Xplorer 2021 30FW Magnum MS2812 inverter and Remote ME-RC

toshu · 01-02-2021, 12:52 PM

I have been playing around for the last 2 weeks with the Solar charging capabilities of the factory installed Xplorer solar/Lithium package and and am impressed to date. I will provide more details later.

In my investigations and testing it seems that when I plug in the unit to SHORE power, the Magnum charger tends to charge relatively slowly, especially as the voltage and %Battery capacity gets higher but not very high.
As a result I wanted to see what settings the Magnum unit had . I was given the manual for the Inverter as well as the Remote.....however, I dont have the ME-RC on my inside wall near the other controls and not anywhere inside the electrical bay.
Checking the Firefly and the Mira app for house control (another impressive system), I cant see where or how to access setting and in reviewing the DEFAULT magnum settings, I suspect that thy would not work the best with the 400ah of Li batteries.

Does anyone know how to access the settings and what those settings should be for the Xplorer setup???

**bclemens** · 01-03-2021, 11:46 AM

The advanced inverter settings are not on the APP, they are only on the wall control (if I remember correctly...I know at least AGS is that way).

I know at one point the plan was to eliminate the ME-RC and use the RV-C version of the Magnum so that it would communicate directly with the Firefly system.

WeQuit · 01-03-2021, 09:12 PM

We're having the same problem (28SS Explorer). And I know at least one other is as well. They are having to run the engine while boondocking because the charger via generator is doing next to nothing. Same here. I cannot get the magnum to bulk charge either on generator or shore power, even when SOC is relatively low (around 70%). I have tried every setting on the I/C settings page on firefly. Luckily we've had a run of good sun while we've been unplugged (peak of day solar, even with winter sun, is literally 4X the charge of the charger... which is nuts). That's not sustainable long term. I also assume it has to do with the magnum/Firefly integration being ineffectively setup for lithium. And we have no way to fix it without the magnum control panel. I'm actually planning to call magnum this week to see if they have any suggestions.

**bclemens** · 01-04-2021, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WeQuit

We're having the same problem (28SS Explorer). And I know at least one other is as well. They are having to run the engine while boondocking because the charger via generator is doing next to nothing. Same here. I cannot get the magnum to bulk charge either on generator or shore power, even when SOC is relatively low (around 70%). I have tried every setting on the I/C settings page on firefly. Luckily we've had a run of good sun while we've been unplugged (peak of day solar, even with winter sun, is literally 4X the charge of the charger... which is nuts). That's not sustainable long term. I also assume it has to do with the magnum/Firefly integration being ineffectively setup for lithium. And we have no way to fix it without the magnum control panel. I'm actually planning to call magnum this week to see if they have any suggestions.

Please post a picture of your I/C settings page.

WeQuit · 01-04-2021, 12:07 PM

Here you go Brian. We've been plugged in for a day or so, but turned power off earlier to get the batteries down a bit. This is 89% SOC on the Victron. Charger comes back on, stabilizes and it just sits in float. Net amps on the Victron is about +35, but that's with FL Keys 11:30 AM sun so the Magnum is only doing a chunk of that. I guess I could have used your handy dandy switch to kill the solar input and isolate the charger. Just thought of that.

I tried the same experiment after boondocking for 3 days yesterday using the generator. We were ~80% SOC with full clouds. Charger wouldn't get out of float and getting 5-8 amps total into the batteries.

I've tried to bump down the float voltage setting and then bump it back up to see if it'll snap out of it. I've tried to turn the charger off and back on. I've tried to go to the pre-set charge profiles rather than custom. No dice. Also, I've done all that with no other major loads on the generator just to make sure we're not shedding anything.

I will say shore seems to do a little better than generator for whatever reason (maybe 25 vs 8). That makes no sense to me either. Neither what it should be doing though.

Any suggestions would be most welcome.

toshu · 01-04-2021, 12:25 PM

We found the Magnum ME RVC module per your suggestion and discovered the IC settings.
The unit has been on Shore power for 2days with only the refrigerator as a major draw. As mentioned, it does seem like charging while on Shore power switches to Float early....compared to solar or Generator.
Here are pictures of the same IC screens on my Xplorer 30fw. Note that I'm plugged into 50amps but the panel says 30amps on the IC screen and it can't be changed from the panel.

vlamgat · 01-04-2021, 12:37 PM

Are you sure your shore power is wired for 50 Amps? Some sites "save" money" by setting up their 50 AMP sockets to only provide 30 AMPs. Hard to test without loading and the right test gear.

toshu · 01-04-2021, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vlamgat

Are you sure your shore power is wired for 50 Amps? Some sites "save" money" by setting up their 50 AMP sockets to only provide 30 AMPs. Hard to test without loading and the right test gear.

Im at home with 50Amps. In fact on the upper level screen it shows 50amps but on the IC screen(where its supposed to be adjustable) it says 30amps

WeQuit · 01-04-2021, 01:10 PM

I don't know enough to be able to really understand that setting, but it does not mean you can only accept 30A. As long as you see the panel indicate your source as 50A shore you should be fine. As you load up you should see amperage start flowing on both legs (line 1 and line 2 shown on the panel). A 50A shore connection is actually 2 legs of 120V. I'm GUESSING that the 30A breaker setting is telling the system to start drawing from the second leg before the first gets to 30A. But, that's pretty much a guess.

**bclemens** · 01-04-2021, 02:11 PM

To clarify a couple of things.

The Victron is completely separate from rest of the electrical. There was not programming to tie it in, but we wanted a more robust reading on the batteries. The Firefly system is just going to read voltages, not a true SOC like the Victron will, but even then, the Victron is using an algorithm to determine SOC. It may need to be calibrated or settings confirmed with proper 20AH discharge rates. They have instructions on how to zero point them on their site.

So you can't rely on what the Victron says in regards to what it "should be" doing on the charger settings. You could set the float to 13.8 (as some recommend).

Here are the charging parameters from ReLion.
https://ceb8596f236225acd007-8e95328...ons_090220.pdf

On their specs, they say the float can go up to 13.8v

WeQuit · 01-04-2021, 03:11 PM

Thanks Brian. I understand that the Victron is independent of the Magnum/Firefly system. I also get the Victron SOC can drift a bit over time and need a synch here and there. But, the Victron cumulative AH counter should be accurate from a given baseline (say it says -4ah to start, turn the charger off and let the Victron count up to -84ah depleted. I'd think that means SOC is at least less than 80%. I would expect charger to go to bulk from there (voltage at that point is in the 13.2 ballpark which would also indicate the bank is not near full charge).

However, instead it sits on Float putting in 5-10 amps and not really bringing the voltage up. I've seen it maybe get to 13.35 after 1.5 hours on generator charge, independent of float voltage setting on the I/C settings page. I did try bumping it to 13.8 just to see with no change. For whatever reason shore works a little better. From the same beginning charge it maybe does 25amps, but does at least eventually gets the batteries to the established float voltage. It just takes longer than I'd expect it to. We've had good enough sun while boondocking so far not to get into deeper states of discharge. However, last month somebody on the Isata5 Facebook group with a 28SS explorer indicated they got down to 20% SOC and the magnum still wouldn't go to bulk. They were worried about tripping the relion BMS, so just started running the engine each day to charge. That low I'd think even with some substantial drift you should clearly be in bulk charge territory.

fl gator · 01-04-2021, 07:50 PM

I have a 2021 28ss explorer and the voltage has never gotten over 13.4 with the shore power and no draw. We have had no sun for days in Ohio so I know that the solar panels have done nothing. Our experience seems consistent with yours even to the extent that when solar was charging, the voltage was higher. Next time we see the sun I will pay more attention to what's happening with the batteries.

**bclemens** · 01-04-2021, 08:10 PM

Make sure the battery is set to custom. We had a customer with the same issue and theirs was set to flooded.

fl gator · 01-04-2021, 09:49 PM

Thanks Brian. I think there is some confusion on this because I questioned the dealer on this issue since I had seen some discussion regarding this on the forum. Ok, are there settings to change when I switch to custom? I am concerned about damaging the electrical system when I play with things I don't fully understand.

Bill Davis · 01-05-2021, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fl gator

I have a 2021 28ss explorer and the voltage has never gotten over 13.4 with the shore power and no draw. We have had no sun for days in Ohio so I know that the solar panels have done nothing. Our experience seems consistent with yours even to the extent that when solar was charging, the voltage was higher. Next time we see the sun I will pay more attention to what's happening with the batteries.

Good luck on seeing the sun. DW asked me last night when the next sunny day would be. I told her spring or when we leave Ohio and head south.

**bclemens** · 01-05-2021, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fl gator

Thanks Brian. I think there is some confusion on this because I questioned the dealer on this issue since I had seen some discussion regarding this on the forum. Ok, are there settings to change when I switch to custom? I am concerned about damaging the electrical system when I play with things I don't fully understand.

The ReLion batteries have built in battery protection systems. They do a pretty good job or protecting themselves. As for what to change on the "Custom" setting. There are ranges listed in the ReLion sheet I linked to.

I think from the factory it is 14.4, 13.5, 14.4.

fl gator · 01-05-2021, 10:48 AM

Brian I have changed my settings and everything looks good. I do hope that the battery system is as foolproof as you say and hope to see the sun one day to test the solar.
Thanks for your help

toshu · 01-05-2021, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fl gator

Brian I have changed my settings and everything looks good. I do hope that the battery system is as foolproof as you say and hope to see the sun one day to test the solar.
Thanks for your help

I have been playing with the solar and so far I am impressed. In fact thats were I see a big difference in charging vs shore power

**bclemens** · 01-07-2021, 04:46 PM

I had a meeting with Firefly and our EE also spoke with Magnum and he also did a little reading. If you look in the manual (ME-ARC AND the Inverter Manual) you can shed a little more light on this.

1. Recommended settings. LBCO=12v, Absorb=14.6, Float=13.8, EQ=14.6
2. The more important question is...what is the charging algorithm within the Magnum? It will determine when it should go into each mode. The problem with that, is you might think it should be in "bulk" based on SOC, but chargers don't work that way. It is based on voltage, not SOC, UNLESS the charger has a specific lithium profile. And while those are coming they were later to the game.

So the Magnum is set up to normally start in Float mode when connected to shore power and doesn't really go into bulk charging unless the voltage is 12.8 or lower. Above that, it will go directly to float. While you might "think" 70% SOC on a battery is relatively low...it is not. At least not low for Lithium. Lots of good info in the manual on theory of operation.

Another question seems to be "shore power" at 50A and "Shore Power Breaker" at 30A. Those are TWO different things.

ELECTRICAL: shows the 50A shore power connection.
I/C Settings: are the settings for the Inverter/Charger. That is the shower power breaker on just the Inverter/Charger...not incoming Shore Power and that is set by the Inverter. There is load shedding in the Firefly system, so it gives you the ability to dial that down so it adjusts the amount of power it is putting to various things (like the charger)

Also, if you are running dual air's off of shore power and a lot of other things, it cannot give full power to the charger. I just went out to one with 50A shore power, no airs or anything else running and it was in float mode, Charing at 13.6 volts, but at 100 amps since it didn't have to worry about anything else.

As for Solar, we run each bank in series and those then in parallel. You end up with some pretty high voltage readings, So while you might think you are getting 4x the charging from solar....you are only getting 4x the "voltage"...you also need to know what the amperage is.

Baseline for a 100watt panel, max voltage is 17-ish, so roughly 5 amps per panel x 8 = 40 amps. Of course going in series will raise that some but its rare to get 100% perfect sun too.

fl gator · 01-08-2021, 06:09 PM

When I changed the I/C settings to the ones recommended in Brians post I noticed that my chassis battery voltage increased . I assume that the Li-BIM will protect the chassis battery when setting changes are made to the I/C . Is this correct?
Thanks for your help.
fl gator
2021 isata 5 28ss ex

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