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Do I need a Cerbo GX?

harpo

Good at many things, master of none
Joined
Oct 1, 2019
Messages
98
Location
PA, FL
I am putting together a very small system (4s 280Ah) for the remote cabin. I ordered the cells from Amy which should arrive next month.

I have already purchased a Victron 100/30 SmartSolar charge controller, a Victron Smart shunt, 2x Victron IP22 chargers (for use when not enough sun), a JBD 150A charge controller and a Xantrex inverter. Of course I also have the required fuses, circuit breakers, buss bars, power distribution panels etc.

A bit of information: we use primarily 12v for our meager electrical needs (RV water pump, LED lights, heater fan and cell booster). Our 120v needs are very minimal and rarely used. We have had the Xantrex unit for about 5 years and so no need to update it.

So, the question at hand is should I purchase the Cerbo GX also? I was really thinking I don't need this much sophistication with such a small system and the fact I can get much of the needed information from the smart shunt.

What do you think? The Cerbo GX and GX Touch 50 are not inexpensive but if I really should have this setup then I will purchase. Oh, one more thing; remote monitoring is not practical since the only time we have internet capability at the cabin is when we use our cell phones with the WeBoost signal booster.

Thanks to those that will comment and more knowledgeable than myself. I am getting there! The goal is to set this all up during our Spring work week in April.
 
Are you wanting to buy it because it adds a valuable feature to your system? Or is it just a "That'd be cool" purchase? If it requires internet access and it's only used intermittently then is it really worth it?

Tl;Dr - if it's really only for impressing the bears and deer, they won't care. :)
 
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You definitely do not need a Cerbo GX. Looking at the current status of the Victron SCC and SmartShunt is easy enough using VictronConnect on your phone or computer via Bluetooth.

If you had a Victron inverter/charger plus the SCC and shunt, then it's nice having the display all on one screen. But it still offers nothing that you can't do in VictronConnect.

The lack of Internet also makes it less useful since checking on your system remotely using VRM is one of the big benefits of a Cerbo GX.

Having said all of that, you can spend about $100 (compared to many hundreds) on a Raspberry Pi and a compatible touch screen, and a few Victron cables and get the nice fancy Victron Venus OS display and control that you would get with the Cerbo GX. So if you want the pretty screen for a lot less money then that would be a good option.
 
I am putting together a very small system (4s 280Ah) for the remote cabin. I ordered the cells from Amy which should arrive next month.

I have already purchased a Victron 100/30 SmartSolar charge controller, a Victron Smart shunt, 2x Victron IP22 chargers (for use when not enough sun), a JBD 150A charge controller and a Xantrex inverter. Of course I also have the required fuses, circuit breakers, buss bars, power distribution panels etc.

A bit of information: we use primarily 12v for our meager electrical needs (RV water pump, LED lights, heater fan and cell booster). Our 120v needs are very minimal and rarely used. We have had the Xantrex unit for about 5 years and so no need to update it.

So, the question at hand is should I purchase the Cerbo GX also? I was really thinking I don't need this much sophistication with such a small system and the fact I can get much of the needed information from the smart shunt.

What do you think? The Cerbo GX and GX Touch 50 are not inexpensive but if I really should have this setup then I will purchase. Oh, one more thing; remote monitoring is not practical since the only time we have internet capability at the cabin is when we use our cell phones with the WeBoost signal booster.

Thanks to those that will comment and more knowledgeable than myself. I am getting there! The goal is to set this all up during our Spring work week in April.

Need? No. No real need for it as I see it.

If you ever get permanent internet on the sight or want to pay for one of the Victron connectivity option, and want remote monitoring/control then, yes.

If you ever need more refined control of features, then maybe. Here's an example:

Let's say your batteries can only take 20A of charge, but your solar can provide 30A. You can limit the MPPT to 20A, but that's a hard limit - even if loads exceed 20A, you can only provide 20A. With a GX device, you could specify a 20A charge current and the MPPT could still provide any extra if needed by the loads. Other features like generator auto-start, etc. are available with GX devices. Some BMS will interface with the CAN bus.
 
If you had a Victron inverter (Multiplus, etc), I would say - depends if you want to see everything in one place.
With a different brand of inverter- nope - not worth it.
 
If you want to play with it, your other option is to get yourself a Raspberry Pi and install VenusOS on it. It's Victron's open source version. You'll need to add some adapters to talk to the different components, but if you're reasonably handy with electronics, you can make those yourself.
 
No need for the Cerbrex. I have a system similar to yours for about a year and a half, and its only in the last couple of months I've even found out what a Cerbrex was.

I have an RV with 12 volts and about 280 ah usable, with Victron SCCs and Victron Battery Monitor. I have a different brand Inverter, a Samlex. The only thing the Cerbrex may bring to me is instead of closing and opening different apps to watch my cell phone one at a time, I may see it at once. Also, no need for me for a remote wi-fi connection for the same reasons.

Maybe after this next season in the cabin, if all goes well, you can reward yourself with a Cerbrex the following year.

As mentioned, I am going to try to build a monitor with the open source data option with a Victron USB and Raspberry Pi.
 
The Raspberry Pi idea sounds very interesting. I have heard Andy of Off Grid Garage talk about the Raspberry Pi but thought it was a bit advanced electronically for me so I didn't pay a lot of attention to how he set it up.
If anyone has a resource on the specifics of doing this for my system I am game to give it a try.
Thanks to all who have commented on my post. The consensus, as expected, is that I don't "need" the Cerbo GX and Touch Screen 50.
Again, if anyone would like to talk me through the Raspberry Pi setup I'd love to give it a go.
 
Again, if anyone would like to talk me through the Raspberry Pi setup I'd love to give it a go.

This is the simplest explanation I have seen. And he used to be very active on the forum :

 
Probably need to start my own thread when I start this project.
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So, for remote monitoring, seems like you need a USB to VE Direct cable for each device to be monitored. THe Rasberry pi would need to have enough USB devices to accommodate. So, in my case, that would be 4: three SCCs and one battery monitor. The Rasberry pi needs Lynux installed to run Victron’s software.

Interesting.

I had hoped that I could create a splitter cable that plugged into the USB and had four VE Direct inputs, but four cables seems necessary.
=====================

You linked post 19 (your reply to my post 18).

I have no idea how to link a post. This is what I see and can’t figure out how to change post 19 to 18:

“URL unfurl="true"]https://diysolarforum.com/threads/victron-energy-shut-712.30201/#post-393681[/URL”
 
I have no idea how to link a post. This is what I see and can’t figure out how to change post 19 to 18:

“URL unfurl="true"]https://diysolarforum.com/threads/victron-energy-shut-712.30201/#post-393681[/URL”
The link for post 18 is:


When viewing a thread, each post shows its number. Next to the number is a bookmark icon and a "shared" icon (looks like a < with three little boxes on it). Click that < icon. A popup appears with a link to that post. You can copy and paste that link as needed.
 
So, for remote monitoring, seems like you need a USB to VE Direct cable for each device to be monitored. THe Rasberry pi would need to have enough USB devices to accommodate. So, in my case, that would be 4: three SCCs and one battery monitor. The Rasberry pi needs Lynux installed to run Victron’s software.

Interesting.

I had hoped that I could create a splitter cable that plugged into the USB and had four VE Direct inputs, but four cables seems necessary.
You need a VE.Direct to USB cable for each VE.Direct device. This does include SCCs and battery monitors. You would need a MK3-USB cable for most MultiPluses.

The Raspberry Pi 3B+ has 4 USB ports. But you only need one port on the RPi. You can use a USB hub. That's what I did. All of my Victron devices each have their own cable and run a short distance to my USB hub. This allowed me to run just one long USB cable to my RPi.

The RPi does not need Linux installed. Victron's software is Venus OS. It's all you need on the RPi. But Venus OS is Linux based.
 
You need a VE.Direct to USB cable for each VE.Direct device. This does include SCCs and battery monitors. You would need a MK3-USB cable for most MultiPluses.

The Raspberry Pi 3B+ has 4 USB ports. But you only need one port on the RPi. You can use a USB hub. That's what I did. All of my Victron devices each have their own cable and run a short distance to my USB hub. This allowed me to run just one long USB cable to my RPi.

The RPi does not need Linux installed. Victron's software is Venus OS. It's all you need on the RPi. But Venus OS is Linux based.
I have one usb to VE direct cable on order now. I have a crate build at the house with a Victron inverter and small Victron SCC I will start with.
 
Chrisski: not sure what post # 18 you are referring to. Presently, there are only 16 posts on this thread.

How can I hook up a screen to display the parameters that will be monitored? When I am at the cabin I will access via Bluetooth but when the other guys are there without me I know they will need a visual screen to look at.
 
Try here:


I can’t say at this point how to hook a monitor, but what you are asking is an end of the month project for me. Maybe then I’ll know.
 
DIY Cerbo using a Raspberry Pi and a monitor hacked out of a laptop. The Victron equipment is connected with DIY VE Direct serial to USB cables. Testing before RV installation in my DIY solar generator powering my portable fridge/freezer. All in for the Cerbo about $50. Beats the h-e-double hockey sticks out of $675 for the Victron brand
 

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I'll be installing a Cerbo GX and GX Touch 50 when I add a Multiplus 12/3000/120 to my existing system that has two Victron MPPT 100/50 and a Victron BMV-712. I wanted additional monitoring and history that the BMV-712 doesn't provide. Parameters can also be changed through the GX Touch 50. The Victron Connect app has done a great job up to this point and I have nothing bad to say about it. I could have continued with just the BMV-712 and the Victron Connect app, but the history is interesting to me.
 
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