Can I Manually start Calibration and should I load 3017 battery update

Hi all
I have a Gen 1 3.6 Hybrid with 2 x 8.2 batteries.
I have not updated any firmware, original inverter firmware DO.450 - A0.499 and battery firmware 3005.
System appears to work well, since Jan 2022 having achieved min 25% more solar than installers estimate.
Payback will hopefully be around 7-8 years.
The only issue being the imbalance between the two batteries which can reach 10-15% differential.
Is it possible to do a manual calibration yet, or is it still reliant on GE to activate.

I'm of a view "if its not broken don't tamper with it", but are the battery firmware updates solid enough to risk upsetting my system? The system wants to update to 3017, but has this been proved to improve battery imbalance?
Would appreciate others views.
Thanks

I should say that in winter I generally fully charge the batteries on cheap night rate and they are fully discharged by mid evening, so get a good cycle.
In summer I try to have the battery as low as possible overnight to be ready for the days solar charge. In summer though the days charge doesn't always get used in the evening, so they do not get the full to empty cycle as in winter.
Therefore, the battery imbalance tends to be greater in the summer months.

coloneluk you can do a calibrate now via the portal, but it'd probably be better to hold off until its a bit warmer as cold batteries calibrate to a lower voltage

as for your firmware versions, there is only 1 published Gen 1 firmware upgrade D0.450/A0.451 which I was on for ages and was quite stable. There is a beta version of the 'fast response' firmware but I think they've got too many people on it already.
So in terms of the inverter firmware there's probably no benefit to upgrading. I'd wait until the Gen 1 firmware upgrade comes because the new features are worth having, proper battery pause and faster to respond to changing house load.

In terms of Battery BMS, 3017 introduces slow charging with low temperatures although this isn't likely to be much impact to you with two batteries on a Gen 1. I'd suggest waiting until 3020 comes out which allows full rate charging at lower temperatures. I believe it better balances multiple batteries as well.
I'm on BMS 3015 and happy with it.

coloneluk Therefore, the battery imbalance tends to be greater in the summer months.

Perhaps you don't need a formal calibration? Just give it a full cycle from time to time. Out of interest, what tariff are you on?

Thanks for your comments, I think I will stick with the "If it ain't broke"!
I am on a British Gas 1y fixed economy 7 tariff - 27.69p/kw day and 11.97p/kw night.
I always look for the cheapest night time rate as with my 16.4kw of batteries I have not used any daytime electric in the last 2 years.
I would like to get on one of the electric car cheaper rates but -

1. Don't have an electric car and not planning one in near future.
2. Seem to have shorter cheap rate periods (4-5 hours.... not checked recently) and I need the 7 hour cheap rate to fully charge both batteries in the winter period.

Appreciate any comments or constructive advise.

coloneluk It would be worth you having a look at EON Nextdrive Tariff. 7 hours at 6.9p and no requirement for an EV.

coloneluk eon also has a good export rate, which was the reason I was asking - if export rate is higher than overnight import there's no reason not to continue to fully charge overnight.

coloneluk EON NextDrive V6 gives you 7 hours of cheap electric (midnight to 7 AM) and is available for battery owners (you don't need an EV). I pay 6.7p/wKh for overnight

Thanks for the EON advice, I will check it out. I don't have a smart meter though and don't want one.
I live out in the country and a few of the neighbours have had nothing but trouble with them. One even told he owed thousands and had one hell of a tussle for months to prove/convince them the bill was incorrect!!

As I though, all these good cheap night charging rates MUST have a smart meter.
So, that's a NO from me then.

coloneluk do you have an export tariff? Not sure if those usually require a smartmeter

Without a smart meter I cannot get paid for export. So I take great care to ensure I utilise as much solar as possible.
Current annual self consumption is 86.4% which I am happy with for now. Not sure about a full electric car because I tend to visit relatives who are about 300miles away fairly often, I can get there and back easily on a tank of diesel. Probably my best bet would be a plug-in hybrid which would mop up that excess generation nicely. However, there is no viable financial case for any electric vehicle while the new prices are so high.