Hi @Heiko, Thank you for the update, and we’re glad to hear that the issue has been resolved.
For battery maintenance, we recommend that you upgrade the BMS to the latest version and recalibrate it every 3 months.
Hope this helps.
You advise me to upgrade the BMS but If I understood correctly BMS on the external B210 cannot be updated (right?) and my internal BMS is already up to date (v1056.03).
So: How should I upgrade?
Also, you advise me to recalibrate Batteries every 3 months.
One question: Is one complete charge from 0% to 100% enough or will it need more (e.g. 100 - 0 - 100 or so)?
An one remark: I am pretty sure this is not a calibation issue. E.g. I just had the case where the system was only charging the internal battery although it had 22 % while the external B210 was put on standby instead of charging although it was on 3% only.
I think the Energy Management is simply missing a rule, to give charging priority to the battery with the lower SOC and to primarily discharge the one with higher SOC.
Hi @Heiko, The suggestions I provided are general battery maintenance tips.
In fact, the B210 can have its firmware upgraded, but this can only be done when it is connected to the AC240. If yours is already the latest version, there’s no need for an upgrade.
Please follow the steps below to recalibrate it:
- Please discharge all the power (charge AC & DC appliances with the power station) until the SOC is 0%, turn off the machine, and leave it for 3 hours till it cools down.
- Please charge it again, please do not load any device when charging it, and do not interrupt it while charging.
You can click this link for reference.
Sometimes, it happens that after the main unit runs out of power, even if the battery pack has power, it cannot discharge. We recommend that you disconnect the connection, discharge the B210 separately, and then reconnect them when its power level matches that of the AC200PL. Our BMS works hard to maintain the power balance between the two, but there are times when the difference is too large and manual intervention is required.
I don’t have an AC 240, just my AC200P L, so it seems my B210 can not be updated and is stuck with its original Firmware, right?
While trying to calibrate, this is happening:
- I emptied the whole system with all inputs disconnected.
- After the system shut off and rested for an hour, I plugged in mains and switched it on.
→ The AC 200P L came on and started charging
→ The B210 initially also came on but then switchef back off, without charging. - After Switching B210 on again,
→ B210 came on but showed up the app as still not charging and with a “Defect E184 Monomer-Unterspannungsschutz” (German for ‘low voltage protection’). It even showed to be discarging for a short while in the app, although already empty and no outputs activated, while the internal battery is charging. See Screenshot.
→ After a couple of minutes, It switched off again, without having charged.
Is it broken? Maybe the deep discharge because of improper balancing has harmed it already.
It is only 16 months old. Should I return it for warranty?
Hi @Heiko, From the error code, it appears that the B210 has been over-discharged and is in urgent need of charging.
We would like to confirm whether the B210 has been disconnected from the AC200PL during this process.
Please charge the B210 separately. You can try charging it with an adapter and a solar panel, respectively. When using solar charging, please select a solar panel with an open-circuit voltage between 11 to 60V.
After the B210 is fully charged and its power level is consistent with that of the AC200PL, you can parallel them again. We look forward to your reply.
After turning on the B210 for the third time, it stayed on and after 30 minutes of sitting with 0% SOC, although the main unit was charging, the B210 also started charging.
So: It is operational now and the error message has gone.
But: Doesn’t this show, that there is something wrong with the BMS, when It allows it to discharge so deeply, that It will hardly come back on?
Also: When the system is discharging now (whith 100% SOC just after calibrating, and I multiply the current load with the remaining time that is displayed (eg. 126 Watts X 21,6 hours) I get values around 2.7 - 2.8 kWh overall capacity. It should be around 4.5 though (AC 200P L + B210). Does this mean, my System has lost 37% of its capacity already?
Is there a way to read out the remaining capacity that was determined during calibration?
Hi @Heiko, We believe this is just a temporary over-discharge and does not indicate a fault with the B210. However, upgrading the BMS can indeed help improve battery performance. We have consulted with engineers and decided to push the new BMS firmware.
Now I have applied to upgrade your system to our IT department. They will push the latest version of firmware to your unit in 24 hours.
Please upgrade the firmware tomorrow. Please do not load any device when upgrading it. After that, please try to do a complete cycle of discharge and charge to correct the SOC.
Please let us know if it works.
Thank you, I will. I am curious if this will fix the asymmetrical SOC issue.
For the record, here is another extreme example from this morning, 36 hours or one charge cycle after calibration:
I had custom USP set to minimum SOC of 20%, and the main unit was at 47% while the B210 had been emptied to 0% SOC.
And the available Solar input of around 300 watts was exclusively charging the main unit instead of the B210, which was sitting in standby instead of charging, although it was connected and online :
Update and a question:
Just for the record, another, strange behavior before the BMS upgrade:
This morning, I found B210 switched off and offline, although Total SOC was around 30% still.
After the upgrade and while discharging for calibration, what struck me was that b210 went into Standby Mode and showed 0% although just before it had been >10%. Maybe that is the new intended behaviour, as long as the main battery has a higher SOC?
Anyway, here is my question: after discharging for calibration, can I use PV for charging or is it better to always use the AC charger for calibration?
So, now I am recharging for calibration (both PV and AC combined) and while the internal battery is charging, b210 was first remaining in standby, then after some minutes, it was displaying discharge (German „entladen“) although it was displaying 0% and no outputs are activated:
Hi @Heiko, Thank you for providing the detailed information. It seems that this B210 either cannot be properly charged or has an inaccurate SOC (State of Charge). Is that the case?
We would like to confirm whether there was any load during the charging process. How many of the 5 power indicator lights on the B210 were lit? Could you please record a video of the charging process and share it with us? You can upload the video to a cloud drive and then send us the sharing link. We will then conduct a further analysis based on this.
I can confirm That During the Charging Process for Calibration, All three Kindes of Power Outlets were switched Off (AC, DC, USB) and that no consumers, were connected.
After a while, the b210 did start Charging and Than even reach 100% SOC before the Main Unit. I Guess it is already significantly reduced in Capacity,
Now, two Cycles later, again b210 is at 0%, while the main Unit is over 50. This discharge started at 100% with 2000 w load.
(Sorry for the weird Spelling, iPhone Dictation is Going Wild)
I am pretty sure, b210’s five leds were consistent with the SOC displayed in the app.
I can make a video, when it is charging tomorrow.
Hi @Heiko, Thank you for the update.
It seems that the problem now is the inconsistent SOC between the B210 and the AC200PL. Could you try to maintain it manually? That is, charge them separately, and then parallel them when both are at 100% capacity.
Does this help?
How would this help? When charging itogether, they both do reach 100 % SOC eventually. Currently every day.
I guess that the b210s capacity is reduced by now, probably precisely because is was frequently depleted to 0% SOC although I had always set generous minimal SOC borders.
Today again, although they both startet at 100% together, b210 is down to 0 while the main unit still has 57%.
By the way here are the requested videos:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/xnup102pkjy8ac4isd8dz/APovtK6dDOTizYFz3PEAY7o?rlkey=2eosi7v7awyl5hop99rkikif5&st=uy6ufo3q&dl=0
Hi @Heiko, generally speaking, it is normal for SOC to have differences. There is a certain correlation between temperature, voltage, and SOC. As long as it can be fully charged and fully discharged in the end, it is basically fine.
However, we still want to arrange warranty service for your B210.
Could you please DM and provide us with your order information and email address?
We will arrange the warranty service for you.