question

tylera avatar image
tylera asked

24/48V system. One or two CCGX units?

I live on a boat where I have two halves of my electrical system: 48V and 24V.

A Quattro connects shore power (or generator) to the 48V side.

An MPPT acts as the 48V->24V charger (enabled manually) A second MPPT acts as Solar->Battery charger (manually connected and configured to either the 48V or 24V side based on current needs).

I have a single CCGX.

I had noticed some of these products were also connected via the VE.Smart Network, and that that setup was ill-advised due to the presence of a *GX unit.

One of my future changes will be to add a second MPPT to the Solar->Battery such that each is dedicated to the battery bank (one for 48V, one for 24V). I'll use a manual throw switch to direct the PV power to one MPPT or the other.

How do I ensure each of the chargers (3x MPPT and Quattro) all properly communicate? Would one CCGX for each voltage be sufficient? Should I make the CCGX just operate at one voltage (say 48V) and disconnect the 24V items from it, opting for the VE.Smart Network? Can I leave everything on a single CCGX?

Thanks!

[ Note: I currently have it all on a single CCGX.

I notice when I have the Quattro and MPPT both powering the 48V (when I'm motoring, I need all the power I can get to the electric motors, so the generator and MPPT are both pushing) that the Quattro/MPPT have different opinions of float/bulk -- I assume this is fine as one will take over the work of topping the battery.

] ]

CCGX Color Control
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2 Answers
Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) avatar image
Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) answered ·

Hi @TylerA,

In nearly all situations, there should usually only be one GX device per system.

It is no issue to have a single CCGX connected to multiple MPPTs, which are connected to multiple different voltage battery banks.

The default overview display of the CCGX is not optimised for this configuration, but the MFD display which was designed for marine applications is. There is more information about that here:

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

https://www.dropbox.com/s/80ordu5euhzcks0/Victron%20-%20MFD%20Integration.mp4?dl=0



It would be strongly recommended to also have multiple BMVs for each battery bank.

At that point you are at 5 devices, which is the limit for the CCGX. Any more and you would need to move to a more powerful Cerbo GX.



2 comments
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tylera avatar image tylera commented ·

Thanks. I'll look into it.

I do have a BMV for the 24V bank and a separate BMV for the 48V bank.

I haven't updated my Garmin firmware lately, but when I set it up last year, I found a limitation whereby (I think it was a Garmin bug, not a Victron bug) I could not connect the MFD and the CCGX both to my router.

I'll look through the information you sent.

My primary concern wasn't monitoring though. I'm under the impression that the MPPTs communicate with the BMVs for charing batteries. I want to make sure the MPPT communicates with the corresponding BMV. (Not that I can see temperature information but I don't see how the BMS talks to the rest of the system, so who knows if it's really working?)

[ Note: My 48V BMS is connected (incorrectly*) to my Quattro. My 24V BMS is not connected to anything via a VE network of any sore.

(*) I still have to research this, but the builder misconfigured the BMS and swapped the two 8p8c connectors. Oddly, the Quattro isn't smart enough to have the plug work on either, but the Quattro doesn't do anything when connected correctly. When incorrectly connected, it charges, but the DMC panel repots but doesn't affect the system. This is a separate thing I need to look into before I post on it. ]

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tylera avatar image tylera tylera commented ·

Disregard my comment about the Quattro/BMS wiring. I reviewed the CCGX doc and saw how the boat builder mis-wired this component as well.

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Johannes Boonstra (Victron Energy Staff) avatar image
Johannes Boonstra (Victron Energy Staff) answered ·

To add something

ething here, make sure the batteries all have a common minus!

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