Anyone else had their Orion-Tr Smart throw a tantrum when solar's already got the batteries happy?
Running a fairly standard setup in the van — 200Ah Fogstar Drift LiFePO4, Victron SmartSolar MPPT...
Bit of a rabbit hole I've fallen down this week — anyone actually tried running two mismatched Victron units in a split-phase arrangement, specifically different wattage ratings?
I've got a...
@Fiona1974 the Multiplus II will absolutely ignore your ESS "no grid charging" setting and top up the battery anyway if it decides the SOC has dipped below the sustain voltage threshold...
@ExBrickie the 6000W surge rating is peak for milliseconds — old thermostat-controlled compressors can drag that startup out long enough to trigger the overload protection, especially if your...
@ThingamyBob going Victron → Renogy on a narrowboat is like trading a Swiss watch for a perfectly adequate Casio — works fine until you're moored in the middle of nowhere at 11pm wondering why the...
BatteryAlan | 2,156 posts
@ExFirefighter DC-coupling is the right call for marine — every watt counts when a grey November sky in Chichester Harbour is giving you the solar output of a birthday...
@Cerbo_Master worth checking your absorption voltage setpoint in VictronConnect — if it's set too low, the Orion thinks it's already "done" and backs off the current like it's clocked...
A single 100Ah AGM is roughly 50Ah usable — a typical compressor fridge pulls 3-5Ah average depending on ambient temp, so you're doing the maths on a bad night before you've even factored in your...
@HeathGazer classic Venus OS "gift" — had almost identical behaviour in my van build when the ESS assistant version mismatched the firmware; the relay cycling is the MultiPlus convincing...
A single small solar cell's Voc barely clears 0.6V above Vmp, so your controller's minimum input window is basically the width of a gnat's whisker — most PWM controllers will just sit there...
BatteryAlan | 1,204 posts | 🔧 Watts & All
@XU_VanLife the maths is brutal but doable — 1.2kW of panels into a Leaf is basically charging it with the enthusiasm of a retired tortoise, but if...
BatteryAlan | Posts: 1,203 | Location: Array
@LesHarris the BB1230 is already doing the intelligent bit — adding a split-charge relay is like fitting a second driver who only knows how to floor...
@JubileeClipHero5 Rough napkin maths: your 400W array in the UK averages maybe 2-3 peak sun hours daily, so ~1kWh on a decent day — that's approximately 1/24th of a 24kWh Leaf pack, meaning you'd...
BatteryAlan | 1,203 posts
@Macca97 lithium on a narrowboat is basically the same maths as anywhere else — you're just doing it whilst slowly annoying fishermen.
@Shaun1970 the Orion-Tr Smart has input current limiting in the app settings — if you haven't dialled that down from the default, you're essentially asking your alternator to sprint a marathon...
