Old Magnum MS2812 and new Lithiums

[nsr1357]

Hard for me to know what is going on as I am not there, but I still feel like those batteries are not getting to full charge….

And it sounds like you have spoken to all the right folks, but are you sure you have the settings as below? I have a 2812 and 8 battleborns and these settings have worked well.

To set for lithium battery charging in a 12VDC system:

• Press the SETUP button;
• Turn SELECT knob to 03 Charger Setup, Press the Select knob;
• Rotate to 03C Battery Type, press Select knob;
• Rotate to Custom, press Select knob;
  • Absorb volts = 14.4VDC;
  • Float volts = 13.2VDC;
  • EQ volts = 14.4VDC;
  • EQ Done Time = 0.1hrs
• Rotate to 03D Absorb Done Time, press select knob;
• BattleBorn wants this set for 0.5hrs per parallel battery string, if you have 8 12V

batteries then this would be 4hrs.

• Rotate to 03G, press Select knob;
• Rotate to Silent, press Select knob;
• ReBulk volts = 13.2VDC

thank you so much for your kindness and suggestion. it is, indeed, a hard time but life isn't always "lemonade", either.
as to your questions, and perhaps despite the readings, something is preventing the batteries from a full charge, I am positive about the readings here being correct. indeed, I was walked through it multile times by both battleborn and magnum, and, as well, I am no genius, to be sure, but I do get to know the equipment I am using...self defense if nothing else, and am POSITIVE that the settngs are all correct.
given the symptoms, it would seem to be something heavy, drawing current that is not showing up in any readings.....a malfunctioning arctic package for example, but while I don't think that is the case, it looks as nothing will replace taking the faceplate off the breaker board and putting a VOM on every one of them with shore power off to see if anything crazy is going on.

that said, thank you SO MUCH for the handholding.

robert

 

[nsr1357]

thank you so much for your kindness and suggestion. it is, indeed, a hard time but life isn't always "lemonade", either.
as to your questions, and perhaps despite the readings, something is preventing the batteries from a full charge, I am positive about the readings here being correct. indeed, I was walked through it multile times by both battleborn and magnum, and, as well, I am no genius, to be sure, but I do get to know the equipment I am using...self defense if nothing else, and am POSITIVE that the settngs are all correct.
given the symptoms, it would seem to be something heavy, drawing current that is not showing up in any readings.....a malfunctioning arctic package for example, but while I don't think that is the case, it looks as nothing will replace taking the faceplate off the breaker board and putting a VOM on every one of them with shore power off to see if anything crazy is going on.

that said, thank you SO MUCH for the handholding.

robert

ps the string is 4 batteries and not eight....they replaced four lifeline AGMs...albeit now, with appropriately different settings.

 

[nsr1357]

No pun intended,when it rains it pours!!!

WOW! Looks like there is more than one formidable storm in your life right now! You will be in my thoughts.

Your choice of batteries puts a great teem and product in your corner. The saying that comes to mind is " when you can't, someone will! All you need do is ask!!!" To me I wonder if the batteries are wired for efficient charging,and discharging. This entails equal length cables from source and load. Or proper Flow of energy through All batteries.

Because Debby is massive, I hope your supply of fuel will handle the circumstance, as you can see the sun is hidden in the storm.

My hope is you have garnered enough knowledge to supervise a handyman to help with the actual labor.

Best wishes on your battles!!!

thank you so much for your kindness. i don't have a handyman to do this, but I can arrange for someone who knows this unit extremely well, to walk me through this process of doing what I guess has to be done, which is to put a VOM on every breaker...while we are on the phone.

in better days, I would have done this already....but it is what it is.
anyway, thank you again for your commiseration and goodness.
robert
PS i have never seen so much rain as I have the last 24 hours with the bands from debby, even as I am not in the main path. it is still raining and it would not surprise me to learn that we have had 5-8" in less than 24 hours.

 

[nsr1357]

pps years ago, i had the factory plumb in four extra 20 pound tanks (in addition to the two 40 pounders that came with the RV) so I actually have 160 pounds of propane on aboard if needed. that said, the onan generator is 5500 watts, so the good news is that it can do a lot. the bad news is, obviously, that it drinks propane like and alcoholic drinks scotch.
in a serious pinch, I can probably run the generator full out, including some AC use for about 5-6 days without running out of fuel.

that said, I recently had installed a ductless ac installed in this box and soon i will be running it and some other items...mostly communications radios.......off of a second set of panels, new <victron> equipment and separate battleborn battery bank, and none of that is plumbed into the trailer ecosystem....so that will handle the ductless ac and a lot of other things for a long time without relying on the main system which has to worry about such as the fridge, arctic package when needed, etc......although this second system will have to take recharging power solely from the roof panels...unless i want to go a lot further to hook it up to shore power, too...but the whole idea is not to need shore power for extended periods.

 

[Richpatty]

If there was a draw taking the batteries down, it would show up on the shunt reading…it would show how many amps have been draw since last charge. I apologize for what might be a dumb question, but are ALL grounds running through the shunt?

 

[nsr1357]

it is not a dumb question, to be sure (I have a monopoly on "dumb" questions in most places) but the shunt is mounted in the right spot as victron directed, iboth leads are utilized and it is measuring voltage and aperage as the magnum unit is. as to "all", I am not sure what other ground you mean.

in any event, the shunt readings mirror the amperage and voltage readings that are also on the magnum 2812....the shunt is the only victron item in this set up, so the info via bluetooth is more than the magnum tells us, but even there, when it does indicate a 100% state of charge, the problems I am alluding to here, come fast and furious, nevertheless.

 

[nsr1357]

One more point! Just because the voltage is up does not mean the bank has soaked enough to be fully charged.

Soaking the battery does no harm at the voltage requested by the manufacturer.

A battery monitor is designed to keep track of state of charge. To set one up you must have a fully charged battery at startup! That means you should soak the batteries without using them for the time required for a full charge (this can be calculated). Personally I Just soak for a week to be sure.

Ultimately rock solid is obtained with properly setting things up!!!

i am not familiar with the term "soaked", but all eight batteries we have tested in this problematic area, have also been tested indvidually....by that I mean fully charged with a victron charger, one at a time, measured for current drops on their own to see if anything is amiss, and then measured again a day later or so, to see if there are any anomolies. every one of them specs out where it should.
other than the magnum panel, I do have, as mentioned, a victron shunt wired in per instructions (meaning, at the right place to it mirrors what the magunum panel is seeing and at last as it concerns voltage, amperage and it also gives, of course, a state of charge...which shows at 100%....but the batteries still do what they do and drop as they do, precipitously.
and the practical proof is, again, what happened last night off of shore power and how quickly supposedly fully charged batteries got below 13 volts with a modest load.
when all is normal..meaning shore power, panels contributing, etc.....the dishcarges come so fast, relatively speaking, that the charge cycle happens a half dozen or so times a day,

 

[nsr1357]

and after testing each battery, each of whic had been fully charged before we put each back into the array in line, showed perfect levels of charge. am I missing something?

 

[nsr1357]

If there was a draw taking the batteries down, it would show up on the shunt reading…it would show how many amps have been draw since last charge. I apologize for what might be a dumb question, but are ALL grounds running through the shunt?

hi,
i wanted to address your question about "all" grounds, and went to the manual (it appears this is connected the right way in my install):
per the manual:
"Connect the negative of the electrical system to the M10 bolt on the "LOAD MINUS" side of the shunt. Tighten the shunt bolt with a maximum torque of 21Nm. Make sure that the negative of all DC loads, inverters, battery chargers, solar chargers and other charge sources are connected “after” the shunt....."
I hope this is what you referred to and in this case, at least, they want all other ground connections "downstream", for lack of a better word.
anyway, thanks again for your time and help
ps the shunt is an ip65 500A flavor. it does give some discharge information but unless i am missing something it does not provide that data on any kind of daily basis as opposed to a cumulative one (from which, I would agree, one can calculate the differences (I have never done that but it is a good idea...thanks).

 

[Richpatty]

Is the Shunt a Victron Smart Shunt?

 

[nsr1357]

Is the Shunt a Victron Smart Shunt?

yes..just posted a model number and verbiage on connections, in particular, grounds.
thank you!

 

[Richpatty]

OK. As I have a Smart Shunt as well and it provides good info on what is happening at each moment. You should be able to see how many amps are moving across it and how much longer (usually in days) you have left.

 

[nsr1357]

OK. As I have a Smart Shunt as well and it provides good info on what is happening at each moment. You should be able to see how many amps are moving across it and how much longer (usually in days) you have left.

many thanks! it always shows a fully charged state to start with, but again, drops down very quickly along with the magnum panel.
in any event, I have a great tech person who is going to hold my hand on the phone this coming weekend, while we check the state of amperage and current on all the breakers to see if there is something draining this or somehow preventing a full charge, despite what the shunt says.
thanks again.

 

[Richpatty]

OK. Report back and let us know what you find.

 

[nsr1357]

OK. Report back and let us know what you find.

i intend to. c u all next week.