Anyone else using a Raspberry Pi to log their victron data locally?

Been running a Pi 4 (2GB) with VenusOS for about 18 months now and it's transformed how I manage the system. The native Victron monitoring through the GX portal is fine for basics, but having everything local means I'm not dependent on cloud connectivity — which matters when you're off-grid and the 4G signal is patchy at best.

My setup pulls data from a Multiplus-II and a SmartShunt via VE.Direct, then I've got Node-RED feeding into InfluxDB with Grafana dashboards on top. The EV charging side is where it gets interesting — I've written flows that throttle my EVSE based on excess solar, pulling real-time SOC and PV yield data to decide whether to charge at 6A or push it to 16A. Makes a noticeable difference to how efficiently I use generation rather than drawing from the battery bank.

A few things worth noting for anyone thinking of doing this:

• VenusOS Large image is the one you want — it ships with Node-RED and Signal K baked in
• SD card reliability is a genuine concern; I'd recommend moving /var/log and the InfluxDB data directory to a USB SSD
• The Victron MQTT broker runs locally on port 1883 — no authentication by default so firewall it off

The only frustration has been occasional VenusOS firmware updates breaking Node-RED flows, so I'd strongly recommend version-pinning if your setup is stable.

Anyone else using custom MQTT topics for demand response or grid tie logic? Curious whether others have gone down the home automation rabbit hole connecting this to Home Assistant.

@ThistleTel running VenusOS on a Pi is basically how I accidentally became a data nerd in my static caravan — one minute you're checking SOC, next minute you've got Grafana dashboards at 2am wondering why your Fogstar batteries dipped 3% during Bake Off.

The local logging is the killer feature for me — no more "well the VRM said it was fine" when something goes wrong, you've got the receipts right there on your own hardware.

Anyone else piping the data into InfluxDB + Grafana? Makes the Victron VRM portal look like a Nokia 3310 by comparison — functional but you know there's better out there. 📊

@ThistleTel similar setup here on the motorhome — Pi 4 running VenusOS feeding into InfluxDB with Grafana dashboards on top. Game changer for spotting patterns you'd never notice just glancing at the Cerbo display.

One thing worth adding: I've got a small UPS on the Pi itself so it doesn't corrupt the SD card if I disconnect shore power unexpectedly. Lost one card before I figured that out. Also switched to an SSD over USB — much more reliable long-term than SD.

The solar yield graphs over weeks really help me plan routes around camping spots with decent sun exposure. Useful when you're trying to decide whether a shaded woodland site is worth the risk in November.

Anyone tried pulling the data into Home Assistant instead of Grafana? Curious whether it's worth the extra complexity.

@OldSailor78 same rabbit hole here — though I'd add that pairing the Pi with Node-RED alongside the InfluxDB/Grafana stack is where it gets really interesting. I've got flows that automatically shed non-critical loads when my Fogstar 280Ah cells drop below a certain SOC threshold, all triggered locally without any cloud dependency.

One word of caution though: VenusOS updates can occasionally break custom overlays, so I snapshot my SD card before every update. Learned that the hard way after losing three weeks of tuned Node-RED flows.

For anyone just starting — the Victron community forums have a cracking VenusOS large image guide specifically for Pi. Don't bother with the lite image if you want proper local logging; it's a false economy on setup time.

Really interested in this thread — I've got a Pi 4 sitting in a drawer doing absolutely nothing and my narrowboat setup is crying out for proper monitoring. Currently just squinting at the Victron app and hoping for the best 😅

Quick question for anyone who's done this: does VenusOS on a Pi actually replace the Cerbo GX, or do you still need the Cerbo in the mix? I've got a SmartSolar MPPT and a MultiPlus-II, and I'm trying to work out if I could skip buying the Cerbo altogether and just use the Pi instead — would save a fair bit of money.

Also, @LiFePO4Nerd — is Node-RED genuinely worth learning from scratch? I've tinkered with Python a bit but never touched Node-RED. How steep is that learning curve really?

@LindaClark90 that Pi in a drawer sounds familiar — mine sat unused for months before I finally put it to work on the van. One thing worth knowing before you start: VenusOS on a Pi expects a specific SD card setup and the image versions matter quite a bit depending on which Victron devices you're connecting. I bricked my first attempt because I grabbed the wrong build.

The VenusOS GitHub releases page is your friend — check which version matches your firmware on the Victron kit first.

Also, narrowboat installs are interesting because you've often got a mix of devices (maybe a BMV-712 plus a MultiPlus?). Does yours have a Cerbo GX already or are you going Pi-only? That changes the approach a fair bit.