Another inverter remote and house battery question...

[Oregonconversion]

I have the Xantrax RV3012 inverter/charger. First off.... how do I get it to charge at 140amps? It has 2 110 inputs and I can hook them up to 2 30 amp circuits at my house, but thats only 60 amps of charging, right?

Also... I have 2 12V marine batteries in parallel that I bought used for right now. Is this why when charging and inverting the remote displays the battery level all over the map? It will start out inverting with the batteries at 100% then goes to 80% THEN 90%. Not exactly like that but I am using it as an example. Do you know what I mean?  Its like its not reading my battery level right. Is this because my batteries were bought used? How can I text my batteries? I already did an equalizing charge.

[JackConrad]

    That 60 amps (30 map X 2) is AC amps at 120 volt . 140 amps charging is DC amps at 12 volts. you may not be seeinf 10 amps because your batteries are not that low.  Charge rate tapers off as batteries State OF Charge (SOC) increases. We have our 2512 inverter wired to one 30 amp circuit and if our batteries are discharged to 50% SOC, the charge cycle statrs at 125 amps, but quickly starts decreasing.
    As far as meter "jumping all over", this is a gueqq, bit if a refrigerator or something with a large starting load comes on, this may show a lower SOC until the appliance is running and the load decreases, now giving a higher SOC.  Jack

[Sean]

I have the Xantrax RV3012 inverter/charger. First off.... how do I get it to charge at 140amps? It has 2 110 inputs and I can hook them up to 2 30 amp circuits at my house, but thats only 60 amps of charging, right?

The RV3012 only has a single AC input to the inverter and charger sections.  The second AC input is strictly a pass-through for the transfer switch.

140 amps of charging at 13.8 volts DC requires just 16 amps at 120 volts in a "perfect" world.  Since chargers are not perfectly efficient, it's more like 20 amps.  That is only a portion of the 30-amp circuit you have dedicated to the inverter; the remainder is available to run loads.  If you have more load than that on the system, the charger will automatically reduce output to keep within the 30 amp budget.

Note that nothing will likely work properly if you have not first configured the RV3012 for the size and type of battery bank you are using and the input current available.

Also... I have 2 12V marine batteries in parallel that I bought used for right now. Is this why when charging and inverting the remote displays the battery level all over the map? It will start out inverting with the batteries at 100% then goes to 80% THEN 90%. Not exactly like that but I am using it as an example. Do you know what I mean?  Its like its not reading my battery level right. Is this because my batteries were bought used?

Battery state of charge can only be accurate read by a voltmeter when (1) the batteries are not connected to anything else and (2) they have "rested" unconnected for a full day.  Your inverter thus does not really know how much charge is left in the batteries and any number of things can cause the reading to jump around in this manner.  It is not considered a fault.

If you want to know how much energy is left in your batteries, you will need a quality battery meter such as the Xantrex Link-10 or the Tri-Metric.  These meters use a shunt in the main battery ground circuit to monitor the energy going into and coming out the batteries, keeping a running total.

How can I text my batteries?

Get them a good cell phone with a messaging plan.

Seriously, batteries can only be tested with a proper load tester -- bring them to a good battery shop and they can do it for you.

You can measure certain things yourself, but the picture will be incomplete.  For example, you can fully charge them, then remove them and let them rest over night, then test the voltage with a meter and compare it to a table.  If they are conventional flooded cells you can use a hygrometer to measure the specific gravity of each cell.  You could also connect a known load to each battery for a measured amount of time and take voltage readings at intervals.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

[Oregonconversion]

OK so the two 110 inputs are separate... one for charging everything and one for JUST passthrough for more power.  and a 20 amp circuit is good enough for my charging.  Right?


I will try the Xantrex Link-10 or the Tri-Metric and see if those work better. Thanks!

[Sean]

OK so the two 110 inputs are separate... one for charging everything and one for JUST passthrough for more power.  and a 20 amp circuit is good enough for my charging.  Right?

When there is AC power present on AC1 In, AC1 powers the charger.  AC1 In passes through to AC1 Out, and AC2 In passes through the AC2 Out.

When no power is present on AC1 In, then both AC1 out and AC2 out are connected to the inverter output (and each other).

There is a good diagram of this at the bottom of page 2-7 of your manual.

You can certainly charge from a 20-amp circuit (or even a 15-amp one), however, if your input circuit is anything other than 30 amps, you MUST first configure the unit for the proper input power value.  You need an RC7 or RC/GS remote control attached to the inverter to do this.

You really should configure the unit with one of these two remotes before use anyway, because you also need to set the battery capacity and charge profile.

I consider the need for an external remote to do any configuration one of the deficiencies of this model.  The target market, however, is the RV industry itself, where these units are pre-programmed at the factory or dealer.  If you are going to install one yourself, you either need to install the RC7 or RC/GS remote along with it (recommended), or at least borrow one to do the initial configuration.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

[Oregonconversion]

I have the RC/GS remote but the only thing I have programed is the battery type and amp hours of battery bank.