diy solar

diy solar

Growatt SPF 3000TL LVM-24P - won't turn on

Hello all, for those kind enough to assist me and for anyone interested in learning about this system i would like to update folks.. Just got back from my cabin and followed some sound advice to troubleshoot the Growatt system. First off thanks BenQ for the advise to connect two 12volt (any batteriers) in series to see if this will activate the system... So I took my two 12 volt marine boat batteries and hooked them in series and connected to the Growatt system. It kicked on immediately :giggle: and ran like a charm... I've played with the set up and it seems to work perfectly... Thanks so much for that!! I have also spoken with Big Battery and they are attempting to mail me a battery charger for the LiFePo4 batteries to see if I can get them to a good setting to turn on the system...Right now they are resting comfortably at 23.8 V... Once again I will keep you all informed once I receive and charge up this battery... Apparently there are legal issues for them shipping to our quaint country... On a side note for you explorers, I did chat with my Electrician source up here and he suggested i run this marine battery system in parallel with the LiFe PO4 battery to see if it would charge up the Big Battery. I did this and it was running BUT when I disconnected the marine batteries to isolate the LiFePO4 battery, within a few minutes all systems shut down, even when i ran the generator (which ties in perfectly) to see it the Growatt built in battery charger would take over... Anyway, that failed but it's worth reporting for those loving details... Happy Aug 10 and I head up to Georgian bay for some Sea Kayaking fun on Thurs... Will post once i move forward with a battery charger.. cheers all.. and Thanks again.. ger
 
How much voltage was the panel putting out? The picture looks like the same panels I have (Trina 250w) and they normally put out 30-33v.
Yes, I normally get 30-33 VOC too. Amperage will vary depending on amount of sunlight.


The depleated battery had 21VOC. And I only needed it charge it to 23VOC with the solar panel (took no more than 10 minutes). That should get the Growatt started. The rest can be charged on Growatt (but make sure to adjust the Growatt settings right for your battery).
 
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Yes, I normally get 30-33 VOC too. Amperage will vary depending on amount of sunlight.


The deprecated battery had 21VOC. And I only needed it charge it to 23VOC with the solar panel (took no more than 10 minutes). That should get the Growatt started. The rest can be charged on Growatt (but make sure to adjust the Growatt settings right for your battery).
I was thinking that some batteries might not appreciate 30v+ charging.
 
I was thinking that some batteries might not appreciate 30v+ charging.
The battery will drop it down to its voltage. The problem will be when the voltage rises because the battery is fully charged, and doesn't stop until 30 volts. Dacian uses this with his DSSR20s and SBMS0 pair. Basically, hook up the solar panels to a 24v battery pack with an SSR, and then turn it off when the voltage gets high enough. It's not particularly dangerous, depending on the battery size and how many amps the panel can put out. Just use it to raise the battery SOC until the inverter recognizes it.
 
Moving forward to another observation/learning opportunity. ? attached is a video of voltage on the output side of the BMS when connected to the Growatt and when disconnected!! Strangely, the voltage is similar on both the input and output side of the BMS when not connected to anything, but drops down under 5 volts when I plug it into a perfectly running Growatt!! There is audio in the video. Thanks all!! ??
 
Unable to post video. Sorry, Didn’t realize only photos. Hopefully the explanation is enough. ☕
 
Ger did you manage to get your Li battery charged and fire up the Growatt on it? I'm in a similar fix, bought a Li battery that came partially charged by the guy who built it, installed it last night and wired a panel and AC output to my trailer. Got greedy and ran the battery down overnight trying to get the fridge cold. Big mistake! With the battery dead I can't turn on the Growatt, even with grid power from an extension cord (a neighbour provided) wired right into AC input (I did this the sketchy way, with 14/2 wire stripped and stuffed into the extension cord sockets then hardwired to the Growatt). Nor did the Growatt care about any efforts to supply PV power from 3x440W panels at noon. Canadian Tire seems to fall short on the 24V lithium charger front, and I'm afraid of the $40 chargers on Amazon. Curious as to how you ended up getting your battery charged Ger!
 
Ger did you manage to get your Li battery charged and fire up the Growatt on it? I'm in a similar fix, bought a Li battery that came partially charged by the guy who built it, installed it last night and wired a panel and AC output to my trailer. Got greedy and ran the battery down overnight trying to get the fridge cold. Big mistake! With the battery dead I can't turn on the Growatt, even with grid power from an extension cord (a neighbour provided) wired right into AC input (I did this the sketchy way, with 14/2 wire stripped and stuffed into the extension cord sockets then hardwired to the Growatt). Nor did the Growatt care about any efforts to supply PV power from 3x440W panels at noon. Canadian Tire seems to fall short on the 24V lithium charger front, and I'm afraid of the $40 chargers on Amazon. Curious as to how you ended up getting your battery charged Ger!
You can hook a solar panel directly to the battery. You might want to buy a cheap MPPT controller, just in case for the future.
 
Ger did you manage to get your Li battery charged and fire up the Growatt on it? I'm in a similar fix, bought a Li battery that came partially charged by the guy who built it, installed it last night and wired a panel and AC output to my trailer. Got greedy and ran the battery down overnight trying to get the fridge cold. Big mistake! With the battery dead I can't turn on the Growatt, even with grid power from an extension cord (a neighbour provided) wired right into AC input (I did this the sketchy way, with 14/2 wire stripped and stuffed into the extension cord sockets then hardwired to the Growatt). Nor did the Growatt care about any efforts to supply PV power from 3x440W panels at noon. Canadian Tire seems to fall short on the 24V lithium charger front, and I'm afraid of the $40 chargers on Amazon. Curious as to how you ended up getting your battery charged Ger!
 
Hi Rykelo
The short answer is no, not yet. I tried ordering a battery charger from big battery but ran into border issues. I am looking into buying a charge controller and just using it to charge the battery up. I hope to get on that later this month. I’m also not convinced the BMS is working properly. and so I will try to confirm that at some point. Sorry I’m not much help. Good luck.
 
Hi Rykelo
The short answer is no, not yet. I tried ordering a battery charger from big battery but ran into border issues. I am looking into buying a charge controller and just using it to charge the battery up. I hope to get on that later this month. I’m also not convinced the BMS is working properly. and so I will try to confirm that at some point. Sorry I’m not much help. Good luck.
I used one of these $40 cheap chargers on LiFePo4 mode and it had my battery charged in a little under a day: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08NVG5ZT3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Though I don't have a BMS... my solar guy built the battery custom and installed computer chips or something inside directly connected within the battery box to accomplish whatever the BMS does. I'm pretty ignorant to the technical stuff - but hopefully that charger can help you!
 
You can hook a solar panel directly to the battery. You might want to buy a cheap MPPT controller, just in case for the future.
Thanks Just John, I'll give that a go if my battery dies again. Although I think the Growatt has a setting to shut down battery consumption at a certain level.. so perhaps I can use that as a failsafe overnight or when using the battery during cloudy periods so I have enough juice to kick things back to life when it's sunny and I'm ready to draw PV power from the panels.
 
I used one of these $40 cheap chargers on LiFePo4 mode and it had my battery charged in a little under a day: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08NVG5ZT3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Though I don't have a BMS... my solar guy built the battery custom and installed computer chips or something inside directly connected within the battery box to accomplish whatever the BMS does. I'm pretty ignorant to the technical stuff - but hopefully that charger can help you!
Wow, congrats... That's so great it worked for you.. I appreciate your getting back to me and passing on the info. i may just give it a go.. Great price for hopefully a limited time use... Would love a solar company who rented chargers... I'm equally ignorant of some of the finer details, but it sure feels great to learn as i go... Happy your up and running and truly appreciate your sharing the information.. cheers.. ger
 
I haven't been back up to the cabin to try out the battery charger. The Growatt works great on my two 12volt marine batteries in series. I will post how the battery charger works on the 24V LiFePO4 powerwall as soon as I can. cheers
 
I haven't been back up to the cabin to try out the battery charger. The Growatt works great on my two 12volt marine batteries in series. I will post how the battery charger works on the 24V LiFePO4 powerwall as soon as I can. cheers
So I'm back up North and have topped up the LiFePO4 power wall to about 25 volts with the charger that Rykelo used from Amazon. It worked just fine getting my powerwall up a volt and a bit before showing charged. It still won't turn on the Growatt so I did some more exploration. Sure enough I'm getting plenty of volts on the input side of the BMS but only 7-8 volts on the output side. I've unplugged the BMS for 1 minute to let it reset (suggestion from Big Battery back when they were talking to me). Still low voltage on the output side when connected to the Growatt. Anyhow, just wanted to update folks and will move forward with how to test a BMS. I've attached a visual of the meter connected to the input side of the BMS and output side.. cheers all.LiFePO4-1.jpegLiFePO4-2.jpeg
 
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