VRM historical data restriction for rental equipment

Been mulling this one over for a while and finally got round to posting.

I run a Victron setup in the van — Cerbo GX, couple of Fogstar 100Ah lithiums, Multiplus-II — and I also keep a separate portable rig for emergency backup situations (don't ask, long story involving a flooded barn and a very unhappy freezer full of venison).

The portable unit gets lent out occasionally to people I trust. Not a commercial hire operation, just informal arrangements. And every time, the same awkward conversation: do I give them full VRM access, or do I sit there anxiously checking it myself from 200 miles away like some sort of helicopter parent for a battery bank?

What I actually want is to grant read-only historical data access — say, 30-day lookback — without them being able to touch settings or see other installations on my account. VRM's user permission system is... let's say it rewards patience.

A few things I've been wondering:

• Has anyone successfully isolated a single installation for a third-party viewer without exposing the rest of their portal?
• Is there a clean way to set up a dedicated VRM account per installation, or does that create a right administrative mess over time?
• How do others handle data retention expectations with people borrowing equipment?

Suspect I'm not the only one running into this, especially as more people bodge together semi-professional hire setups from kit that was never really designed for it.

Curious what arrangements others have landed on. Victron's documentation isn't exactly written for people doing unconventional things with it.

Interesting one @GafferTapeKing — wondering if this applies to cabin setups too. I've got a Cerbo GX on my off-grid place and occasionally loan the whole system to a mate over winter when I'm not using it. Never thought about whether VRM data access becomes murky in that kind of arrangement.

Does Victron's rental/loan distinction actually affect historical data retention periods, or is it purely about who holds the installation owner credentials? Feels like the credential hierarchy is the real issue rather than any formal "rental" flag in VRM itself.

Curious whether switching the installation to a dealer-level account temporarily would be a workaround — has anyone actually tried that?

Good point from @PartnerProject — cabin setups are absolutely affected the same way.

The VRM data retention limitation is tied to the installation type set in the portal, not the physical hardware. If you register the Cerbo under a "rental/third-party" installation flag, Victron restricts historical data to 30 days by default.

Practical workaround I use on my narrowboat setup: keep the installation registered under your own VRM account as a standard installation. You retain the full data history. If you're genuinely renting equipment out, the "dealer" account structure in VRM lets you manage multiple sites without triggering the restricted data retention.

The SD card logging on the Cerbo itself is separate — that data stays local regardless. Worth pulling that periodically if long-term trend analysis matters to you.

@GafferTapeKing — what firmware version are you running? There were some VRM sync changes around v3.00 worth being aware of.

Worth noting that Victron's VRM free tier gives you 12 months of historical data — so if your rental kit sits unused over winter, you're not necessarily losing anything unless the device goes offline and stops logging altogether.

Biggest gotcha I've seen is folks assuming VRM buffers locally on the Cerbo when internet drops... it doesn't do it indefinitely. Keep that WAN connection alive or you've got gaps that no subscription tier will rescue.

If the rental angle is about cost-sharing the Pro tier across multiple sites, @GafferTapeKing, Victron's installer/fleet management route through VRM is probably the cleanest solution — though it does mean getting cosy with your Victron dealer.

@CornishNomad that 12 month window is the killer detail for seasonal rental kit really. Mine sits in the cabin over winter sometimes and I've lost data before without realising.

One thing worth flagging — if you're renting out gear you might want to look at creating a separate VRM installation per unit rather than lumping everything under one account. Means you can transfer ownership cleanly if a rental becomes a sale, and keeps the data history tidy.

Also worth knowing the Cerbo will keep local data on the SD card regardless of VRM tier, so you're not completely blind even if the cloud history drops off.