Thanks, Rocketman. I agree about getting a battery with the low temp built in for future battery purchases.
I like the heater idea.
I am also getting the idea that the Victron products are quite good. When I upgrade in the future, I will look more closely at them.
I see many recommended charging parameters that do not talk about the duration of the boost/absorption cycle. Is that parameter not included in most SCCs? How does one figure out what is right for their situation? Start short to avoid overcharging and watch to see where your voltage is after...
mikefitz, thanks for the temperature switch link - I was thinking something like that to control a small heater like rocketman controls from his battery relay
thanks also for the clarification on the charge vs resting voltages - I was wondering about that
aragonx - I have the same controller - I spoke to Renogy - the temperature sensor does not shut down the charging at low temp - they said their batteries have low temp protection built (like rocketman suggested we should look for in a battery), so they do not provide for it in the charge controller
So right now, my thoughts...
Go back and see if I can change direction on the battery and get one with low temp protection and high/low voltage protection and low temp battery heating
If I can't find that (or can't return what I bought or don't want to spend the $), then...
Use the temp...
I have a 280Ah LiFePO4 battery. The voltage vs charge level data from the manufacturer is as follows.
Battery Voltage & Actual Capacity
13.6V 100%
13.4V 99%
13.3V 90%
13.2V 70%
13.1V 40%
13.0V 30%
12.9V 20%
12.8V 17%
12.5V 14%
12.0V 9%
10.0V 0%
Question: does this seem typical for a 12.8V...
Good additional info Sunshine. Reading your comments and others, I am surprised that the default Li settings for my SCC do not include a float voltage. I am indeed going to set the float as you suggested. Your latest reply clarifies why that is important.
My charge control (Renogy 40A Rover MPPT) does not have provision to cut off the load for low temp. It does have a programmable low voltage cutoff.
Currently, I do not run my load through the charge controller. Instead, it is connected to the battery, but I have a Victron BatteryProtect for...
Thanks, Sunshine. Reading the controller manual, the controller starts out charging with the maximum current it can deliver (within its charge capacity) based on the current the panels can deliver given the current sunlight conditions. Once it reaches the boost voltage, it switches to constant...
I just saw this thread and post. Great info. I guess if I took the time to read, I would not have to post Qs that have already been answered (probably 100s of time)!
https://diysolarforum.com/threads/mppt-user-settings-for-lifepo4-battery.71140/post-902789
Thanks again for answering (again).
Thanks for hanging in there for all my questions!
My battery is 280Ah, and my charge controller is limited to 40A charging. I have 400W of panels, so realistically, I will never reach 40A of charge rate. I think my panel-limited max charge rate is around 30A. So at that max rate, I am...
I have a LiFePO4 battery. In my charge control system, I am using a Victron BP100 BatteryProtect to disconnect the load and protect the battery from excess discharge. I was expecting to keep the battery from going below 14% or 20% SOC which correspond to 12.5V or 12.9V. The BP100 can only be...
I have been using a bare-bones solar system on an off-grid camper for a couple years but am upgrading to a (hopefully) better more reliable system with more capacity. I would like to share my thoughts and get feedback from the community. I recently purchased a Renogy 400W system with a 40A MPPT...