Growatt spf5000 es - please advise on settings

[Hiedie]

Guys, thanks for the advise that will be forthcoming with this request. It will be greatly appreciated.

I have the inverter installed with 4 x Royal 105AH-1150k batteries (until I can afford better) that is practically new.
Installation is used as back-up with no panels installed.
With a load of approx. 85watt I only get about 90 minutes out of these batteries with Low DC Cut-off voltage set to 42.0v
Is backup wattage what I can expect from these batteries ?
What would your recommended setting be for the Growatt with these batteries ?

Thanks

 

[rh1]

There are many threads that can help. All I know is that if that batteries is lead acid, you cannot expect much. Basically it is a waste of money.

 

[Hiedie]

that is what I'm basically beginning to realize...
Trying to get most out of them before getting rid

 

[TheChamp]

42V is way below the 50% DoD recommended for lead acids, so your batteries could probably be broken already. Some of those batteries are not properly taken good care of while on the shelf so you get batteries that are already on their way out and discharging them to 42V is a good way to accelerate the dying process.

There are many settings that affect the batteries so perhaps it's easier if you post your present settings and we work off that, it is possible that there could be some setting that causes your batteries to cycle instead of being on standby for loadshedding.

 

[wingnut771]

Guys, thanks for the advise that will be forthcoming with this request. It will be greatly appreciated.

I have the inverter installed with 4 x Royal 105AH-1150k batteries (until I can afford better) that is practically new.
Installation is used as back-up with no panels installed.
With a load of approx. 85watt I only get about 90 minutes out of these batteries with Low DC Cut-off voltage set to 42.0v
Is backup wattage what I can expect from these batteries ?
What would your recommended setting be for the Growatt with these batteries ?

Thanks

Make sure the batteries are balanced by connecting them in parallel and giving them a full charge with a 12V charger. If that doesn't improve things then the batteries are poked.

You shouldn't go below 48V (50%) as your cut-off so they might be already toast.

 

[Hiedie]

Make sure the batteries are balanced by connecting them in parallel and giving them a full charge with a 12V charger. If that doesn't improve things then the batteries are poked.

You shouldn't go below 48V (50%) as your cut-off so they might be already toast.

yes, went below 48v out of desperation.

 

[Hiedie]

42V is way below the 50% DoD recommended for lead acids, so your batteries could probably be broken already. Some of those batteries are not properly taken good care of while on the shelf so you get batteries that are already on their way out and discharging them to 42V is a good way to accelerate the dying process.

There are many settings that affect the batteries so perhaps it's easier if you post your present settings and we work off that, it is possible that there could be some setting that causes your batteries to cycle instead of being on standby for loadshedding.

I resorted lowering discharge to 42v out of desperation.....

settings..

01 - sub 02 - 60A 03 - APL 04 - dis 05 - use 06 - dis 07 - dis 08 - 230v

09 - 50 10 - 4 11 - 30A 12- 46V 13 -54V 14 - SNU 18 - dis 19 - 56.4

20 - 54v 21 - 42v 28 - 1 43 - dis 44 -58.4v 45 - 60 46 - 120 47 - 30 48 - off

49 - 0000 50 - 0000

 

[wingnut771]

yes, went below 48v out of desperation.

check the voltages of each battery and see if they all track the same.

 

[TheChamp]

I resorted lowering discharge to 42v out of desperation.....

settings..

01 - sub 02 - 60A 03 - APL 04 - dis 05 - use 06 - dis 07 - dis 08 - 230v

09 - 50 10 - 4 11 - 30A 12- 46V 13 -54V 14 - SNU 18 - dis 19 - 56.4

20 - 54v 21 - 42v 28 - 1 43 - dis 44 -58.4v 45 - 60 46 - 120 47 - 30 48 - off

49 - 0000 50 - 0000

You have no solar, so set program 1 to utility, it should only use battery when there is no Eskom.
The charging current also looks high, I don't think you should go anywhere beyond 20A.
Enable program 4, it's power saving mode.
Set program 5 to flooded because you are using flooded batteries, it will help you with the right charging settings, remember that it will disable other settings.

Program 6 and 7 enable
Program 12 to 48 but it should be disabled when utility is selected in setting 1.

Enable setting 43 to help with the general health of your batteries, equalization is necessary since you are dealing with lead acids.

That's a highlight of the setting that could affect the performance of your batteries, try them and see.

 

[Hiedie]

You have no solar, so set program 1 to utility, it should only use battery when there is no Eskom.
The charging current also looks high, I don't think you should go anywhere beyond 20A.
Enable program 4, it's power saving mode.
Set program 5 to flooded because you are using flooded batteries, it will help you with the right charging settings, remember that it will disable other settings.

Program 6 and 7 enable
Program 12 to 48 but it should be disabled when utility is selected in setting 1.

Enable setting 43 to help with the general health of your batteries, equalization is necessary since you are dealing with lead acids.

That's a highlight of the setting that could affect the performance of your batteries, try them and see.

Thanks, I will give it a go

Otherwise I'm looking at 1 X US3000 Pylontech
if sums is correct should give load of 516w at least 5 hours.
Do you think it's a good choice ?

 

[wingnut771]

Thanks, I will give it a go

Otherwise I'm looking at 1 X US3000 Pylontech
if sums is correct should give load of 516w at least 5 hours.
Do you think it's a good choice ?

Just as long as you don't try draw more than 1.75kW (3.5kWh x 0.5C) as this is a 0.5C battery and the BMS will trip. Considering you have 5kW inverter, maybe it's better to go with a 1C battery.

Something like this:

Vestwoods VT48100E-A2 4.8KW @ 48v 1C 100% DOD

Intelligent lithium battery, integrated with self-designed BMS which can be widely used in various telecom and energy storage system such as indoor distribution stations, integrated base stations, edge stations, micro-cell stations, FTTX equipment, distributed power supply, standby. Key Features...

powerforum-store.co.za

or

AM-2 5.5KWh 51 Volt Lithium

The AM-2 is our new 5.5KWh 51Volt Lithium pack designed to be easily wallmounted or shelf installed in a standard rack.Specifications: 51V 100 AhRating: 1CParallel: up to 15 units per stringExtras: Battery Link & DC cables includedCAN Bus: YesRIOT Cloudlink Ready: Yes All AM models have full...

powerforum-store.co.za

or

Kodak 3.68kWh 48V Battery Module ( 30 In Stock )

The BL3.6 Kodak battery is a high performance, 3.68kWh, scalable battery module perfect for expanding systems. A Single BL3.6 battery module allows up to 5000W of continuous discharge power. This means only one BL3.6 battery module is required for a 5kW inverter or only two required for a 10kW...

powerforum-store.co.za

 

[TheChamp]

Thanks, I will give it a go

Otherwise I'm looking at 1 X US3000 Pylontech
if sums is correct should give load of 516w at least 5 hours.
Do you think it's a good choice ?

Remember to revisit the settings and change them when connecting the lithium battery.

I have no beef with the Pylontech, they are good batteries but depending on the pricing you will want a 1C battery to get the most out of it. But pricing and other factors like after sales support do count.

Just remember that what you buy is what you will get stuck with when you want to expand so go for something that allows scalability.

 

[Hiedie]

Thanks guys, your knowledge sharing is much appreciated.

 

[Hiedie]

You have no solar, so set program 1 to utility, it should only use battery when there is no Eskom.
The charging current also looks high, I don't think you should go anywhere beyond 20A.
Enable program 4, it's power saving mode.
Set program 5 to flooded because you are using flooded batteries, it will help you with the right charging settings, remember that it will disable other settings.

Program 6 and 7 enable
Program 12 to 48 but it should be disabled when utility is selected in setting 1.

Enable setting 43 to help with the general health of your batteries, equalization is necessary since you are dealing with lead acids.

That's a highlight of the setting that could affect the performance of your batteries, try them and see.

 

[Hiedie]

View attachment 1335564 View attachment 1335564 should battery not be charging ?

 

[TheChamp]

At 55.9V the battery is full so no, it should not be charging. It's perfect like that, bypass when there is AC and only use battery when there is no AC.

Very cool inverter by the way, I am a big fan of the value proposition of the Growatt.

 

[Hiedie]

Great

 

[wingnut771]

At 55.9V the battery is full so no, it should not be charging. It's perfect like that, bypass when there is AC and only use battery when there is no AC.

Very cool inverter by the way, I am a big fan of the value proposition of the Growatt.

Seems a bit high for FLOAT voltage.

 

[TheChamp]

Seems a bit high for FLOAT voltage.

Perhaps it will settle, I had the royal charging somewhere and saw that the voltage was slightly high.

 

[wingnut771]

Perhaps it will settle, I had the royal charging somewhere and saw that the voltage was slightly high.

not because it was still doing BULK?