Charging my batteries from generator

[Jason Foster]

Some other culprits:  Refrigerator, mulching toilet exhaust fan (if you have one of those), ceiling exhaust fan in bathroom, King TV booster (no idea how much power it uses, maybe nothing).

[MAX Burner]

5 hours ago, Jason Foster said:

LifePO4s self discharge around 2% per month, so something has definitely been left on to discharge them that much in a months time. 

Concur 100% w/Jason's comment above.  Once the "phantom" amperage is discovered and dealt with accordingly, it may be interesting to explore the installation of a master battery cut-off switch (between all things using DC current and the battery bank).  Configured in such a fashion as to keep batteries float charged with shore power when stored....

[TxMN2020]

I had to run the battery heater a lot during a recent cold spell, will check other suggested items.

 

[Rolind]

The battery heaters would absolutely drain the batteries especially if the solar switch was turned off, or if there was a prolonged cold spell of cloudy weather.

if you should take my advice on how to restart the batteries and charging, I would recommend turning the batteries on before the solar panel switch. I seem to remember that having solar on wo a connection to functioning batteries may damage the solar charge controller.

i alway turn my solar switch to off when I turn off the batteries for long term storage to prevent this from happening.

[MAX Burner]

2 minutes ago, Rolind said:

I seem to remember that having solar on wo a connection to functioning batteries may damage the solar charge controller.

True statement  -- especially for older PWM charge controllers.  Many of the newer MPPT CCs are self protecting -- but the SOP @Rolind describes is a good measure to practice, IMO.

[Steph and Dud B]

9 hours ago, Jason Foster said:

These batteries also have a heater built into them which could discharge them over time.  Likely a red switch in the battery compartment.

Depends on the batteries. In the 2022 model year the smaller Lithionics package had heating pads under the batteries with a separate switch, but the larger batteries had built-in heaters without an external switch.

[TxMN2020]

I am ready to Connect my 2 Honda generators, i did not turn the batteries off, they Turned themselves off due to łów voltage, do i in manuały nów and turn them on at the button switch on each battery before connecting generator, the solar disconnect was on and Dealer said just leave it on when Charging. Also, the recent Photo of the chargé system monitor is the one i have, i am confused on the discussion on this whether it monitory battery level or not.

i had presumed sińce there is a battery selection and a bar status indicator than reflected battery level, previous postu said it only reflects Charging voltage. 

[Steph and Dud B]

@TxMN2020: "Low Voltage Cutoff (LVC) – During discharge, the BMS will disable discharge current when any cell reaches the 2.6V
(approximately 10.4V total voltage). Charging current is allowed, so that the battery can still be charged by a charging source.
Some charging sources require to “see” the battery voltage before allowing charging, in which case LVC lockout can be temporarily overridden by short-pressing the Power button. This will allow the charger to sense the battery voltage, so charging can begin." - from my Lithionics manual. 

Based on this, start and connect the generator first. The blue battery button lights should start blinking slowly, indicating they are charging. If the batteries are not taking a charge, short-press the battery power buttons once to trigger a charge. 

The only real ways to know the batteries are actually taking a charge are the blue button lights on the batteries and the Lithionics app. Once the batteries are powered up I strongly advise you install the app on your phone and connect it to your batteries. It gives you very good information on each individual battery's status. 

You also should get the manual for your specific batteries. This is what I have:  https://search.app/Sri9bZ77WSrryceG9 Yours may be different.

P.S. If your batteries are that low, it will take a while to get them charged back up, even with the dual generators. If you see that they're charging, sit back and give them time.

Edited February 7 by Steph and Dud B
Added op

[TxMN2020]

Thanks Steph and Dub, trying to balance this and several other things, wife plans to get apps up after i get generators going today

[Rivernerd]

1 hour ago, TxMN2020 said:

Also, the recent Photo of the chargé system monitor is the one i have, i am confused on the discussion on this whether it monitory battery level or not.

i had presumed sińce there is a battery selection and a bar status indicator than reflected battery level, previous postu said it only reflects Charging voltage. 

My post was incomplete. My apologies.

My Victron BMV-712 Smart Battery Monitor defaults to display of charge current, so I presumed that is what you were seeing.  But, as pointed out by Rolind above, the switch can be toggled to alternatively display state of charge. 

I never use that feature, because:  (1) I rely primarily on the Lithionics app for state of charge levels individually on each of my batteries and (2) I also use the Victron Connect app (not the round display above the rear street side bunk) for a "backup" state of charge report.   The Victron reports total, combined state of charge, not individually for each battery, unlike the Lithionics app.

14 minutes ago, TxMN2020 said:

wife plans to get apps up after i get generators going today

I recommend you get both apps installed BEFORE connecting the generators.  They will enable you to monitor charge progress, and potentially address any issues that come up.   Be sure to have your phone close to the battery bank while using the apps, as they use Bluetooth.  I usually take a seat inside the trailer to check the app readings, then go outside to check the batteries when needed.

 

Edited February 7 by Rivernerd

[Steph and Dud B]

@TxMN2020: IMPORTANT: Do not try to charge your lithium batteries if their internal temperature is below freezing (32 degrees F). Lithium batteries cannot be charged below freezing. It can damage them.

[Steph and Dud B]

28 minutes ago, Rivernerd said:

I recommend you get both apps installed BEFORE connecting the generators.

He won't be able to link the app to the batteries via Bluetooth until he's brought the charge up enough to bring the batteries out of low voltage shutdown. That's why I told him to check the blue indicators to verify charging. But, yes, they should have the app handy so they can use it once the batteries power up.

[Rivernerd]

18 hours ago, Geronimo John said:

Based on the above, it appears that the gauge you are referring to is not coupled to a Victron Shunt. 

My mistake.  I had forgotten that the Victron round wall display can be toggled to display more than the default charging voltage, as I always use the Victron app (but rely primarily on the more informative Lithioncs app).  I expect all of the data available from the wall display and the app is provided by the shunt.

[TxMN2020]

No worries, Thanks for the knowledge and Assistance, my wife has already corrected me on both issues.

[Steph and Dud B]

Good luck. Let us know how you make out.

[Tideline77]

If I could piggyback one question on your generator charging discussion please .

 

2022 hull 1218 with 3x130 ah lithionics batteries factory solar 

i did a practice run on using the generator since I am in the learning curve and needed a test run in the driveway 

I have a standard Honda 2200 and a companion Honda 2200 for Hurricane emergency use at home.

With a single Honda EU2200 companion using the 30 amp output plug on the Honda and a 30 amp heavy duty generator cord

Recharged the batteries on the factory setting without adjusting the APP setting to 15 amp or 20 amp input

the Honda was revving up to full throttle , SOC when I fired it up was mid 40%

 

Batteries charged without any issues that I am aware of and no overload light 

 

Is this acceptable or not acceptable ?

 

sorry to disrupt the discussion , but I’m not sure if everyone is aware the Honda EU 2200 companion has a 30 amp plug for output

 

 

 

Edited February 8 by Tideline77

[TxMN2020]

I charged minę FIRST time with one of my honda2200. I used a short ford plugged into the convience plug on the door side, do nor remember which połóg on generator i used, i Think i put the neutral ground plug into the left outlet IF looking at the generator, my batteries Werę near 50% and it ran about 3 or SO hours, insurekcja as i did not baby sit it the whole time, but it did get the batteries to full chargé, according to the Victoria round gauge on the interior wall. My FIRST time to chargé anything, our  trailer has same batteries as hours, just don’t have 30 amp Electric in the traktor barn where it sita, thought using generators would allow me to use them somę instead of sitting, could pull it out fro solar, but this time batteries arę łów and want to chargé fasces way whiskey i have Good Weather today.

[TxMN2020]

Fidelisem, did you use only the one generator that has the 30A plug and used the RV adapter or did you link the companion generator to the other generator. Sorry for SO many spełling errors, i can’ t figurę out how to work with auto correct or have somę thing set wrong.

 

[dewdev]

Message modified

@TxMN2020 

If you add your trailer information to your siginature, it would help for people to provide you answer's based on the year of your OTT.

Edited February 13 by dewdev

[dewdev]

@TxMN2020 There is no auto correct on the forum, but you can edit your responce by clicking on the  3 dots in the upper right corner and clicking edit in the drop down, make the changes and then click on the save tab below.

Edited February 14 by dewdev

[Tideline77]

21 minutes ago, TxMN2020 said:

Fidelisem, did you use only the one generator that has the 30A plug and used the RV adapter or did you link the companion generator to the other generator. Sorry for SO many spełling errors, i can’ t figurę out how to work with auto correct or have somę thing set wrong.

 

 

I thought you had two many cocktails and music 😂😂😂

I used a single Honda EU2200 companion with 30 amp output plug  , a 25’ 30 amp generator cord with 30 amp ends and plugged into the Oliver 30 amp plug on the street side 

Your owners manual should have the correct sequence for restarting your batteries and turning on your  primary circuit breaker and inverter / charger 

 

my question to the group experts was ………

using this method should I adjust the the Xantrex input amp setting down to 15 amp or 20 amp

i am also a new owner asking a question 

 

our 2022 year model has  service bulletin for the sequence 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 8 by Tideline77

[Tideline77]

 

[Steph and Dud B]

@Tideline77 it is best practice to set the Xantrex breaker setting to the max current your source outlet can provide. (Actually a little less. Note that Oliver's default setting for a 30A campground outlet is only 25. It's not great to run electrical components at full load.) This is to prevent your trailer from over-drawing power and tripping the breaker on your power source (or worse). Your generator may have a 30A outlet but a 2200W generator can't actually provide the full 30A, at least not continuously (2200W / 120V = 18 Amps).

You can go to the max available output of the generator (probably 18A in your case, check you manual) as long as the trailer is the only thing plugged into the generator. One advantage of setting the Xantrex to lower Amps (say 10A) would be that the generator wouldn't be screaming at max RPM the whole time. However charge time would go up.

If plugged into a household outlet, I go at least 5A below the circuit breaker for that outlet. When in storage and I need to charge, our trailer is plugged into a 20A household outlet. However, that same circuit might also be used to run power tools on different outlets, so I actually set my Xantrex breaker setting down to 5A. This causes the trailer to charge more slowly, but allows me to use other outlets in the garage at the same time without tripping the breaker.

Also, if you're using a regular extension cord to connect to a household outlet, you should lower the Xantrex setting to no more then the cord is rated to handle. If you attach your trailer to a 20A outlet, set your Xantrex to 20A, but then use an extension cord rated for only 15A, you run a risk of melting that extension cord and starting a fire.

In summary, never set the Xantrex higher then the breaker on the supplying outlet and consider going even lower if you don't need absolute max charging speed.

[TxMN2020]

Tideline77, i tried what you did with the 30A, worked fine. I also am not well educated on my generators. All is well with exception of using the Victron Connect app, both solar and batteries appear, but will not Connect with the six 0’ codę as directed in oliver video.

 

[Steph and Dud B]

26 minutes ago, TxMN2020 said:

All is well

This is good news! Did you find the culprit that caused the batteries to run down so fast? Now that you have the Lithionics app working you can see how many amps are being drawn while in storage.