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Charging Ecoflow directly with a Victron 100/20 SCC?

solaroc

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Jul 3, 2022
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Hello,

I'm fairly new to this. I own two PV panels (each 38Vmpp, 9.7A Isc, combined 740Wp) with a Hoymiles grid-tie micro inverter because sadly that's all my local laws allow in my garden apartment. This works ok.

Recently I also purchased a Victron SmartSolar 100/20 with the intention to have a little backup power in the unlikely event that the grid goes down while the sun is out. I would just manually disconnect the grid-tie inverter and connect the Victron then.

By my calculations the 100V Voc limit is ok down to -13.0°F/-25°C if I put the panels in series, the 20A current limit should also ok if I choose to put them in parallel, plus my orientation/tilt is somewhat suboptimal to begin with.

My batteries were going to be two 12V/54AH FLA acid car starter batteries, they're reused from my classic car (thus completely free) and I figure with 500Wh@40% DOD they'll still be good to charge a phone/laptop and a few LEDs during an unlikely emergency. I can't justify an expensive LiFePo4 battery that may not be used for years.

Now the situation is that I was gifted an "Ecoflow River" solar generator a few weeks ago. This device's solar charging capability is very limited at 200W (with max 25 Voc and max 10A).

My question: Is there an efficient way to charge the Ecoflow with my existing panels and the Victron SCC?
  1. Attaching the Ecoflow to the panels directly would be a good idea to observe blue electronics smoke

  2. Attaching the Ecoflow to one 12V battery charged by the Victron limits charging to 120W (built in 12V/10A limit of Ecoflow)

  3. Attaching the Ecoflow to two 12V batteries in series charged by the Victron is likely going to push me over the 25V limit (worried what happens then, so haven't tried this yet)

  4. Attaching the Victron directly to the Ecoflow with fixed 24V absorption/float will charge it (tried this!), but the power output keeps oscillating between 200W (expected) and zero (not good) every 15 seconds or so.
I assume this is because the Ecoflow MPPT-input doesn't output a voltage, so the Victron's charging algorithms get confused?
Or does attaching a MPPT controller to the output of another one generally not work for reasons related to the power tracking algorithms?

Any ideas would be welcome before I sell the Ecoflow and buy a small Victron Phoenix 24/375 or 12/375 inverter instead.
 
  1. Attaching the Ecoflow to two 12V batteries in series charged by the Victron is likely going to push me over the 25V limit (worried what happens then, so haven't tried this yet)

If you don't mind the battery not being as full, thus wasting capacity, tell the Victron to not charge the batteries past a certain voltage. The Victron is highly configurable as far as charging voltages go. I don't know how damaging this would be lead acid over time though.
 
I’ve successfully linked an ecoflow delta used in my VWT6 to the load output of Victron smart solar 75/15. It chugs away happily charging at 120W/12v. Meanwhile the solar feed of around 200w-400w (theoretical its never hit more than 300w) 40v simultaneously feeds the victron mppt which charges both the 105AH leisure battery and the Delta via load output not mppt. If i need more boost to the delta i connect the solar panels direct to its x60 solar input (with onboard mppt). I’ve put a 10A auto resettting fuse into the feed into the delta to prevent any accidental surge over 10A, which is theoretically possible but highly unlikely. Its rated to 65v and the panels can’t bust 40v, wired in parallel/series the 4 x 5.9A panel can theoretically hit 11.8A but in practice i doubt ever will. (Ecoflow tech say the onboard mppt will haircut anything over 10A but I’m doing belt and braces here). Typical usage of the 1260wh delta is 50% a day, 2kw microwave, 1.5kw Nespresso, 32” oled tv. fridge & diesel night heater on 12v system. Go out for the day and its back to 100% in time for dinner. Its the perfect gadget for a small motorhome fits under the rear seat.

 
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Hello,

I'm fairly new to this. I own two PV panels (each 38Vmpp, 9.7A Isc, combined 740Wp) with a Hoymiles grid-tie micro inverter because sadly that's all my local laws allow in my garden apartment. This works ok.

Recently I also purchased a Victron SmartSolar 100/20 with the intention to have a little backup power in the unlikely event that the grid goes down while the sun is out. I would just manually disconnect the grid-tie inverter and connect the Victron then.

By my calculations the 100V Voc limit is ok down to -13.0°F/-25°C if I put the panels in series, the 20A current limit should also ok if I choose to put them in parallel, plus my orientation/tilt is somewhat suboptimal to begin with.

My batteries were going to be two 12V/54AH FLA acid car starter batteries, they're reused from my classic car (thus completely free) and I figure with 500Wh@40% DOD they'll still be good to charge a phone/laptop and a few LEDs during an unlikely emergency. I can't justify an expensive LiFePo4 battery that may not be used for years.

Now the situation is that I was gifted an "Ecoflow River" solar generator a few weeks ago. This device's solar charging capability is very limited at 200W (with max 25 Voc and max 10A).

My question: Is there an efficient way to charge the Ecoflow with my existing panels and the Victron SCC?
  1. Attaching the Ecoflow to the panels directly would be a good idea to observe blue electronics smoke

  2. Attaching the Ecoflow to one 12V battery charged by the Victron limits charging to 120W (built in 12V/10A limit of Ecoflow)

  3. Attaching the Ecoflow to two 12V batteries in series charged by the Victron is likely going to push me over the 25V limit (worried what happens then, so haven't tried this yet)

  4. Attaching the Victron directly to the Ecoflow with fixed 24V absorption/float will charge it (tried this!), but the power output keeps oscillating between 200W (expected) and zero (not good) every 15 seconds or so.
I assume this is because the Ecoflow MPPT-input doesn't output a voltage, so the Victron's charging algorithms get confused?
Or does attaching a MPPT controller to the output of another one generally not work for reasons related to the power tracking algorithms?

Any ideas would be welcome before I sell the Ecoflow and buy a small Victron Phoenix 24/375 or 12/375 inverter instead.
Connect the ecoflow to the load output of the victron (or the 12v battery) and you’ll get @120watt 12v, probably the best you can get?
 
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