russinthecascades
Active member
With the snow and overcast conditions recently in the PNW, I've needed to connect to shore power to recharge the system after consecutive 3 day/2 night out ski trips. Summer and fall were recovered/maintained quickly by the 400W solar alone. The accessible power at home is a 15A service, which is typically taking about 36 hours to go from 80% to 100% SOC. Current draw is from several LCD lights, 2 fans, recharging 2 phones and Espar D2 running most of the time.
System:
4x100 Ah Windy Nation AGM batteries
Victron 712 Battery monitoring system
Victron Multiplus 12/3000 Inverter/charger
12AWG connecting wire between shore inlet and inverter
Questions:
1. Does it matter (other than the time it takes) whether you shore charge from 15A, 20A or 30A service for the health of the batteries? Multiplus manual lists AC input current limits from 3A - 50A. Also states "for maximum battery life, a charge current of 10% - 20% of the capacity in Ah should be applied. Example: optimal current of a 24V/500Ah battery bank: 50A to 100A".
My equivalent would be 12V/400Ah: ?A to ?A (I'm not sure of the formula used to calculate the 10-20% amp range).
2. When charging from 15A service does the length of the extension cord or gauge of the wire play much of a role? I've used both 25' 14/3 and 100' 10/3. Thought about getting a 25' 10/3 if it helps.
System:
4x100 Ah Windy Nation AGM batteries
Victron 712 Battery monitoring system
Victron Multiplus 12/3000 Inverter/charger
12AWG connecting wire between shore inlet and inverter
Questions:
1. Does it matter (other than the time it takes) whether you shore charge from 15A, 20A or 30A service for the health of the batteries? Multiplus manual lists AC input current limits from 3A - 50A. Also states "for maximum battery life, a charge current of 10% - 20% of the capacity in Ah should be applied. Example: optimal current of a 24V/500Ah battery bank: 50A to 100A".
My equivalent would be 12V/400Ah: ?A to ?A (I'm not sure of the formula used to calculate the 10-20% amp range).
2. When charging from 15A service does the length of the extension cord or gauge of the wire play much of a role? I've used both 25' 14/3 and 100' 10/3. Thought about getting a 25' 10/3 if it helps.