Looks like Victron makes some nice stuff. as I learn more, I,have more thoughts for my “work in progress”:Sounds like you need a Victron Multiplus 48-3000. Add your favorite server rack battery and go. You can just leave it all wired up with a power in cord to the genny. When you hit LVD start it up. Then you can set your AC input limit to match the genny and not waste any watts. One thing to remember is generators have an efficiency curve. Just like all petrol engines, running them above 85% burns a ton of fuel for very little additional output. If I remember you have a honda 2000 or something similar. Limiting it to 10 amps would be much more fuel efficient and make it last a lot longer than trying to max it out every time to charge the battery as fast as possible.
1200W / 28V charging = 42.8Aif the array is 1200 watts it’s either 50 a at 24v or 25a atn48,volts. Watts are watts right?
Any advantage to 24v charging at a higher amperage? (Faster?)1200W / 28V charging = 42.8A
1200W / 56V charging = 21.4A
Yes, watts are watts. Both voltages, from charging standpoint, are reasonable and manageable.
Your loads, especially with an inverter, if approaching 3000VA will be much more easily wired and fused with 48V battery. Do some shopping for wires and fuses, this alone may sway your battery voltage decision.
This is all the same putting 1200W into a (25.6 @200AH or 51.2 @100) = 5120Wh battery.Any advantage to 24v charging at a higher amperage? (Faster?)
At 28V charging (25.6V nominal), you are using 42.8% of the 100A charge capabilityShould I buy the biggest charge controller? (250/100)? Do t really need it but if I ever did, it’s cheaper now.
2 reasons.This is all the same putting 1200W into a (25.6 @200AH or 51.2 @100) = 5120Wh battery.
5120Wh capacity / 1200W = 4.26h
At 28V charging (25.6V nominal), you are using 42.8% of the 100A charge capability
At 56V charging (51.2V nominal), you are using 21.4% of the 100A charge capability
So with that huge SCC, you can double charging easily (almost 5x at 48V).
Depending on your array voltage ...
Why not a 150/50 ? Just right at 24V.
Why not a 150/30 ? Plenty big at 48V.
How much expansion?I’d rather plan for expansion.
I have no idea what changes, if any down the road. Just want to be able to charge my 48v 100Ah “power box” reasonably with solar.How much expansion?
You can double your solar at 24V or 5x at 48V.
Down the road if you bought a second SCC you'd have redundancy if that interests you.
Right vs wrong? If you have an idea what changes you plan to make, you can make more informed choices.
I would need a diagram or annotated pic to understand what you mean.So, can I skip the bus bar? Multipluss on one set of terminals, charge control on the other set? As long as everything is fused, and has a breaker?
Wire a female outlet to the controller, and a male outlet to the array, and connect with extention cord when needed.
I’m not working the array permantly. I’m gonna use a heavy duty extention cord with twist locks to plug in.I would need a diagram or annotated pic to understand what you mean.
If your battery has 2 terminals, that could be your bus bar.If the inverter can be connected to terminals then controller can too?
I can skip the busbar, OR use the Victron distributor. It’ll give me a nice clean instal, everything is fused. Battery has a breaker, and array will have disconnect.If your battery has 2 terminals, that could be your bus bar.
I always fuse battery to inverter and rarely fuse SCC to battery. Its nice having discrete wiring too so you can wire and fuse for the specific amperage (one might charge at 40A and discharge at 150A).
Yes, during the coldest part of the winter that kept the battery nicely warm and I could charge the next morning without any issue even when inside temps dropped to 20's (interior is not insulated yet).So a few months later, much research, and pondering…….
1. Did you end up trying the 150w coop heater? How was it?
I cut off the clamps and wired them with ring terminals. I still need to cut the outer insulation back more to make it look better but that worked well.2. Are you going to wire the chargers up, or just clamp them to the battery (or rack busbars?)
Both. With both of them on my typical daily use right now can be recovered in about 1.25 - 1.6hrs of recharge time.3. Are you using 1 or both chargers?
It's 5,600W (2 x 2800W inverters for 1 x 240V or 2 x 120V)4. How big is your genny? Is it enough to run both chargers?
I liked the setup as shown in Will's video and it seemed like pretty good bang for the buck. The idle current is higher than I would like but I'll add a panel to compensate.5. Why eq4?
The 48V battery they offer is 100Ah. The form factor works well, I liked the cabinet and if one battery fails I would be fine running on the remaining till I got it replaced.6. Why 2 (eventually) 100a batteries instead of 1 220a battery?
I was not aware of the CS issues around EG4 at the time I purchased. So far my personal experience has been good and they have answered my questions within a day or two, or immediately when I called.im really liking the trophy batteries. Trying to decide if I want 100a, or 220. Customer service is prompt to answer emails. The eq4 guys, not so much.
I like it too. Had I understood when I bought about the limitations of utility charging on the AIO units and that this would be coming I would have waited and ordered it. The 2 36A chargers are good enough though.I really like the new eq4 100a charger. Still trying to figure out how it switches from 120 to 240 (still waiting an email response).
That’s not a negative- fan cooling is a bonus for longevity imhonegative (to me) is the fan cooling. One more thing to fail, could suck in dust
That’s not a negative- fan cooling is a bonus for longevity imho
Vacuum and compressed air is part of maintenance imho. Every few months or six months clean them when you do your monthly inspections and connection checks.They DO collect dust.
Vacuum and compressed air is part of maintenance imho. Every few months or six months clean them when you do your monthly inspections and connection checks.
I think your situation calls for 24v. The larger 48v systems have double the standby consumption, which requires more battery and PV. Something to consider is a 2500w 24v inverter is going to exceed 100 amps of many BMS's. Chins makes a 12v self heated battery (works off charge current just like trophy) There is a 250ah with 200a BMS. Put 2 of these in series and you would be all set.
One thing I don't understand is why you wouldn't use the AC charger function of the AIO? You can program the charge current to work with your generator capacity. Using a standalone seem unnecessary.