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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image
mvader (Victron Energy) asked

Venus OS v2.80~43 available for testing

Good evening all,

New version, fixing the tank issue as reported in the past 24 hour.

In case you don't know what this message is about, then please start with reading this link, which explains the Venus OS beta program.

Changes compared to the previous test version, v2.80~42, are:

  • Fix issue causing the bouncing sensor settings for low/high limits. Thank you @Mark Maritz & @rzaenger for the quick return. And apologies for needing a second iteration on this one.


I've added the full v2.80 draft changelog, as well as all other texts below. Its all still the exact same text.

Current first possible official release for v2.80 is coming Monday or Tuesday.

All the best, Matthijs


v2.80 summary

The version we're working on, v2.80, has various highlights: the new AC Load monitoring, the new DC metering function, and also various improvements to the HTML5 MFD App including addition of translations, added support for the Ruuvi Tag wireless temperature sensors, and since this version it adds relay control by temperature.


What to test?

Same as before: the new features I mentioned in the above summary as well basically everything. And the wifi + bluetooth on the Rpi4.

There are several major changes in v2.80, which can each make things break in unexpected places. For those interested in the details, the changes I'm referring to here are (a) that the used Python version has been updated from 2.7 to 3, (b) the Open Embedded release was upgraded from Zeus to Dunfell, and we changed to a read-only rootfs. Also, various application level changes that reduce the CPU load per Victron device, useful when connecting many solar chargers for example, were made. That caused some regressions earlier, which are now fixed.


How to post an issue?

Preferably all issues are organised as answers to this question. One answer per issue. So first check the existing threads. If you have the same as someone else already reported, welcome to add a comment saying "me too". And preferably some more details. And in case its not listed yet, add a new Answer. Note that Answers and Comments are two different things here on community.

Lastly, please first revert to v2.73, to double check if the issue you're seeing was present there as well. Regressions require a different treatment than other issues and bugs, and one of the first things that needs doing in triaging a report is distinguishing between the two.


Full change log - compared to v2.73

Main new features:

  • Add support for the wireless Ruuvi temperature sensors, which also measure humidity and air pressure. Data is available in the GUI, as well as on VRM. The Ruuvi sensors are available for sale via www.ruuvi.com, Victron is not stocking them. Note that while the sensor itself also reports movement aka acceleration data, that information is not available within Venus OS.
  • Add DC load monitoring, and production. Details below.
  • Add AC load monitoring. Details below.
  • Add preliminary support for the new Multi RS. Note that this is incomplete.

AC Load monitoring details:

  • All energy meter types can now be configured to a new "role": AC Load monitor. This is done in the menu where you also choose between Grid, PV Inverter and Generator. With AC Load monitor selected, the load will be shown in the Device list. Note that we still need to work on VRM for this (add it to the Advanced page, and perhaps elsewhere as well), and also note that measured loads are not used in any calculations.

DC Load monitoring details:

  • SmartShunts and BMV-712s can now be configured to be a DC Energy Meter, rather than a Battery Monitor. Two things happen when one or more SmartShunts are configured as such: (1) the power shown in the DC system box is the sum of powers reported by all SmartShunts configured as such. Allowing multiple meters is done to accommodate for example a catamaran, then you can measure the DC Systems on Port side and on Starboard side. Use the Custom name setting to give each of the meters configured as DC System their own name. (2) the DC System Current is being compensated for when setting DVCC charge current limits to Multis, Quattros and Solar Chargers. Which in more detail mains that for example when a load of 50A is being measured, and CCL by the battery is 25A, the limit given to the Multis & Solar Chargers is 75A. A valued improved for systems with significant DC loads such as Yachts, Coaches and RVs.

    Notes and limitations: (A) instead of a SmartShunt, also a BMV-712 can be used. (B) Setting it to be a DC System is done in the settings of the BMV/SmartShunt itself. (C) The NMEA2000-out feature does not support these new types, for example when using a SmartShunt to measure output of an alternator, that data is not made available on NMEA2000.

DVCC and managed batteries, connected by CAN-Bus:

  • Force DVCC settings for Pylontech batteries as per documentation (DVCC on, SVS and STS both off). This is now the same as already in place for various other battery makes.
  • Detect- and for good settings for- BMZ ESS Batteries: DVCC=ON, SVS=Off, STS=Off
  • Force-enable SVS for the Lynx Smart BMS
  • Add custom name support: user and installer can configure a name for the battery. This name is stored on the GX device.
  • Only use the selected battery monitor; affects systems that have a managed battery and a BMV (or similar) Victron battery monitor installed.
  • Fix bug: Shared Temperature Sense did not work between an temperature sensor attached to the GX device and VE.Can devices. Bug in Venus since v2.40.
  • Automatically switch to charging if a grid connection is available and a managed battery requests charge. Currently only Pylontech and some BYD batteries support a charge request indication
  • Stop solar chargers when the BMS is disconnected in an ESS system. Solar chargers will show error #67 ā€“ No BMS.

ESS:

  • Change the "Total of all phases" mode to be symmetrical: all phases are adjusted to convert the same amount of power from, as well as to, DC. In the past, this option primarily avoided passing power through the DC-bus to avoid inefficiency, but didn't take full advantage of the billing arrangement to use all the available power when there is a shortfall on another phase. Now it divides the work equally across the phases, thereby making the full inverter capacity available, and with no impact on billing. More detailed text on the Community v2.80~16 beta announcement, and soon in the manual.

VRM Portal:

  • Add information to show detailed Generator information (running/not running, last run, why its running, and more) on the VRM Portal Dashboard, when enabling the Detailed view.
  • Add information to show detailed information about AC input (grid/shore) as well as AC Loads. Includes frequency and other information.

Inverter RS:

  • complete the support for the Inverter RS. Includes DVCC, control by managed batteries, SOC sync and Extra battery current, showing its error code.
  • remove support when connected on VE.Direct. From v2.80 onwards, the only working connection for an Inverter RS to a GX device is on a VE.Can network.

MultiPlus-II 2x120V:

  • Show output current & power on the second leg, as well as transmit that to VRM for logging and visualisation on the dashboard.

HTML5 Marine MFD App:

  • Fix Garmin MFD issue that appeared in a certain start-up sequence, this issue most likely existed in the design since the beginning.
  • Show the inverter/charger widget even when the AC Inputs are configured to Generator or Not available.
  • Fix fault description for non-VE.Bus chargers
  • Fix on/off state buttons for non-VE.Bus chargers
  • Add lock button that helps prevent accidental button presses like "Start generator" or "Multi Off".
  • Add Dutch, Chinese, French, German and Italian to thelanguages.
  • Add a placeholder & message in case no data is present.
  • Add 3A button to the input limit selector.
  • Hide 3rd phase in case of a split-phase system.
  • Fix keyboard buttons not working in Remote Console.

Various:

  • Reduce GX device CPU load for many system types.
  • NMEA2000-out: fix Solar sender DC instance storage to non-volatile memory. This never worked right, until now.
  • Update recognition of Fimer grid-tie PV Inverters: Fimer recently acquired ABB and is now updating the names and recognition strings in the code.
  • Increase the maximum possible power value for starting a generator, was 100kW now 1MW. Thank you Jens-Uwe P for reporting.
  • Tank inputs on Cerbo GX and Venus GX: increase max tank resistance to 300 Ohm, thank you Alex Muir for asking.
  • Improve WiFi recovery from Failure status.
  • Improve ET340 in combination with Zigbee link, when installed in a lossy/noisy environment.
  • Fix connection issue with FzSonick batteries, using the RS485-USB cable. Issue was introduced in v2.73.
  • Support exfat filesystem, for large removable media (sdcards, usb sticks). Note that this is not for the raspberrypis, since (only they) still ship with a version of Linux that does not support exfat.
  • Remove transmission of load averages to VRM. Those values, visible on the diagnostics page on VRM, are not used, confusing, and the D-Bus RTT time is a much better indicator of (over-)load of a GX device, hence remove them.

User interface (CCGX, GX Touch, Remote console):

  • Add eject button to the offline firmware update menu.
  • Fix issue that caused the overview to change when switching off the Multi in a system configured for ESS
  • Fix an issue where the grid meter reading disappeared from the gui when the Multi is off
  • Slightly renamed a few VE.Bus errors and error 8 & 11 detailed status codes to be less ambiguous. And VE.Bus error 15.
  • Wifi menu: ask for confirmation before forgetting/disconnecting from a network, as well as before disabling the Access Point; to prevent accidental locking oneselves out, especially when remote.
  • In the WiFi connection menu, give so-called hidden WiFi networks a name (their mac address), so that they no longer appear as empty rows in the menu.
  • Fix missing "Recharge" text in ESS BatteryLife state field. It said "Uknown" since Venus OS v2.20.

Bluetooth:

  • Fix Bluetooth pincodes starting with a 0; this was broken since the first release of BLE functionality in Venus OS.
  • Implement keep-alive functionality: improves robustness with certain phones by avoiding Venus OS thinking its still connected and then remaining connected while its not.
  • Fix GX device not being visible on other phones while already connected to one. Now it is visible in the 2nd phone, but then with an explanation that to connect, the other phone needs to actually disconnect first. This is now on par with how other Victron products work with Bluetooth.
  • Improve compatibility with USB-bluetooth dongles, relevant for CCGX and Venus GX.

Developers, ModbusTCP, Node-RED, MQTT:

  • Removed the Pv/Current path aka register from our internal databus. D-Bus. Going forward, to use that, you need to calculate it by dividing the power by the voltage. Affects all APIs, including Modbus-TCP.
  • Fix the definition for Modbus-TCP register 2710 (DVCC override charge voltage). Since the mistake rendered it largely useless, and this is a fairly new register, no new register is allocated.
  • Change the rootfs to be default read-only. Careful, this is quite the change in case you're modifying your rootfs. The reason behind this is quality and robustness. Every boot is now the same, instead of an initial boot possibly being different from the second or the third. And less writes to the storage, which reduces the wear, and more advantages. The downside is obviously that its a bit more hassle in case you want to modify the software. To learn how, read this commit.
  • Change the used Open Embedded release from Zeus to Dunfell. More details about OE releases are here. Dunfell is relatively recent LTS (long term support) version. The expectation is to be able to stay at Dunfell for quite some time to come.
  • Change the used Python version from v2.7 to v3.. This was something we needed to do anyway, and sort of a requirement that comes with switching over to Dunfell. For those that wrote their own code this does mean work. See also this post on community.
  • Enable https support for php
Venus OS
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5 Answers
Mark Maritz avatar image
Mark Maritz answered Ā·

"Fix issue causing the bouncing sensor settings for low/high limits."

Tested and works fine in Venus OS v2.80~43

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rzaenger avatar image rzaenger commented Ā·

Thank you! Works as desired. :)

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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image mvader (Victron Energy) ā™¦ā™¦ rzaenger commented Ā·
Great both, thanks for the quick reply. That helps in getting it closed fast.

Now fingers crossed that we can finally release this next week!

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Mark Maritz avatar image Mark Maritz mvader (Victron Energy) ā™¦ā™¦ commented Ā·
Hope it goes smoothly @mvader (Victron Energy) ;)
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jago avatar image
jago answered Ā·

Hello, I have installed this beta to a MultiPlus2GX to use the new mqtt keep-alive subset selection. The system runs well, but the local LCD shows less info compared to the 2.73 (only ESS and IP connection) - the IP is defined manual with a static IP, but he LCD shows "auto" with a IPv6 string...

Is this the desired behavior..?


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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image mvader (Victron Energy) ā™¦ā™¦ commented Ā·
Hi Jago, no its not - weā€™ll get that fixed. Thank you!
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Lars Filusch avatar image
Lars Filusch answered Ā·



db0b0143-e2ac-48c0-8748-985167425a42.jpegHey,

visibility for additional battery measurements is back to hidden after updating to ~43


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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image mvader (Victron Energy) ā™¦ā™¦ commented Ā·
Hi Lars, thank you for the report, is it OK if we login to your device to look into this? You then need to enable Remote Support, it is in Settings -> General.
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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image mvader (Victron Energy) ā™¦ā™¦ mvader (Victron Energy) ā™¦ā™¦ commented Ā·
ps. from which version did you update?


And, do you expect to see the MultiPlus battery measurement? Or do you not expect to see that?



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soenke avatar image soenke mvader (Victron Energy) ā™¦ā™¦ commented Ā·

I think he means the additional voltage measurement from BMV oder SmartShunt.

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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image mvader (Victron Energy) ā™¦ā™¦ soenke commented Ā·
Hi, on his system, and our test system, I see the additional measurement, it Starter battery. Those systems are running v2.80~43.


Iā€™m not sure what the problem is, if there is one. You have the same on ~43? And then what is the problem exactly?

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Lars Filusch avatar image Lars Filusch commented Ā·

update from~41

i chose the BMV for Battery monitor,

the option to make the other visible or to hide has bin reset during the update process to hide


i my case

the multiplus , 2nd Battery Input from BMV, dbus BMS Battery monitor


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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image mvader (Victron Energy) ā™¦ā™¦ Lars Filusch commented Ā·
Hi @Lars78 , thank you. we haven't been able to reproduce this, also there have not been any recent changes that could cause this.

Would be great if we can login to your system to check the logs. Is that OK? For that, you'll need to enable Remote Support, in the Settings -> General menu.

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Lars Filusch avatar image Lars Filusch mvader (Victron Energy) ā™¦ā™¦ commented Ā·

Didnā€™t happen again while updating to ~44

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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image mvader (Victron Energy) ā™¦ā™¦ Lars Filusch commented Ā·

Hi, thanks. Really strange - I have no idea what can have caused those settings to be reset to hidden.

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Ulrich avatar image Ulrich commented Ā·
??? How could i enable display of the starter battery? I have connected mine to the smart shunt. Does this only work with a special BMS?
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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image mvader (Victron Energy) ā™¦ā™¦ Ulrich commented Ā·
Hi @Ulrich , see Settings -> System setup -> Battery measurements.
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Ulrich avatar image Ulrich mvader (Victron Energy) ā™¦ā™¦ commented Ā·
Thx
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vward avatar image
vward answered Ā·

Hi,

We're off grid and have been seeing issues with the beta, but things are improving.

We ran our Generator 25th January from 14:30 to 17:30 . Mostly good, but we donā€™t understand why our SmartShunt almost immediately (at 14:36) changed the SOC from 86% to 100%.

1643403117969.jpeg



Do not understand sudden SOC leap to 100%?

1643403156540.png

Quick reminder:

========================

Small home, 100% off grid installation.


9.7kW of solar and a large lead acid battery bank.


2x MPPTā€™s

2x 5kVA Multiplus II in parallel

Color Control GX

SmartShunt Battery monitor - we feel fairly confident we have pretty good parameters set in here, ie used the Peukert calculator, etc.




VE configure settings for both master and non-master Multiplus II:

AC input current limit - 7.3 amps (in each multi), override by remote unticked (VRM showing 14.5 in current limit)

Dynamic Current Limiting ticked

Power Assist - ticked

UPS - unticked

Weak AC - ticked

=====================


It was nice later to see the generator power value agreeing with the L1 value

1643403205605.jpeg


Why does the ā€œLast 24hā€ pie chart say that the generator hasnā€™t run? What should the values be in this pie chart?

The 4 boxes top right show the breakdown of energy consumption across Genset/Battery/Solar. Hoping you might show the total kW hours that are created by the generator. Not just what is used by loads (see next). This will help us work out our fuel consumption.

1643403227415.jpeg


1643403267826.jpeg


Guessing from this - from generator start at 14:30 to 17:30 about 3 hours of approximately 3kW from the generator would be 9kW hours from the Generator. We ran some loads, about 3 kW hours worth. So 6 kW Hours must have charged the batteries. Even if all of that 6 kW hours went into the batteries, it would have been 86% plus 6 kWH and, if 1% ~ 1kWH which is about right for our batteries, that only would have brought us to 92%.


I feel pretty confident that the parameters for the SmartShunt are correct (peukert, C20, float, absorb, etc), but now it seems that once the full voltage (.8 below the float voltage) is reached, the SmartShunt and VRM tell us there is 100% SOC.


Can this be correct? I thought that we would not see 100% unless an absorb charge followed by a float charge was done.


Your Change Log talks about the SmartShuntā€™s being used differently, is this the problem weā€™re seeing??


Thanks.


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1643403205605.jpeg (177.1 KiB)
1643403227415.jpeg (253.8 KiB)
1643403267826.jpeg (211.9 KiB)
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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image mvader (Victron Energy) ā™¦ā™¦ commented Ā·
Hi @VWard , thank you for the detailed report! The SmartShunt jumping to 100% is most likely a configuration issue. Check the synchronisation chapter in its manual, and also there is a video explaining how that works.


Basically, if it sees a high enough voltage, and low enough current, for a long enough time, it considers the battery as fully charged and jumps to 100%.

We'll check on the reporting in VRM, looking at your screenshot it seems like an issue in VRM.

Have a good weekend, Matthijs


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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image mvader (Victron Energy) ā™¦ā™¦ mvader (Victron Energy) ā™¦ā™¦ commented Ā·

Hi @VWard , I checked your data, and the kWh download shows a total of 8.7kWh generated by the generator, screenshot below. So that seems accurate to me.


The today box shows the data for today - unrelated to what time range you have selected.

VRM Right now misses a feature to show how much energy was used from generator to charge the battery, we'll be adding that in the coming time.

I think that explains all? Let me know if it does not.

Matthijs


ps. you can download this data as well, see Advanced -> kWh download at upper right.

1643670401073.png



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1643670401073.png (37.2 KiB)
vward avatar image vward mvader (Victron Energy) ā™¦ā™¦ commented Ā·

Hi @mvader (Victron Energy)

Thank you for this! Very useful.


And we have already watched Victonā€™s excellent video about battery monitoring and parameters. But we still canā€™t work out how/why the SOC is jumping to 100%. The video recommends that the tail current for battery monitoring be set to 4% and we set the Smart Shunt tail current to 4%.


This disagrees with the tail current set in our MPPTā€™s which is set to 3 Amps. The MPPTā€™s seem to be doing the Bulk->Absorb->Float and ā€œcheck for tail currentā€ adaptive charging very well for our lead acid batteries.


However, 4% of our battery bank is 80 amps. The Multipluses are set to max current 70 amps. Could this be why the Smart Shunt jumps to 100%? All of the other values, MPPTā€™s, Multipluses, etc. are in agreement, with the exception that max current in MPPTā€™s is 100 amps.


Weā€™re thinking that if the Smart Shunt doesnā€™t wait until the Absorb charge is done, if the Smart Shunt just wants to see 53.2 volts (float charge - .8) and a current of < 80 amps - it will see that a bit too easily!


Irrespective of the exact small non-zero value of the tail current, whether 4% or 3 Amps, we do not understand the how or when/why the Smart Shunt applies the tail current to determine 100% SoC and whether it is like Victronā€™s battery monitor video or not.


Thinking about the following examples:


Suppose at night time (i.e. no solar input) the generator is switched on and the battery voltage has exceeded the 100% SoC threshold voltage but the current is still above the non-zero tail current,and then a load in the house is switched on? A load that gradually increases until it uses 100% of the generator and, we assume, that the input current to the battery reduces to zero.

Would this fool the Smart Shunt into thinking that 100% SoC has been achieved?


Alternatively, with Power Assist the battery itself will contribute to powering the house loads and the current measured by the Smart Shunt becomes negative yet possibly, the battery voltage measured by the Smart Shunt will remain high? Possibly above the 100% SoC threshold voltage?


Thanks,


Vickie and Mike


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koro avatar image
koro answered Ā·

Hello guys!


I tried to install the v2.80~43 but my system didnĀ“t find it. IĀ“ve allways used the beta versions, but the are not available anymore.

Anybody an idea why.


Greetings from Austria.

Klaus

1643816774241.png


1643816774241.png (21.5 KiB)
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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image mvader (Victron Energy) ā™¦ā™¦ commented Ā·
Hi, @koro , are you perhaps already having v2.80 installed? Please check


If not, what GX device do you have, and can you post an image of the now installed version?

Thank you!

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koro avatar image koro mvader (Victron Energy) ā™¦ā™¦ commented Ā·
Hi Matthijs, I've installed 2.81. I thought, with the publication of the new version there is also a new beta version available. My mistake - so everything is okay.

Thank you fore your fast response.

Klaus


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