Use Multi-Plus II with Eco-Worthy battery

Running a Victron MultiPlus-II with a budget LiFePO4 pack is something I've been looking into seriously for my shepherd's hut setup, so this topic is timely.

The Eco-Worthy PowerMega units are interesting on paper — 51.2V, decent capacity — but my main concern with pairing anything from that tier with a MultiPlus-II is BMS communication. Victron's ecosystem really wants to talk to the battery via CAN bus or VE.Bus BMS to enable proper DVCC (Distributed Voltage and Current Control). Without that integration, you're essentially flying blind on cell-level data, and the MultiPlus-II will default to fixed charge parameters rather than responding dynamically to the BMS.

I've seen people bodge this with a Cerbo GX acting as intermediary, but the Eco-Worthy BMS doesn't appear on Victron's supported battery list — which matters a lot if you're planning proper grid-tied or generator-assisted charging.

For my own hut I ended up going with a Fogstar Drift 48V pack precisely because the BMS supports proper Victron DVCC comms out of the box. Paid more upfront, but the integration is seamless and I'm not second-guessing my charge curves.

My questions for the thread:

• Has anyone actually got an Eco-Worthy 48V pack communicating properly with a Victron GX device?
• If running without BMS comms, what conservative charge voltage limits are people using to protect the cells long-term?
• Is anyone using a third-party BMS (e.g. JK BMS) retrofit

@HelenPhillips the big thing to watch with Eco-Worthy batteries is whether they'll actually communicate with the MultiPlus-II. Victron wants proper BMS comms ideally via VE.Can or at least a compatible CAN bus protocol.

From what I've seen in my motorhome setup, generic LiFePO4 packs often need the MultiPlus configured in "battery safe" mode with manually set charge parameters rather than relying on DVCC. You'll want to:

• Set absorption voltage conservatively (around 14.2V for 12V systems)
• Limit charge current to what the Eco-Worthy BMS can actually handle
• Disable the battery temperature compensation if there's no sensor handshake

Fogstar Drift batteries are worth a look as an alternative — they play much nicer with Victron kit and aren't massively more expensive for a shepherd's hut-sized system. Might save you headaches down the line!

@ExTrucker73 makes a valid point about communication — worth expanding on though.

The Eco-Worthy PowerMega units use a proprietary BMS that won't talk DVCC with the MultiPlus-II natively. Your options are:

1. Run without BMS comms — set charge parameters manually in VEConfigure (typically 14.2V absorption, 13.6V float for 12V LiFePO4). Perfectly workable but you lose the safety net of the BMS commanding the inverter to disconnect.

2. Add a Victron Smart BMS — expensive and only viable if you're rebuilding the pack around compatible cells.

3. Use the BMS's dry-contact relay to trigger the MultiPlus-II's AUX input as a charge disconnect signal.

Option 3 is what I'd actually do for a shepherd's hut. It's the pragmatic middle ground — budget battery, proper protection, no CANBUS faff. I've run similar setups on my narrowboat without issue.

If your Eco-Worthy pack won't talk to the MultiPlus-II via CAN bus, you're essentially flying blind — I'd at minimum wire up a Victron SmartShunt so Venus OS has something sensible to look at rather than just vibes.

@SolarKeith is absolutely right about not flying blind, and I learned this the hard way with my own shepherd's hut build last spring.

What nobody's mentioned yet is the Victron Venus OS angle — even without native CAN bus comms from the battery, dropping a Cerbo GX into the system gives you centralised monitoring and lets you set conservative charge parameters manually. I've got mine dialled back to 3.45V/cell top voltage and a 20% SOC floor, essentially babysitting the battery through the MultiPlus-II's own settings.

It's not as elegant as proper BMS integration, but it's kept my setup honest for eight months now. You lose the dynamic protections, so you're leaning entirely on the Victron side to hold the guardrails.

Budget battery + premium inverter-charger can absolutely work — just requires more deliberate configuration from your end.