Does this inverter ever go into standby mode?

Krus8r
Krus8r Registered Users Posts: 9 ✭
in Solar Beginners Corner #1
I have hooked up my Xantrex Freedom SW2000 to my Trojan 675 Ah battery bank (6 T-105s in series-parallel) and plugged it into the wall outlet. Initially, the inverter's internal battery charger quickly charged the whole bank and settled in on 1-2 amps of draw and a voltage of 13.07 VDC. The owners manual seemed to indicate that the inverter would eventually go into standby mode. I assumed that meant no draw as indicated by (---)and the unit shutting down (no fans on). However, it has been several days and it still is drawing 1-2 amps. Is this just the run-rate it takes to keep the bank topped off?

Thanks.
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,622 admin
    #2
    Re: Does this inverter ever go into standby mode?

    From the manual:
    IMPORTANT: The Search Mode only activates when the unit is operating in
    invert mode (from batteries) to prevent unnecessary battery discharge when
    electrical power is not required. If the inverter is supporting loads that must
    constantly be powered, turn the search mode off by setting the
    potentiometer fully counter-clockwise to the OFF position.

    The 13.07 volts sounds a bit low for float voltage.

    Where is the 1-2 amp draw? Is this from your 120 VAC or from your Battery bank?

    And what state is the unit in when you are asking about draw? AC Grid power supplied or running from battery bank only?

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • Krus8r
    Krus8r Registered Users Posts: 9 ✭
    #3
    Re: Does this inverter ever go into standby mode?
    BB. wrote: »
    From the manual:



    The 13.07 volts sounds a bit low for float voltage.

    Where is the 1-2 amp draw? Is this from your 120 VAC or from your Battery bank?

    And what state is the unit in when you are asking about draw? AC Grid power supplied or running from battery bank only?

    -Bill

    The unit is in pass-through mode, plugged into the wall outlet using AC grid power to keep the batteries charged, no load attached. The display flashes between 1 and 2 amps. If I unplug the unit from the wall with no load it simply shuts off. You can push the battery button and see the battery bank is at 100%. I would imagine I could simply plug it in once a week or so to top off the batteries.

    If I have a load attached, it will automatically enter invert mode and power the load. Since I am using this as a mobile back up generator, I was hoping to just leave it plugged into the AC grid most of the time to keep the battery bank fully charged until a power outage in which case I would manually connect a load. But I assumed if I did this it would eventually just go into standby mode where it shuts off when done charging.

    I have the seach mode disabled (fully counter clockwise).

    Thanks for any thoughts on this topic.
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,622 admin
    #4
    Re: Does this inverter ever go into standby mode?

    My "cheap" battery charger / float controller... Get a heavy duty lamp timer and set it to turn on for 1 hour per day... Works out to about 30 hours or 1 day of charging per month without having to worry about forgetting to plug/unplug--but yet not waste power/toast the battery bank.

    Monitor the battery state of charge and adjust the timer for more/less time.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • Krus8r
    Krus8r Registered Users Posts: 9 ✭
    #5
    Re: Does this inverter ever go into standby mode?
    BB. wrote: »
    My "cheap" battery charger / float controller... Get a heavy duty lamp timer and set it to turn on for 1 hour per day... Works out to about 30 hours or 1 day of charging per month without having to worry about forgetting to plug/unplug--but yet not waste power/toast the battery bank.

    Monitor the battery state of charge and adjust the timer for more/less time.

    -Bil

    Great idea. Thanks!
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,622 admin
    #6
    Re: Does this inverter ever go into standby mode?

    I did finally break down and spend some money for a better "float" battery charger for my in-laws 2nd car they rarely drive but frequently leave a trunk light on or some micro-controller somewhere decides to suck a little more power (or this last time, the cheap cube 1 amp battery charger failed and only charges at 0.4 amps) and got (from NAWS) and I end up; replacing the battery about once a year:

    Battery Minder 12 Volt - 2, 4, or 8 Amp Charger-Maintainer
    wind-sun_2156_514839 Battery Minder 12 Volt - 2, 4, or 8 Amp Charger-Maintainer-Desulfator-Conditioner Model 12248 is a 3-stage Constant Current - Constant voltage - Float mode charger –maintainer-desulfator (conditioner) that extends both the ... for AGM, gel and flooded types ensures 100% compliance with all leading battery manufacturer’s specifications. The BatteryMINDer automatically ...

    So far (about 1 month or so)--seems to work very well. Up to this point, I had not found a charger that would properly float a car battery (I was having to add water all the time).

    You could clip this to your battery bank (if 12 volt).

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • Krus8r
    Krus8r Registered Users Posts: 9 ✭
    #7
    Re: Does this inverter ever go into standby mode?
    BB. wrote: »
    ...You could clip this to your battery bank (if 12 volt).

    -Bill

    Maybe I am not following some of the other information in this forum with respect to charging large battery banks such as this (675 Ah, T-105s series-parallel, 12V). Since the Xantrex inverter has a 100A charger built-in (as long as it is receiving AC gid input) it would be nice to take advantage of it to keep the bank topped off when not in use.

    Originally, I thought just leaving it connected to grid AC would allow it to self manage the charging when needed and then go into standby mode. I guess it never goes into standby mode, at least not with a bank of this size. However, when you remove the AC grid power it does seem to just shutoff unless this is a load on the inverter. That is why I like your idea of a timer to run it 1 hour per day. Then it will always be ready to power any circuits I might need it to power in case of AC grid loss.

    As far as this battery minder, wouldn't it be redundant with the built-in charger as well as not being able to put out enough current if the bank was even slightly depleted? Sorry if I am misunderstanding.

    Thanks again!
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,622 admin
    #8
    Re: Does this inverter ever go into standby mode?

    It depends on how sophisticated the charge controller is...

    Check and see what the 100 amp charger floats the battery bank at... If it is too high, it will cause excessive water use and possible positive plate corrosion (electrolysis of water into hydrogen and oxygen--the oxygen forms at the positive plate and corrodes the support grid--I think I got all that correct).

    The other--Large battery chargers on float can waste quite a bit of energy... Using a small charger to float the battery bank may save electricity.

    However--if you are happy with the 1 hour per day lamp timer--By all means use it. I have been using that for years with one of my cars that does not get driven much and it works great.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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