[RE-wrenches] OB Charging/Comms Issues

[Ray Walters]

Just goes to my rule for off grid, forget the comms.  Regardless of the 
Manu, I've been advised during trouble shooting to disconnect the comms, 
and it almost always fixes the problem. Honestly, I forgot what comms 
were supposed to fix in the first place.  I almost never even bother 
now. Mate 3 with HUB? Only if I have to.  Midnite "Follow Me"? pulled 
the cables.   All my systems are open communication.  Even battery to 
battery comms causes problems.

Oh, and I recently had to buy a $400 PC laptop, just to do trouble 
shooting, and firmware updates on batteries.  I don't miss the acid 
burns in my jeans, but I'm not sure if I like my job as much, in the 
twilight years of my off grid career.    I'm spending as much time 
installing, as I am babysitting LiPO4 batteries that are supposed to 
operate maintenance free for 8000 cycles.  Yeah. Just yeah.  I'd be 
amazed at 800 cycles without having to truck out there to F with them.  
Haven't seen a brand yet that has worked without some kind of trouble.  
Blue Ion, Simpliphi, Fortress, Homegrid, EG4..... major trouble with 
everyone of them. Complete system shutdowns.  Rotting food in the fridge.

I've heard acid burned jeans are coming back in fashion.....

Ray Walters
Remote Solar

On 11/8/2024 1:42 PM, Chris Sparadeo via RE-wrenches wrote:
> Hey wrenchers,
>
> I have an off-grid customer with a pair of VFX 3648 inverters, a FM 
> 100 charge controller and two eVault classics in open loop. The issue 
> is when the generator is charging the batteries, incoming amperage is 
> all over the place and periodically, gradually drops to 0A then ramps 
> back up. This is creating really long generator run times. When I turn 
> off PV input, same results. When I turn off both PV input and charge 
> controller output (turning off the CC entirely) the inverters hold a 
> steady charge. If I remove the charge controllers comms cable from the 
> hub, they both play nicely and charge cooperatively. This obviously 
> sounds like a communication issue, but unfortunately, without the help 
> of OB tech support, I am left speculating. I have checked all settings 
> with a fine comb and nothing looks to be out of place.  Has anyone 
> experienced something similar to this?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Chris Sparadeo
>
>
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