Victron BP65

[Tryingnottoburn]

Can I use this as a LVD between my battery bank and a 500w inverter? The heaviest load I'll have is 300w, but I don't want to over-draw my batteries or have to keep monitoring the battery bank with a volt-meter every 2 minutes. Thanks.

 

[snoobler]

Yes.

 

[Dzl]

Can I use this as a LVD between my battery bank and a 500w inverter? The heaviest load I'll have is 300w, but I don't want to over-draw my batteries or have to keep monitoring the battery bank with a volt-meter every 2 minutes. Thanks.

Yes.

No
Victron Battery protect cannot be used directly in the current path of an inverter.
Victron states this can damage the battery protect over time, and will not be covered under warranty.

 

[snoobler]

Thanks for the correction.

 

[Dzl]

Thanks for the correction.

For a bit more context here is a comment from a Victron Tech/Distributor that used to frequent this forum, see specifically the last paragraph:

The problem is that you're fried your BatteryProtect. I'm the Technical Support Manager for the largest stocking Victron distributor in the western US, and this is a problem I've seen countless times because Victron doesn't make one thing clear in their documentation: The BatteryProtect is unidirectional in operation ONLY... it cannot be connected in a way that allows reverse current through it -ie, it cannot be connected between a battery and a busbar to which any charge source is also connected (your solar charger, for instance, or an alternator, or any other charge source). Applying reverse current to it will almost instantly fry the FETs; usually they'll weld closed, permitting full current throughput but won't ever disconnect the load; sometimes they'll weld open, so no current is passed through in any case; and sometimes some of them weld shut and others weld open, in which case you see the condition you're describing: the ones welded shut are passing current while the ones welded open are not, so you end up with weird voltages on the other side.

Another note is that Victron does NOT support the use of a BatteryProtect between a battery and an inverter. The inrush current of an inverter turning on can far exceed the BatteryProtect's rating and, again, fry the FETs. I know there are diagrams on this forum showing them connected this way, and that's an issue I'm addressing on a case-by-case basis... but please stop using them this way. Any reputable inverter has its own low-voltage disconnect, and does not need this device. The BatteryProtect is primarily designed to hook to a set of small loads only, such as fans, lights, refrigerators, and the like, and provide low-voltage disconnection to those items that do not already have this protection built in.