Victron 600 settings for Energizer GC2s

[Target9000]

Hey knowledgeable gurus... I've got a question for you.

I just finished installing a new Victron BMV-600 along with 4 x Energizer GC2 batteries purchased at Sam's club. I know these batteries are actually relabeled Johnson Controls 6v batteries. They're wired up as a single 12 bank.

I've got the monitor working and showing me voltage and amp usage but now its time to program it and here is where I'm lost. I read the manual and did some prelim research online but the specs on these batteries doesn't seem to easily found. In my Victron setup it talks several things.

1) Charge Efficiency Factor (CEF) It mentions there are many factors that will determine this but does not suggest any rule of thumb to calculate it? Any advice appreciated. Default is 95%

2) Peukert's exponent. Default is 1.25 and I calculated the batteries at 1.26. Is this enough to change the Victron? Is 1.25 close enough?

3) Charged parameters. The book suggests 13.2v is "charged" for most flooded lead acids. It also says under 4% of the banks capacity in amp acceptance for over four minutes. Do these values seem right for this kind of setup?

Finally, do you manually sync it the first time or just setup the parameters and then charge up to full and let it automatically sync?

Sorry for these questions, searching just hasn't turned up things this specific and this being my first time setting up this guy I want to do it right.

Thanks

[hellosailor]

Target, I'd recommend calling JCI directly. They have been known to actually put engineers on the phone, and share technical information.

Impressive folks in more ways than one.

[Target9000]

Good suggestion hellosailor. I gave them a ring but unfortunately did not get an engineer on the phone. The lady said she'd try to give me a call back with more answers though. She told me there isn't much info on these because they are "proprietary" to Sam's club, which seemed kind of weird. The one question she could answer was that the batteries were considered charged when they held a charge of 6.2v over a 24 hour period, though that doesn't seem to mesh well with the Victron setup. Hopefully the engineers get back in touch with me.

[Stu Jackson]

1) Charge Efficiency Factor (CEF) It mentions there are many factors that will determine this but does not suggest any rule of thumb to calculate it? Any advice appreciated. Default is 95%

Default works just fine in this case for this parameter.

2) Peukert's exponent. Default is 1.25 and I calculated the batteries at 1.26. Is this enough to change the Victron? Is 1.25 close enough?

Yes. Not an issue. Some have reported that 6Vs can be as low as 1.07, but for normal loads, this will work fine for what you need the battery monitor to do. If you want to “fine tune” it later, then do so, but start with this. Maine Sail has posted results at www.sailboatowners.com.

3) Charged parameters. The book suggests 13.2v is "charged" for most flooded lead acids. It also says under 4% of the banks capacity in amp acceptance for over four minutes. Do these values seem right for this kind of setup?

Charged and the % is covered here.

The "Gotcha Algorithm"

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4922.0.html

For starters, do what the post says, read some more about it and you can make your own mind up. It’s worked for many of us so far. The important part is to recognize what premature really means.

Finally, do you manually sync it the first time or just setup the parameters and then charge up to full and let it automatically sync?

RTFM Sync means charge first, then set the BV.

[Target9000]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

RTFM Sync means charge first, then set the BV.

Oh the irony that I finally did RTFM and had questions but then get busted out. :P

No seriously, thank you so much for a solid reply to my post. I'll follow the advice and hopefully things will work out.