I got the cerbo (and the gx50) because it ties the whole system together. It speaks VE.Direct to my MPPT, VE.Bus to the inverter/charger, and CAN Bus to my sensor network, BMS, and alternator. It’s what allows the BMS to drive the whole charging/discharging process so that I will never have a disconnect. It’s also a very nice piece of kit that allows me to monitor the boat remotely, and adjust my electrical system remotely.
While the boat is in what amounts to “storage mode” I set the DVCC function to 13.2v which limits things to 50% SoC or so. Setting that one setting on the Cerbo adjusts all my charging sources (other than the alternator I suppose), and works very well. Then, the day before I’m going out for an overnight sailing I’ll log in, remove the limit, turn on the inverter/charger, and let my batteries charge up to 100%.
I also got it for all the other automation and monitoring capabilities. We have it watching bilge levels, the fuel tank, the water tank, blackwater… plus it can control the bilge pumps. Lastly, we’re using it as a SignalK server, and starting to play with automation in NodeRed.
It’s a very flexible, very cool piece of kit, that’s under constant development.
As far as the fuse sizing for the alternator, remember fuses are there to protect the wire. I have a 160A fuse on my alternator lead, which is a 2awg wire. That fuse is undersized for the wire, but my alternator is only an 85A unit. I probably won’t swap it out though when we repower and switch to a 120A alternator.
While the boat is in what amounts to “storage mode” I set the DVCC function to 13.2v which limits things to 50% SoC or so. Setting that one setting on the Cerbo adjusts all my charging sources (other than the alternator I suppose), and works very well. Then, the day before I’m going out for an overnight sailing I’ll log in, remove the limit, turn on the inverter/charger, and let my batteries charge up to 100%.
I also got it for all the other automation and monitoring capabilities. We have it watching bilge levels, the fuel tank, the water tank, blackwater… plus it can control the bilge pumps. Lastly, we’re using it as a SignalK server, and starting to play with automation in NodeRed.
It’s a very flexible, very cool piece of kit, that’s under constant development.
As far as the fuse sizing for the alternator, remember fuses are there to protect the wire. I have a 160A fuse on my alternator lead, which is a 2awg wire. That fuse is undersized for the wire, but my alternator is only an 85A unit. I probably won’t swap it out though when we repower and switch to a 120A alternator.