Victron Solar Mppt 100/30 - Detail monitoring

[acenip]

I've been trying to get to grips with my new recent solar setup. Been using a microwave, a small airfryer, travel kettle, toaster and an expresso coffee machine. All have worked really well, in fact the kettle and toaster can run at the same time.

The battery profile has been set to my exact lithium LifeP04. What I'm trying to get my head around is the Victron controller app, what are the different charging stages. Bulk, absorption, float?

On the battery side of the app, is there enough information for the average user? If not what else can I install to improve this?

Thanks

 

[Jev88]

What more info do you want?
A shunt and display can show actual 'flow' of power.
Bulk - charge fast from lowered voltage.
Absorption - slower phase towards battery being full.
Float - battery full/top up

 

[DBK]

If the app is showing bulk then the batteries are fairly depleted, if showing float they are more or less fully charged. The problem comes when it shows absorption as you can only say the battery is somewhere in-between full and flat, although if you know how long it has been showing absorption you can make a reasonable estimate.

More detail here:

6. Operation

www.victronenergy.com

As suggested a Victron shunt meter and its app, if you want to stick with Victron, will give you a direct reading of the state of charge as it monitors the flow in and out of the battery and keeps count.

 

[acenip]

What more info do you want?
A shunt and display can show actual 'flow' of power.
Bulk - charge fast from lowered voltage.
Absorption - slower phase towards battery being full.
Float - battery full/top up

'What more info' is a good question. I suppose we're trying to figure out how much we can get away with with consumption. What we need to use sparingly to avoid getting caught out, particularly when the sun doesn't appear on certain days. I've read a lot about shunts and they're included in a lot of YouTube builds but apart from more details of the type of charge would one actually show the amount each appliance had used, say in a graph similar to the types of charging in the controller app?

 

[Jev88]

Watts / Voltage = Amps drawn is all I need to know if concerned about power usage

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[acenip]

Appreciate what you're saying but amps/watts/volts/current are like a foreign language to me.

Here's a for instance I've encountered a lot, the screenshot here is from a few minutes ago. There was a bit of battery use last night after the sun had gone so it's obviously topping the lithium up again. Can you explain what the current reading is on the battery 8.60A?

Also I've noticed the battery voltage creeping up to around 14.2V only to see it back at 13.7V or similar when the state changes to Absorption or Float.

I don't want to be that obsessive 'beancounter' person I'm just trying to get familiar with what's happening.

 

[tonka]

The top section is what the solar panels are doing..
So its giving out 18.36v this will change depending on the sunlight level.. 18.36 x 6.7 = 124watts..
Or 124 watts divide by 18.36v = 6.7 amps..

The lower section is whats happening after its been through the solar mppt regulator. So the 18v is regulated down to 14.01v and hence the value of the amps going into the batter will be different. 124 watts is now divided by the voltage 14.2 = 8.6 amps.

Thats my simple understanding anyway.. Someone will correctme if i'm wrong.

The voltage will change on sunlight level and charge to the battery will change as the battery fills.
Hence you may may brilliant overhead sun but if the batteries are already full you wont see much going in.

 

[Barti Ddu]

Currently your solar is producing 124w in Bulk mode as it is discharged. For a battery at 14v this is equivalent to having an 8.6 amp battery charger charging it up. 14.01 x 8.6 = 124.

When the battery is fully charged it no longer needs that amperage being pushed into it so when on Float mode your solar controller will regulate the amount of solar input required to keep it at a resting voltage of 13.7v

Basically, its all working fine. Don't worry about it.

A shunt would however give you the battery equivalent of a petrol fuel gauge/ trip computer, letting you know whether your batteries are 100% full, or only partially full, and allow you to see the current being drawn by your appliances in real time.

 

[fishplug]

would one actually show the amount each appliance had used,

No, it won't show a list of appliances with an itemised consumption. However it shows an overall consumption figure.

In the device list in the Victron app it shows you a handy overview.

My batteries are currently at 13.98v, I'm drawing 0.32A (frugal!) and the batteries are at 96% charge.

If you go into the device menu itself you'll get more detailed information, including an estimate of how long the batteries will take to discharge at the current consumption rate.

And then if you really want to get into it, you can have a look through your history. As you can see I haven't used it much yet!

I find it very useful, especially as I haven't installed my B2B charger yet so I'm entirely reliant on solar to charge my batteries for now and it's been quite cloudy and dark the last few days....

 

[OldAgeTravellers]

As has been said, a shunt is the most useful piece of kit to fit. You can see immediately how much current your kettle or whatever is using so as to make informed decisions. It gives a very accurate indication of the % charge. But it must be set up properly. RogerIvy of Offgrid Solutions has made a very good video of how to set one up. As a member you can also buy one from him at a discount.
Over time you will learn from the shunt how to use your batteries. If you want to stay a week Offgrid then perhaps it is better to limit the AirFrier or Microwave use. If you are moving daily an have a B2B charger then you will have no problems.
To summarise, fit a shunt.

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[headlight]

'What more info' is a good question. I suppose we're trying to figure out how much we can get away with with consumption. What we need to use sparingly to avoid getting caught out, particularly when the sun doesn't appear on certain days. I've read a lot about shunts and they're included in a lot of YouTube builds but apart from more details of the type of charge would one actually show the amount each appliance had used, say in a graph similar to the types of charging in the controller app?

If you fit a shunt you can turn an item on and the shunt will show what that particular item is drawing.
Turn that item off turn another on and the shunt will show that items draw.
Do this one at a time for all items and you will know exactly what each item draws.

 

[acenip]

Thanks all for replying, my inverter shows this screen which changes when items are powered. I'm not sure how much use it is given that the battery voltage reading is always lower than what the Victron controller says. It has a data socket that I believe will connect to this manufacturers own addon screen.

 

[headlight]

acenip BTW I have a Victron Smart Shunt fitted.
I know what every electrical item draws be it a single bathroom light to my air fryer.

 

[headlight]

acenip for example my single bathroom led light draws 2 watts, my Panini maker 1200 watts, my air fryer 1435 when the heating element is on and 35 watts when it has reached temperature and just fan is on and so on.
It's more than enough information for me.

 

[Lenny HB]

'What more info' is a good question. I suppose we're trying to figure out how much we can get away with with consumption.

The solar info is useless for that it just tells you what the solar harvest is and apart from the fun factor it's pretty useless.

You need a Shunt to tell what the state of the batteries, either a Victron Smart Shunt which gives info over Bluetooth or a Victron BMV712 which has a display as well as Bluetooth.

If you fit a shunt you can turn an item on and the shunt will show what that particular item is drawing.
Turn that item off turn another on and the shunt will show that items draw.
Do this one at a time for all items and you will know exactly what each item draws.

Not quite, to see how much current a device is drawing you need to turn off all charging methods, i.e. mains, solar etc.

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[headlight]

The solar info is useless for that it just tells you what the solar harvest is and apart from the fun factor it's pretty useless.

You need a Shunt to tell what the state of the batteries, either a Victron Smart Shunt which gives info over Bluetooth or a Victron BMV712 which has a display as well as Bluetooth.

Not quite, to see how much current a device is drawing you need to turn off all charging methods, i.e. mains, solar etc.

Sorry I should have said with charge inputs turned off.

 

[acenip]

acenip for example my single bathroom led light draws 2 watts, my Panini maker 1200 watts, my air fryer 1435 when the heating element is on and 35 watts when it has reached temperature and just fan is on and so on.
It's more than enough information for me.

That's impressive. Could be my next addon.

 

[headlight]

That's impressive. Could be my next addon.

My other half thinks I am a bit anal over power use, she's probably right (she usually is lol) but we have never been stuck short of power.

 

[Langtoftlad]

Apart from "New Toy Curiosity Syndrome", how useful is this detailed information in the long term?
I suppose to the experts [ Lenny HB ] and to other inveterate tweakers & fettlers, accurate & detailed information might be useful...
...but, to the rest of us, I'm guessing all we need/want to know is how much capacity left, how long our batteries will last?

 

[headlight]

Thanks all for replying, my inverter shows this screen which changes when items are powered. I'm not sure how much use it is given that the battery voltage reading is always lower than what the Victron controller says. It has a data socket that I believe will connect to this manufacturers own addon screen.



View attachment 947097

That won't show you what you are after.
I have a similar remote screen with my inverter.

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[acenip]

My other half thinks I am a bit anal over power use, she's probably right (she usually is lol) but we have never been stuck short of power.

That could be the white labcoat and clipboard

 

[headlight]

Apart from "New Toy Curiosity Syndrome", how useful is this detailed information in the long term?
I suppose to the experts [ Lenny HB ] and to other inveterate tweakers & fettlers, accurate & detailed information might be useful...
...but, to the rest of us, I'm guessing all we need/want to know is how much, how long long our batteries will last?

I think that that is why acenip wants more info, so that he does know how long his battery will last.

 

[headlight]

That could be the white labcoat and clipboard

not far off.
No lab coat but I got her to turn things on one at a time and noted down the draw.

 

[fishplug]

I'm guessing all we need/want to know is how much capacity left, how long our batteries will last?

After the initial playing around and setting it up, that's exactly what I use mine for now.

How much is left in the battery and how long is it likely to last. That's really what it boils down to.

Understanding the impact of using appliances with a higher draw is useful, but once you know how much each one uses you have a fair idea of how long you can run it before you need to start worrying.

You also need to be aware that the 'time to depletion' is based on what is being drawn at a specific moment in time. For example, a diesel heater will pull something like 9A when it's starting up because it needs to get the glow plug hot enough to combust the fuel, however, once it's lit that will drop down to something closer to 2A. Same with compressor fridges - they'll pull a lot more power when the compressor is on but then very little once it turns off.

Once I've got the B2B charger fitted that will tell me if the current solar yield is lower than my current consumption and if so it's time for a little drive!

 

[Langtoftlad]

Don't we sort of know that - if not the actual figures.
Any item using heat will use more energy than one used for light sort of thing.

I'm sure such gadgetry is fascinating [and perhaps useful] for a month or so

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[Lenny HB]

My other half thinks I am a bit anal over power use, she's probably right (she usually is lol) but we have never been stuck short of power.

I start worrying when I'm down to 50% and I've got nearly 500ah of Lithium.

.but, to the rest of us, I'm guessing all we need/want to know is how much capacity left, how long our batteries will last?

That's why you need an accurate shunt.

 

[AdrianChen]

Over the time I've used these things I've found that we have slowly but surely installed and used more stuff on board, so increased the capacity of charge sources and batteries to compensate. The monitoring comes in handy since Solar can be variable, and things like hair dryers/laptop/Ipad/Ebikes are used randomly.

So its good to see a state of charge, and for accuracy that's best done with a shunt with either app or gauge. Its also nice to have one app for everything so our kit is from one supplier, so I can see the SOC for the lithium leisure battery, and the engine start battery voltage (in case the TV/head unit has gobbled it up) plus current amps being consumed at a glance before going to bed, then set stuff so we're not dead in the morning.

There is a slight issue I guess in that these gadgets are like a kit that requires some knowledge to install/maintain rather than an appliance like the simple panels fitted as standard to vans, hence the choice of DIY VS going to an installer is important if you're not that way inclined to learn the ins and outs of a (more)complex system, having said that once properly installed and set up it just does its thing unless left for long periods for EG over winter, after which it may need to fully cycle to get back on track.

 

[Lenny HB]

Thanks all for replying, my inverter shows this screen which changes when items are powered. I'm not sure how much use it is given that the battery voltage reading is always lower than what the Victron controller says. It has a data socket that I believe will connect to this manufacturers own addon screen.



View attachment 947097

Cables probably undersize and you are getting a volt drop to the inverter.

 

[acenip]

Cables probably undersize and you are getting a volt drop to the inverter.

That would make sense.

 

[headlight]

That would make sense.

Are they the cables that came with the inverter ?
They are often not heavy enough.

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