Anyone else running EcoFlow alongside Victron kit, or am I the only madman?

So I've got a bit of a Frankenstein setup at the static caravan — a Victron SmartSolar MPPT 100/30 doing the heavy lifting on charge control, feeding into a Fogstar Drift 12V 200Ah LiFePO4. All lovely and proper. But I've also got an EcoFlow Delta 2 that I drag out for extra capacity when we're up there for longer weekends, and I'm trying to figure out the best way to integrate the two without them fighting each other.

The main issue is the EcoFlow charges itself from a separate 200W Renogy panel on the shed roof, and I'm worried about both systems trying to top up the same loads simultaneously — particularly the 12V fridge which pulls about 45W continuous. Has anyone actually wired something like this in a sensible way, or is it basically just "keep them on separate circuits and stop overthinking it"?

I keep reading conflicting stuff about whether you can tie EcoFlow's DC output into a Victron-managed system without causing grief. The voltage curves don't play nicely on paper but in practice — who knows? Is there a battery-to-battery charger in the mix somewhere that makes this work, or is that overkill for what's essentially a weekend cabin?

ShedGenius79 | 847 posts | ⚡ Solar Obsessive

@EcoFlow_Nerd You're definitely not alone in the Frankenstein camp — half my shed setup looks like it was assembled by someone who lost a bet! 😄

I've got a similar arrangement where the Victron MPPT does the proper charge management on my LiFePO4, and I use an EcoFlow unit almost as a glorified UPS/portable overflow rather than letting it fight for control. The key thing I found was being really deliberate about which device is actually in charge — let the Victron own the battery and treat the EcoFlow as a satellite device rather than a co-pilot.

What's the EcoFlow unit you're running? Some of the newer ones with the X-Stream input behave quite differently to the older Delta range when you're pulling them into a fixed system.

MoorClive | 847 posts | Moorland, North Yorkshire

@EcoFlow_Nerd Not mad at all mate — I've got something fairly similar running at my place on the moors. The Victron/Fogstar combination is rock solid in my experience, the SmartSolar talks beautifully to the Drift via the correct LiFePO4 charge profile.

Curious what EcoFlow unit you're pairing it with though — are you using it as a portable top-up or trying to integrate it properly into the system? The reason I ask is that running two charge sources simultaneously into the same battery needs a bit of thought, particularly around whether the EcoFlow's internal BMS plays nicely with the Fogstar's.

What's your solar array size feeding the MPPT? That'll probably influence how much the EcoFlow actually adds in practice.

RussStevens | 312 posts | South Wales

Cracking setup @EcoFlow_Nerd — the Victron/EcoFlow combo isn't as daft as it sounds. One thing worth keeping an eye on is your Fogstar Drift's charge parameters when the EcoFlow is feeding back into the system. LiFePO4 generally plays nicely but if both devices think they're in charge (no pun intended) you can get some odd behaviour around the absorption stage.

Have you set up VictronConnect to monitor what's actually happening on the Cerbo or are you flying blind? Getting visibility across the whole setup makes a massive difference for spotting any conflicts before they become actual problems.

Also curious — what's the EcoFlow unit you're running alongside it? Makes a difference depending on whether it's got a proper DC input or you're going AC round the houses.

SolarCol | 1,203 posts | Array

Worth flagging something nobody's mentioned yet — the communication layer problem. Your Victron MPPT is doing proper Absorption/Float/Storage cycling via VE.Direct, but the EcoFlow has absolutely no awareness of what state the Fogstar is actually in. If the EcoFlow decides to top up from its internal logic whilst Victron is already pushing Absorption current, you can end up with overlapping charge sources with no coordination.

I ran into exactly this at my cabin setup. Fixed it by using a Victron Battery Protect on the EcoFlow's charge path, triggered via the MPPT's load output — effectively letting Victron arbitrate who charges when.

Also double-check your Fogstar's BMS communication settings. Some Drift units support UART/RS485 and you can pull SOC data into Cerbo GX, which transforms how well the whole system coordinates.

VoltGeek | 2,156 posts | Derbyshire

@EcoFlow_Nerd Solid setup — the Fogstar Drift is a cracker for the money. One thing worth keeping an eye on: make sure your Victron MPPT charge profile is properly dialled in for LiFePO4, particularly the absorption voltage. A lot of folk leave it on the AGM preset and wonder why their BMS keeps throwing a wobble. 14.2–14.4V absorption, float around 13.5V is where I'd start with that battery. Also curious — are you monitoring the Fogstar's BMS data anywhere, or just relying on the Victron's state of charge readout? The two can disagree more than you'd expect, especially after a partial cycle. Victron's SOC tends to drift without a proper shunt calibration. A SmartShunt would tie the whole lot together nicely if you haven't already got one.

JulieGraham | 64 posts | Array

Really useful thread — I've been wondering about exactly this kind of hybrid setup. Quick question for @EcoFlow_Nerd or anyone who knows: does the Victron SmartSolar "see" the EcoFlow unit at all via the VE.Direct network, or are they essentially operating blind to each other?

Reason I ask — I'm planning something similar for a garden office build and potentially want to add EV charging down the line. My worry is that without proper communication between the two systems, I'd end up with the Victron dumping charge in at the same time as the EcoFlow, and the LiFePO4 BMS just shutting everything down in protest.

Is this where @SolarCol's communication layer point becomes critical? Would a Cerbo GX actually help bridge any of that gap?