I've got the above Renogy MPPT DC/DC charger, a 100W solar panel and a 20 amp LiFePO4 Relion house battery with the LT (low temperature) feature: where current is used to heat the battery, need be, first, before it is applied to charge the battery.
Relion says this heating should slow down charging by maybe an hour or so over times when such heating is not needed.
Normally you'd think a 100W panel charging a 20 amp LiFePO4 battery would be (correct me if I'm wrong) child's play for the solar panel. But I rarely get voltages in this Relion battery beyond 13.4V.
Would anyone care to conjecture on why I'm not achieving higher voltages on the Relion battery? Is it my user voltage settings, or the current going to initially heat the battery, or the cold temperatures causing the battery's BMS to reduce the current allowed into the battery? Currently nothing is drawing power from the Relion battery but the DCC30S itself. Are these voltages normal. Should I wait for temperatures in the 40's + Farenheit before drawing conclusions.
I was really hoping that this 100W panel would quickly charge the LiFePO4 battery so it could get to the business thereafter of trickle charging the starter battery.
I have the battery type of the house battery set to "User" type via the Renogy BT-2 WiFi product, and the Renogy BT or DC Home app on my smart phone. My voltage settings are similar to that of the Lithium type, just tweaked somewhat based on posts here.
I'd consider abandoning use of the DCC30S but know of no DC MPPT charging competitor that trickle charges the starter battery. Perhaps I need a dual MPPT charger and DC/DC charger.
Is there such a thing as DC/DC chargers that not only let the starter battery charge the house battery when the alternator is running, but the house battery (trickle) charge the starter battery when the house battery has the current to do so?
Thanks.
Relion says this heating should slow down charging by maybe an hour or so over times when such heating is not needed.
Normally you'd think a 100W panel charging a 20 amp LiFePO4 battery would be (correct me if I'm wrong) child's play for the solar panel. But I rarely get voltages in this Relion battery beyond 13.4V.
Would anyone care to conjecture on why I'm not achieving higher voltages on the Relion battery? Is it my user voltage settings, or the current going to initially heat the battery, or the cold temperatures causing the battery's BMS to reduce the current allowed into the battery? Currently nothing is drawing power from the Relion battery but the DCC30S itself. Are these voltages normal. Should I wait for temperatures in the 40's + Farenheit before drawing conclusions.
I was really hoping that this 100W panel would quickly charge the LiFePO4 battery so it could get to the business thereafter of trickle charging the starter battery.
I have the battery type of the house battery set to "User" type via the Renogy BT-2 WiFi product, and the Renogy BT or DC Home app on my smart phone. My voltage settings are similar to that of the Lithium type, just tweaked somewhat based on posts here.
I'd consider abandoning use of the DCC30S but know of no DC MPPT charging competitor that trickle charges the starter battery. Perhaps I need a dual MPPT charger and DC/DC charger.
Is there such a thing as DC/DC chargers that not only let the starter battery charge the house battery when the alternator is running, but the house battery (trickle) charge the starter battery when the house battery has the current to do so?
Thanks.