Johan-Henry

Mine works with growatt + date, i.e. growatt20201012

Yes, the password is growatt + the current date i.e. growatt20200902 - got that info off here: https://gathering.tweakers.net/forum/list_messages/1984968
 

There has been allot of arguments back and forth about "floating" LiFePO4 batteries on this forum, the facts are as follows: You need to charge your batteries to a high voltage (as per the cell configuration) to get the pack to balance, then as soon as the balancing is within acceptable levels, the charge current to the battery needs to stop - now some do that by dropping the "charge" voltage so that the batteries are not forced to absorb or dissipate energy as heat anymore, but a properly designed system will be instructed to cut charging to the battery by the BMS. I have learned the hard way that if you keep your lithium batteries at a high cell voltage, they will not last. 

There has been allot of arguments back and forth about "floating" LiFePO4 batteries on this forum, the facts are as follows: You need to charge your batteries to a high voltage (as per the cell configuration) to get the pack to balance, then as soon as the balancing is within acceptable levels, the charge current to the battery needs to stop - now some do that by dropping the "charge" voltage so that the batteries are not forced to absorb or dissipate energy as heat anymore, but a properly designed system will be instructed to cut charging to the battery by the BMS. I have learned the hard way that if you keep your lithium batteries at a high cell voltage, they will not last. 

There has been allot of arguments back and forth about "floating" LiFePO4 batteries on this forum, the facts are as follows: You need to charge your batteries to a high voltage (as per the cell configuration) to get the pack to balance, then as soon as the balancing is within acceptable levels, the charge current to the battery needs to stop - now some do that by dropping the "charge" voltage so that the batteries are not forced to absorb or dissipate energy as heat anymore, but a properly designed system will be instructed to cut charging to the battery by the BMS. I have learned the hard way that if you keep your lithium batteries at a high cell voltage, they will not last. 

F2809_GW500.09_20201029_A.bin = main firmware
F030_SK022_07_ 20200714.bin = bms firmware
STM32F030CC_SK036.01m.bin = comms bord firmware
They are provided in the various google drive links in the forum. Its a bit confusing unfortunately. This is only applicable to the Growatt SPF5000TL.

FYI program 36 only becomes visible if you change the program 05 to Li, so change 05 to something else and then back to Li, then immediately after you can select protocol 04 as program 36 shows up then. The default protocol is 02 if I remember correctly. 

Mine works with growatt + date, i.e. growatt20201012

Mine works with growatt + date, i.e. growatt20201012

Yes, the password is growatt + the current date i.e. growatt20200902 - got that info off here: https://gathering.tweakers.net/forum/list_messages/1984968
 

I think it is related to what is discussed here: https://powerforum.co.za/topic/5164-growatt-inverter-pylontech-batteries-bms-comms-guide/page/12/
Basically the mppt charges the battery to 100% and then cuts solar production completely (to protect the LFP battery according to Growatt) and resumes charging when the battery gets down to 95% (depending on the firmware version you are running)
I am currently using this inverter with an AGM bank (5. AGM) and it does not happen as the mppt keeps on float charging and can immediately use only solar when the load requires it. Below is my current profile for today - you can see as the batteries gets full the solar just starts to taper off and then ramps up again when needed:

 
Maybe you can try a USE profile with voltage settings what people recommend for older Axpert inverters when using LFP batteries (at your risk, I am not clued up enough to know what the implications will be on battery health...). A battery manufacturer should be able to provide some advice on the voltage settings.
This is the exact reason why I am holding off on upgrading to LFP batteries with this inverter - hopefully there can be a firmware released in the future to remedy the situation
 

I am currently running AGM batteries and now, with loadshedding, I am in Utility first (line mode) most of the time to ensure my batteries are always fully charged. The inverter seems to keep the batteries in float all the time from the utility - but there are periodic breaks every night, mostly at around 1am for 40 min and then again at around 4am for about 15 min according to the data logs, where the inverter stops the float charge and starts it back up again. It seems timed and happens regularly, so it must be an intentional timer triggered function. Therefore this does not only happen with lithium profiles, also with AGM. I assume they must have a reason for it. Mine starts back up charging fine again, so it does not bother me at all, just thought I would mention it.
 

Hi All. So I am still trying to make sense of this 95% 100% SOC charge micro cycling explained here. I stumbled onto this: https://marinehowto.com/lifepo4-batteries-on-boats/ as provided by another thread: 
 
 
In that article (I did not read the whole, long thing so might have missed other info...), if you search for "DURATION AT TARGET VOLTAGE (Over-Absorbing):", you will see that keeping a LFP battery at 100% SOC at the absorption stage (constant voltage) for a long time (like what is done with AGMs or GELs) is very bad and charging needs to be cut, stopped completely at this stage and voltage needs to drop lower. They should not be kept in float. As @SiliconKid mentioned, these inverters cannot power the load from solar without going through the battery (I assume the inverter does not have the ability the sync with the utility and blend power - therefore you need the battery to help the solar panels provide as stable output), therefore we are now in a state where the MPPT cannot give any more current to the battery, cannot bypass the battery, and therefore needs to shut down completely. Everything starts back up as soon as the LFP battery's voltage reduces to safe levels again. 
Anyway, so to me it seems to be ok - if I understand it correctly. I am still curious as to how other (cheap) inverters handles this situation. It looks as if they should do the same, except if they can blend utility and solar to power the load without batteries (like the 5000ES)
 

Hi All. So I am still trying to make sense of this 95% 100% SOC charge micro cycling explained here. I stumbled onto this: https://marinehowto.com/lifepo4-batteries-on-boats/ as provided by another thread: 
 
 
In that article (I did not read the whole, long thing so might have missed other info...), if you search for "DURATION AT TARGET VOLTAGE (Over-Absorbing):", you will see that keeping a LFP battery at 100% SOC at the absorption stage (constant voltage) for a long time (like what is done with AGMs or GELs) is very bad and charging needs to be cut, stopped completely at this stage and voltage needs to drop lower. They should not be kept in float. As @SiliconKid mentioned, these inverters cannot power the load from solar without going through the battery (I assume the inverter does not have the ability the sync with the utility and blend power - therefore you need the battery to help the solar panels provide as stable output), therefore we are now in a state where the MPPT cannot give any more current to the battery, cannot bypass the battery, and therefore needs to shut down completely. Everything starts back up as soon as the LFP battery's voltage reduces to safe levels again. 
Anyway, so to me it seems to be ok - if I understand it correctly. I am still curious as to how other (cheap) inverters handles this situation. It looks as if they should do the same, except if they can blend utility and solar to power the load without batteries (like the 5000ES)