Can a MultiPlus run the ESS Assistant without a GX device and get the ESS info from an external control connected via the MK3-USB ? (or is the GX essential in some way for the Assistant, something that cannot be done by a MK3-USB with an external control of some kind)
As far as I know the GX is Needed as a lot of the control settings are coming from the GX you might be able to use one of the other assistants but more info would be needed re your setup.
anyway you get a lot of other stuff with a cerbo unit so just get one and save your self a heap of time
Adding a mk3 plus hardware to talk to it, plus home-dev software is not going to make the environment more reliable.
If anything it will make it worse, as and when you need to load a firmware update and it undo's your efforts (something a cerbo/gx allows you to do remotely).
If anything, the value the cerbo adds is making remote maintenance easier, most of the time.
Unattended and unmonitored? And by unattended I hope does not mean no maintenance or regular checks? I dont know any system that can run well like that.
When troubleshooting a site it is really helpful to have some logging there.
Am with @nickdb and @Paul B there, the Cerbo will help in so many ways. I have never regretted adding a GX. I hate sites with other brands and no clue going in what may have happened. The GX removes guess work and down time, sometimes even removing the need to travel to the site to sort it out.
@Jeroenw thanks for your question. I'm looking also exactly into this.
I followed the ESS Mode 2 and 3 tutorial from Victron and the steps there. Unfortunately, the device seems to not behave as documented. I have reliable communication but the effect of the commands are not as desired. Would be really great to receive some updates on this from Victron.
Please find the results of my probing here: https://github.com/yvesf/ve-ctrl-tool/tree/dfc2443174e99201ef900f23a1b34a3797fbf5a3#failing-to-talk-to-ess-assistant
Edit: I did a reset and configured the Multiplus again. Now it works as described in the victron article, no idea what was wrong before. I'll update it on github soon.
