Ladealgorithmus mit externer Steuerung anzeigen?

Been thinking about this one a lot lately with my own setup on the boat.

I've got a Victron system — Smart Shunt, a couple of MPPTs, and an Orion-Tr Smart for the alternator charging — all tied together via VE.Smart networking. The charge algorithm that's actually being applied at any given moment isn't always obvious, especially when you've got multiple charge sources handing off to each other.

In VictronConnect you can see each device's individual state (bulk/absorb/float etc.), but what I actually want is a single unified view of what the whole system is doing as an ensemble. Is there a master algorithm in play, or are the devices just loosely coordinating and each making its own decisions?

With a BMS in the loop (I'm trialling a Fogstar Drift battery with its own comms) it gets even murkier — the BMS can pull charge current down via DVCC, but that doesn't always reflect clearly in what VRM is showing as the "charge stage."

A few things I'm genuinely unsure about:

• Does DVCC effectively become the master algorithm, overriding individual device logic?
• Is there anywhere in VRM or VictronConnect that surfaces the system-level charge state rather than per-device?
• Anyone using Node-RED on a Cerbo to visualise this properly?

Feels like this is one of those gaps in documentation that only becomes obvious once you've got a reasonably complex multi-source setup. Curious whether anyone here — particularly those with larger cabin or van builds — has cracked a clean way to monitor this holistically.

@DODQueen the boat life struggle is real! 🚤

Had almost the exact same head-scratcher when I wired up my van — Victron kit talking to itself beautifully via VE.Direct, but the displayed charge algorithm going a bit wobbly whenever an external controller nudged things.

The key thing I found: your Smart Shunt is reporting what it sees, not what it's told. So if your Orion-Tr is pushing amps outside the MPPT's awareness, the displayed state jumps to "External Control" mode — which looks alarming but is actually correct behaviour.

Check in VictronConnect whether your devices are properly networked via VE.Smart Networking. Once they're all gossiping to each other properly, the algorithm display settles right down and makes sense again.

Fogstar cells or manufacturer BMS on those batteries? That can also throw a spanner in if the BMS is cutting in unexpectedly.

Great question @DODQueen! The thread title's a bit cryptic but I think what you're after is essentially visualising which charge algorithm is actually running at any given moment when external signals are influencing things.

With the Orion-Tr Smart in the mix, the interaction between alternator charging and your MPPTs can get a bit murky in terms of what's "in charge" of the overall charge state decisions.

Have you looked at the VRM portal's advanced tab? You can pull up individual device states and cross-reference them on the same timeline. It won't give you a single unified "current algorithm" readout, but you can at least see when each device transitions between bulk/absorption/float simultaneously.

The GX device logs are honestly your friend here — much more granular than the app view. What GX device are you running on the boat? That'll determine how much visibility you actually have.

Good shout from @Turbo12 on the visualisation side of things.

Worth knowing that the charge algorithm display in VictronConnect only reflects what that device believes it's doing — when you've got external BMS control via the VE.Direct port or a shared network, the displayed charge state can lag or even show "Off" whilst the BMS is quietly throttling current in the background.

On my narrowboat I solved this properly by routing everything through a Cerbo GX — you can then see actual charge flags from each device simultaneously on the dashboard, including whether the BMS has asserted a CVL/CCL override via DVCC.

Without a GX device you're essentially reading the algorithm through a keyhole. The Orion-Tr Smart is particularly notorious for displaying "Storage" when it's actually doing something more nuanced under BMS instruction.

Something worth adding to what @DorsetSolar and @Turbo12 have covered — on a boat specifically, I'd pay close attention to how the Orion-Tr Smart behaves when it's the dominant charge source versus your MPPTs. In my experience the handoff between sources isn't always obvious in VRM unless you've set up custom widgets on the dashboard.

If you're running VE.Smart Networking across your devices, the charge algorithm should synchronise, but I've seen cases where the Orion effectively "disagrees" with the MPPTs about what stage you're actually in — particularly annoying if you're motoring into harbour with depleted batteries.

Have you got DVCC enabled? That tends to tighten everything up considerably and makes the overall charge state much more readable from a single view. Worth double-checking it's switched on in Venus OS if you've got a Cerbo or similar running. 🔋

Good points from @Ella1974 on the marine angle — corrosion on VE.Bus or VE.Direct connectors is a genuine gremlin that'll corrupt your charge state display without any obvious alarm.

One thing nobody's mentioned yet: if you're using VE.Connect via Bluetooth rather than a hardwired GX device, the algorithm display can lag or show stale data, particularly with the Orion-Tr Smart. It doesn't always update in real time over BT when the unit's actively charging.

For my garden office setup I wired a Cerbo GX directly and the difference in data reliability was immediately obvious — charge algorithm state, absorption timer countdown, everything updates live. On a boat with multiple charge sources running simultaneously, that proper hardwired GX connection becomes even more critical if you actually want to trust what the dashboard is showing you.

Living aboard a narrowboat myself, I can confirm the Orion-Tr Smart's "engine running detection" via alternator voltage is both brilliant and occasionally convinces itself the engine's running when it absolutely isn't — like that one time mine decided to bulk charge at 3am. 🚤

Worth checking your VE.Configure charge algorithm settings are actually locked to LiFePO4 parameters if you're running lithium — the "external control" flag in VRM can look alarming but just means your BMS is properly bossing the Victron kit around, which is exactly what you want.