FOIIOE VESTWOODS 12V 300Ah 200A BMS Rookie Questions

[Capt Tango]

I am YouTube Certified Solar novice and just purchased 2 Ea. FOIIOE VESTWOODS 12V 300Ah 200A BMS LiFePO4s and have a few questions.

1. I had to buy from two different Amazon post because they only allowed 1 battery purchase per order. One was an "Ultra" for $649 the other was a "Plus" for $629, what's the difference between the two other than price?

2. I'm doing the initial charge, charging one battery at a time. I just looked at the charger readings after 8 hours at the 20 Amp setting and I'm getting 14.6 volts but only 163 AH. Does that mean I need another 7 hours to bring it up to the rated 300 AH? 300 - 163 AH Divided by 20 Amps + 6.85 Hours?

3. With 600AH @ 12Volts battery pack how many watts should I have with flat mounted panels on the roof of an RV? I'm considering 4 Ea. 400 Watt panels.

4. With less than perfect solar conditions while boon docking is it best to go all parallel or parallel/series? I'm using a 150/100 MPPT and 8 AGW so I think I'm okay down stream.

 

[TacomaJoe]

Looks like the "Ultra" has a 300A BMS and "Plus" is a 200A BMS. Myself, I wouldn't pull more than 100A for any period of time, just don't want to tax the BMS.

Keep charging until you see the current dropping down. As long as it is taking current, it still needs charging. The AH and SOC readings may need a couple cycles to get into sync.

For me in WA, my 300W of panels will add about 100AH a day to my capacity. 1600W in AZ would come pretty close to your 600AH.

MPPT likes series panels for low light but series suffer from shade issues. I have my 3 panels in series and bite the bullet with shading.