I have my end amps set on my Midnite Classic 250, but where can I find the history to see if I am ever reaching the end amps? I currently have my absorb time set for 2 hrs but have no way of knowing if that is long enough without seeing the amps. My batteries bank is 48V, 180ah. Thanks
Where to find end amps on Midnite Classic 250?
- Thread starter fcparks
- Start date
SpongeboB Sinewave
Solar Enthusiast
You can see the power at least which is logged (along with other things) and graphed.
From the main STATUS screen, press the STATUS button about 3 times to get to the log graph that shows POWER over the last few hours.
It updates every 5 or 10 minutes... Can't remember exactly... The current time is on the right side. If you press the UP or DOWN arrows, (it only goes UP to start with), the graph will show different things. This is a very crude graph system but should show you what you want.
Pressing the LEFT/RIGHT arrow key moves a blinking cursor vertical line left or right to show the power it logged at that time and also the charge stage it was in then. Too slow ? You can move the data shown by about 1/3 of a screen by holding down the soft-left (upper left) KEY and then pressing the LEFT arrow to get earlier data or upper LEFT key and RIGHT arrow to get closer to current time.
With default capture times, whatever it is, you should get a day and 1/2 or maybe 2 days of data as I remember. That is when logging at night is enabled which is the default.
With "Log at Night" enabled in the TWEAKS menu, you can see the information when the Classic was Resting at night. That will show the battery voltage during the night if the UP/DOWN arrow has the battery voltage graph showing.
I have found this graphing screen to be very helpful in troubleshooting the system as well as if you have other charging sources connected up to the battery.
So, you should be able to see a flat line of battery voltage (if in that graph) for 2 hours if it just went with time. If Ending-Amps came into effect before the 2 hours were up, you will of course show Absorb time of less than 2 hours.
There may actually be a battery AMPS screen but the Classic only logs its internal shunt so may or may not indicate current going into JUST the battery like the Whizbang-Junior reads. The time and charge stage will show what you need I think,
To get AMPS from Power, just divide the power (Watts) by the battery voltage to get that info. Remember that Ending Amps will only cause an Absorb to Float transition while the battery voltage is AT or very near to the Absorb voltage. If the sun goes away for a while, the Absorb timer will stop counting down towards zero while the battery voltage is below that Absorb voltage set point.
boB
From the main STATUS screen, press the STATUS button about 3 times to get to the log graph that shows POWER over the last few hours.
It updates every 5 or 10 minutes... Can't remember exactly... The current time is on the right side. If you press the UP or DOWN arrows, (it only goes UP to start with), the graph will show different things. This is a very crude graph system but should show you what you want.
Pressing the LEFT/RIGHT arrow key moves a blinking cursor vertical line left or right to show the power it logged at that time and also the charge stage it was in then. Too slow ? You can move the data shown by about 1/3 of a screen by holding down the soft-left (upper left) KEY and then pressing the LEFT arrow to get earlier data or upper LEFT key and RIGHT arrow to get closer to current time.
With default capture times, whatever it is, you should get a day and 1/2 or maybe 2 days of data as I remember. That is when logging at night is enabled which is the default.
With "Log at Night" enabled in the TWEAKS menu, you can see the information when the Classic was Resting at night. That will show the battery voltage during the night if the UP/DOWN arrow has the battery voltage graph showing.
I have found this graphing screen to be very helpful in troubleshooting the system as well as if you have other charging sources connected up to the battery.
So, you should be able to see a flat line of battery voltage (if in that graph) for 2 hours if it just went with time. If Ending-Amps came into effect before the 2 hours were up, you will of course show Absorb time of less than 2 hours.
There may actually be a battery AMPS screen but the Classic only logs its internal shunt so may or may not indicate current going into JUST the battery like the Whizbang-Junior reads. The time and charge stage will show what you need I think,
To get AMPS from Power, just divide the power (Watts) by the battery voltage to get that info. Remember that Ending Amps will only cause an Absorb to Float transition while the battery voltage is AT or very near to the Absorb voltage. If the sun goes away for a while, the Absorb timer will stop counting down towards zero while the battery voltage is below that Absorb voltage set point.
boB
Found it. I was also mistaken, the absorb is set for 3 hours. Looks like it went to float at 5.3 amps so it didn’t reach the end amps. Anyway to know how many more watts would be needed to get to the end amps or what the SOC is of the battery at those charge amps? I want it to be able to go to Float to calibrate the SOC measurement, but I don’t want it to wildly off either. Is there any harm in not going into float beside the SOC calculation? We are in Maine and only get 3 hours of sun light so want to make the most of it.
SpongeboB Sinewave
Solar Enthusiast
You might make a curve of battery current vs. time when the Classic is in Absorb to see if it gets far enough to drop to a flat-line of 5.3 amps or is it still coming down in current before the power drops enough that it goes back to Bulk MPPT. If it goes flat current vs. time in say, an hour and 1/2, then you can raise the ending amps a bit I would think.
Ok. So I plotted the amps vs time (image below) and it seems to plateau around 5 amps. The end amps for our batteries (Kilovault PLC 2100) is listed as 0.32 amps but I have it set at 1% of our capacity, so 1.8 amps. Is there a reason that the amps are plateauing at 5amps? Also to note, this data was taken with our house pulling a load also.
Steve_S
Offgrid Cabineer, N.E. Ontario, Canada
EndAmps is calculated as follows:
100AH X 0.05 = 5A.
180AH X 0.05 = 9A.
Absorb can be safely set to 1 Hour / 60 Minutes. If you have enough charging power to get you there, the last 5-7% of charging & balancing is done during Float.
The easiest way to set things on any Classic (150/200/250) is to use the Windows Software. See link below
www.midnitesolar.com
If using the menus via the display, the manuals, menu-maps etc are all located here:
100AH X 0.05 = 5A.
180AH X 0.05 = 9A.
Absorb can be safely set to 1 Hour / 60 Minutes. If you have enough charging power to get you there, the last 5-7% of charging & balancing is done during Float.
The easiest way to set things on any Classic (150/200/250) is to use the Windows Software. See link below
MidNite Solar Inc. Renewable Energy System Electrical Components and E-Panels
MidNite Solar is the industry leader and manufacture of quality Renewable Energy System electrical components and E-Panels.
www.midnitesolar.com
If using the menus via the display, the manuals, menu-maps etc are all located here:
Can I ask where the 0.05 comes from? Is that 5% capacity? I thought for AGM you could do 1-2% of the capacity.EndAmps is calculated as follows:
100AH X 0.05 = 5A.
180AH X 0.05 = 9A.
Absorb can be safely set to 1 Hour / 60 Minutes. If you have enough charging power to get you there, the last 5-7% of charging & balancing is done during Float.
The easiest way to set things on any Classic (150/200/250) is to use the Windows Software. See link below
MidNite Solar Inc. Renewable Energy System Electrical Components and E-Panels
MidNite Solar is the industry leader and manufacture of quality Renewable Energy System electrical components and E-Panels.
If using the menus via the display, the manuals, menu-maps etc are all located here:
Steve_S
Offgrid Cabineer, N.E. Ontario, Canada
This comes from partly the LFP manufacturers and others such as Victron etc.
SpongeboB Sinewave
Solar Enthusiast
How were you measuring this current ? Would be best if it was the Whizbang Junior amps and not the Classic internal shunt amps if you are running loads. But I have to ask. You may already have told us this. Sorry.
That's the kind of curve I was looking for so nice !
boB
This is from the Classic’s Log menu. I don’t think the WizBang saves time points? And this is under load, running our tiny house. I guess under load the amps from the Classic will never reach the 1% end amps as we are always drawing from the batteries.
Steve_S
Offgrid Cabineer, N.E. Ontario, Canada
The internal shunt measurements do not provide a full & proper picture. The WizBangJr & it's shunt measures everything going in/out of the battery system. This includes charging from SCC and/or Inverter/Charger as well as the discharging. With LFP when properly programmed & setup it is about 98% accurate which is pretty much the best you can get currently. The only deficiency with regards to dealing with Lithium Based batteries is that the WinzBang can only report Single Decimal Point accuracy. It's not major but quite an inconvenience.
Many of us are Offgridders with Midnite Solar Gear...
SpongeBob who posted above is a Midnite Solar Engineer+ He works AT Midnite and one of the main people. They LURK Here !
Many of us are Offgridders with Midnite Solar Gear...
SpongeBob who posted above is a Midnite Solar Engineer+ He works AT Midnite and one of the main people. They LURK Here !
