Victron set up

DIY
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1

Hi. I have a few questions if anyone can help me out be much appreciated.

  1. Can two SmartShunts share a common negative busbar? As in 2 seperate battery banks 300Ah each seperate positive bus bars but common combined negative bus bar (campervan both banks ground to chasis anyway) and hav a smartshunt on each battery bank giving a reliable reading of each?
  2. Best way to switch Orion Smart chargers between two battery banks?
  3. Can Cerbo GX monitor more than six VE.Direct devices via USB hubs?
  4. Recommended method for integrating a small wind turbine into a Victron 12 V system?
  5. Has Victron tested any wind-turbine interface that works with SmartSolar MPPTs?
  6. Can the Cerbo GX remotely disable Orion Smart chargers and SmartSolar MPPTs?

Many thanks

Joe

2
  1. Yes but pointless. Shunts are wired on the negative from what you want to monitor, eg: battery negative-shunt-load/supply.
  2. Not known to me.
  3. Yes, with either usb hub/usb-ve direct cable or can have device-ve direct-duppa 4way((https://www.duppa.net/product/usb-quadport-ve-direct/)-usb–gx device.
    4, 5, 6. Unknown to me.

All victron related things / information can be found for free at Victron Professional

3

Two shunts each set up as a battery monitor might cause some pain. I think only one can be selected as the BMS for DVCC, if that’s your plan. Someone should be along to clarify that.

I have 3 shunts at 3 different voltages on my Cerbo, 2 are for DC loads.

4

  1. From the shunts perspective, yes. But the victron system as a whole cam only handle a single battery(bank). Since your banks feed seperated positive busbars, it would need to be two systems.

  2. You dont. Its technically possible, with relays or a diode/fet splitter. But usually an Orion charges its battery and thats it.

  3. Duppa quadport is the way

  4. From victron, not much. If the wind charge controller supports some communication, good. If not use a shunt as DC genset. Or leave it untracked. Same for DVCC integration, if no coms use ATC

  5. Dont know but i doubt it

  6. Yes, voltage and current control through DVCC. If you want to fully disable you either need to use the remote on/offs with a cerbo relay output or use nodered

5

Re: 4,5 - Here’s a few comments from my own setup… which I got rid of.

A SmartShunt can be set up as a DC Energy meter, monitoring a “Wind charger”, and you could put that between the negative bus and the wind turbine negative lead. The positive side to the positive bus through a suitable fuse.

The difficult part is controlling the wind generator output voltage. Some have built-in regulators, so you need to set it to a voltage that is in the happy/safe range for the batteries eg the float voltage in some cases, depending on the battery technology (AGM vs Li with BMS).

I haven’t found a good “general” solution. One unit I have here looks nice but stupidly designed. It draws battery power to energize the field coils until it is spinning fast enough to make power for the coils and export power back to the battery source. But there is no shutdown/controls other than disconnect via relay/contactor. It also gets unhappy when the battery is removed, as I think the overspeed prevention modulates the field coil somehow to act as a magnetic brake. I had to have it on its own AGM battery etc. It’s not attached to my Victron setup, as it was just so painful to deal with.

BTW have you already purchased a Wind Turbine setup - if so, what make/model?