Outback Mate has a mind of its own (charger off setting)

DMJ72
DMJ72 Solar Expert Posts: 131 ✭✭
in Off Grid Solar & Battery Systems #1
Hi All,

I am helping out a friend with a system of theirs, with a Outback 3024J (24V, 50Hz model) inverter connected to a Mate. Its setup to use HBX to switchover to the grid when the voltage reaches below 23.8V for 2 hours and back to Inverting when the batteries are above 28V for two hours. The solar array will recharge the batteries as we have sun year round (Tropics).

What I have noticed however, is that even if charger control is set off (Grid energy is very expensive here) as per the HBX part of the owner's manual, every now and then the homeowner will report that the system is charging. Low and behold, when I go to their house... charge control has been set to "AUTO" instead of "OFF" where I left it. I have noticed this a few times.

chargercontrol.jpg

Has anyone here ever had this problem?
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Comments

  • RandomJoe
    RandomJoe Solar Expert Posts: 472 ✭✭✭
    #2
    Re: Outback Mate has a mind of its own (charger off setting)

    I have seen the same thing happen on mine, I keep the charger OFF and manually turn it on when wanted.

    Normally I find it's reset to Auto if I shut down the inverter for some reason (disconnect battery power from the inverter). When it's powered back up the charger is set to Auto.

    However I believe I've found it back in Auto after a couple extended grid outages as well. I know there were a couple instances where I discovered it was charging when it shouldn't have been after a longer outage and couldn't think of any other reason for it to change. Most of my grid outages are very short - seconds to a few minutes - and it stays disabled through those.
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  • DMJ72
    DMJ72 Solar Expert Posts: 131 ✭✭
    #3
    Re: Outback Mate has a mind of its own (charger off setting)

    Hi RandomJoe,

    thanks for your reply .. I posted this on Outbacks forum and got this reply :
    Hi,

    The change to Auto might be built into the firmware. To find the firmware press STATUS>FX>METER>DOWN x7 times until you see the word firmware.

    Rev 061 will revert to Auto charger state anytime the inverter is disconnected from the DC source.

    As a backup method to prevent charging you can set charging amps to 0. ADV>141>FX>CHGR then decrease to 0. This should prevent charging even if the charger is set to Auto.


    What firmware are you running on your Mate? I think you are on to something with the AC outage .. As I have no idea who or what would cause it to lose DC power spontaneously!
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  • RandomJoe
    RandomJoe Solar Expert Posts: 472 ✭✭✭
    #4
    Re: Outback Mate has a mind of its own (charger off setting)

    Yep, mine would be Rev 061.

    For me it isn't really that big of a deal - grid power here is ridiculously cheap - so I leave the charger parameters set up for generator charging in case I need to do that. It very rarely reverts to Auto, so hasn't been enough of a nuisance for me to worry about.
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  • DMJ72
    DMJ72 Solar Expert Posts: 131 ✭✭
    #5
    Re: Outback Mate has a mind of its own (charger off setting)

    Checked it today .. Rev 061 as well. I set charging AMPs to 0 (grid power here is $$$$).
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