My Experience with Victron

[tpbrady]

One caution to those considering a Victron Multiplus. I just finished an installation on my boat only to find out that hardcoded in its recharging algorithm is a feature that cannot be modified dealing with bulk charging, absorption charging and float charging. Victron has put in the recharging logic, that it will not initiate a new recharging cycle if the battery voltage is above the programmed float voltage minus 1.3v. In my case I am using Firefly carbon foam batteries and the float voltage is set at 13.4v. A new charge cycle would therefore only start if battery voltage as sensed by the Multiplus was less than 12.1v, meaning a deeply discharged battery bank or a battery bank under heavy load.

In my typical use, I don’t get to 12.1v but generally end up starting the generator when SOC is just at 75-80% to make coffee in the morning. The Multiplus’s logic says, if battery voltage is above 12.1v then don’t bulk charge, but go to absorption in a minimum amount of time (a few minutes) and then go to float where it provides the DC load amps plus a couple. It bases absorption time on 20x bulk time, which in this case was zero or close to it. If you reset (also read as reboot) the Multiplus then it will restart with an appropriate amount of bulk, absorption, and float charging time. This is inherent to the Multiplus. Resetting the Multiplus is not a reasonable approach to correct this problem, and it is a problem in the way I use my boat. When the boat is put up for the winter it is likely I will have some power outages. An accumulation of minor power outages will result in prolonged operation of the battery bank at a partial state of charge. The only way to prevent that is to power off the Multiplus (it is powered from the battery bank), by cycling the power switch which is a manual process or through the Victron remote portal which requires an internet connection on the boat. This resets the charging logic.

I communicated my original observation of the charger not charging the battery bank properly when the generator was started to the retailer and indirectly to Victron via Panbo.com. There is no way to deal with Victron directly, you have to go to the original retailer for support. The answer from a Victron employee posted on Panbo revealed the charging logic that would force a reset of the charging. When I sent this data back to the distributor indicating this was not suitable for charging a lead acid battery bank when the vessel is unattended, their response was I should have done due diligence before I bought the product because it is highly technical. I did my diligence but if Victron doesn’t publish this technical detail how can I know the charging logic. In the response from the distributor, they also quoted information from Victron, who had reviewed the Firefly battery manual and quoted a section that seemed to support their charging logic, but in reality was used in an entirely different context. In addition, Victron read the part of the Firefly manual they wanted to but didn’t read the part about a refresh charge that is necessary if the battery bank has been at a partial state of charge for an extended period.

I think I have framed things correctly, and if I have set everything up correctly, then there appears to be a latent defect in Victron’s charging logic that would make it unsuitable for use in boats stored over winter with a lead acid battery bank. If anyone thinks there is a work around for this, I would like to hear about it. I don’t know how Magnum and Mastervolt charging logic works, but my old Heart Interface didn’t do this.

Tom

 

[folivier]

sent you a PM

 

[twistedtree]

I don't know the details of the Multi, but chargers typically have a "re-bulk" feature where under certain situations it kicks back into bulk mode and does a full charge cycle. It's typically based on time (as in days), or seeing a large load current. But it sounds like you have dug into this pretty deeply, and I suspect you would have found such a feature if it existed.


I have a couple of friends using Quattros (same as the Multi except with two AC inputs) with LFP batteries and they run over night, including HVAC, then run the generator to recharge. It seems to work fine for them and they are getting full charge rate from the Victrons. And the voltage sag from LFP will be less than LA.


So I wonder if using a different pre-set might help. And have you done any custom programming of settings via their program? VictronConnect, I think is the program.


Their support structure is a complete flop, but is not uncommon. European companies seem to prefer running everything through dealers, and I guess in Europe dealers must be competent and able to support products. But in the US, most dealers either just sell products and know nothing about them other than what's written on the side of the box, or sell products and will install it and connect the wires, but know nothing more than what's in the same manual you are looking at. The expectation in the US is that support comes direct from the vendor. This is one reason I have limited my use of Victron products.


I also find their documentation a travesty. On one hand, they have tons of information out there, and are really very forthcoming with details. Much more than most vendors. That's the good part. The problem is that the info is fragmented and scattered all over the place, and it becomes a Where's Waldo treasure hunt to find things. Some things are linked to the product page, some stuff is in Vitron Live, some stuff is in Victron Disqus, some products don't even have manuals, some products are essentially the same as others and you can mostly use other manuals, but you can't be sure which products are the same and which manuals might apply. It's like a bunch of high quality good that were involved in a train wreck and are now strewn across the landscape.


I find myself wasting so much time trying to track things down or figure things out that I just walk away.

 

[Hippocampus]

Have multiple cruisers friends that have switched to firefly and get nothing but positive feedback. We’ll probably do the same when the time comes.

What invertor/charger do you recommend for small (40-60’) boat applications using firefly.

 

[sunchaser]

Two years ago our Magnum 2812 was misfiring to the point that replacement time became obvious. The pandemic arrived with our boat locked up in BC. During that period I’d talked with several smart boaters (including The OP) and instrument techs about inverter chargers.

Victron was highly recommended but with similar reservations to those expressed so eloquently by TT and first hand user information. So we elected to have a replacement Magnum installed in Petersburg with a so far perfect result. Plug and play realizing the throw away reality of electronics seems a good reason to avoid those items I can’t readily understand.

BTW TP, I did listen to your first hand thoughts of a few months ago. Thanks

 

[Codger2]

The expectation in the US is that support comes direct from the vendor. This is one reason I have limited my use of Victron products.

I find myself wasting so much time trying to track things down or figure things out that I just walk away.

With an electric boat and needing accurate information with minimum effort, I have arrived at the same conclusion.Please add me to your club!

 

[DDW]

I agree with the assessment of documentation and tech support, however I do have a Multiplus charging an AGM battery, and have used it for extended storage unattended - due to Covid this ended up being 18 months recently rather than the usual 6-7. I have the Multiplus Compact 2000, and it specifically states in the manual that it will go from Float to Storage after 24 hours in Float, and will reinitiate an Absorb charge every 7 days regardless of battery voltage. It does appear to do this, and my battery after 18 months was in as good condition as when I left it. The other Victron chargers I have do the same.

Which Multiplus to you have, and is there a BMV in the system?

From the Victron manual:

The Storage mode kicks in whenever the battery has not been subjected to discharge during 24 hours. In the Storage mode float voltage is reduced to 2,2V/cell (13,2V for 12V battery) to minimise gassing and corrosion of the positive plates. Once a week the voltage is raised back to the absorption level to ‘equalize’ the battery. This feature prevents stratification of the electrolyte and sulphation, a major cause of early battery failure.

In addition, anytime line power is reacquired (such as after a power failure or just removing the cord and plugging back in) it seems to reinitiate a full charge cycle. I have end of bulk/absorb set at 0.5% capacity as measured by the BMV.

 

[Tator]

I too have had this problem of finding Victron information scattered all over the place. Add into this equation the number of Victron products and constant updates makes it even more difficult for this old brain.

I was hoping to install my new Victron inverter and LiPo4 battery bank this summer but, due to having to take three weeks off for medical reasons, will not be doing it until I return to the boat next spring. I'll have to haul the new equipment back home with me this fall and figure out a way to bring the batteries back down to 60% for storage.

I'm still hoping that the install next year and the subsequent operation goes smoothly. I hope you can find a work around for your Fireflys (or is it Fireflies?).

Tator

 

[ksanders]

Tom you are in a unique position regarding your charging setup and your loads.

What you are doing to summarize your post is to start a recharge cycle when the batteries are still charged to a point of being above the trigger point on the charger, so the charger just goes into float mode.

But... is it really just going into float mode, or is your charger reaching it's absorption mode to float mode trigger point. This could be why you are going into float mode so quickly.

The charger will transition from absorbtion to float mode based on one of two things Current or time. Since loads vary I set my transition to time, and if memory serves correctly I set that time at 4 hours. If you set it to transition based on current then you need to take into account your loads and the correct acceptance current of your batteries. That's why I chose time.

For example if your configuration is a current trigger and you go below that current level your charger will transition to float mode, and this could be the root of your problem.

If you can adjust your absorption - float mode trigger issue then you will probably be able to stay in absorbtion mode which is where youy want to be with a LA battery bank with your SOC levels. That way the voltage will hold steady at around 14.36 volts and the current will naturally decrease on it's own as your batteries absorb charging current.

If nothing else works then... and this is a last case scenario

What you need to do is to increase the time between charge cycles so that your batteries discharge a bit more. You are trying to (from your post) start a charge cycle when your batteries are already 70-80% charged AND and this is a big thing AND your loads are so minimal that your batteries are holding a higher that normal voltage.

Regarding Viltron Multiplus unsuitability for Lead Acid installations...

My system works just fine using the Victron multiplus inverter/charger and FLA batteries, as do the vast majority of the tens or or even hundreds of thousands of other FLA /multiplus installations out there on boats and far and away more, in the renewable energy sector.

Why does my installation work??? It works because our loads are higher compared to the size of our battery bank than yours are. Our loads are actually about the 20 hour load level for our bank.

The result is that even at lets say 85% charge our FLA bank is at 12.0 volts. I may be off on the exact SOC percentage, but you get the idea. If we turn on the generator our multiplus installation tries bulk charging but the voltage very quickly gets to 14.36 volts at which point the charger goes into absorption mode holding at 14.36 volts with a decreasing current. In 4 hours the unit times out and goes to float mode if the generator for some reason is on that long.

I understand your frustration, especially with the idea that Victron support is really crowd sourced.

 

[ksanders]

Tom you are in a unique position regarding your charging setup and your loads.

What you are doing to summarize your post is to start a recharge cycle when the batteries are still charged to a point of being above the trigger point on the charger, so the charger just goes into float mode.

But... is it really just going into float mode, or is your charger reaching it's absorption mode to float mode trigger point. This could be why you are going into float mode so quickly.

The charger will transition from absorbtion to float mode based on one of two things Current or time. Since loads vary I set my transition to time, and if memory serves correctly I set that time at 4 hours. If you set it to transition based on current then you need to take into account your loads and the correct acceptance current of your batteries. That's why I chose time.

For example if your configuration is a current trigger and you go below that current level your charger will transition to float mode, and this could be the root of your problem.

If you can adjust your absorption - float mode trigger issue then you will probably be able to stay in absorbtion mode which is where youy want to be with a LA battery bank with your SOC levels. That way the voltage will hold steady at around 14.36 volts and the current will naturally decrease on it's own as your batteries absorb charging current.

If nothing else works then... and this is a last case scenario

What you need to do is to increase the time between charge cycles so that your batteries discharge a bit more. You are trying to (from your post) start a charge cycle when your batteries are already 70-80% charged AND and this is a big thing AND your loads are so minimal that your batteries are holding a higher that normal voltage.

Regarding Viltron Multiplus unsuitability for Lead Acid installations...

My system works just fine using the Victron multiplus inverter/charger and FLA batteries, as do the vast majority of the tens or or even hundreds of thousands of other FLA /multiplus installations out there on boats and far and away more, in the renewable energy sector.

Why does my installation work??? It works because our loads are higher compared to the size of our battery bank than yours are. Our loads are actually about the 20 hour load level for our bank.

The result is that even at lets say 85% charge our FLA bank is at 12.0 volts. I may be off on the exact SOC percentage, but you get the idea. If we turn on the generator our multiplus installation tries bulk charging but the voltage very quickly gets to 14.36 volts at which point the charger goes into absorption mode holding at 14.36 volts with a decreasing current. In 4 hours the unit times out and goes to float mode if the generator for some reason is on that long.

I understand your frustration, especially with the idea that Victron support is really crowd sourced.

UPDATE...

I just fiddled with this using my stored config and found a setting that might work for you.

I would try to set your type to "fixed" and enter your proper float and absorbtion voltage values as well as your time.

This appears to change your absorption to time based only.
Attached is a screen shot from the online manual as well as a screen shot from my laptop. This is not my current config, but it was something I could load and work with

 

[tpbrady]

TT,

You hit Victron's documentation right where it hurts. It is poor, inconsistent, confusing, and contradictory and not all in the same place.

DDW,

I hope it works the way you described when in storage mode, but I have disabled storage mode so will see if it works with it disabled. I will probably enable it over the winter. The specific model is 12/3000/120 with a Smart Shunt acting as the BMV. The Multiplus doesn't talk to the Smart Shunt so what it thinks doesn't matter. Interrupting shore power does not reset the charge cycle as it is powered by the 12v side. Their logic for charging LFP batteries is to go to bulk if the voltage is .2v below the float setting.

Kevin,

Thanks for the information, I have tried the fixed absorption time setting and it doesn't seem to work unless the charge cycle is reset. When it shows in the absorption mode, it is not at the absorption voltage of 14.4 but around .8v below that but is throwing 60-70 amps at the 6 batteries (10a per battery). I agree I am not hitting my batteries very hard as I am probably operating at the 100hr plus rate. My whole problem with this is the forced manual intervention to charge the bank with a generator while making coffee and toast, so that after an hour or so of generator time the bank will go the rest of the day and remain above 50-60%. You can customize a lot in the Multiplus, just not over ride its charging logic.

What really got me fired up was the comment from the retailer that I should have done due diligence before I bought the Multiplus so I would have known how it worked. How could I have known something they hadn't made publicly available until one of their sales managers posted it on Panbo.com?

So far the Firefly's are performing as advertised. My Balmar Smart Guage and the Smart Shunt generally agree on SOC even though they take different approaches to measure it. I have asked Firefly Energy for their opinion on how the Victron charging logic would affect the battery bank when stored. We'll see what they say.

Tom

 

[Rossland]

I am on my third Multiplus. The first one was "programmed" by an incompetent dealer who only succeeded in blocking all other changes. Then I found to a dealer who knew his stuff, and the first multiplus was replaced under the warranty. I discovered that Multiplus comes pre-set for led-acid batteries, but I purchased a MK3-USB interface anyway so could tweak it to my AGM's. A few years later I sold the boat with the multiplus in it.

Six months ago I installed another multiplus to replace a failing Magnum, and also because we were adding lithium batteries. The dealer claimed to have programmed the multiplus to match the batteries, and they got it close, but I again used a MK3-USB and a laptop to tweak the settings.

I have no experience with firefly batteries, but because everything on a multiplus is adjustable (with a MK3-USB) it should not be difficult to change settings to the way you like it.

I am puzzled that you are unable to contact Victron. Their street address, email address, and phone number is on their web page. The email address of their N America office is also there. I can understand that some will have difficulty with the manual. The type on the printed version is tiny, and difficult to read. But everything is there if you look hard.

Several years ago, I told Victron that they should dump their incompetent dealers, but it sounds like they didn't do that. If you go to the Victron web page, you will find a link to a "community forum" community.victronenergy.com You can ask questions there.

 

[ksanders]

TT,

You hit Victron's documentation right where it hurts. It is poor, inconsistent, confusing, and contradictory and not all in the same place.

DDW,

I hope it works the way you described when in storage mode, but I have disabled storage mode so will see if it works with it disabled. I will probably enable it over the winter. The specific model is 12/3000/120 with a Smart Shunt acting as the BMV. The Multiplus doesn't talk to the Smart Shunt so what it thinks doesn't matter. Interrupting shore power does not reset the charge cycle as it is powered by the 12v side. Their logic for charging LFP batteries is to go to bulk if the voltage is .2v below the float setting.

Kevin,

Thanks for the information, I have tried the fixed absorption time setting and it doesn't seem to work unless the charge cycle is reset. When it shows in the absorption mode, it is not at the absorption voltage of 14.4 but around .8v below that but is throwing 60-70 amps at the 6 batteries (10a per battery). I agree I am not hitting my batteries very hard as I am probably operating at the 100hr plus rate. My whole problem with this is the forced manual intervention to charge the bank with a generator while making coffee and toast, so that after an hour or so of generator time the bank will go the rest of the day and remain above 50-60%. You can customize a lot in the Multiplus, just not over ride its charging logic.

What really got me fired up was the comment from the retailer that I should have done due diligence before I bought the Multiplus so I would have known how it worked. How could I have known something they hadn't made publicly available until one of their sales managers posted it on Panbo.com?

So far the Firefly's are performing as advertised. My Balmar Smart Guage and the Smart Shunt generally agree on SOC even though they take different approaches to measure it. I have asked Firefly Energy for their opinion on how the Victron charging logic would affect the battery bank when stored. We'll see what they say.

Tom

Interesting dilemma you have.

Here is a thought... Why not make coffee using inverter power avoiding running the generator when the batteries do not need charging?

On my boat for example all the outlets run off of inverter power only.

 

[tpbrady]

Rossland,

The retailer is the first level of support and since Victron already told them that's the way it works, they consider the case closed. When the retailer said I didn't do due diligence in my purchase, that is like throwing a red flag. I can't know what they don't tell anyone. I went to the Victron community forum and ask the question, got a couple or replies including one that said Victron needs to fix that.

Kevin,

I thought about doing that but in the shoulder seasons and when we get several days of rain with no sun, I need to run the generator to run dehumidfiers that warm and dry out the air in the boat. Using the inverter that uses up to 200 amps for 7-8 minutes and then 70 amps continuously. Running the generator is inevitable as after about an hour and a half I would be down to 50% SOC and falling. At that point I wouldn't have to reset the Multiplus but I don't know for sure. I might try it and see if the voltage drops far enough.

Tom

 

[ksanders]

Rossland,

The retailer is the first level of support and since Victron already told them that's the way it works, they consider the case closed. When the retailer said I didn't do due diligence in my purchase, that is like throwing a red flag. I can't know what they don't tell anyone. I went to the Victron community forum and ask the question, got a couple or replies including one that said Victron needs to fix that.

Kevin,

I thought about doing that but in the shoulder seasons and when we get several days of rain with no sun, I need to run the generator to run dehumidfiers that warm and dry out the air in the boat. Using the inverter that uses up to 200 amps for 7-8 minutes and then 70 amps continuously. Running the generator is inevitable as after about an hour and a half I would be down to 50% SOC and falling. At that point I wouldn't have to reset the Multiplus but I don't know for sure. I might try it and see if the voltage drops far enough.

Tom

Another thought is that the charger goes to float voltage because it senses the batteries are not depleted enough to safely recharge using a three stage charging process. That is not necessarily a bad thing.

I looked it up and according to this site your firefly batteries should not be bulk charged unless they are discharged to 12.0 volts or below.

https://www.pysystems.ca/resources/...es-for-the-firefly-oasis-carbon-foam-battery/

I am starting to think that you do not have a real issue. Just let the charger do what it will when you make coffee and enjoy your great firefly battery setup.

 

[Frosty]

Reading this thread has been somewhat cathartic. I have used numerous Victron products over the years (starting with the BMV-600), and the customer support, when needed, has been so frustrating. And yet I somehow felt it was just me (because they usually get raves from the crowd because, cool Bluetooth app!) (and it is a slick interface).

As was said above, there is a ton of information "exploded" all over the place on their various sites. I am no expert, but when I've contacted dealer(s) in the US, sometimes I already know more than they do. So then what? It's like when you go to the expert paint store, ask a question, and the staff starts reading the can.

So they recommend to go to their community forum.

For one particular issue, I went to the forum, and lo and behold two days earlier another customer had posted my exact question. And this was the "perfect" poster: Clear question, uploaded screen shots of the manual pages with circles and arrows to show the pertinent confusing text and diagram. I was in luck!

I added a reply saying that I, too, had the same question.

Days went by. Other people added that they, too, had the same question.

Eventually other forum members (not Victron staff) explained how they had found workarounds to just use the product in manual mode, thus bypassing the confusing part (and much of the functionality). We posted back saying thank you to them; but could anyone clarify the contradictory part in the manual or explain it further? Perhaps Victron staff (who encourage you to use the community forum)?

A half dozen more people over the next couple of months chimed in with the same question. By then I had pretty much given up.

I checked back in a year later (one of those installs that got put on the back burner): Still crickets from Victron even though by then it was clearly not just one or two confused people, but a whole thread's worth.

So aggravating as there is a lot to like about their products. And I'm one who is happy to spend hours poring over a manual, so not just being lazy.

Anyway, although in a way I'm sorry to hear it's not just me; on the other hand I'm glad it's not just me.

 

[twistedtree]

Several years ago, I told Victron that they should dump their incompetent dealers, but it sounds like they didn't do that. If you go to the Victron web page, you will find a link to a "community forum" community.victronenergy.com You can ask questions there.

Oh, there's another place to find info. I forgot about that one. Why have four when you can have five.

 

[oscar]

Did not read it all in detail as my brain is already smoking from 4 simultaneous challenging projects. The only quick workaround that came to mind is to install BoatCommand (or similar, I'm sure they all do the same thing) and to use the 12V signal you can send to operate a relay, which could be used to do your reset remotely. It will also, of course, let you monitor it.

 

[twistedtree]

If anyone remembers the movie Me, Myself, and Irene, Victron reminds me of Charlie's kids. One day Charlie leaves them alone for the day, and when he returns they have built an airplane and are about to take off. Brilliant, but no adult supervision.


Earlier someone mentioned the vast array of products. OMG, why the F does any company need 35 (quite literally) different model solar charge controllers? Most have two. It drives me crazy, but I admit to having them on my boat. But I have never seen such a disorganized, overlapping, poorly explained product line in my life.


Take the inverters. Phoenix, Multi, Multi II, Quattro. How do I pick? What's the difference. Where should I pick one over the other?

 

[rsn48]

I link Jeff Cote out of Vancouver frequently here at TF as he is incredibly knowledgeable and willing to share his experiences with everyone. Thought you might enjoy this video. He claims that in on year of him visiting boats locally to work on their electrical, he usually finds only one inverter has been installed correctly. I link the video below:

 

[tpbrady]

Kevin,

The information from PYS doesn't match the Firefly Energy manual in that the float voltage is listed as 13.4-13.5v. In addition the lower limit voltage is 12.1 for reset to bulk. However that sentence in the manual stands by itself and has no context. Does it mean reset to bulk if while charging battery voltage drops below 12.1 volts due to a large load being placed on the bank or when receiving shore power so charging can start do not go to bulk charging unless the voltage is below 12.1v. That's counter intuitive to the need for a restoration charge mentioned later in the Firefly manual. "As stated, Firefly Batteries can operate in a partial state of charge for long periods of time without sustaining any permanent damage. The usable capacity will decrease, however, with each cycle within a partial state of charge, up to a point." It goes on to explain the restoration charge procedure which is not something I want to do very often with a bank of six batteries. The problem is when the Multiplus shows in the absorption state, it is not at 14.4v but almost a volt less, and stays there for only a short period of time before going to float while the bank is between 70-80% SOC and will stay there. Victron goes to great length to explain that absorption time in their charge algorithm is dictated by the time in bulk mode. A short time in bulk means a short absorption time and a quick transition to float. Why explain this and not mention it won't even go to the bulk mode unless the voltage is 1.3v below the set float voltage? The logic they explain would seem to offer protection to the battery while the logic they don't mention would seem to overprotect the battery and potentially cause a partial state of charge situation.

Oscar,

I have a Boat Command and thought about the relay function, but I think it would require me to open up the Multiplus voiding the warranty to wire in a relay.

Tom

 

[mvweebles]

On my recent refit, I decided on a Magnum inverter. My main reason was I wanted to avoid networking issues including Bluetooth - Magnum controls are more old-school panel displays. I did not consider customer support as I assumed Victron had decent support. I'm disappointed to find otherwise. I do have Victron MPPT controllers.

Question- how is Magnum tech support?

I can tell you that Renogy Customer/Tech Support sucks. I chose them for a solar upgrade to a camper van. The inverter was clearly DOA. Making contact with their tech/customer support was extremely difficult ("thank you for calling......you are number forty-three in line"). It took over 5 weeks to get an RMA from them and that after a lot of badgering including a credit card dispute and a BBB complaint. And this for a clearly defective inverter that showed below-freezing temperatures while shutting down due to over-temp alarm. BTW - at one point tech support saw my screenshot showing -5.56C that also showed 12.8v house battery voltage and declared the root cause of the failure to be my dead battery (I sent them them own blog post showing 12.8v as 100%).

When I started my refit, I decided to avoid networked-based widgets that rely on an IP Address for communications. And I speak as someone who once held a CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Architect - sounds more impressive than it is). Now, that was not my issue with Renogy, but in my opinion, when the Apps work, they are a beautiful thing and give a lot of information. Very seductive technology. But when they fail - and eventually they will either go end-of-life or something will stomp on them and cause a conflict (Renogy currently has a storm of defunct users due to an upgrade release of their Bluetooth App), they can be very difficult to troubleshoot. Especially without skilled and available tech support.

To the OP and others: Thanks for posting your experience with Victron. It's an important data point for me. I'm only slightly above average with this stuff which means I occasionally need to have an adult conversation with a true Level 4 tech. How these companies can credibly disavow upper level tech support and shunt to a community group is beyond me. But it should be an important decision factor for anyone making a technology based upgrade to their boat (or home, RV, etc)

Peter

 

[DDW]

How are you programming the Multiplus? Are you using the MK3 cable and VictronConnect?

 

[tpbrady]

DDW

The MK-3 and VE Configure plus Victron Connect. A little with one and a little with the other. You can’t do it all with one one. I asked a question of a retailer early on about what you needed to configure, control, and monitor a Multiplus. I won’t go into the answer, which wasn’t right, but simply say there is a single way you view it called the remote console and multiple ways to connect to it, some better than others. But, if you want to use anything other than there default setup, you need a Victron USB device and a separate application to do that.

Victron is not for the faint of heart.

Tom

 

[ksanders]

How are you programming the Multiplus? Are you using the MK3 cable and VictronConnect?

Thats what I use.

I also use the CERBO display but only for very minor stuff like setting my input current limit when coming back to the dock, vs the larger limit when running on generator power.

You can download victron connect to a laptop and run it in simulation mode which will give you a pretty good feel for the interface.

It's not complicated

BTW when the CERBO came out "they" (they being the victron community) said you could do everything from the display that you can do from Victronconnect, but that is just not the casse in real life, or if you can I have not found where to access all the features victronconnect has.

 

[twistedtree]

There's another one. There is VE Configure, Victron Connect, and the various (half dozen or so) GX family devices, all ways to configures products. But which one can configure what aspects of each product. Ha, thought you might be able to figure that one out, didn't you. It turns out than in most cases you need all three.


And the GX family or products. They are all the same, except where they are not the same, and it's quite the chore to figure out the differences.


And then there are all the communications interfaces. VE.bus, VE.sync, VE.direct, VE.can, VE.smart.


OK, I need to stop. I'm going down the rat hole again....

 

[DDW]

Well they are moving slightly the right direction to cleaning up the mess. VE Configure is slowly being deprecated in favor of Victron Connect, which they claim will integrate all functions eventually. There are two even older bits of software, Flash and one other I forget. I had to use Flash to update the firmware on my Multiplus after I bricked it with Victron Connect. The GX devices (you can roll your own there - it is GNU public domained) do not control anything that can't be from Configure or Connect.

It is a company run by engineers. But I'll still take it over Magnum, a company in which the sales and marketing people do the engineering - such as it is.

 

[tpbrady]

DDW,

The problem with a group of engineers running a company is they tend to forget there are other people out there that use their equipment and sometimes they read the manuals.

When the available manuals say that it will protect batteries from overcharging with the statement:

"An adaptive charger will also execute a recharge cycle after each shallow discharge, but the absorption time will be much shorter, thereby increasing battery life" and then not do that, it is a problem.

They wrote software that overrides their adaptive charger logic by not allowing a new recharge cycle until battery voltage drops to around 12.1v unless I turn the unit off and back on. I did Google review on the retailer because they said it was my fault for not doing due diligence before I bought the unit. They responded to my review by saying they had worked extensively(?) with me and said it worked the way Victron programmed it which was a true statement. Ignoring the issue that I had done due diligence and read the manuals and it doesn't do what Victron said it would do. I don't care what it does, I bought because of what they said it would do.

If they would simply stand up and take Victron to task on this, I would be satisfied somewhat.

 

[Codger2]

The problem with a group of engineers running a company is they tend to forget there are other people out there that use their equipment and sometimes they read the manuals.

This seems to be the general philosophy of some of the upscale boat builders too!

 

[Codger2]

Here is a thought... Why not make coffee using inverter power avoiding running the generator when the batteries do not need charging?

On my boat for example all the outlets run off of inverter power only.

My Duffy is wired the same way.