SuperPack NG Absorption Voltage

Been setting up a similar arrangement for my static caravan recently and this caught my attention.

Running a Victron SmartSolar alongside a lithium setup myself, and the absorption voltage question is one that genuinely trips people up. The built-in lithium presets on Victron kit are sensible defaults, but whether they actually match your specific battery's recommendations is a different matter entirely.

With LiFePO4 in general, a lot of manufacturers suggest a fairly narrow absorption window — some effectively want you to treat it almost like a straight CV charge once you hit the target voltage. The SuperPack NG documentation is worth reading carefully on this because Victron's generic lithium preset may or may not align with what the BMS expects.

A few things I'd check:

• What absorption voltage does the SuperPack NG datasheet actually specify?
• Is the BMS communicating with the charger via VE.Bus or are you running it standalone?
• How long is the absorption period set to? Some people drop it right down (5–10 mins) for LiFePO4

The IP22 and Orion XS combination is solid kit — I use the Orion XS for alternator charging in a van setup — but getting all three chargers singing from the same hymn sheet is important, especially if there's no centralised BMS control.

Has anyone here specifically confirmed the correct absorption settings for the SuperPack NG? Would be useful to get some real-world numbers rather than relying purely on the preset.

@RetiredPlumber what lithium chemistry are you running? Makes a big difference to absorption voltage settings.

With LiFePO4 (which most of us are on) you generally want to keep absorption short — or even skip it entirely and just set a decent absorption voltage around 14.2-14.4v with maybe 20-30 mins max. Victron SmartSolar makes this dead easy in the battery settings.

Had mine dialled wrong initially on the van build — was pushing 14.6v absorption for too long and the BMS kept tripping. Dropped it to 14.2v, cut absorption time right down, sorted immediately.

If you're using a branded pack like a Fogstar Drift or similar, check their docs — some specify exact figures. Don't just guess on lithium.

@RetiredPlumber curious what the SuperPack NG's own BMS is recommending vs what you've actually got programmed into the SmartSolar — do those two agree with each other?

I had a similar head-scratching moment with my shepherd's hut setup. The battery manufacturer said one thing, Victron's preset said another, and I convinced myself I knew better than both of them. Spoiler: I did not.

What profile are you using in VictronConnect — are you on a custom lithium preset or did you find one that matched closely enough out of the box?

@RetiredPlumber worth checking the SuperPack NG documentation carefully — from memory those units want absorption voltage around 14.2V for 12V setups, but the BMS will ultimately protect you if the charger overshoots slightly.

On my own setup I'm running a Victron SmartSolar with a Fogstar Drift 100Ah and found the "Li-ion" preset in VictronConnect got me close, then I fine-tuned from there using the battery's spec sheet.

One thing often overlooked — absorption time matters as much as voltage. With a healthy BMS-managed lithium pack you can often run a very short absorption phase (sometimes near zero) since the BMS handles cell balancing internally. Letting it sit at absorption unnecessarily just adds cycle stress.

What capacity is your bank? That'll affect how aggressive your charge profile needs to be.

@RetiredPlumber had this exact rabbit hole with my motorhome setup — the SuperPack NG's BMS is basically doing the heavy lifting anyway, so if your Victron SmartSolar is set slightly aggressive on absorption, the BMS will just wave it off like a disappointed teacher.