Need help with new Growatt SPF 3000TL LVM...

[DesertDude]

Greetings Everyone!
This is basically my very first post, so let me introduce myself. My name is Patrick, aka the OGDIYDD... the Off-grid - Do-It-Yourself - DesertDude!
I've been completely off-grid for a little over 8 years now, living out in the middle of nowhere, in the southeast corner of the Arizona desert... in a tent.
Yeah, I live in a tent... without heating or cooling, not to mention running water. But it's a big tent, and furnished well enough, and I've done well enough having had solar power from the very beginning. I started with a 12V older technology system - having 8 125Ah AGM batteries, 8 100W solar panels, a Xantrex 60A solar controller, and most recently a 5000W inverter. It's all served well enough through the years, but I'm to the point now where things have just gone off the rails. My first set of 7 AGM batteries did quite well I thought, having lasted 4.5 years. My second set didn't fair nearly as well... thought I thought adding an eighth battery would make 'em last even longer. Sadly, they only made it a little over three years and I'm now forced to put into service my latest purchases.

At the beginning of this year, I started doing more research into the latest in solar technology... planning ahead knowing I only had about a year left or so with my current solar setup, only to discover the the AGM batteries I bought before had gone up about a hundred bucks. It was then that I discovered the newest technology - that being LiFePo4. After extensive research and scouring all that I could find out about it all, and mostly watching a lot of the videos from Will Prowse, I first purchased an EG4 LiFePower4 24V 200Ah from Sig Solar and soon to follow a Growatt SPF 3000TL 24V unit. I did this all thinking I'd have it all ready to go in a year or so when my current system began to fail.
Sadly however, much to my dismay, I've already spent 4 months of this year in the hospital having had multiple surgeries, but that's another story. When I was most recently discharged and upon arriving home, I quickly discovered that my solar system was failing... and badly. I knew I had to put my newest equipment into service... and right away. Yet, I hadn't even begun to build the new storage shack to house all of this new LiFePo equipment, much less the new mounting racks for the new solar panels I purchased just last week (4 360W panels). So for now it's all temporarily in my living room.

So, I said all of that just to say this...!!!
I consider myself a pretty technical sorta dude, having been an electronic and computer tech most of my life, a ham radio operator, so on and so forth. And I did quite well with my original solar setup, so I thought this latest addition was gonna be a piece of cake. Boy was I wrong! I won't begin to go into the nightmare I first faced in getting it all working, but for the past few weeks I've at least been able to get by with having power.
So my main question is this... to those in the know of the Growatt inverter stated previously.
How in the world do I set the thing to stop charging??? On several occasions, much to my horror, it's reached a SoC of 100% and still keeps going, to the point where the batteries become out of balance in 3 or 4 cells at least and that scares me... since I know that's not a good thing!
I'll admit freely I'm such a newbie with this LiFePo stuff, and I know I've got so much to learn, but I can't for the life of me figure out what I'm doing wrong. Just when I think I've got it all figured out it all goes to hell, which has happened several times now.
From all that I've been able to garner from research and watching videos, the most important settings dealing with this are numbers 19, 20, and 21 in the setup menu, and #19 that sets the cut-off voltage to stop charging. Yet, sometimes that never happens and I'm baffled as to why. I'd like it cut off charging at about 95% SoC, which is where it's at right this very moment from today's charging. I just noticed the amperage is only half of what it was from an hour or so ago, with the sun at 2:00pm starting to move out of full charge range... but what do I know.
Anyway, I apologize for being so long winded, but just hoping all this info will be enough for someone to shed some light on my dilemma. In the beginning I thought the Growatt would be able to "talk" to the EG4 battery BMS, but now as I understand it the Growatt Lithium setting will only communicate with Growatt batteries. Henceforth, I have the Growatt #5 setting - Battery Type - set to US2 and #19 set to 25.6V and having played with the range from 25.5V to 25.7V, with any more than that overcharging the battery.

Any and all help would be most greatly appreciated, and I thank you in advance. I'll shut up now!!!

//patrick - The Desert Dude

 

[sparrowhawk]

I also have the SPF 3000TL 24V unit and my settings are #19 27.4 volts #20 27.2 volts and #21 is 23 volts. A lot of people have problems when they set the inverter to USE2, so setting it to USE usually corrects most charging issues. Also Lifepo4 batteries charge to a higher voltage then agm of flooded batteries so you may be expecting the charging to stop sooner then it should.

 

[Northernchateau]

I have/run 2 Growatt units and this guys IMO does a great job explaining set-up and features.

 

[DesertDude]

I also have the SPF 3000TL 24V unit and my settings are #19 27.4 volts #20 27.2 volts and #21 is 23 volts. A lot of people have problems when they set the inverter to USE2, so setting it to USE usually corrects most charging issues. Also Lifepo4 batteries charge to a higher voltage then agm of flooded batteries so you may be expecting the charging to stop sooner then it should.

Hey sparrowhawk! (great name btw...)
I can't thank you enough for your time, insight and willingness to help me out... it is more greatly appreciated than you know.
Well, in my endeavor to figure it all out, I've tried every single battery type (#5) that there is I think, except for flooded. I first set it to AGM since I saw Will Prowse recommend that and said it would work fine. I also spent days trying to figure out how to make it work with the Lithium setting, since that seems the most logical and the hope of the Growatt communicating with the battery BMS. But that always produced an alarm code of 4 & 20. With the help of a neighbor we finally constructed a cable with the correct wiring (in essence a crossover cable) which indeed got rid of the 20 error code, but not the 04 (low battery???), so I eventually gave up on that. Most recently I settled on battery type USE2 from a YouTube video from a guy who questioned the validity of float voltage in a LiFePo battery.
Anyway, I'm answering before trying anything yet, but once finished here I'll dig in and try setting it back to USE and see what happens there. As of now, what ever I set #19 to also sets #20 to as well, but I know that changes in regards to battery type.
I'm also confused as to why the battery now stops charging too soon, rather than too late. My ultimate concern is that it doesn't stop soon enough and overcharges the battery and the battery balances get all out of whack. But now, for the past two days, it stops charge in the SoC range of the mid-80's! Actually that's fine, and I'll accept that, from a blurb I think I heard too from Will P. that the battery will last longer if you keep it in the range of 20% to 80% SoC. I'm just confused as to why this, or all of what's going on, is occurring.
I just kinda have to figure this out before I go back in for another surgery later this month and won't be here to monitor everything and it scares the hell out of me thinking the battery could be destroyed if something goes terribly wrong.
So again, I thank you immensely for your time and effort, and I wish you a great weekend. Take care!

 

[DesertDude]

I have/run 2 Growatt units and this guys IMO does a great job explaining set-up and features.

I think I've watched every video out there, including this one, but I'll be damned sure to check it out again. I've taken in so much knowledge and such it all kinda gets scrambled in my feeble little brain! So I thank you greatly for your reply and willingness to reach out and offer some help... it means a lot to me and I am so grateful. Take care and have a good one!

 

[sparrowhawk]

Hey sparrowhawk! (great name btw...)
I can't thank you enough for your time, insight and willingness to help me out... it is more greatly appreciated than you know.
Well, in my endeavor to figure it all out, I've tried every single battery type (#5) that there is I think, except for flooded. I first set it to AGM since I saw Will Prowse recommend that and said it would work fine. I also spent days trying to figure out how to make it work with the Lithium setting, since that seems the most logical and the hope of the Growatt communicating with the battery BMS. But that always produced an alarm code of 4 & 20. With the help of a neighbor we finally constructed a cable with the correct wiring (in essence a crossover cable) which indeed got rid of the 20 error code, but not the 04 (low battery???), so I eventually gave up on that. Most recently I settled on battery type USE2 from a YouTube video from a guy who questioned the validity of float voltage in a LiFePo battery.
Anyway, I'm answering before trying anything yet, but once finished here I'll dig in and try setting it back to USE and see what happens there. As of now, what ever I set #19 to also sets #20 to as well, but I know that changes in regards to battery type.
I'm also confused as to why the battery now stops charging too soon, rather than too late. My ultimate concern is that it doesn't stop soon enough and overcharges the battery and the battery balances get all out of whack. But now, for the past two days, it stops charge in the SoC range of the mid-80's! Actually that's fine, and I'll accept that, from a blurb I think I heard too from Will P. that the battery will last longer if you keep it in the range of 20% to 80% SoC. I'm just confused as to why this, or all of what's going on, is occurring.
I just kinda have to figure this out before I go back in for another surgery later this month and won't be here to monitor everything and it scares the hell out of me thinking the battery could be destroyed if something goes terribly wrong.
So again, I thank you immensely for your time and effort, and I wish you a great weekend. Take care!

When you use the use2 setting it will change some settings so no matter what you set them at they will change back to whatever use2 wants them at. If the growatt is stopping charging before your battery is fully charged then it could be from having it set on the use2 setting or settings #19 & #20.

Some other possibilities could have to do with the battery being so far out of balance. A battery can get out of balance if it's being charged/discharged at a very high c-rate which can throw individual cells out of wack. I know this because I've been there done that. Charging at a lower c-rate will keep cells that may be runners from peaking before the other cells have a chance to catch up.

It could also be because the battery may be constructed from used or grade b cells and they will be difficult if not impossible to keep balanced without adding some other form of balancing. I'm not sure how many batteries are being built from less than ideal cells but I suspect most if not all of the lower cost batteries are made this way.

And as far as I know your EG4 LiFePower4 is not designed to communicate with Growatt so I suggest removing the communication cable all together, as it's possible it may be gumming up the works.

You also don't say if you have a single EG4 LiFePower4 or not. If you have more than one then how you wire them together can have a huge effect on how well they stay balanced when being charged/discharged.

 

[Mattb4]

Post deleted.

 

[DesertDude]

When you use the use2 setting it will change some settings so no matter what you set them at they will change back to whatever use2 wants them at. If the growatt is stopping charging before your battery is fully charged then it could be from having it set on the use2 setting or settings #19 & #20.

Some other possibilities could have to do with the battery being so far out of balance. A battery can get out of balance if it's being charged/discharged at a very high c-rate which can throw individual cells out of wack. I know this because I've been there done that. Charging at a lower c-rate will keep cells that may be runners from peaking before the other cells have a chance to catch up.

It could also be because the battery may be constructed from used or grade b cells and they will be difficult if not impossible to keep balanced without adding some other form of balancing. I'm not sure how many batteries are being built from less than ideal cells but I suspect most if not all of the lower cost batteries are made this way.

And as far as I know your EG4 LiFePower4 is not designed to communicate with Growatt so I suggest removing the communication cable all together, as it's possible it may be gumming up the works.

You also don't say if you have a single EG4 LiFePower4 or not. If you have more than one then how you wire them together can have a huge effect on how well they stay balanced when being charged/discharged.

I can't thank you enough again... your reply is a really good one and most welcomed and appreciated.

Immediately upon completion of my reply yesterday and as I said I would do, I promptly switched the battery type from USE2 back to USE as you so kindly suggested, which is where I will now keep it. I did leave setting #19 at 27.5V however and let the system run until mid-afternoon when the battery fully charged to a SoC of 100%. That made me a bit nervous, at which point I then set it back down to the voltage you have yours at - 27.4V. At that point, the sun was lower in the sky and the charging stopped, which left me wondering was it because there was no longer enough current to keep charging or if indeed the Growatt ceased to charge anymore because the limit had been reached. I guess today I'll find out!

I'm gonna say that about 99% of the time the battery cells remain in very close balance, usually in the thousandths range... and right now they're within 0.007V range of each other. The only time they got out of whack is when the SoC reached 100% and the Growatt kept charging and I had to step in and force it to quit charging, at which point they fell to within tolerance in no time at all. I do trust Will P. as well as SigSolar in their statements in saying the cells are brand new and Tier One, A+ Cells, so I'm not too worried about that.

A bit ironic, but I too wondered if the RS485 cable still connected might be causing erroneous readings and/or complications, so I disconnected it yesterday afternoon, so no worries there either. Also, I only have one of the EG4 LiFePower4 batteries at the moment, though I hope to purchase another as soon as finances will permit. That will bring about a whole new set of questions further on down the road, but for now it's a moot point.

Oh! And also, my average charging current from the solar panels runs around 20 amps (+/-) through most of the day, which I believe is well within range and probably on the low side. But it's enough to fully charge the battery as long as it doesn't become too cloudy... and out here in the Arizona desert that only happens occasionally.

One thing that trouble me however, that being the voltage readings given by the two different devices (the LiFePower4 battery and the Growatt). I'm running the software app (which I so hugely love and watch like a hawk) which came with the EG4, and that is the BMS-Test app which gives a full display of every single reading imaginable. It gives a voltage that is spot on of the battery, which I just this moment confirmed with a DVM and is sitting at 27.3 volts. However, the battery reading from the Growatt display says 27.7V! That's quite a difference and I don't understand that or why such a difference.

Again, I've carried on enough. It's now about11:30am - the battery is at a SoC of 98.8% and still charging away, though the current has dropped to about 15 amps even though the sun is at it's highest point and fullest impact to charge. (Will the Growatt crank down the current as it approaches full charge??? And since the Growatt isn't communicating with the battery BMS does it even know the battery is at full charge???)

Again, I have to thank you immensely for all your help, and within moments I should know the results whether it will cease to stop charging. I'll shut up now, but I may be back very soon cuz somehow I'm guessing the Growatt will keep on a keepin' on with the charge.

 

[DesertDude]

Your settings are way low for charging. I get that your battery is having individual cell balance issues. Typical 24v LifePO4 (8S) batteries charge to a full of 29.2v with resting voltage of 27.2 for 100% SOC. Typically the default Boost settings for your AIO will be less than 29.2v and often at 28.4v or thereabouts with some recommneding 27.6v for Float. You may need to do a few full charge and discharge cycles to try to iron out your cells balance issues. It would help if you have a stand alone charger but if not at least bump up the charging voltages on your Growatt.

There is also the possibility that you have a bad 24v battery.

Concerning SOC readings. They are not often reliable if simply based on voltage or the AIO's guess at what they are. I would not worry that you are overcharging based on that. Real voltage readings after rest will give you a better answer.

Hey Matt... thanks a million times over for the input, and I'm truly impressed with all that you have to say. Sadly, I guess I'm such of a moronic newbie that I have to say I haven't a clue what you just said! Mostly - I don't even know or understand what AIO even is!!!

I just spent quite awhile answering Sparrowhawk's reply and reporting what's been going on with the latest results of the battery charging this morning, and as of now the battery just reached what the software is reporting as now being 100% charged. But with your posting and most welcomed info, I now kinda wonder if I understand anything!!!

But actually no... for the most part I do not think I'm having cell balance issues overall whatsoever. It's only happened a couple of times when theS2 Eg4 LiFePower4 24V battery reaches 100% SoC and keeps charging because the Growatt doesn't know when to stop. Or if I understand correctly, maybe it's not fully charged and keeps going cuz that's what it's supposed to do. Most of the time the cell balances are within 0.002V of each other, and only when the battery keeps going does it get out of whack.

However, right now the software app states I'm at full SoC, the Growatt is still charging, and the cell balance difference is now in the tenths rather than the thousandths... at 0.034V and the cells are at 3.4 volts.

But I'm gonna again shut up, since it seems I'm very confused once again, but would you be so kind to let me know what "AIO" is and I can take it from there!

Thanks again so much!!!

 

[DesertDude]

Post deleted.

Post deleted...??? I don't understand...

 

[DesertDude]

Hey Matt... thanks a million times over for the input, and I'm truly impressed with all that you have to say. Sadly, I guess I'm such of a moronic newbie that I have to say I haven't a clue what you just said! Mostly - I don't even know or understand what AIO even is!!!

I just spent quite awhile answering Sparrowhawk's reply and reporting what's been going on with the latest results of the battery charging this morning, and as of now the battery just reached what the software is reporting as now being 100% charged. But with your posting and most welcomed info, I now kinda wonder if I understand anything!!!

But actually no... for the most part I do not think I'm having cell balance issues overall whatsoever. It's only happened a couple of times when theS2 Eg4 LiFePower4 24V battery reaches 100% SoC and keeps charging because the Growatt doesn't know when to stop. Or if I understand correctly, maybe it's not fully charged and keeps going cuz that's what it's supposed to do. Most of the time the cell balances are within 0.002V of each other, and only when the battery keeps going does it get out of whack.

However, right now the software app states I'm at full SoC, the Growatt is still charging, and the cell balance difference is now in the tenths rather than the thousandths... at 0.034V and the cells are at 3.4 volts.

But I'm gonna again shut up, since it seems I'm very confused once again, but would you be so kind to let me know what "AIO" is and I can take it from there!

Thanks again so much!!!

Oh... I just figured it out... AIO is "All In One..."

 

[Mattb4]

Post deleted...??? I don't understand...

Did not want to tell you stuff you already knew. So I deleted it.

 

[DesertDude]

I can't thank you enough again... your reply is a really good one and most welcomed and appreciated.

Immediately upon completion of my reply yesterday and as I said I would do, I promptly switched the battery type from USE2 back to USE as you so kindly suggested, which is where I will now keep it. I did leave setting #19 at 27.5V however and let the system run until mid-afternoon when the battery fully charged to a SoC of 100%. That made me a bit nervous, at which point I then set it back down to the voltage you have yours at - 27.4V. At that point, the sun was lower in the sky and the charging stopped, which left me wondering was it because there was no longer enough current to keep charging or if indeed the Growatt ceased to charge anymore because the limit had been reached. I guess today I'll find out!

I'm gonna say that about 99% of the time the battery cells remain in very close balance, usually in the thousandths range... and right now they're within 0.007V range of each other. The only time they got out of whack is when the SoC reached 100% and the Growatt kept charging and I had to step in and force it to quit charging, at which point they fell to within tolerance in no time at all. I do trust Will P. as well as SigSolar in their statements in saying the cells are brand new and Tier One, A+ Cells, so I'm not too worried about that.

A bit ironic, but I too wondered if the RS485 cable still connected might be causing erroneous readings and/or complications, so I disconnected it yesterday afternoon, so no worries there either. Also, I only have one of the EG4 LiFePower4 batteries at the moment, though I hope to purchase another as soon as finances will permit. That will bring about a whole new set of questions further on down the road, but for now it's a moot point.

Oh! And also, my average charging current from the solar panels runs around 20 amps (+/-) through most of the day, which I believe is well within range and probably on the low side. But it's enough to fully charge the battery as long as it doesn't become too cloudy... and out here in the Arizona desert that only happens occasionally.

One thing that trouble me however, that being the voltage readings given by the two different devices (the LiFePower4 battery and the Growatt). I'm running the software app (which I so hugely love and watch like a hawk) which came with the EG4, and that is the BMS-Test app which gives a full display of every single reading imaginable. It gives a voltage that is spot on of the battery, which I just this moment confirmed with a DVM and is sitting at 27.3 volts. However, the battery reading from the Growatt display says 27.7V! That's quite a difference and I don't understand that or why such a difference.

Again, I've carried on enough. It's now about11:30am - the battery is at a SoC of 98.8% and still charging away, though the current has dropped to about 15 amps even though the sun is at it's highest point and fullest impact to charge. (Will the Growatt crank down the current as it approaches full charge??? And since the Growatt isn't communicating with the battery BMS does it even know the battery is at full charge???)

Again, I have to thank you immensely for all your help, and within moments I should know the results whether it will cease to stop charging. I'll shut up now, but I may be back very soon cuz somehow I'm guessing the Growatt will keep on a keepin' on with the charge.

Follow-up...

I received another reply from a fellow user, in which he stated my charging voltages were way too low. He then suddenly, before I even had the chance to finish replying, deleted the post. But it led me to believe I really don't know what I'm doing and now I'm even more confused. Oh well, such is life.

But anyway... I'm following up because, as I feared, I believe things are not going well. The SoC reached 100% and the Growatt just kept charging, to the point where I now think the cell balances are getting out of whack! But again, the previous dude said I wasn't charging enough, so now I'm questioning everything again. There are four cells that are being reported as 'iffy', or whatever.

So now I ask, importantly... "What constitutes a LiFePo cell being out of balance?" I mean, how much of a voltage difference constitutes being out of balance. Usually, as stated before, the difference is usually only in the thousandths. But with the continual charge it dropped into the hundredths, and now it's in the tenths - at about 0.15V.

At least however, the Growatt finally decided it's at full SoC and quit charging, only supplying enough to current to run the appliances I have running (overhead lighting, laptops, fridge). But this time I decided just to let everything run its course and just see what happens.

It also occurs to me that what I'm basing everything on is the BMS-Test app that is a companion the the S2 EG4 battery and you're probably not familiar with, so here's a screen shot of this.


Here's hoping the insert of the screenshot worked as I am hoping... and I let it go as this. Thanks!

 

[DesertDude]

Follow-up...

I received another reply from a fellow user, in which he stated my charging voltages were way too low. He then suddenly, before I even had the chance to finish replying, deleted the post. But it led me to believe I really don't know what I'm doing and now I'm even more confused. Oh well, such is life.

But anyway... I'm following up because, as I feared, I believe things are not going well. The SoC reached 100% and the Growatt just kept charging, to the point where I now think the cell balances are getting out of whack! But again, the previous dude said I wasn't charging enough, so now I'm questioning everything again. There are four cells that are being reported as 'iffy', or whatever.

So now I ask, importantly... "What constitutes a LiFePo cell being out of balance?" I mean, how much of a voltage difference constitutes being out of balance. Usually, as stated before, the difference is usually only in the thousandths. But with the continual charge it dropped into the hundredths, and now it's in the tenths - at about 0.15V.

At least however, the Growatt finally decided it's at full SoC and quit charging, only supplying enough to current to run the appliances I have running (overhead lighting, laptops, fridge). But this time I decided just to let everything run its course and just see what happens.

It also occurs to me that what I'm basing everything on is the BMS-Test app that is a companion the the S2 EG4 battery and you're probably not familiar with, so here's a screen shot of this.
View attachment 119340

Here's hoping the insert of the screenshot worked as I am hoping... and I let it go as this. Thanks!

Okay... I'm back! I'm just assuming here that cells 1, 2, 3 and 6 are out of balance... or is this just a warning they're approaching that???
Since then the cell differential is now up to 0.23V... but is that enough to actually say they are truly out of balance? And if so, is that enough to cause damage to the cells and/or overall battery health??

 

[DesertDude]

Did not want to tell you stuff you already knew. So I deleted it.

Hey Matt, what you said I didn't have a clue about, and I regarded your expertise as monumental. Anyway, thanks!

 

[Mattb4]

It is a long thread but you might glean some information from it. https://diysolarforum.com/threads/b...mum-battery-stress-5-000-10-000-cycles.34813/

My own personal feelings is I listen to all the experts, I pass on what the experts say is best, and I do what seems to work best for my situation in spite of that. I am no expert.

Thanks for understanding.

 

[acdoctor]

So I don’t have the EG4 batteries but I have a 7.2 kw DIY LFP battery conned to the same growatt.

First let’s talk about the battery. Many people have been on here discussing their EG4s being out of balance near the top, so much so that they were loosing a little capacity and having issues with the BMS shutting down. Or in the cases where the com wires worked the BMS’s throttling the inverter back. So it may be necessary for you to change to the point where the cells start to go rogue and stop charging. Then over time increase to a suitable voltage. I don’t recall what the EG4 recommended charging parameter’s are. But the cell chemistry is considered fully charged at 3.65 VPC and empty at 2.5 VPC. So theirs nothing wrong with 3.4. VPC you mentioned earlier. In fact most BMSs don’t start cell balancing until 3.4 to 3.45 VPC. As long as the BMS isn’t disconnecting from individual cell over voltage I would continue to charge preferably at a slower rate ( like as the sun gets low) to allow the balance circuit time to work it’s magic.

I have a discrepancy between the voltage meter in my growatt and everything else in my system including 2 hand held meters. Mine is about 0.4 volts off. That doesn’t sound like much but with LFPs it is.

I charge to 28.0 volts at the battery or 3.5 volts per cell and a cell differential of 0.015 to 0.010 volts. I float at 27 volts at the battery or 3.375 VPC.
I have mine set to grid as first priority. With it set that way as soon as the generator is going it starts charging from it. With out fiddling with the settings.

My settings:
01. UEI
02. 80
03. APL
04. SdS
05. USE
06. Lfd
07. Lfd
08. 120
09. 60
10. 2
11. 40
12. 25
13. 26
14. SNU
15. bON
16. LON
17. AON
18. bYd
19. 27.6
20. 26.6
21. 23.6
22. SbE
23. SiG
28. 1
43. dIS

 

[acdoctor]

Follow up, SOC determined by the BMS is done by using an internal shut. But it isn’t exact so, to help it stay on track when the battery voltage reaches a preset voltage in the BMS it resets to 100%. Some as I understand need to be bottomed out then to the top in order to calculate itself.

 

[DesertDude]

To everyone that has now replied... I THANK YOU IMMENSELY!!!
But as all this new info comes in, and so much of it I barely understand, much less what to do to correct what might the the problem(s), it seems now my feeble little brain has turned to oatmeal. I apologize to all for my lack of knowledge and increasingly amount of confusion that seems to have taken over. I'll try and respond to each in as short a response as I can. I know I can be so verbose, which isn't helping matters I'm guessing. Please bear with me...

 

[DesertDude]

It is a long thread but you might glean some information from it. https://diysolarforum.com/threads/b...mum-battery-stress-5-000-10-000-cycles.34813/

My own personal feelings is I listen to all the experts, I pass on what the experts say is best, and I do what seems to work best for my situation in spite of that. I am no expert.

Thanks for understanding.

Wow, thanks. It is indeed a long thread, and I've only had mere moments in which to try and garner enough useful information. I've now had two new replies and most of what said there is also above my head or I'm not understanding how to correct things to rectify my urgent situation. Thanks again, and especially for your understanding as well.