question

evan-drinkwater avatar image
evan-drinkwater asked

Cerbo GX to measure AC current on sailboat

For what seems like a simple feature, I am having a hard time finding an answer. Retrofitting a Cerbo GX & Smart shunt onto a smaller sailboat. I am looking to place an AC current transformer on the shore-power inlet to measure AC volts and amps.


The boat already has a AC charger I will not be replacing. I can find these two Victron products https://www.victronenergy.com/accessories/current-transformer-for-multiplus-ii and https://www.victronenergy.com/accessories/ac-current-sensor but neither seem to work only with a Cerbo. Is there another option for AC ammeters with the Cerbo?

cerbo gx
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1 Answer
wkirby avatar image
wkirby answered ·

Indeed, neither of those options will work. Those are designed to compliment an AC system with a MultiPlus or Quattro. Also, being CTs, they don't measure Voltage.

There is a work around. The EM range of meters can be used in conjunction with the RS-485 - USB interface cable to connect between the energy meter and the CerboGX. The ET112 would fit your requirements.
Energy Meters: https://www.victronenergy.com/accessories/energy-meter
RS-485 cable: https://www.victronenergy.com/accessories/rs485-to-usb-interface

There are some caveats though.
This energy meter is also intended to compliment an existing AC system with MultiPlus or Quattro. The data from this device is not logged in VRM, there will be no historical graphs.
The real time data shows in the AC Loads tile and more detailed information in the devices menu.

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VRM real time information:

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2 |3000

Up to 8 attachments (including images) can be used with a maximum of 190.8 MiB each and 286.6 MiB total.