Which leisure battery?

wildebus said:
Certainly is looking good :)
Unless you definately had the right software (and also the right cable - often it is not just a matter of connecting a simple cable), you'd be best off not fixing what isn't broke :D Option 2 and 3 look perfectly acceptable I would say (I would typically set the float at a value in-between those two but the difference is not worth loosing sleep over).
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Yeah ill just leave it well alone and wing it. Even if it is only getting 80% capacity charge its got to be better than the old one and for fifty quid a bargain.
 
For Murky I've just ordered 8 200Ah cells and a couple of BMS to assemble two batteries to replace my Trojan T105's
That should give me nearly 4KWhrs for the habitation. It will be a grim trip away to use that lot.
 
Bit of an odd one this morning. Went into the van (not been in it for at least a week) to start sorting stuff out for a trip and the solar alarm was going with a constant high pitched wail and an F1 error on the screen of the MPPT Controller. I thought maybe somehow the battery has discharged but its not that. Readings were good, 13.3 or something like that so I checked the manual. It points to an overcharge. Second one down.

screenshot-2031.jpg


However elsewhere in the manual it says F1 could mean a loose battery connection but I cant get at that to check right now as Mrs D is now in there doing whatever it is she does in there.

screenshot-2032.jpg


If you remember the worry with the AGM battery was that it wouldnt charge enough so I doubt there is an over charge issue. I just pulled the fuse and reconnected it and its alright now.

I set it on option 2 for sealed.
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Full manual here. http://www.mppsolar.com/manual/PCM-2012,3012/PCM-2012_24 user manual-20121126.pdf

Ill check the connections once Mrs D is done. Any thoughts?
 
I used to have the same controller and I experienced the same problem.

For me it happened in this circumstance.

If I was on a ferry, in daylight, when the 'van was on the car deck the controller went to sleep thinking it was night.

When I drove off the ferry with the battery being charged using the alternator, as soon as the controller sensed daylight the alarm would sound continuously.

I assume that when the controller switched back on it sensed an over voltage condition because the leisure battery voltage had been raised by the alternator charge.

Once I'd worked out what was going on I kept a screwdriver in the cupboard ready to disconnect the battery briefly to reset the controller.
 
Canalsman said:
I used to have the same controller and I experienced the same problem.

For me it happened in this circumstance.

If I was on a ferry, in daylight, when the 'van was on the car deck the controller went to sleep thinking it was night.

When I drove off the ferry with the battery being charged using the alternator, as soon as the controller sensed daylight the alarm would sound continuously.

I assume that when the controller switched back on it sensed an over voltage condition because the leisure battery voltage had been raised by the alternator charge.

Once I'd worked out what was going on I kept a screwdriver in the cupboard ready to disconnect the battery briefly to reset the controller.
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Thanks. I checked all the connections, seem fine so ill just keep an eye on it. Hopefully a blip. We will be away in it from next Tuesday so will soon find out if its an issue and a one off or not.
 
Been following this thread with interest . Think Barry has done well .
I've got 2x70ah batteries which , purely from readout , are beginning to show their age (3+ years)
It would appear my Sargent EC176 doesn't do AGM batteries .
Change unit and fit AGM or , simple solution , buy decent lead acid
battery ?
 
The Alarm and F1 overcharge error happened again just now. A couple of times I checked over the last couple of days I never heard the alarm. The only thing today is I went into the van to check and I turned on the electric. Its just an old fashioned rocker switch at the back of the van. No fancy modern controller. Checked the voltage, it was fine, turned off the electric and went outside to clean the exterior. Ten minutes later I heard the alarm sounding. Just had to unplug the fuse and plug it in again and it went off. Michelle just informed me that its doing it again right now.

I wonder if its worth trying a different setting. We are going to go away in it next week and this is going to be a problem I think.

These are the possible settings but I have no idea what option 5 does. Its currently set to option 2 sealed as suggested.

screenshot-2043.jpg
 
The Alarm and error keeps happening (its a sunny day) so I have had to disconnect the fuse between the battery and controller. I did notice when there was a burst of sun when I was running some appliances that for a second the voltage went above 15v. I dont think I have seen that before but generally it was 14.x

I have Emailed the manufacturers MPP for advice but its an old controller now. I am confident its not the controller though as its only happened since we changed to the AGM battery.
 
barryd said:
The Alarm and error keeps happening (its a sunny day) so I have had to disconnect the fuse between the battery and controller. I did notice when there was a burst of sun when I was running some appliances that for a second the voltage went above 15v. I dont think I have seen that before but generally it was 14.x

I have Emailed the manufacturers MPP for advice but its an old controller now. I am confident its not the controller though as its only happened since we changed to the AGM battery.
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Remember WHY you changed the Battery though... the old one has had it and it could be the issue was masked as it was sucking the charge out the controller and stopping it reaching the higher voltage?
 
wildebus said:
Remember WHY you changed the Battery though... the old one has had it and it could be the issue was masked as it was sucking the charge out the controller and stopping it reaching the higher voltage?
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The old one I think was on the way out but it was still working. I think it was a case of changing it before it failed completely. It would be seven years old I think.
 
Have you got the van on hook up?

If so that could be the cause if the onboard mains charger is elevating the battery voltage to a value that the controller is unhappy about.
 
Canalsman said:
Have you got the van on hook up?

If so that could be the cause if the onboard mains charger is elevating the battery voltage to a value that the controller is unhappy about.
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No its not on hookup. I am going to have another look this morning, tighten up the connections and maybe ill try a different setting with a lower float charge. If that fails Ill put the old battery back on and see if that stops it. If it does then maybe there is a compatibility problem with this new AGM battery and my controller.
 
Well today I disconnected the battery terminals and noticed one of the ones for the solar on the new leisure battery seemed to have been squashed out a bit so repositioned everything and tightened it up pretty good and also reconnected the cables into the panel. connected the panel back up and I didnt see any over the top surges in voltage. Maybe saw a 14.8. Left the electric turned on and we have been in and out doing stuff. Tested the invertor as I read on another forum that a battery getting too much charge blew an invertor but I suspect my modern invertor will be protected against that (hopefully as we plug some expensive gear into it).

Seems alright so far. This van is like something out of Harry Potter. Its bewitched. Maybe it doesn't like change and is not happy about the idea of some new fangled AGM battery I dunno. So I guess ill just as said earlier have to wing it and see how we get on.
 
Bit of an update. Been away 9 days now and so far so bloody brilliant. Touch wood. I think this AGM battery is maybe nuclear powered as I've hardly seen it dip below 12.6v. even after an entire day in the van when it chucked it down all day and we caned it all day with two laptops, phones and a TV it was still hovering between 12.4 and 12.5 at midnight and fully charged by 10am the next morning from the single 100w solar.

Early days but a result I would say and no further issues with the controller alarm as yet. I think however my cab battery might be about to let me down but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
 
One of the reasons AGM battery’s have such an anti-following is because the charging systems in vans could not charge and maintain them properly. That wasn’t just where people had fitted new battery’s as replacements but even modern vans from the factory at the time.
Whatever battery you fit you should make sure everything is compatible, it’s not just Lifepo4
 
Nabsim said:
One of the reasons AGM battery’s have such an anti-following is because the charging systems in vans could not charge and maintain them properly. That wasn’t just where people had fitted new battery’s as replacements but even modern vans from the factory at the time.
Whatever battery you fit you should make sure everything is compatible, it’s not just Lifepo4
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Yep I think we were aware of that when looking at the Alpha AGM batteries and the max charge of my mppt controller. Couldn't find any details for the requirements for this one supplied by Richard but I assume it's similar and maybe my controller is not giving it the full beans but so far it's looking good. For fifty quid if it lasts this summer I'll be happy. That's about a quarter of a tank of diesel these days. 😬
 
Nabsim said:
One of the reasons AGM battery’s have such an anti-following is because the charging systems in vans could not charge and maintain them properly. That wasn’t just where people had fitted new battery’s as replacements but even modern vans from the factory at the time.
Whatever battery you fit you should make sure everything is compatible, it’s not just Lifepo4
Click to expand...
That's why I went for lead carbon correct charging profile for my van
 
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