[cknuth]

Now I'm just flailing and sharing my confusion. I came back to the project a few hours later to find the start battery voltage down to 12.5V. There was another .4A of load on it, seeming to vary a bit. So I just pulled all the fuses in that part of the front load center: CB radio, cell phone, audio amp - all unused anyhow. That seems to have cleaned up the phantoms.
Then I checked the back of the AmpLStart to be sure I had the jumper installed correctly for the lithium house bank - yes. At the time when I reconnected everything, the inverter was in quiet mode at 13.6V. And the AmpLStart went into Maintain mode, putting out only about 12.6V at 4.5A to the start battery. Shortly thereafter, the inverter reverted to Constant Voltage at 14.4, and the AmpLStart indicated a solid yellow charging state. BUT there was no current going to the start battery. So I'm starting to think I have a bad AmpLStart. Really??

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Sorry Richard, our posts crossed in the mail. Responding to yours now.

[cknuth]

Here are the inverter settings I used per BB:

Magnum Remote Settings
041220

Shore Max 30A

Setup 01 – Search Watts OFF
Setup 02 – LBCO 11.7V
Setup 03 – Absorb Time 180 minutes
Setup 04 - Battery Type CC/CV
Max Amps 300A
Charge Volts 14.4V
End Charge Done Time 120 minutes
Max Time 12 hours (safety cutoff)
Recharge 13.4V (90% SOC)

Most of the time (on shore power,) the display indicates "Constant Voltage (14.3 - 14.6V) +(0-10A)" It occasionally reads "Quiet Mode 13.6V" After a period off shore power, the indication when plugged back in is Constant Current, then Constant Voltage, at a much higher current. Do you think this is keeping the lithiums at too high a voltage too much of the time?

[folivier]

Battleborn states the accepted range for bulk and absorb is 14.2-14.6 volts. Absorb time should be about 1/2 hour per 100 amphour of battery capacity. Don't equalize. Float at 13.6 max or lower. No temperature compensation needed.

What concerns me is your stating that "Most of the time (on shore power,) the display indicates "Constant Voltage (14.3 - 14.6V) +(0-10A)" It occasionally reads "Quiet Mode 13.6V"
To me it seems that your BBs are being held at too high of a voltage even though they aren't taking any more amps. Once they progress through what BB says your charger should enter float, or maintain, or not floating, at 13.4+- volts. If you have a SOC (state of charge) reading on your inverter it's easy to calculate how long it should take to charge your BBs. For my 300 amp system if I'm at 50% then I need to put in 150 amps so it's about 1.20 hours + the absorb time I have set. So after 2.5 hours I am sitting at 13.4 volts.

[cknuth]

Sounds like I need to revisit my understanding of the settings. When you are sitting at 13.4V, how long does it stay that way? Until the next time you go off shore power?

[Richard]

I am with Forest. I am concerned about the inverter/charger setup. Yes, I think the setup is keeping the lithiums at too high of a voltage.

I have mine setup slightly differently, and I do “float” mine at 13.4. So as long as I am plugged in, the bank stays at 13.4, with normally about 10 amps or less current. If I go off shore power for a short period, say 12 hours or less, then when I plug back in, it goes into float mode with a higher current. If I go off longer and deplete the house bank, the charger goes into bulk mode at 14.4.

I will post my settings this morning for you to compare.

Call me 817 223 2056 if you would like.

[Richard]

Here is my setup for a 1000 aH bank

03C Custom
Absorb Volts 14.4
Float Volts 13.4
03D Absorb Done
Amps = 50 (This number should be about 5 % of your battery pack aHrs, I think you have 6 100aHr batts, so this number would be 30 for you)
03E Max Charge Rate 100 %
03F Max Charge Time 12 hrs (Roughly based on bank size/charger output)
03G Final Charge State
Float

[folivier]

My 3 BBs normally sit at 13.5 floating. When I use lights or waterpump, etc. the inverter puts in just enough charge to keep them at that float voltage. When I unplug for the day or overnight and the voltage gets below that 13.5 then when I plug back in the inverter will start the charging cycle: 14.4 until it puts in the correct amount of amps (based on my SOC) then absorb for 90 minutes, then goes into float to keep them at 13.5. I'm using a Victron BMV-712 bluetooth battery monitor to see my SOC. But the inverter detects the amount of charge necessary.
I'd suggest you call Battleborn on Monday to discuss with them your inverter setup, I've found them very helpful.

[Richard]

Chuck,

I hope the armchair quarterbacking is not frustrating you. We are truly trying to help. And our guesses are based upon the info you provide and our past experiences.

The reason I think the lithium situation should be resolved first is that I am imagining this sequence. Lithium system installed, then Echo Charger was determined to be non op, replace Echo with AmpLStart, and now it is non op. There is a possibility that the lithium setup has both the Echo and the AmpL flummoxed. If I am wrong about the sequence of events, then let me know, and I will stop pursuing that logic.

One other question, do you have the Battery Monitor Kit (BMK) installed on your Magnum setup?

[cknuth]

Richard, I truly appreciate your thoughts and agree with your logic. When I originally set up the Magnum inverter, I was surprised and uneasy about how much time the settings put the batteries at higher voltage but did not question it. Looking at BB's blog yesterday, I see that they are still recommending the CC/CV mode for lithiums, but of course I will talk with them on Monday about it. It's certainly a simple matter to instead use one of the lead/acid modes with tweaked voltages to produce the desired lithium charging profile. Maybe CC/CV is intended for users who are off shore power on a very regular basis, whereas my pattern is to be plugged in for months.

Although I'll be contacting AmpLStart on Monday as well, I don't consider that to be the main issue; as you suggest, it will probably resolve itself.

The battery monitor I have is a separate Xantrex that Chester installed.

Thanks again,
C

[Richard]

I understand about the separate battery monitor. I asked about the BMK add on for the Magnum because it allows you to do extra stuff with the Magnum.

I have no problem with CC/CV. You may be able to do a simple tweak to get better results.

I just looked at your setup parameters again, and I think I see the gremlin. You have the recharge voltage set at 13.4, and the float voltage set at 13.4. That means if the voltage dips to 13.39, the charge cycle will start kicking your voltage to 14.4. Since the normal resting voltage for the Lithium is between 13.2 and 13.4, setting the recharge voltage at 13.4 may be too high. Try this and see what happens, lower the recharge voltage to 13.1.



There is no need to keep Lithiums at 90% SOC when you are hooked up for long periods.