October 2, 201510 yr Hi Everyone I have 12 x 105 dixon deep cycle, 5 kw axpert and 12 x 250watts panels. My question is that the glass on the batteries all show black (to be charged), yet the inverter shows that the batteries are fully charged. Is this a setting problem or are the batteries not being fully charged. As per the specs the battery should show green.
October 2, 201510 yr What is the battery type you have set in the setup of the Axpert? The coloured window is useful and is a good indicator of state of charge. The spec sheet shows an absorb of 59.2V and a float of 52.8 so the standard battery setting on the Axpert are not appropriate. You should have battery type (Program 5) set to User defined and program 26 to 59.2V and program 27 to 52.8 V . Your absorb is a lot higher than gassing voltage so your batteries need to be well ventilated and you need to check on electolyte levels often. Distilled water you can get from a pharmacist or a mate at a tech or varsity. Many battery sellers think rainwater will do.
October 2, 201510 yr Out of interest, re. the little view glass indicates is only for one cell, not all the cells in the battery. Black is always bad, but, showing green does not mean all the cells are healthy.
October 2, 201510 yr The Axpert looks at the voltage, and concludes that they are "charged", or that is what I heard. So in your case, the inverter is probably wrong, and the SG-meter in the battery is correct. Would like to hear from others about these Axpert inverters, as I have not had the privilege of playing with one, and people often ask me about them. From what I've heard, their charger isn't nearly as sophisticated as some of the more expensive inverters.
October 3, 201510 yr What is the battery type you have set in the setup of the Axpert? The coloured window is useful and is a good indicator of state of charge. The spec sheet shows an absorb of 59.2V and a float of 52.8 so the standard battery setting on the Axpert are not appropriate. You should have battery type (Program 5) set to User defined and program 26 to 59.2V and program 27 to 52.8 V . Your absorb is a lot higher than gassing voltage so your batteries need to be well ventilated and you need to check on electolyte levels often. Distilled water you can get from a pharmacist or a mate at a tech or varsity. Many battery sellers think rainwater will do. Hi Chris Does your Axpert allow for the 59.2 setting... the max I can go is 58.4V but I am on the "U1 52.30 & U2 01 24 firmware". Have you upgraded? Regards Mark
October 3, 201510 yr The label on your battery or the spec sheet should indicate what the bulk and float charging should be, normally at 25 degrees C. The ambient temperature of the area where the batteries are installed is very important and the charging rate should be adjusted accordingly.
October 3, 201510 yr Hi Chris Does your Axpert allow for the 59.2 setting... the max I can go is 58.4V but I am on the "U1 52.30 & U2 01 24 firmware". Have you upgraded? Regards Mark Hi Mark my firmware is 72.40 and 1.24. I see that the Axpert goes to 58.4 for my firmware too. That means that the Axpert cannot charge Dixon batteries properly according to this spec sheet. http://www.dixonbatteries.co.za/media/datasheets/105AH.pdf Must admit 59.2V does not feel right the highest I have seen in documentation is 58.8V for vented LA, but you cannot start arguing with the manufacturer.
October 3, 201510 yr Hi Mark my firmware is 72.40 and 1.24. I see that the Axpert goes to 58.4 for my firmware too. That means that the Axpert cannot charge Dixon batteries properly according to this spec sheet. http://www.dixonbatteries.co.za/media/datasheets/105AH.pdf Must admit 59.2V does not feel right the highest I have seen in documentation is 58.8V for vented LA, but you cannot start arguing with the manufacturer. What are your settings...? and how do you go about equalizing using the Axpert settings... Regards Mark
October 3, 201510 yr My What are your settings...? and how do you go about equalizing using the Axpert settings... Regards Mark Hi Mark My settings are 56.4V for absorb and 54.4V for float. I have 4x 260Ah AGM CB Solar batteries which are very similar to Omnisolar in construction. I could not find an absorb voltage for the batteries and therefore have gone with the Axpert default. The Axpert default float coincides with the CB Solar spec sheet. I do not do an equalising charge as the batteries are VRLA and it is critical not to loose any electrolyte. I am using the following to keep my batteries in balance. http://www.ebay.com/itm/24V-36V-48V-Battery-balancer-equalizer-/221895722571? Initially I was not very happy with them but it seems that they are slowly nudging my batteries into balance. The batteries are now out of balance for about
October 3, 201510 yr My Hi Mark My settings are 56.4V for absorb and 54.4V for float. I have 4x 260Ah AGM CB Solar batteries which are very similar to Omnisolar in construction. I could not find an absorb voltage for the batteries and therefore have gone with the Axpert default. The Axpert default float coincides with the CB Solar spec sheet. I do not do an equalising charge as the batteries are VRLA and it is critical not to loose any electrolyte. I am using the following to keep my batteries in balance. http://www.ebay.com/itm/24V-36V-48V-Battery-balancer-equalizer-/221895722571? Initially I was not very happy with them but it seems that they are slowly nudging my batteries into balance. The batteries are now out of balance for about
October 3, 201510 yr How long did they take to get to you? Hi Mark I ordered them on the 17 Aug and they arrived 10 Sep. I see there is a 4 battery unit (HA02)but the prices I found (a while ago) was higher than 3x HA01. The bigger batteries do take more work to balance/keep them balanced. The cost for me was just over
October 3, 201510 yr Hi Mark I ordered them on the 17 Aug and they arrived 10 Sep. I see there is a 4 battery unit (HA02)but the prices I found (a while ago) was higher than 3x HA01. The bigger batteries do take more work to balance/keep them balanced. The cost for me was just over
November 4, 201510 yr Giving some thought to budgets... mmmm Regards M Hi Chris How is the HA01 setup going - are you happy they are balancing the batteries... I am keen to purchase but am also looking at other options... eg: http://www.linear.com/product/LTC3305 although I don't understand alot of the electronics bits... - 4 batteries plus price is good. Regards Mark
November 4, 201510 yr Hi Mark I am fairly happy with the HA01. The batteries are out of balance for a very short period of time and I may find that the balancers nudge the batteries into balance over time. I found that the Zeners were reacting too late. I have had the HA01 for nearly two months now and it appears that every week the batteries are out of balance for a shorter period of time and by less than 1V now which was not the case to start with. I am still keen to do something of my own. I had a look at the LTC 3305 and they do produce a demo board which would be ideal but I have battled to try and source one. The chip on its own is just over 100 bucks but the shipping charges are twice the price of the the chip so it is going become expensive. If you manage to get some demo boards I am in.
January 2, 201610 yr The HA01s battery balancers have done the trick. After 4 months, my batteries no longer go out of balance. The Victron now records a maximum midpoint deviation of 0.7%
January 3, 201610 yr No local supplier but Chris knows... I would buy them tommorrow if price was lower and local. H02 covers 4x 12V with one unit but at a much higher price. Thanks Chris for the update!! M
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