Anyone actually saving money with second-hand Victron kit or is it a false economy?

Picked up a used Victron SmartSolar 100/30 off eBay for £45 last month — bloke was breaking up his motorhome build and everything looked mint. Paired it with a couple of Fogstar 100Ah LiFePO4 cells I got on their refurb sale and I'm genuinely chuffed with how the whole thing's performing in the van.

Thing is, my mate reckons I'm playing Russian roulette buying second-hand charge controllers and inverters because you can't see how many cycles the internals have done. He's probably got a point, but then again Victron stuff is so overbuilt it feels like it'll outlive us all anyway.

So far my "budget" system has cost me roughly £280 all-in (panels, controller, battery, wiring) versus the £600+ a new equivalent would've run me — and I've had zero issues through three months of daily use in a van conversion that I live out of full-time.

Anyone else gone down the second-hand rabbit hole, or found kit on clearance from Renogy / BMS-Tech / wherever that actually held up? Dead curious whether the savings are repeatable or if I just got lucky.

KenMitchell | Posts: 847

@NaeClue £45 for a 100/30 is a decent grab if it's genuine and not one of the clones floating about. I'd run a quick firmware check in the VictronConnect app — tells you straight away if it's connecting to Victron's servers properly, which the fakes can't do.

I've bought three pieces of second-hand Victron gear over the past couple of years and only had one dud — a MultiPlus with a dodgy relay that needed a £30 repair. Still came out ahead overall.

The Fogstar cells are solid by the way, good pairing. Main thing I'd say is don't scrimp on the cabling and fusing even if you've saved on the MPPT — that's where people come unstuck on budget builds.

LochFinn | Posts: 312

@NaeClue Cracking find at that price. I've been running second-hand Victron gear for a couple of years now and genuinely think it's one of the better categories to buy used — the build quality means they tend to either work perfectly or be obviously dead, not much in between.

Worth connecting it to VictronConnect and checking the historical data if the previous owner didn't wipe it. You can get a decent sense of how hard it's been worked. Mine had about 800 hours on it when I bought it and showed no signs of stress whatsoever.

Only caveat I'd add to @KenMitchell's clone point — check the serial number on Victron's website. Takes thirty seconds and gives you peace of mind before you wire anything up to decent cells like those Fogstars.

My static caravan runs entirely on Victron kit I've sourced secondhand and the only thing that's failed me is my own judgment buying a "mint condition" MPPT that turned out to have been stored in a damp shed for three years — lesson learned, always check the VictronConnect history before parting with cash because it'll show you exactly how many hours that unit has been sweating away.

LH_Marine | Posts: 1,204

£45 for a 100/30 is genuinely good — I've got three pieces of second-hand Victron running across my narrowboat and shepherd's hut builds without a single issue.

Key thing people miss: check the firmware version via VictronConnect before committing. Outdated firmware on older units occasionally causes LiFePO4 charge profile issues, and Victron does lock some updates to registered devices. Also worth running it unloaded for 24hrs and watching the absorption/float transitions — faulty MOSFETs will show up quickly.

The real false economy isn't second-hand Victron — it's second-hand non-Victron MPPT paired with quality lithium cells like Fogstar. The savings on the controller get eaten alive by sub-optimal charge algorithms degrading your cells prematurely.

@KenMitchell is right about clones — the giveaway is usually the VictronConnect pairing failing entirely or showing incorrect model strings.

Grabbed a second-hand Victron MultiPlus off a narrowboat lad for £120 — thing's been faultless on my own boat for two years, so statistically I've already won at life.

Really interested in this thread — I'm weighing up second-hand Victron for a static caravan setup plus eventually wanting to charge an EV from it, so the stakes feel a bit higher than a basic motorhome fit-out.

My question is around the configuration history of used units. If someone's had a MultiPlus programmed for a specific battery chemistry or a weird charging profile, how easy is it to wipe that and start fresh? Do you need the VE.Configure software and a MK3-USB dongle, or can you reset through the VictronConnect app?

Also — does anyone know if Victron's warranty transfers to second-hand buyers in the UK, or is it dead the moment it changes hands? @LH_Marine you seem to have the most experience running multiple units, curious what your view is on this.

AndyJackson59 | Posts: 847

@NaeClue £45 for a 100/30 is a cracking deal. I'd say second-hand Victron is almost always worth it if you can verify the firmware version beforehand — older units occasionally need updating and you'll want a VE.Direct cable to do it properly. Check VictronConnect shows no fault history too. The build quality means these things genuinely last, unlike cheaper alternatives where second-hand is genuinely risky. @IvyWalker for a static caravan I'd actually prioritise a second-hand SmartShunt alongside whatever MPPT you go for — knowing your actual battery state makes the whole system far more manageable long-term.

DevonDweller | Posts: 2,847

@IvyWalker — static caravan and narrowboat use-case is almost identical to my own setup, so I can speak directly to this.

The key thing with second-hand Victron is checking the firmware version before buying. Older MultiPlus units occasionally have quirks with LiFePO4 assistant configuration that require a VE.Configure licence to resolve properly. Ask the seller to photograph the VRM portal or unit label.

Also worth noting: Victron's warranty is non-transferable, but their build quality means that rarely matters. My second-hand SmartSolar 150/35 has been running Fogstar cells on the boat for 18 months without a hiccup.

Good units genuinely hold value — £45 for that 100/30 is excellent going.

My £60 second-hand Victron BMV-712 from a bloke dismantling his camper has outlasted two brand-new cheaper alternatives I foolishly tried first — Victron kit just refuses to die, which is precisely why the second-hand market exists in the first place.