Victron Battery Balancer: Installation and 7 Day real world Testing with LifePo4 Batteries!!

[@AudioyMas]

Perfecto amigo, es el mismo problema que tengo en mi sistema solar de 24V, una batería llega a 14.2 y la otra en 13.8 ya compré el ecualizador de batería Victron y espero me dé el mismo resultado, nuevo suscriptor.

[@OffGridBasement]

That's great! It still works perfectly for me. Thanks for the comment.

[@jelleklinge5491]

This is the best explanation why you should use a balancer between 2 separate bms/battery,s (lifepo4) and especially when using lead acid it could save your battery bank. At least it will be running much longer.

[@OffGridBasement]

I'm glad you got something out of it. Thanks for the comment!

[@DanHeming]

Thanks for sharing this. I've been running a 24v system with Valance 12v 138ah for 2+ years. I didn't know anything about running 12v batteries in series when I started and I actually killed one of my 6 batteries 3-4 months in by over discharging it because it was brought so low. I bought 3 more batteries to bring me up to 8 and added a Victron balancer. The Victron balancer alone with it's 1 amp limit was a little light to get 8 batteries in balance, so added a 2nd non Victron one that could do 5 ams and ever since then my batteries have been great. I have the Lynx Shunt which unfortunately does not measure midpoint deviation like the Smart/712 does so I've never been able to track it like you have, but your graphs were awesome. I have the CCGX so I have graphs for everything else, just not midpoint deviation. Your video confirms exactly what I suspected in so many 24v setups running 12v batteries and it's only going to get worse as more people purchase these all in one 24v inverter/chargers and run 12v batteries in series.

[@OffGridBasement]

Thanks for the comment. You're right about the victron balancer being underpowered so I was surprised when it actually did the job. I'm glad you have your system working great. It sucks to burn through a battery just because they're out of balance. I'm really happy you got something out of the video!

[@jo8ephthomas]

Dan I’m just about to set up 6 valence batteries myself for a 24v system. Will one of these balancer work for 6 batteries?

[@bluelghtning]

@@jo8ephthomas Yes it will work fine with the Valences and as you know they have no built in BMS so it's important to keep their voltages in check during charging. I've used both the Victron and the cheap ones off Amazon. The Victron has outlasted the cheap ones.

[@adrianmaguire5459]

Fantastic I had just upgraded to 24v and my new inverter woke me up bleeping low battery. Checked the smart shunt and found a deviation of 7.5% Charged up via the charge controller and I went to bed with a .30% and in the morning same thing bleeping inverter. I have ordered this balancer and hopefully it arrives tomorrow. Great video, I now know after seeing this that it's going to be the right purchas. Thanks.

[@OffGridBasement]

I'm sure it will help you out. Glad the video helped! Thanks for the comment!

[@TheRenoir]

Great stuff. Thank you. I am convinced of the necessity of balancing batteries in series now. You have done the most comprehensive test of this type of unit. Cheers.

[@OffGridBasement]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for the comment.

[@patrickgosselin9756]

Thank you for all the good data and great presentation of it. Ordered one with your link.

[@OffGridBasement]

That's great! I'm glad you got something out of it. Thanks for the support!

[@UKsystems]

One thing people should realise a lot of these questions being asked could be answered by reading the product data sheet. Personally I’d rather go there than a KZbin comment section for definitive answers. These units are great. They don’t transfer the energy to another battery like some but they are simple that sort of what you want on a critical piece of gear.

[@OffGridBasement]

Exactly. It takes power from the higher voltage battery once the bank voltage gets to a certain level... That's all. Thanks for the comment!

[@PegasusDroneMedia]

Great Video fella, thanks for taking the time to explain this as I have the same issue, just ordered the balancer on your recommendation. Good clean video, straight to the point.

[@OffGridBasement]

Glad to hear it! It still works like the day I bought it! Thanks for the comment.

[@aurum79argentum47]

I just bought one of these. I have an older 280 amp hour12 volt lithium iron phosphate battery and a new identically sized battery wired in series for 24 V. Even after initially connecting in parallel and top balancing, the batteries have a difference in voltage of 0.3 volts (and obviously the older battery has a somewhat larger internal resistance). I'm very eager to see if the Victron battery balancer can handle this slightly two different age batteries and bring them closer together. I can't really afford to replace the older battery capacity on a load test.

[@OffGridBasement]

Best of luck to you! Thanks for the comment.

[@peteradshead2383]

I've just moved from 2 x 200ah batteries in parallel to serial and it's the first time I've tried to fully charge it to 14.2 volt each battery and got a mid point error where the difference was over 0.5 volt , 3% . I already had the battery balancer wired up just not fitted , I fitted it but looked to be very slow at balancing . SO FOUND A WAY TO SPEED IT UP , I cut down the absorption down to 28 volt or the high battery would go over cell and shut down the battery , I discharged the batteries just a little and charged it back up again and each time would get a little better , after doing this 5 or 6 times I've got it down to within 0.1 volts , 0.3% and slowly increasing the absorption voltage . So fixed the mid point error in a day .

[@OffGridBasement]

That is great! I really happy to got everything figured out.

[@5400bowen]

I've heard and read that Absorb and float are not desirable with LiFEPO batteries. You should program your charge controller for high cut in voltages/shortest duration possible for those modes. One comment mentioned the 1 amp limit for this balancer and a 5 amp balancer available. That would bring the batteries in balance faster and keep them closer. But my Victron pamphlet (the exact one you show) says the balancer only draws .5 amp from the higher battery. I'm learning a lot about balancing lately, as my 24 volt setup wound up with the 2 twelve volt batteries in series going out of balance the other day and one BMS shut down, after 6 months of running without a balancer. I checked the batteries when they were installed, and they were both at the exact same voltage. My batteries were at 12.7 and 10.7, with the lower being just below the manufacturers stated BMS low voltage cut off point. I charged it up to 11.8 (just above the stated reconnection point), reinstalled it and now after charging for several hours, one is at 13.2 and the other at 13.1. That is not supposed to happen with LiFePo batteries. I installed the Victron, but my array rarely goes over 27.3 volts to kick it in, and it was installed after the batteries had been charged back to the 13.2/13.1. Nifty graphing, and very illuminating info, thanx for the video! Update: 9-13-23 This Victron is basically useless unless you have a massive battery compared to your usage, so the batteries are almost never discharged below 99%. The 14+ volt minimum cut in voltage renders it totally ineffective except when the battery bank is fully charged daily. If you let your batteries sit at the optimum 90% charged ( for longevity) the balancer never comes on. I got a $29 balancer on Amazon that kicks in at way lower state of charge and it works flawlessly after removing the Victron that never came on even once. Victron is way overpriced and hyped by affiliate (commission receiving) you tubers for their profit, not to help you choose components. I cannot believe not even one creator mentions this drawback.

[@OffGridBasement]

Thank you for all the great info!

[@peeinginthewind]

I agree no absorption for lipo

[@tarasoliyarnyk4195]

@5400bowen could you please share what balancer you have to balance your batteries at lover voltages? As it would be better for them in case if they are not fully charged. Thank you!

[@5400bowen]

@@tarasoliyarnyk4195 Mazava and iSunergy are available on Amazon. I’ve had the Mazava for two years and it is humming along perfectly. You are correct that it keeps them from sitting at lower charges. The Victron let one battery get so low the BMS shut it down..after 4 months. No problems since I got the much cheaper Mazava. The Victron was $65, the Mazava $29. The Mazava has other advantages as well…

[@5400bowen]

@@tarasoliyarnyk4195 Mazava from Amazon. ISunergy makes an exact copy of the Mazava. I paid $29 two years ago for the Mazava, and it’s humming along fine. The Victron that let the balance get off so far was $65. And my original answer with this info mysteriously disappeared from the thread, though it showed up at first, but was gone when I came back to read the other replies.

[@HaroldMcDermott]

I've got 4 in series I wait till the charge controller hits float then just check with a multimeter if there's a low one I just hook a battery charger on it, one took twice doing that to get it in balance, but I'm gonna get 2 of them.

[@OffGridBasement]

Thank you for the information and the comment.

[@MarkoVukovic0]

Great review, thanks very much! I'm going to give these a try. Hi from sunny South Africa 👋

[@OffGridBasement]

Good luck and thanks for the comment!

[@douglaning1735]

Very interesting. Never knew about balancers before now.

[@OffGridBasement]

They can really help when you have 12v batteries connected in series.

[@Vision_Thing599]

If I may ask, why did you take the negative for the balancer to the Negative Bus bar and not to the negative of the battery bank? Apologies for asking, it just seems to me that eliminating any electrical component interference in the measurements that the balancer is taking/ working on would be best

[@OffGridBasement]

It would be. I'm actually not sure why I went that route. My new set up will need to be directly to the negative of the battery. Thanks for the comment.

[@tarakankvadrobober]

Because he not understand what he is doing and the goal is just make money out of viewers.

[@jtourche]

Would having 4 12v bat in 2 sets of series in parallel for 24v require 2 separate balancers?

[@OffGridBasement]

yes. You would need a balance between each set of 12v batteries connected in series. Having the two sets in parallel would keep the overall 24v of the sets in check, but it wouldn't do anything for the individual 12v batteries in each set. I hope that helps!

[@Sylvan_dB]

No. I'm doing 4 batteries and Victron documents this. Connect two in parallel, now they act as one and the balancer can do nothing. Connect two parallel groups in series to make 24v, and the balancer can balance between the two groups -- only one balancer. I recommend an initial balance: 1) charge each battery to full. this may take some time so either let all rest for a few days after the last is charged, or charge them all again which should go quickly (within a few hours) 2) connect all in parallel 3) charge the parallel group 4) disconnect charger and let rest for a few hours 5) repeat steps 3 and 4 until voltage after rest is over 14.4 (voltage immediately after disconnecting charger ideally over 14.5) 6) now disconnect and wire as needed for final configuration After doing this my batteries maintain balance well. I'm not sure if I'll do a victron balancer. Back in the old lead acid days I really wanted a balancer so maybe after time the lithium will drift apart, and the balancer is a lot easier than repeating the initial balance!

[@guysouthwell4497]

Thank you very much for this testing.

[@OffGridBasement]

You're welcome! I hope you got something out of it.

[@1990_Vip]

Hello, Professor, I purchased the balancer, charged each battery separately, and connected the balancer to the batteries. It did not perform any balancing operation on the battery. I waited for it for hours, and upon examination, the battery found a different voltage. What is the reason?

[@OffGridBasement]

You have it connected to two 12v batteries, correct? When the 24v bank reaches 27.3v the balancer should turn on and start balancing. Does the balancer even turn on?

[@1990_Vip]

@@OffGridBasement I checked the positive battery on the meter and the battery found 13.41 volts, and I checked the negative battery and it showed 13.78 volts and the device did not perform the balancing operation.

[@OffGridBasement]

@@1990_Vip that voltage only adds up to 27.19v. it needs to be 27.3v before it starts balancing. I would manually charge up one of the batteries so they are closer together in voltage.

[@1990_Vip]

@@OffGridBasement I charged the batteries separately and did not get any results

[@RidohRylands]

Thank you very much now I will be purchasing this as well this video gave me the confidence

[@OffGridBasement]

It was a great purchase. I worked perfect for my system! Thanks for the comment.

[@ricklndn]

If I have 4 12v 100ah batteries in series would I need 2 of the victron Battery Balancers ?

[@OffGridBasement]

You would actually need 3!

[@MarkoVukovic0]

See this PDF on how to wire up the 3 balancers for your setup www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Datasheet-Battery-Balancer-EN.pdf

[@leonardomorales2473]

Thank you so much for making this video 👍👍😃

[@OffGridBasement]

You're welcome. I'm glad you got some information from it. Thanks for the comment.

[@devinreilly4571]

On your CCGX widget you have "Top Voltage", "Bottom Voltage", and "Mid-point deviation" on the graph. How did you set all that up? My BMV 712/only has "Mid-point voltage" in the drop-down on the widget settings. I found your video on setting it up with your smart shunt, but I have the older shunt only (not smart). I guess it doesn't have that functionality?

[@OffGridBasement]

Yes. I believe it needs to be a smart shunt. I didn't need to set anything up. That is the default settings. Thanks for the comment.

[@bearridge8288]

Thank you for the video. My green light has stayed on after the 3rd day of use. It was on this morning and my batteries were at 26.3. Is the green light suppose to be on? I thought it would not come on until the batteries reached 27.3?

[@OffGridBasement]

That's odd. You're right. It shouldn't be on until 27.3v. I would disconnect and reconnect. Sort of like turning off and back on again. Hopefully it will reset.

[@bearridge8288]

I will try that thamks!@@OffGridBasement

[@pablofiorito1271]

Thanks for your explanation !!! Very Clear and usefull !

[@OffGridBasement]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for the comment.

[@brucebugbee6604]

Excellent presentation of the impact of the Victron battery balancer. I recently put together a 24V battery bank by putting 2x12V batteries in series and I had the exact same issue when the charge voltage started getting close to 28V. I was debating whether or not the Victron balancer would work given it only has a balance current of 0.7 amps and I also saw the comments about it not working with Lithium batteries. A few days ago before seeing your video, I ordered a cheap 5 amp balancer, but I'm concerned that it will try to balance the batteries all of the time if the voltage difference between them is > 10 mV, instead of just working when the bank voltage rises above 27.3V. That might work to unbalance the batteries at lower states of charge. I guess I'll find out after I put it into service. At least I know that I can go with the Victron balancer if the cheap one doesn't work. Question: In your setup you connected the balancer negative lead to the load side of your shunt. Did you have any long term balancing issues with that? Your balancer might work better if it was connected to the battery side of the shunt instead of the load side of the shunt. The shunt has a small voltage drop as current flows through it, and that might give the balancer a false voltage reading on the bottom battery.

[@OffGridBasement]

I never noticed any issues with how it was wired. It just worked.. Good luck with the cheap balancer. I do know the victron works so there is always another option for you. Thanks for the comment.

[@Dave-xr9bc]

shouldn't you connect all connections to the battery?

[@OffGridBasement]

Yes. The voltage loss is minimal from the bus bar so I went that direction. Thanks for the comment.

[@zoleeeagle9339]

Very informative video, thanks for that. I have 2x 12v batteries connected in series and I have a battery ballance as well which the negative line connected straight to the negative side of the battery, also have my victron shunt set up in the correct order, but the shunt doesn't give accurate information from the batteries, Is it because I didn't connect the battery balance to the negative bar as you did?

[@OffGridBasement]

I would think that it wouldn't matter if the negative connection is on the battery or busbar. What is your shunt telling you? Does it show "Mid-point voltage deviation" in the Victron App for your battery monitor?

[@mannyfragoza9652]

dont your batteries have built in BMS?

[@OffGridBasement]

Yes, but the BMS doesn't help keep the batteries balanced. It keeps the cells inside the battery balanced. Thanks for the comment.

[@mannyfragoza9652]

@@OffGridBasement "but the BMS doesn't help keep the batteries balanced. It keeps the cells inside the battery balanced".The Cells inside the battery is where the power comes from. There isnt a sperate battery inside the plastic casing. Im sorry but i dont understand your comment at all. If your cells are way out of balance then your BMS isnt doing its job. Moreover doesn't a BMS balance you Cells?

[@OffGridBasement]

​@@mannyfragoza9652my apologies. The balancer keeps the two 12v batteries in balance with each other. Keeping the two batteries in balance with each other has nothing to do with the BMS inside each battery.

[@mannyfragoza9652]

@@OffGridBasement Then 99% of the folks that have these all in one batteries dont know their cells are out of balance? wow that just doesnt sound right.

[@OffGridBasement]

I want to make sure you understand the difference between this balancer and a BMS. This balancer keeps two 12v batteries in balance with each other. A BMS keeps track of the individual cells inside of a Lifepo4 battery. This 12v battery balancer is not a battery management system. I hope that clears it up a bit.

[@liamhainsworth9620]

Hello Sir. I have a slightly different setup, to you. But, equally, I’ve got a headache!! I have 4 rack style batteries, each battery is 48v 200ah, with its own BMS. Stacked ontop of each other. The batteries are wired parallel. I am trying to see if this would help; as I’m having some batteries at 20% and others at 90%. I’d appreciate your help

[@OffGridBasement]

This unit won't help. It's used for 12v batteries in series. I'm surprised you have such a wide range when set in parallel. What is your wire gauge? Also, do you have the main negative and positive connected to the same battery? They shouldn't be. Let me know.

[@peteradshead2383]

I wondered how long it would take for your 2 batteries to become unbalanced , I guess that is the big advantage of getting a 24v or 48v battery is that the bms can control and balance out all the cells. But like me you start with a 12 voltage system and upgrade to 24v and it is more cost effective to just get a second battery then having to buy a 24v battery pack or few.

[@OffGridBasement]

I should say the balancer is still working very well. The batteries get balanced within a half hour every time they get to 100%.

[@Dave-xr9bc]

The balancer works only if the battery is fully charged to 100%?​@@OffGridBasement

[@soggyb4082]

I was wondering how your balancer is doing after some time has passed? Im about to do my 6 month maintenance on my battery bank. 2 -12 volts in series . Plan to charge each one separately then let them set for 3 day in Parallel, add the balancer and back to Rockin and Roll.

[@OffGridBasement]

The balancer is still doing its magic! I'm very happy with it. Thanks for the comment.

[@Vision_Thing599]

I have to ask myself why the high battery is discharged (I assume to some resistance) to bring it in line with the lower battery. It would make sense to me, considering the type of system, that the high battery is partially discharged to the low battery ... thereby not wasting generated electrical energy. Heat is the lowest form of energy ... it should not be a factor in this equation (IMHO)

[@OffGridBasement]

That's a good question. It must be because the unit would need to raise the voltage for the lower battery to gain charge. The voltage would probably need to be higher than the high battery due to voltage loss across the conductor. Just speculating.

[@1990_Vip]

Hi sir, I was looking for a balancer for my batteries and I found the video on my way. Does this balancer really work with lithium batteries? Is it good or not? Please reply

[@OffGridBasement]

I've had this balancer hooked up to my system for over a year now and I've never had any issues! I truly believe it works just fine with lifepo4 batteries. Thanks for the comment.

[@aleksandarvujnovic411]

Why my battery 25.6v 200ah wont charging under 27.7v,sory to may bad englese riding

[@OffGridBasement]

That's odd. Mine starts balancing @ 27.3v. Make sure all of your connections are tight. You might be losing voltage in one of the connections that's reading the voltage. Just a thought. Good luck and thanks for the comment!

[@aleksandarvujnovic411]

Ok,voltage in the morning is 26.2 is that ok or bad,working fridge 50w,ligthts,mobile phones charging,tv 20w,all conect are thought good

[@igorkvachun3572]

Yes 👍 🔋⚡💡

[@OffGridBasement]

Thanks!

[@mahmoudmohammadi6993]

Very informative, thank you

[@OffGridBasement]

You're very welcome. Thanks for the comment.

[@timmathewson9111]

Thanks for sharing, that was helpful

[@OffGridBasement]

No problem! Thanks for the comment.

[@CanadianTexaninLiguria]

voltage is not a measure of state of charge...measures of voltage while the charger is running is skewed, its measuring charge voltage not battery voltage

[@OffGridBasement]

That is true.

[@5400bowen]

It would be more accurate to say voltage is not an absolute measure of state of charge, but it does give some indication, and yes, if the charge controller is putting out anything, it will skew the voltage reading. Unless you disconnect it to take voltage readings.

[@Sylvan_dB]

@@5400bowen Not only disconnect the charger(s), but also disconnect the load(s), and then let the battery rest! Never the less, while in use the voltage of each in the series string should be close. If not, there is a balance problem.

[@andreigarcia7798]

I think battery balancer only works with the input (which is not state of charge (amps)) it actually controls how much voltage is being passed to the battery in order to charge so I find this an usefull video about the behaviour of the balancer, modifying the input based on the needs

[@SamCarleton]

Very helpful, thank you!

[@OffGridBasement]

You're welcome! Thanks for the comment.

[@wheatlywilson9960]

Great info

[@OffGridBasement]

Glad it was helpful!

[@tarakankvadrobober]

After this video I bought this Victron Balancer for LiFePo4. And only after system started pushing >15 volts into one of batteries I started diving deeper and realized it was designed for AGM and not suitable for LiFePO4. If I would leave battery without my attention - it would explode. Had same clicking as here kzbin.info/www/bejne/jmqmlpR4mbhnpbs. Realized I need to at least balance them manually first.

[@OffGridBasement]

Thanks for the info. I've used this balancer without any issues for 2 years now. It is a really slow balancer so the bank should be somewhat balanced.

[@jimmy_Ross]

yeah next time i have money im going to buy some stuff from VICTRON since they have good quality stuff for somewhat cheap well not cheap but fair atleast i hope lol anyways thanks for sharing

[@OffGridBasement]

Please do! Great quality equipment.

[@jimmy_Ross]

yeah i chopped half my finger off and never went to the DOCTORS lol so now i have a rag stuck to my finger lol i hope it doesnt get infected sucks being poor i would of went to the ER but i would of gotten charges allot of money just for them to wrap it up like i did lol now i should of used clean new gauss pads and stuff but no one was here and i live in the middle of the woods and it was bleeding out fast so i didnt have any other choice so i grabed a old T-shirt ragg and stuck it on my finger and it took 2 days for the bleeding to stop and now the ragg is stuck to my finger acting like new skin and i cut all the way down to the bone and the piece of finger is as big as a nickle but its on the side of my finger so yeah not sure what to do but thats life for me i dont do what everyone else would of and go to the ER since the chunk was cleanly cut off it didnt hurt for the first couple of hours but by night time boyy ohh boyy it felt like someone cut my finger off witch i pretty much did lol im going to have a difigured figer thats how bad the cut is lol sorry for the rant