I have 2x 250 watt panels wired in series going into a 100/30 controller - this connects to a battery bank consisting of 2 x 12 volt 140ah batteries.

I have a 2nd 100/30 controller with 2 more panels exactly the same...... both seem fine individually, and work well.

BUT

as soon as I connect both to the battery bank, one controller drops from its normal wattage to around 70-80 watts. (I also notice while the volts stay the same, the Amps also drop way down to around 0.5-0.8)

Why does this happen ?

is it normal ?

thanks for your help.

Replace Mastervolt Combi with Victron Multiplus to have better monitoring > Can the Multiplus run with the batteries disconnected?

A potential customer has a Vehicle2Grid system. It a living boat with a grid connection and solar panels and a smaller cruiser boat with battery and electric propulsion. Normally the small cruiser boat is next to the living boat and the battery is connected to the big living boat and grid and solar panels and is being used to maximise self-consumption. The system has Mastervolt lithium batteries on the small boat and some switching to connect the batteries to the electric propulsion and a pluggable cable connection to the big boat. On the big boat the battery cable is connected to a Mastervolt Combi battery inverter, which is also connected to the grid connection. On the AC output (micro grid of the big boat) are the solar panels, connected with a Mastervolt AC PV inverter. The Mastervolt Combi is 5000 VA/Watt. There is 4000 Wattpeak of PV panels and a 6000 Watt AC PV inverter. The Lithium batteries are 4 pieces of MLi Ultra 24/5000 (24 volt 180 Ah) in 48 volt configuration.

The system has a dashboard that is base on the Mastervolt monitoring software. But this is not maintained anymore and has all kinds of problems. This is the mean problem that needs to be fixed. It's also not really handy to select another battery usage mode (switch from Max. self consumption to Keeping batteries full, etc.). Also it runs on a laptop, which only purpose is to run this dashboard, which is a waste of power. Etc.

I suggested changing the Mastervolt Combi 5000 VA for a Victron Multiplus 5000 VA, so we could use the CCGX controller. Then we can have a good monitoring system that is being kept up-to-date and under active development. And it will be much easier to change battery usage mode. This can then also be done remotely, something that is not possible now. Also then they can get rid of the dedicated laptop and then will consume much less power with the CCGX. Also it will be easier to interface with all kinds of stuff, now and in the future.

The big question is: Can I use a Victron Multiplus 5000 for this. Because the system needs to run, also when the battery is disconnected, because this is something that normally the Multiplus doesn't like or even can't do??

I am not sure how this works in the current configuration with the Mastervolt Combi, because I was under the impression that this battery inverter also wouldn't like to run without the battery connected.

Or is there some "trick" I can use to keep the Multiplus running, when the battery is disconnected?

Any suggestions and help is welcome. I would really like to make this system (dashboard) working again with Victron equipment, also because this project would open doors to other interesting solar-battery-grid balancing projects that this customer is involved in.

Thanks in advance for any help! :-)

I have an issue with the AC output on an off grid system - 10 Kva quattro / 2 x 13.8 Kwh BYD / 6 Kwp DC coupled PV with a Stephill geni (approx 12 Kva). There seems to be a "wobble" in the frequency of the AC out when the transfere switch operates. This seems to be most prevalent on generator shut-down and causes issues with electronic equipment on the AC side of the installation. I have tried the usual "tweeks", any advice as to how I can clean up the output to prevent this ..

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nic equipment installed.

Off grid system.
2 x 100/50 MPPT Blue Solar (Plan is to put 4 x 275/300W solar panels on each)

1 x 1500w generic inverter to 230V 24V system.

Main loads are fridge, small stereo system, lights (led bulbs) and sometimes small kitchen appliances (mixer).

Looking to upgrade battery banks. We are looking at a 6 x 220Ah batteries.

The problem is we don't know witch type of batteries to choose, AGM or GEL.
In the future we may get higher power inverter.

Does this system require AGM because of the charging / discharging currents? We are leaning towards the GEL because of longer life. Do the GEL batteries have temperature above witch they shouldn't be charged?

Hello, I have a Multiplus 2000/12 connected to a single Battle Born Lithium battery. Every now and then when I turn the Multiplus on (using on/off switch, not the hard switch on the Multiplus) it trips the BMS on the Battle born. Then I have to disconnect the battery and reconnect to reset the BMS. I have no idea what is causing this. This usually starts happening when I turn off the power to the Multiplus without turning off the Multiplus first. Then it starts this vicious cycle of tripping the battery every time I send power to the Multiplus. I have checked all the wires and everything is tight and isolated. It almost seems like something is bad with the Multiplus or Battle Born. Both the Multiplus and Battle born are brand new. I haven't even started using the Inverter yet just the charging.

I did fire up the inverter on a test run and the buzzing was really loud (normal?) and then it too tripped the BMS after 2-3 seconds.

Thanks for any help. I live in Colorado and I can't find anyone I can pay to come and help figure it out. It seems even the distributors of Victron don't know how to service them. Also, I have had Victron pros in this community validate my schematics, but happy to post again.

Does anybody know an electro installateur who has experience in setting up an ESS (victron) for PV in Berlin?

My electro guy is a little afraid.

CCGX + multiplus 2 + pylontec 2000

Is any electrician capable of setting this up?

Hello

I notice that in morning the MPPT 100/50 does not produce watts

I see voltage going up but not wattage

If I close the breaker my breaker of the charger and solar then the controller start

Any help would be appreciated

I have two Skylla-IP44 (1+1) units. They are synchronised over the CAN bus, and have their main outputs paralled into a 740 AH battery bank. I want to make use of the 3A isolated output on each to trickle charge some starter motor batteries.

While one secondary output to a given starter motor makes the most sense, would there be any harm done if both the secondary outputs from both chargers were connected to the same starter battery (with both supply charging current at the same time)?

Thanks,

Allan.

BMV 712 smart monitor with progressive dynamics smart charger (PD4060). Only the coach battery connection, no temp or starter battery connected.

Lead acid 6V batteries.

Typically low usage, 1-5 AH, no usage higher than 5 AH.

Sometimes we have boondocked for a week or two and run the generator to charge when the battery got low. Often we are plugged into shore power.

I am seeing several readings that don't look accurate at all:

1) After boondocking 2-4 days depending on SOC, I run the generator to charge the batteries.

The BMV 712 shows running around 93/94 SOC and then instantly jumping to 100% state of charge. With lead acid I expect the SOC to take a very long time to top off (hours), not just jump to 100% instantly. What is going on here?

2) The SOC does not match the consumed amps or the voltage charts.

I understand the voltage drops when there is a load on it, yet our load is small so I would expect a small voltage drop.

I brought these up to the dealer early on and was told don't worry about it, you have low Ah usage so the battery lasts longer with that then it would if you used higher Ah usage - it is not a straight line. So trust the SOC.

Over time, these discrepancies seems worse.

Our battery is now showing signs it is failing which is unexpected for it's age (roughly 2 years old). I am concerned we have relied on the SOC following the dealers instructions when we should not have been.

Some examples:

2A)

80% SOC, current -3.1A

Consumed Ah -61 / 210 (71% left)

Voltage 12.26V (just above 60% in charts for lead acid)

2B)

62% SOC, current -1.3A

Consumed Ah -116 Ah (45% left)

Voltage 12.33v (65% roughly in charts for lead acid)

2C)

83% SOC, current -.3A

Consumed -52 Ah (75% left)

Voltage 12.73V (100% SOC in charts)

2D)

90% SOC, current -2.5A

Consumed -31 Ah (85% left)

Voltage 12.43V (below 80% SOC in charts)

2E)

95% SOC, current -1.3A

Consumed -18AH (91.4% left)

Voltage 12.37V (70% SOC in charts)

2F)

99% SOC, current -0.5A

Consumed -5 AH (97.6% left)

Voltage 12.58V (below 90% SOC in charts)

2G)

93% SOC

voltage current -1.1A

24 (of 210) consumed AH (would be closer to 88% SOC)

12.13 voltage (closer to 50% on charts).

Thanks for your help.

Dear Cruiser,

New cruiser request help.

I have a Victron Energy Blue Power Panel that is connected to my Victron Quattro Inverter and my Nothern Light 5kW generator.

My questions are:

1) Quattro manual indicates that Genset should be installed as AC1 (in/out) while Shore Power should be AC2 (in/out). However, the previous owner had AC1 to be Shore Power instead of Genset as indicated in the manual.

My question is does it matter AC1/2 setup deviates from the Quattro manual? I “assume” not but want to be extra careful.

2). When running Genset, I receive current for charging my battery as well as it produces alternative current for the boat.

However, Victron Energy Blue Power Panel shows it is generating electricity from Shore Power instead of Genset. When using the Shore Power, the Panel still shows Shore Power.

The panel manual clearly shows that it can display either Shore or Genset power depending on the source.

While operationally, I am “fine” as I receive electricity, again I want to ask:

A. Has anyone encounter this discrepancy before?

B. Can someone confirm that this is NOT something that I need to worry about? I don’t think I would but like to get 2nd opinion.

C. If there is a fix then please share.

Thanks in advance fellow cruiser.

Regards,

So I found out that an installation of ours has been logging to the VRM portal for the past year or so, which is a little concerning, because that was neither planned nor wanted,

The customer is very privacy sensitive and slightly upset. While I am not sure how that omission could have happened, or why/if VRM logging is the default, I am trying to rectify the situation with no luck so far:

CCGX has been equipped with a microSD of sufficient size.

https://www.victronenergy.com/live/ccgx:start

talks in 2.1. about

[image]

First off, there is no "logging to a microSD" in the menu, only enabled/disabled.

[image]

Second, the microSD card had been recognized (shortly there was even a message "will use...")

[image]

but evidently it is not used.

And lastly, there is no chapter 2.2! There is 2.1 followed by 2.4

Please advise.

We purchased a motorhome with a large roof solar panel and a SmartSolar charge controller installed. We only downloaded the app 2 days after we had the motorhome and ever since then no electricity has been coming in through the solar panel.

The app showed that it had been charging properly up until we downloaded the app. We tried uninstalling and reinstalling the app but nothing changed.

The app shows both the battery state as off and the load output state as off. The device is also constantly flashing blue. Does anyone know how we could get our solar panel to charge again? Any advice would be appreciated.

[image]

[image]

Hello everyone,

I would like to know a bit more technically about the setting "charger enabled" accessible via the Victron connect app for the Smart Solar MPPTs.

The documentation says it can be toggled off only during maintenance. Why the documentation says that ? Is that means it musn't be toggled off for a long period and just for a short period of maintenance ? An hour ? A day ? A week ?

What's that setting technically do in the controller and what are the limitations for using it ?

Thank you in advance if you can help me understanding this.

On my Android phone trying to connect for the first time to my BMV 712 all I get is "No devices found". Thinking I have to pair first I went to the Bluetooth pairing setup on my phone which found the battery monitor and paired using the default 000000 password. Back in the VictronConnect app spins the arrow looking for devices until it times out and again reports "No devices found". The battery monitor display is able to show me details on my battery bank so I know that part is working.

Hello,

I'm planning an off-grid installation with four solar panels, a SmartSolar MPPT 100/20 (48V) and a MultiPlus II 48/3000/35-32.

I'm wondering how I could monitor my system and I see (at least) two options:

1) Raspberry py

In this case I'd need to get:

• UTP cable + MK3-USB interface to connect MP II to the Raspy
• VE.direct cable + VE.direct to USB interface to connect the MPPT to the Raspy

Is that right? Or can I connect the MPPT directly to the MP II? In the latter case I don't need to buy VE.direct to USB interface

2) MultiPlus-II GX 48/3000/35-32

In this case I'd need to get only:

• VE.direct cable from MPPT to MP II GX.

Is that right? As MP II GX has only one VE.direct port, is there any other way to connect MPPTs to it, in case I will expand my system?

Do I really need MK3-USB interface with MP II GX? What's the purpose of USB port??

Which option do you suggest?

Sorry for the large amount of questions and thanks in advance for helping me to have clear ideas :-)

Matteo

Hello everyone,

I'm using 3 MultiGrid and Pylontech Battery without any load at the output. This setup has no particular purpose at this moment, but my task is to prepare a GUI for a communication between the Venus GX and a PC using Modbus. So I use ESS Mode 3. I'm frequently switching between ESS Keep Battery Charged Mode (to charge the battery when I'm away) and ESS External Control (to test and to run my Modbus GUI).

Both modes ran perfectly for about a month, which means I could charge and discharge the battery with energy from/to grid through Modbus communication. Until one day, on which the settings in MultiGrid might have been changed. Since that day, both modes don't work:

In ESS Mode 3, Venus GX doesn't react to the setpoint I sent, but data such as battery SOC can be read as usual. In Keep Battery Charged Mode, the battery is not charging, and most confusingly, these LEDs Mains On, Absorption and Inverter are on at the same time.

I've used Victron Toolkit App to understand this LED combination, but this combination is not available both in the app and the manual. How can these problems, or most importantly, the Keep Battery Charged problem could be solved?

Your help is highly appreciated. Thank you.

[image]

Hi,

I bought a Victron Blue Smart IP67 12/25. Will be using it to monitor and charge a lead acid battery.

Is it correct that when only the battery is connected (and not 230ac) you can't connect with bluetooth?

Thanks!

Is it possible to run a forecast based battery management? Considering Geo data, weather, ... The goal is loading the battery not in the morning - but e.g. at noon ..

--

In Deutschland , genauer gesagt in Berlin, gibt es Fördergeld wenn man einen Prognose basiert es Lademanagement umsetzt, die Idee ist den Akku nicht schon morgens direkt aufzuladen bei den ersten Sonnenstrahlen, sondern erst am Mittag , wenn Höchstleistung (PV) anliegt .. Auf diese Weise kann man eine gleichmäßige Einspeisung erreichen. Prognose basiert, heißt auch nach dass man Geokoordinaten mitgibt und eventuelle Wetterdaten berücksichtigt .. Es gibt ja die Möglichkeit über external Control eigene Steuerungen zu implementierenmentieren, hat das mal jemand versucht?

i have a zanussi aqua cycle1300 [3kg]washer.even with engine running wont work it tries to start .led lights constantly flash on and off washer works fine on shoreline or with my1800 generator any ideas ?

Hi.

I am trying to add a new installation on the VRM portal. It is the Victron Ethernet Remote.

After entering the IMEI device and pressing the "Request Access" button, the following message is displayed:

[image]

How can I find out who is the administrator of the device and his email and add myself to the administrators?

Hi all,

My new second hand boat I has 2 x 50W solar panels connected to the service battery bank through a 75/15 MPPT Solar Controller. There is also an MPPT Monitor and a BWV700 battery monitor, both are installed and working. Everything works well. Now I found a new unused Bluetooth Smart Dongle. I tried to plug it to the MPPT controller, but the Ve.Direct socket is already being used (I suppose by the MPPT Monitor). Where does the Dongle fit in this system? Where/how do I connect it?

We are running a client on ESS with AC out2 as not critical programmed, we are seeing a value of 2.5-3a/HR @230v the moment the input contact activate. This is a lot higher than the intended self consumption mentioned. We would like the know why this is. We do have a grid meter et112 installed set at 20w. The ccgx can't manage the drain from input below 450 w. Please assist,,,:setup 48/10000/100*2 & mppt 250/100/48 smart, bmv 700 -standard 500a shunt, ESS, ACout2 activated and de-activated with assistant. With vrm

I was wondering if I could post the wiring diagram I have made in preparation for an installation in a 2018 Mercedes Sprinter Motorhome conversion with nearly all Victron equipment. I wanted to check before ordering everything that I hadn't gone overboard nor missed anything out and would really appreciate passing it by someone/s here if anybdy had any time/interest?

Thanks, Ben

I've got a 12v 320Ah Narada Lead Carbon battery bank, a Multiplus 1200/12/50 and 3 SmartSolar MPPT 75/15's connected to 3 separate solar arrays.

The problem I'm having is the MPPT controllers tripping over each other going into float WAY too early. So on the daily chart I'll have one controller yielding as much as 1300Wh while the other two will yield as little as 200Wh each. At the end of the day the battery is not fully charged either.

The dominant controller can be any of the controllers on any given day. The wiring and settings are the same for all three controllers. I guess it just a software race condition which one detects the 1A float first. As soon as is does that 1A load goes to the remain controllers.

Is it possible to have them share better. Does the BMV or Smart Sense Synchronise them at all. As it is they are operating at about 30% efficiency once two drop out.

Seems that only one MPPT controller can be the only charge source in the circuit. Otherwise once any one hits the 1A float threshold it go to sleep and doesn't wake up again. Leaving just one controller to do all the work and the battery no where near charged.

The situation is exacerbated as the Muliplus charger starts up when the generator is fired up. All the MPPT go to sleep because the generator is providing all the charge current. Then when it is turned off often only one charge controller comes back to charge and the other two stay on float even though the battery might only be 30% charged because the float voltage being reached does not wake them all up.

These MPPT charge controllers do not play at all well with other charge sources. Including their own kind. Is there any way to have them act as a simple power supply? That is just providing a voltage to battery and allowing the battery to simply absorb what it can? Or maybe get rid of the 1A threshold or have a timer that checks periodically if the battery can now accept greater than 1A and go back to absorption.

Basically modify the algorithm somehow so they're get back to work when they can. At the moment it's like having an employee that gets things done in the morning then goes to sleep and doesn't bother checking if more work has arrived because the other bloke is doing it all by himself and struggling at it as a result.

Seems theses things are too smart for their own goodand as a result are constantly tripping over each other. After which they don't get up and back to work again for the rest of the day! If it was an employee you'd fire them for not being team players! Lol

Is it possible for me to just move the charge leads from the battery connector to the output connector? If the MPPT can output 15A at say the float setpoint voltage to the output without a battery in the battery connection then that would be better charge controller than all the current "smarts" before the battery connection terminals!

Any solution would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Troy

Hello community!

First time user of Victron products. So a big hello to all.

We needed a charge controller in tandem with our new DC Generator model to have the abilty of charging all battery chemistries, with the added features Victron has to offer in that range.

So we decided to test a SmartSolar 150/85 with the dc generator as a replacement to pv input.

Not knowing if it would work or not, we are pleased with the results! Firstly, no magic smoke(thank God for that). Generator started automatically when LiFePo4 batteries reached a preset low SoC. We used a 48v 100ah bank for the test. The generator produced 70vdc @ 40A(limited for the testing). SmartSolar did the job as expected!

We will continue testing over the next few days and upload a video of the end results.

The main purpose of our DC Generators is to be used as a backup source in case of low solar production in off grid situations, telecommunication sites, boats, rv's etc.

All of our dc generators and AutoGen controllers connect through wifi and can be monitored via our mobile app.

So now, Victron can add DC Generators to the solar, wind, hydro list of input sources to their MPPTs.

Hello,

Does anyone know why the directory

/opt/victronenergy/vedirect-interface/service

Is missing from the installation of Venus OS when installing the Venus OS packages? ( https://github.com/victronenergy/venus/wiki/raspberrypi-install-venus-packages )

Thanks

Al

I am going to connect a pool pump to solar and use AC power as the fall back. What parts do I need for this? The pump is a 3/4 hp.

Hello,

Right now I have connected my BlueSolar charge controller MPPT 150/70 CAN-bus directly to the BMV-702.

Can I connect the BlueSolar MPPT 150/70 directly to my NMEA2000 backbone using the VE.Can to NMEA2000 cable and also do the same for the BMV-702 (directly to the backbone using the same cable )?

Regards
Steen