Settings for Renogy Rover 60A and Overkill Solar BMS for 302 ah CATL 4s battery pack

[gaveupontv]

i think I have the important screen shots of my BMS with Overkill Solar for my 4S 302 Ah CATL battery pack. I think that the bms settings are too low to charge right now.
Can somebody tell me which setting are most important?

 

[sunshine_eggo]

You have posted information showing 18.8A of charging, so I'm confused by the statement.

Unless you've tested the cells to establish a lower capacity, cycle capacity should be the same as total capacity.

It looks like you've made some changes. Recommend you consult the overkill manual and restore the defaults. There is almost never a good reason to change them.

 

[gaveupontv]

I put this battery in my RV a couple of days ago. I had it pretty full of electricity. In spite of me using very little electricity and having 800 watts of panels, it's just running out of electricity. I suspect it is because some parameter is out of whack somewhere.
Could you tell me which parameters on my BMS have changed that you don't advise? I've got the Overkill manual. It also says that the parameters shouldn't be changed, and they tell you what they are measuring, but they give no figures to start.
I'm trying to 100% charge my batteries, so that I can set my shunt at 100% so I can tell "where" I am regarding SOC.

 

[Rednecktek]

3.3v per cell is pretty dead, you'll want to give it a proper charge and then see how it works for you. The "Cell Full Voltage" should be somewhere around 3600mV or 3650mV which is where we set our top balance to. LFP isn't as linear as lead acid so there's a LLOOTT of power between 3.2v and 3.6v per cell.

Total Cycle Capacity should be 300000 or 302000 as well. It's currently only using 80Ah and calling that a "Full Cycle" and shutting off discharge.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

I put this battery in my RV a couple of days ago. I had it pretty full of electricity. In spite of me using very little electricity and having 800 watts of panels, it's just running out of electricity. I suspect it is because some parameter is out of whack somewhere.
Could you tell me which parameters on my BMS have changed that you don't advise? I've got the Overkill manual. It also says that the parameters shouldn't be changed, and they tell you what they are measuring, but they give no figures to start.
I'm trying to 100% charge my batteries, so that I can set my shunt at 100% so I can tell "where" I am regarding SOC.\

19A * 13 = 247W this is very low for an 800W array.

Understand that the BMS does not regulate or limit charging. It either allows everything that's coming in, or it allows NOTHING. There is no setting that can "slow" incoming charge.

It sounds like the issue is your aren't getting what you should be getting from the array.

You aren't running your propane fridge on AC are you?

3.3v per cell is pretty dead, you'll want to give it a proper charge and then see how it works for you.

Depends on the cells, their size, and how long they've been sitting. Under charge, yeah. Pretty low state of charge. Resting? I have LFP cells sitting at 3.300V that will deliver 90% of their charge.

The "Cell Full Voltage" should be somewhere around 3600mV or 3650mV which is where we set our top balance to.

I prefer 3500. The ONLY thing this value influences is when the BMS indicates 100% SoC.

LFP isn't as linear as lead acid so there's a LLOOTT of power between 3.2v and 3.6v per cell.

Yep!

Total Cycle Capacity should be 300000 or 302000 as well.

Yes.

It's currently only using 80Ah and calling that a "Full Cycle" and shutting off discharge.

The only thing this value is used for is to compute SoC. The only way it will shut off is if there is an SoC based shut off, and I don't see that.

 

[gaveupontv]

Well, I made the changes advised. I noticed my array said it was making about 530 or 540 watts but now its back down to just a few watts (unless i read it incorrectly)
I have a propane and combo electrical fridge, but its never set for running off electrical, only propane. I have a couple of exhaust fans that I think are original and take a relative lot of electrical, as does the compressor (which pushes water through my pipes) I have a couple of 120 fans, but they're running off of my 120 volt generator. Not much more there that uses electricity

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Well, I made the changes advised. I noticed my array said it was making about 530 or 540 watts but now its back down to just a few watts (unless i read it incorrectly)

530-540W out of 800W flat on a RV roof is reasonable.

What are your solar charger settings?
What wire is connecting your Rover and battery? How long is it?
Are all connections between the battery and Rover high quality and properly torqued?
When the Rover is reporting > 500W, what voltage does it report? At the same time, what voltage does the BMS report?

I have a propane and combo electrical fridge, but its never set for running off electrical, only propane.

Just wanted to make sure. Absorption fridges running on AC or 12V use MASSIVE amounts of power. Your battery couldn't run one for even 24 hours.

I have a couple of exhaust fans that I think are original and take a relative lot of electrical, as does the compressor (which pushes water through my pipes) I have a couple of 120 fans, but they're running off of my 120 volt generator. Not much more there that uses electricity

I suspect the issue is with the charge settings, wiring or connection.

 

[Rednecktek]

The only thing this value is used for is to compute SoC. The only way it will shut off is if there is an SoC based shut off, and I don't see that.

Both my current JBD's do that. I learned the hard way that skipping a 0 in the settings tended to shut the battery off when I used 9.5% instead of the 95% I wanted. That "reserve" that it programmed for was my Full Cycle setting. By default it wanted to only use 80% of the capacity and I wanted to change that.

Yes, I figured it out pretty quick and felt dumb.

 

[gaveupontv]

My battery went up to 14.2 volts today when I've got 800 watts solar AND 30 amps charging from my Victron smart charger. Really nothing is being used in my 12v trailer (except for refrigerator which takes 12v but really runs off propane,)
I've currently have 1 led light on and its not a big light
Doesn't seem like everything is working like it should if I cannot even charge my battery after 12 hours charging with really no use.

 

[gaveupontv]

Hey Sunshine, I will answer your questions when I get back tonight. They look like good pertinent questions about things I wasn't even aware of

 

[mikefitz]

Doesn't seem like everything is working like it should if I cannot even charge my battery after 12 hours charging

If the battery reached 14.2 volts that its very near full, well over 98%.
What reading is suggesting to you that the battery is not charging correctly?

Note that the shunt, ( what model ?) and charge controller ( what charge setting ?) need to be set up for ideal results.

Mike

 

[Rednecktek]

And just keep charging. If there are inaccuracies in the readings your BMS or shunt then eventually the battery WILL stop taking a charge and you can reset your shunt to show 100%. 14.2 is pretty close, 14.6 is where we top balance to and resting is 14.2-14.4 so you're rrriiigghhhttt there.

I've got 800 watts solar AND 30 amps

That's an issue, you've got 50+ amps of potential power but your charge controller is limiting you to 30a. That's going to slow down the process a LOT!

 

[mikefitz]

My understanding from the title that the controller is a Renogy 60 amp.

 

[mikefitz]

14.6 is where we top balance to and resting is 14.2-14.4

14.6 volts seems high for regular charging and once the 'surface charge' is depleted full charged resting volts is in the region of 13.5 volts.( well it like that with my batteries).
At the low charge currents the OP is experiencing the battery will be practically full by the time the voltage exceeds 14 volts ( assuming its resionable in balance).

 

[Rednecktek]

My understanding from the title that the controller is a Renogy 60 amp.

So the 30a is a secondary controller? Gotcha, that makes more sense.

 

[mikefitz]

So the 30a is a secondary controller

I missed that also.
You need to read the complete set of posts by the OP to find he has a Victron Smart AC powered charger.
It's an interesting read going through the posts!

Mike

 

[Rednecktek]

Still, that charger alone should top up the batteries in 10 hours if they're bone dry... so it looks like his cell voltages are a bit low and that's the biggest issue for lack of capacity.

 

[gaveupontv]

So the 30a is a secondary controller? Gotcha, that makes more sense.

The additional 30 amps is from a Victron BSC IP22 single output charger of 15 amps or 30 amps. It's "smart" (along with my
SmartShunt) so I look at them through a android app on my phone.

 

[gaveupontv]

The figures that I get from my Renogy 60 amp CC is
ChagStage BST
BatVol 14.0
PvVolt 87.1 (dynamic)
ChagCrt 7.84 (dynamic)
LoadState OFF
LoadCrt 0A
BatSoc 10%
DevTemp 42 C
ChagPower 118 w (dynamic)
LoadPower 0w
Min.BatVolt 13.2 V
Max.BatVolt 14.0 v
Fault Null
BatSuysVol 12V
BatType Li
Capacity 305
Address 16

There are some figures that I cannot change.
OverVoltage 16.0 V
ShgLimitVolt 15.1 V
Eq;uChgVol 14.0 V
BstChgVolt 14.0 V
FltChgVol 14.0 V
BstChgev 12.8 V
LowVoltRev 11.5 V (this is changeable)
UndVolWrn 11.8

The wire from the Pv's coming in is at around 100 volts and 10 amps, so it uses 10 gauge.
The wire from CC to battery I think is 1/0, same for battery to inverter. Those 2 wires are about 2 feet long.
I believe that all of my connections are clean, good quality, and tight.

"When the Rover is reporting > 500W, what voltage does it report? At the same time, what voltage does the BMS report?"
I can't do this measurement right now, I'm starting to get shade on a panel, and my battery is charged so highly IMO that the CC doesn't see the need to charge, when I turn on the things that would lower the battery (compresser, 2 exhaust fans and AC refrigerater which is set to propane) it is like 2 watts

All help gratefully accepted, even criticism (like the disordered wiring-I have some bus bars coming that should clean everything up a little)

 

[mikefitz]

There are some figures that I cannot change.
OverVoltage 16.0 V
ShgLimitVolt 15.1 V
Eq;uChgVol 14.0 V
BstChgVolt 14.0 V
FltChgVol 14.0 V
BstChgev 12.8 V

Why cannot you change these? These values are not default values so you must have set up 'user values. These values are not ideal .

Comments re pictures,
Shade on the panels is seriously reducing the pane power.
The seems to be a lack of overcurrent protection, fuses or breakers.

What circumstances are suggesting that the battery is not working or charging correctly? What readings are suggesting this?
What is 'running out of electricity' , does the BMS shutdown?

On Aug 2nd you stated the cell volts were around 3.45 volts with a small delta. That seems to me to be a near fully charged battery.

The Renogy numbers suggest the battery is charging correctly to full.

The Victron Smart charger is charging the batteries to full.

If the batteries are actually running down to less than 12v with only your led lighting, then something else is pulling power from the battery. There are lots of negative cables connected to the shunt. If you are consuming power the Victron Shunt will identify and record values.

.