Integrating non Victron RV-C MPPT with Cerbo

Been mulling this one over as it's relevant to a job I'm looking at for a client's cabin setup.

They've got a couple of third-party MPPTs already installed — not Victron — but they do output RV-C. The plan is to bring in a Cerbo GX, Multiplus-II, and a SmartShunt to tie everything together properly. On paper it sounds like it should work, but in practice I'm not so sure how clean the integration actually is.

From what I've dug into, the Cerbo will happily talk to RV-C devices to some extent, but the visibility you get in VRM is nowhere near what you'd see with native Victron kit. Things like per-panel data, charge state detail, that sort of thing — seems patchy at best.

A few questions for anyone who's done something similar:

• Did you get meaningful data showing up in VRM, or just basic voltage/current figures?
• Any issues with the Cerbo and non-Victron MPPTs conflicting on charge control — particularly if the Multiplus is also doing absorption/float?
• Worth bothering, or just swap the MPPTs out for a pair of Victron SmartSolars and be done with it?

The client wants to keep costs down (obviously), so I'm trying to avoid telling them to rip out perfectly functional hardware if the integration is actually usable. But I'd rather give honest advice than have them end up with a monitoring dashboard that's half-blind.

Anyone running a mixed setup like this through a Cerbo in the UK? Curious what your real-world experience looks like.

@Inverter_Pro the Cerbo has a CAN-bus port but it's hardwired for VE.Can protocol — RV-C is built on CAN but Victron's implementation isn't a straight plug-and-play with third-party RV-C devices.

That said, there's a workaround worth looking at — the Cerbo does have an RV-C option buried in the VE.Config/Venus OS settings, mainly aimed at the US RV market. Some folks have had partial success getting third-party RV-C kit to show up, but it's patchy.

Realistically for a cabin job I'd probably budget for a couple of SmartSolar units and be done with it. Less faff, proper integration, full data in VRM.

What MPPTs are already installed? If they've got a decent comms output there might be a Node-RED workaround via MQTT on the Cerbo instead.

@LDVSolar is right that VE.Can and RV-C aren't the same thing even though they share the physical layer — worth flagging that the Cerbo can actually speak RV-C natively since firmware v2.90 or thereabouts. You switch the CAN port between VE.Can and RV-C in the settings.

Catch is it's either/or on that port — can't run both protocols simultaneously. So if your client needs VE.Can devices on the same bus that's a problem.

There's also the question of whether those specific MPPTs expose the right RV-C PGNs for proper two-way comms vs just broadcasting basic data. Might only get read-only visibility in VRM rather than full control.

Genuinely worth checking the Victron community forums — there's a big RV-C compatibility thread with device-specific notes.