: 13.5V - 13.8V*

*start at 13.5V and then make sure all your DC loads can be powered without draining the battery. If the battery starts to drain, up the float voltage, but do not exceed 13.8V.

tictag said:

Just a quick point for clarity, you are talking about your LV2424 being connected to 15A breaker, do remember that that is 15A at 110V, which means that it can deliver 1,650W without tripping the breaker. On the DC side, 1,650W is 68.75A into a 24V battery. All I'm saying is that you don't need to restrict the charging current to 10A in order to avoid tripping the breaker. 10A at 24V would only draw circa 2A from a 110V supply.

Your battery manufacturer's datasheet should provide the authoritative charging parameters but typically, for SLA batteries this would be:

BULK: C/10 Amps
ABSORPTION: 14.7V
FLOAT: 13.5V - 13.8V*

*start at 13.5V and then make sure all your DC loads can be powered without draining the battery. If the battery starts to drain, up the float voltage, but do not exceed 13.8V.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I got it all figured out finally by trial and error how to set the programing and options in the 2424lv controller/inverter. It wouldn't have been any harder for the manufacture to of had the full instructions in the manual.

I ran a few tests with different loads while discharging the battery and charging it with instrumentation. You are right, but I just wanted to make sure.

Thanks for the absorption float information. I didn't want to spend a week going through the battery university in hopes they would talk about it.

With respect to the 15 amp utility, I needed to be careful as I'm doing my testing in my airport hanger and there are 5 hangers on one 15 or 20 amp main. we all are building something in our hangers. but the wiring wasn't meant to have anything else on them but hanger lights. So I need to be careful not to blow the breaker and have the airport manager coming down to our hangers to see what we are doing that caused us to pop the breaker.

That's why I wanted to set the Utility charging current to 10A max until I saw how much current the Utility current was. It turned out that it was around 2.54 watts to charge the batteries at 9 amps (although the charging current was set to 30 amps) must be because these two batteries are old throwaway batteries I found in the dumpster with high internal resistance.

Drawing a load of 300 watts and charging the batteries at the same time at 9 amps, the Utility current was just a little over 5 amps.

I'm about ready to build the system and install it on the house. Next month I hope I can save enough money to buy 1 lithium battery from BigBatteries as I live close to their factory.

At the moment, my system is just a backup to the utility power that goes out often here in California. So I'm in no hurry to buy the Solar panels. The power isn't off more than 5 hours at a time and my house's basic power needs is less than 400 watts most of the time.

My system is designed to also have a gas generator as a second backup system. The gas generator is what I have been using all summer and running electrical cords all through the house.

Jim Burrow said:

the utility power that goes out often here in California

Click to expand...

Jim Burrow said:

generator is what I have been using all summer and running electrical cords all through the house.

Click to expand...

Sounds like a 3rd world country.

Yes, it is, I'm 30 miles East of San Francisco. San Francisco is in a world of its own. Full of radicals.

The power goes off throughout California do to the rolling blackout that the Utility Companies due during the summer fire season. I can't blame them as they have got to be getting tired of being sued every time there is a fire due to a down wireline. And of course the neighborhood I like in where there are 6 manufactured homes on one 100 amp main breaker. Anytime the heat goes over 103 degrees and we all turn on your 18 amp central air conditioners at the same time, we burn out the main breaker. - Hence no electricity for hours! That's why I've decided to go solar as a backup system.

The communists there will soon "hold the production of resources collectively" and reallocate YOUR generator and solar product "to the benefit of equality and strong social communities".

Best of luck.