Batrium and Victron? What can it do?

This thread is heavy Batrium. If there is anothe forum that is more suited for Batrium questions, please let me know.

I'm looking to upgrade my BMS and Batrium was always off my list as you needed to buy the watchmon, plus the expansion board, plus the cells mons for how I'd want to run it. However with the new Watchmon4 with the two FETS, for my application I'd no longer need the expansion board so it's a bit more appealing.I just saw with the latest release that the Batrium can now control the Victron inverter through the color control unit. This is pretty interesting as my current BMS doesn't have anyway to control the inverter/charger. My installation has the following:

Charging sources:

MPPT 30A controller
Alternator through starting battery and battery connector contactor (with manual switch and only used for emergencies)
Shore power through Magnum Inverter/Charger

Loads:

DC Loads through fuse panel
AC Loads though Magnum Inverter Charger

I'm was thinking about upgrading to a Victron Inverter Charger as that has manual relays for controller the charger and inverter functions so I could wire that up to my current BMS(you can see here:https://www.victronenergy.com/uploa...battery-systems-to-Multis-and-Quattros-EN.pdf) However I saw that you can connect the batrium to Victron's CanBus. I'm not sure if that's going to be available on the WatchMon4 or not, but that's a really nice feature that made me think about what else can the batrium do with the Victron Color Control? Can it disable and enable both the inverter and charger?I was thinking about upgrading my solar controller to a victron, but my current MPPT has a shunt hooked up to the monitor so it's my MPPT remote and battery monitor. So if I upgrade my MPPT, I'll lose my battery monitor. The obvious choice was to go with a victron battery monitor to integrate into the color control. However if the batrium can talk to the CCGX, is it possible to send battery SOC to it as well? Can it do anything with the MPPT data for logging/display?

I'm not a programmer, but I know that the Victron Venus GX OS is open source. I know the Batrium team is small, but curious if there are any future plans for further development with Victron products?

Here would be my proposed setup for the Batrium (if it would work). Getting the Battery SOC from the Batrium to the CCGX would be fantastic.

The main function for the BMS hooked up to the inverter is that it controlls the charging in 3 steps.

1. Max charge enabled
2. Minor charge enabled to top off the battery bank and let the batrium balance
3. charge disabled

This to make sure the packs arent overcharged and that the Batrium BMS doesnt have to trigger the breaker and disconnect the battery bank.,

Do you happen to know if the inverter can be disabled via canbus in a low voltage condition? There isn't a lot of documentation on the site yet about the victron setup.

I have no insight of Victron inverters nor their protocol. I can only tell what the Batrium does and it only cares for the battery charging part as such.

MattGross said:

This thread is heavy Batrium. If there is anothe forum that is more suited for Batrium questions, please let me know.

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Your question iscomplex and not a simple answer...

From the latest release 1.0.30+ there is a the Victron CCGX canbus communication profile option.

There are a number of Victron productswith different capabilitiesdepending on the various Victron product combinations.We rely on solar professionals to advise a suitableconfiguration andproduct selection. We are not Victron experts so cannot advise specifies...

The "Victron MultiPlus Inverter Charge" was used in the project we were involved in testing.This equipmenthad both charging targets for voltage and current and discharging voltage cutout and current (amps) that could be preset. Charging is something you typically adjust in a ESS application. However discharge is typically limited to on/off unless in ahybrid mode wherepower can be blendedfrom both the grid supplyand battery.In most offgrid modes this is limited toon of off and reverting to a different source (i.e. generator).

The SOC% is sentto the CCGX as part of the protocol.





Once the pilot project has been signoff off we will do a step by step guide but this will be after the release of Watchmon4 supervisor hardware.
you question is complex and not a simple answer... There are a number of Victron products, we are not experts in their range nor have had any training. We rely on Solar professional for that insite. What we can comment on in the integration with the Multi inverter/charger, this is fully configurable both for charging targets of voltage and current and discharging voltage cutout and current (amps). Charge is something you can adjust in most modes so the bms can adjust as required. However discharger is rather different and will depend on the mode. As only in hybrid grid support can you blend power form both the grid and battery hence reduce the discharge current. In off grid mode that does not make sense it is either on of off and reverting to a different source (i.e. generator).

hope that helps answer your question

Batrium said:

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Jaron, your link won't work cuz it's coming from your mail. You need to save it to your local drive and then upload it to the forum

Batrium said:

MattGross said:

This thread is heavy Batrium. If there is anothe forum that is more suited for Batrium questions, please let me know.

Click to expand...

Your question iscomplex and not a simple answer...

From the latest release 1.0.30+ there is a the Victron CCGX canbus communication profile option.

There are a number of Victron productswith different capabilitiesdepending on the various Victron product combinations.We rely on solar professionals to advise a suitableconfiguration andproduct selection. We are not Victron experts so cannot advise specifies...

The "Victron MultiPlus Inverter Charge" was used in the project we were involved in testing.This equipmenthad both charging targets for voltage and current and discharging voltage cutout and current (amps) that could be preset. Charging is something you typically adjust in a ESS application. However discharge is typically limited to on/off unless in ahybrid mode wherepower can be blendedfrom both the grid supplyand battery.In most offgrid modes this is limited toon of off and reverting to a different source (i.e. generator).

The SOC% is sentto the CCGX as part of the protocol.

Once the pilot project has been signoff off we will do a step by step guide but this will be after the release of Watchmon4 supervisor hardware.
helps answer your question

Click to expand...

A write up would be great. Thanks!

Personally I am very excited about the Victron/ Watchmon4 integrations... I like Victron products.

Subscribed, thinking of purchasing some Victron products myself.

Yep, me too,
Victron products being very,very popular in the recreational marine world
I bought a 24V + 48V Quattro 5000W to do test projects with in combination with second live GS YUASA LEV40 cells,
so very eager to test out a batrium, VENUS GX, Quattro set-up.

Hopefully we can replace the VENUS GX or Color CCGX later on with a homebrew raspberry solution like in the blog entry of Victron
https://www.victronenergy.com/blog/2018/04/11/homemade-pi-open-source-raspberry-flavour/

with regards
Carel Hassink

I've been recommended the REC or Batrium BMS's for integrating to Victron. Have read a number of threads in here so I emailed the Batrium team for advice on integrating Victron with the Batrium Watchmon 4. Received a lukewarm response from Jaron at Batrium, not sure if that is normal? But the response has put me back towards looking at my options, which is a pity given the positive Batrium related posts on this site.

I took delivery of my Victron MultiGrid today, and should have the other items arriving soon i.e. Venus GX, SmartSolar charger. I am committed to Victron, so having solid support from my BMS manufacturer is going to be critical. Maybe my experience with Batrium is a one off situation? I'd be interested in hearing other experiences.

Very excited to read of this collaboration. Subbed.

Be very keen to see this lukewarm response doesn't at all seem normal. What was the response time? What were you expecting from the interaction? There is no context to your comment.

Full s/w integration between any BMS & inverters, chargers, etc is not that wide spread afaik - there's a lot of different inverters are out there?

You can talk to the inverter via the Victron protocols. The Multiplus units also have a "virtual switch" section in their setups that can do things under different conditions.

When I got to speak to Jason a few month back, it seemed he was frantically busy on multiple fronts.

Redpacket said:

Full s/w integration between any BMS & inverters, chargers, etc is not that wide spread afaik - there's a lot of different inverters are out there?

You can talk to the inverter via the Victron protocols. The Multiplus units also have a "virtual switch" section in their setups that can do things under different conditions.

When I got to speak to Jaron a few month back, it seemed he was frantically busy on multiple fronts.

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Here are the links to documentation onVictron integration with the Watchmon

How to control a Victron Color Control GX with a WatchMon
https://www.batrium.com/pages/how-to-control-victron-ccgx-with-watchmon

How to control a Victron Venus GX with a WatchMon
https://www.batrium.com/pages/how-to-control-victron-venusgx-with-watchmon

hbpowerwall said:

Be very keen to see this lukewarm response doesn't at all seem normal. What was the response time? What were you expecting from the interaction? There is no context to your comment.

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As background, here's an excerpt of the email I sent Batrium...

I am currently designing an off-grid system, and am looking at using mostly Victron products. The Victron products I plan to use are:

- Victron MultiGrid 48/3000/35-50 - 230V
- SmartSolar MPPT 150/35

I am planning on using YUASA LEV40 Lithium batteries in a 14S or 15S x 5P configuration, but will be starting with a single 14S first.

I want your help so I can understand what components I require to purchase a Batrium BMS that I can interface into the Victron products. I read you are developing/releasing a product that interfaces with Victron

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In answer to your questions... I was seeking direction on what Batrium products I should obtain for the Victron systems and batteries identified in my emaili.e. I wanted to make a purchase from batrium.

The response from Batrium...

Sorry for the delayed reply, we are flatout processing the new Watchmon4 supervisor.

The only Victron Energy equipment that we have integrated with is via canbus port to their VRM portal hardware. We have tailored a canbus profile to suit the Venus GX or Color Control GX. Once we are on-top of the current workload we will be publishing a step by step guide about the Victron implementation that we were involved with.

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The response from Batrium didn't answer my original question... and didn't give me advice on what products I should consider purchasing.

As a contrast, when I wrote to Victron I received a detailed response on the configuration/equipment they recommended I should purchase to interface with the lithium batteries.

I figured I would gain a similar response from Batrium i.e. "Batrium recommends you consider X Y and Z for the configuration you've outlined in your email"

Redpacket said:

When I got to speak to Jason a few month back, it seemed he was frantically busy on multiple fronts.

Click to expand...

I figure the response from Jaron was due to above. I replied to Jaron's email asking for further advice, so I'll wait and see if I get any further response?

Let me be clear, I am not trying to give Batrium a hard time... was just looking for advice from the manufacturer, which I dont believe is unreasonable.

Interested in Victron integration, subscribing