Anyone else running a Victron Orion-Tr Smart 12/12-30 alongside solar — how are you managing charge priority?

Finally got my Orion-Tr Smart 30A wired up in the van last weekend and I'm a bit unsure how to handle the overlap between it and my 200W roof panel going into a Victron SmartSolar 100/20. Both are feeding the same 100Ah lithium (a Fogstar Drift, if it matters). On a decent day the solar is doing most of the heavy lifting, but when I fire up the engine the Orion kicks in on top and I'm not entirely sure whether having both sources pushing simultaneously is actually fine or whether I'm asking for trouble.

I've got the Orion set up in engine-detection mode rather than using the ignition wire, so it triggers off the alternator voltage rising above 13.2V. Works a treat for sensing, but I did wonder whether there's a smarter way to coordinate it with the MPPT so they're not both hammering the battery at the same time. The BMS will obviously cut in if things go pear-shaped, but I'd rather not rely on that as the safety net.

Has anyone cracked a tidy solution here — whether that's load sharing, staggered start delays, or just leaving well alone because the lithium genuinely doesn't care? Curious what setups people are running, especially if you're also using VictronConnect to monitor the whole lot.

KeithMartin | 847 posts

@Del72 good timing on getting that wired up! The key thing with your setup is that both the Orion and the SmartSolar will negotiate via the shared battery voltage, so there's no direct conflict as such — they'll both just respond to what the battery needs.

What I'd strongly recommend is connecting them both to the same VE.Smart network via Bluetooth. Once they're sharing battery voltage and temperature data, the SmartSolar's readings feed into the Orion's charge decisions and everything plays together much more sensibly.

Also worth checking your charge profile settings match between the two devices — mismatched absorption voltages can cause one to cut out prematurely thinking the battery's full when it isn't. What battery chemistry are you running? That'll affect how critical that alignment actually is in practice.

GazAllen | 312 posts

@Del72 both devices talk nicely via Bluetooth in VictronConnect but they don't actually coordinate with each other natively — they're just doing their own thing into the same battery.

What I found with my shepherds hut setup is the Orion basically fills in the gaps when solar's struggling. On a dull day the alternator charge kicks the deficit, sunny day the solar does the heavy lifting. Works out fine in practice.

Worth enabling the engine detection properly so the Orion shuts off cleanly rather than draining your starter battery. Caught me out early on 😅

If you've got a Victron BMV or SmartShunt you can at least see the combined input, which helps make sense of what's happening.

JohnMason | 1,203 posts

@Del72 worth knowing that the Orion-Tr Smart has a built-in algorithm that'll back off when it detects the battery is getting well charged anyway, so the "overlap" issue is less of a problem than it sounds. That said, I'd set your absorption voltage on the Orion slightly lower (maybe 0.1-0.2V) than your SmartSolar — that way the MPPT effectively takes priority during the bulk-to-absorption transition. The DC-DC will naturally reduce current as voltage rises. Also, if your alternator is reasonably modern with variable voltage output, make sure you've got the engine detection threshold set correctly in the Orion settings, otherwise you might get false triggers. What's your leisure battery setup — AGM, lithium, or flooded? That'll affect which profile you should be running on both devices.

MasterCamper | 2,156 posts

@Del72 something nobody's mentioned yet — your Fogstar or whatever lithium you're running will absorb both inputs simultaneously without issue, but the real gotcha is bulk vs absorption transitions. If your SmartSolar hits absorption first and drops charge current, the Orion can inadvertently push the battery back into bulk conditions on the MPPT's monitoring — I've seen this cause erratic cycling on my own setup with a 200Ah Fogstar Drift.

Solution that worked for me: set your Orion absorption voltage 2–3 decimal points lower than the SmartSolar. Solar leads, DC-DC fills gaps. Both devices in the same VE.Smart network via Bluetooth helps enormously for voltage sense accuracy too — the shared voltage/temperature data tightens everything up considerably. Worth doing even if they're not directly coordinating charge strategy.

LindaPrice87 | 847 posts

@Del72 I run almost the exact same setup on my boat — Orion-Tr Smart 30A plus a SmartSolar 100/30. What made the biggest difference for me was enabling the engine detection feature on the Orion rather than just relying on a D+ signal, so it only charges when the alternator is genuinely under load. Stops it fighting with the solar on calm days at the marina when the engine's off anyway.

Also worth checking your absorption voltage is set identically across both devices. Even 0.1V difference caused my Orion to keep pushing current when the SmartSolar had already gone to float — wasted alternator capacity and confused my BMS readings no end.

LazyNomad | 412 posts

@Del72 one thing worth adding — if you're on VE.Smart Networking, get both the Orion and the SmartSolar talking to each other via Bluetooth. Once they're sharing voltage and temperature data on the same network, they'll coordinate naturally rather than fighting over charge states.

I've got a similar arrangement on my boat (48V bank, different scale) but the principle holds: let the SmartSolar lead and treat the Orion as supplementary. In VictronConnect you can tweak the Orion's absorption voltage down slightly so it yields priority to the MPPT when solar's doing meaningful work.

Also worth checking your alternator's output rating before letting the 30A Orion run flat-out constantly — smaller engines can struggle, especially older ones.

MarkAllen69 | 203 posts

Mine's in a garden office rather than a van but same principle — I've got the Orion-Tr Smart running alongside a SmartSolar 75/15. What I found useful was setting the Orion's absorption voltage slightly lower than the SmartSolar. That way solar takes priority naturally once the panels are producing properly, and the DC-DC just tops things up when the car's running. Took a bit of fiddling but it's been solid since. Worth checking your battery's recommended charge curve too — mine's a Fogstar Drift and the spec sheet was actually helpful for dialling in those numbers.

Linda1970 | 1,203 posts

@Del72 just to add something practical that hasn't been covered — keep an eye on your state of charge during longer drives when solar is already doing the heavy lifting. I've found the Orion can sometimes push the battery harder than needed if it's already near full from a sunny morning. Worth setting a slightly conservative absorption voltage on the Orion so they're not competing against each other at the top end. Nothing catastrophic if they do, but it's tidier and easier on the cells long-term.