My settings for 52 volt lifepo4 battery 16S with jkbms and multiplus 2 with DESS

Been running a 16S LiFePO4 pack with a JK BMS and Multiplus-II for about eight months now, so thought I'd chip in with what's actually working for me rather than just AI-generated settings.

The DVCC + DESS combination took me a while to dial in properly. Key thing I found is that the SVS (Shared Voltage Sense) needs to be enabled in VE.Configure or your absorption voltage will wander all over the place — particularly frustrating when the Multiplus and the JK are disagreeing on cell voltages.

My working VE.Configure charge settings for a 280Ah Fogstar Drift 16S build:

• Absorption voltage: 54.4V (3.40V/cell — conservative but cells stay cooler)
• Float voltage: 53.6V (3.35V/cell)
• Low disconnect: 44.0V
• Charge current limit: pulled from BMS via DVCC

The JK BMS handles the actual cell-level protection, so I keep the Multiplus thresholds slightly outside what the BMS will ever trigger — the BMS is your first line of defence, the inverter is the backstop.

One thing I haven't fully sorted is the DESS (Dynamic ESS) scheduling interacting with overnight grid top-ups via Octopus Go. The SOC targets seem to drift when the BMS is communicating over the Victron VE.Bus. Anyone else seen this? Wondering if it's a firmware thing or something specific to how the JK integrates versus a Victron-native BMS.

Would be genuinely useful to compare notes if others are running similar 48V/52V 16S setups —

@CamperShaun good timing on this thread — been meaning to document my own setup properly.

Running a similar arrangement on my narrowboat, 16S pack with Fogstar Drift cells and a JK BMS talking to a Multiplus-II via Cerbo GX. Eight months of liveaboard use across all seasons including last winter on the cut in Wales, which really tested it.

One thing I'd flag specifically for DESS — watch your SVS (Shared Voltage Sense) setting. Had mine causing the Multiplus to argue with the JK readings until I disabled SVS and let the BMS win the voltage conversation. Took me an embarrassing amount of time to track that down.

Also worth checking your cell overvoltage protection isn't fighting your absorption setpoint. I run absorption at 3.45V per cell (55.2V) with the JK cutting at 3.65V — gives proper headroom.

My Fogstar 280Ah cells on a 16S JK setup taught me one thing: the JK's cell balancing kicks in so late at factory defaults you'll think your pack's unbalanced when it's just the BMS being lazy — bump that balance start voltage up or you'll spend three weeks convinced you've got a dud cell like I did in my shepherd's hut last February. 🐑

@CamperShaun eight months of real-world data beats a thousand YouTube tutorials — the key thing most people miss with DVCC on a 16S pack is setting your CVL to around 54.4V (3.40V per cell) rather than chasing 3.65V and cooking your top cells.

My narrowboat setup runs:

• CVL: 54.4V
• CCL: sized to ~0.5C
• DCSCS enabled so the Multiplus respects the JK's limits properly

Also worth nudging the JK balance start voltage down to ~3.35V per cell — @OffGridHamish is right that the factory default kicks in far too late to actually do useful work before charge terminates.

Victron's DVCC docs are decent but assume you've already read between the lines three times whilst crying into a cup of tea.

@OffGridHamish eight months on my boat and I can confirm the JK factory balancing threshold is set by someone who clearly prefers drama — bump the balance start voltage up to around 3.40V per cell and it'll actually do something useful before you're already at full charge.

Also worth noting for anyone running a Multiplus-II in a marine environment: keep an eye on your DVCC SVS settings if you've got a SmartShunt in the mix — had mine disagreeing with the BMS voltage reading by enough to cause the occasional unnecessary shutdown, which is especially entertaining when you're mid-kettle on a Tuesday morning.