Schneider Electric SW4024

jkmusic777

Hi,
Just got my new inverter. It will not charge the batteries when I supply 240vac input to do so. Or if it is...its very small. I have no desire for automatic, just need it to charge when I power it. I have set all battery specs for my Renogy AGMs.  Is there a special setting to make it work? Do the the charge limits need to be set higher? I have seen many articles about modes. Is this related? I dont see that multiple selection other than basically operational or standby.
Appreciate your help!

mcgivor

Do you have a Combox or SCP to change the settings from the defaults? 

jkmusic777

mcgivor said:

Do you have a Combox or SCP to change the settings from the defaults? 

Yes and battery monitor. I have adjusted all I can see. I used AGM recommended settings as well as other obvious. 

Dave Angelini

You should be in Advanced settings. Did you enable the charger  and check AC settings?
Push the 3 left buttons at once to enter advanced settings. It is in the SCP manual.

jkmusic777

Dave Angelini said:

You should be in Advanced settings. Did you enable the charger  and check AC settings?
Push the 3 left buttons at once to enter advanced settings. It is in the SCP manual.

Got it! At 60% SOC it was charging at 90 Amps! Curious if I tell it the breaker is less on the AC input can I limit charge Amps? I have a single Renogy 24v bank. (2 x 200AH, 12v, 20hour). Seems a bit high to charge. 

BB.

Lets say you have an 80 Amp breaker (on your 120/240 VAC circuit)... I like to suggest derating to 0.85 of rated wiring and breaker branch circuit capacity:

• 80 Amps * 0.85 NEC derating for continuous current = 68 Amps suggested max continuous load on NEC rated circuits.

Note, you may have been talking about 90 Amp charging current @ 24 Volt battery bank... It is not always clear which circuit we are talking about.

You should check the battery mfg's manual... It is always best to use their (charging voltage, charging current, etc.) specifications.

However, charging at ~10% to 20% is a typical starting point... And if you decide to change the charging current in your SW--Make sure you check the setup instructions/LCD menu closely.

Sometimes, the Max charging current is that feeding the battery bank (24 volt bus in this case). But sometimes when you set limits, it is the AC current instead (say 120 VAC circuit).

So, for your battery bank... 20% of 200 AH battery bank:

• 200 AH * 0.20 = 40 amps suggested maximum

And if this is defined in AC feed amps, assuming 120 VAC system/utility power:

• 40 Amps (battery current) * 29.0 volts absorb set point * 1/0.80 typical PF/Eff derating = 1,450 VA charging
• 1,450 VA / 120 VA = 12.1 Amps @ 120 VAC input (for limiting max charging current, not for limiting because of AC breaker limit)

-Bill

mcgivor

jkmusic777 said:

Dave Angelini said:

You should be in Advanced settings. Did you enable the charger  and check AC settings?
Push the 3 left buttons at once to enter advanced settings. It is in the SCP manual.

Got it! At 60% SOC it was charging at 90 Amps! Curious if I tell it the breaker is less on the AC input can I limit charge Amps? I have a single Renogy 24v bank. (2 x 200AH, 12v, 20hour). Seems a bit high to charge. 

Limiting the breaker capacity on the AC input would in theroy reduce the charging current but would also limit the pass through value as well, the correct method would be to reduce the charging current in the settings.

Dave Angelini

Bill the CSW is a 30 amp breaker. XW is 60 amp AC the industry standard. To get more current you would stack inverters.

BB.

No problem Dave... I was trying to show how the math works.

As always, refer the the manuals when working with the equipment and batteries.

-Bill

Dave Angelini

I know good job!  When in doubt read the manual