Victron Cerbo gx vs Cerbo s ?

[Kcdaniels]

I have a rv with 1400 watts of solar panels with two Victron 100/50 smart solar scc... One Victron blue solar 100/50 scc...and one Victron 100/20 smart solar scc.
Also Victron smart shunt and Victron multiplus 2000va.
I just added the 100/50 scc blue solar with two 320 watt panels wired in series. On my Victron connect app all equipment shows up even the blue solar scc because of the blue tooth module hooked up But it doesn't show up in my " Network Total " ?
So I guess my question is will the Cerbo gx or the cerbo s connect all my Victron equipment on one screen ? And if so which one of the two would you recommend ?

 

[sunshine_eggo]

I have a rv with 1400 watts of solar panels with two Victron 100/50 smart solar scc... One Victron blue solar 100/50 scc...and one Victron 100/20 smart solar scc.
Also Victron smart shunt and Victron multiplus 2000va.
I just added the 100/50 scc blue solar with two 320 watt panels wired in series. On my Victron connect app all equipment shows up even the blue solar scc because of the blue tooth module hooked up But it doesn't show up in my " Network Total " ?
So I guess my question is will the Cerbo gx or the cerbo s connect all my Victron equipment on one screen ? And if so which one of the two would you recommend ?

The Cerbo only has 3 VE.Direct ports, and I count 5 devices, 4 MPPT and 1 smartshunt.

The two additional devices can be connected to the two USB ports farthest from the HDMI port with VE.Direct to USB cables. You will not need your BT adapters unless you want the MPPT working in a VE.Smart network for charge coordination. This is a cool feature, but it doesn't really have any performance benefit.

The MP will not be visible in VC, but it will be connected to the Cerbo with a VE.Bus cable (blue ethernet cable that came with the inverter).

All of those devices will be connectable with VictronConnect via the Cerbo, i.e., when you open Victron connect, you will be presented with a VRM tab and the Cerbo. When you select the Cerbo, you will see all 5 devices.

With a Cerbo, you will have access to VRM, which will show all devices in a handy dandy dashboard and allow remote access provided the Cerbo has a continuous internet connection. You can click the "My VRM" link in my signature to see my system live.

Lastly, if you enable DVCC in the Cerbo, it can share the shunt data with all connected devices, including the inverter, i.e., Battery Voltage (SVS), Battery Current (SCS), and a temperature (STS) sensor.

There's the difference:



If you don't need those features, the -S is otherwise identical.

 

[Kcdaniels]

Hey thanks for the help !
So unless I need a tank Monitor go with the s model ?
I've got many $$$$ in this set up and my better half of 39 years has been great but now I've got tell her that " Honey I need to spend more" ?
So do you think the Cerbo is worth adding to the system ?

 

[sunshine_eggo]

I wouldn't own a Victron system without a GX device (I have the Color Control GX - wish I had a Cerbo as I will want the added temp sensors) as I routinely use the remote monitoring and control from 3.5 hours away.

It's arguably not needed for small systems, but .... it's just really cool. You might consider saving a little $ and not getting the touch screen if you're good with using VC and/or VRM apps on your phone. That's the route I will go when I upgrade.

 

[Kcdaniels]

I wouldn't own a Victron system without a GX device (I have the Color Control GX - wish I had a Cerbo as I will want the added temp sensors) as I routinely use the remote monitoring and control from 3.5 hours away.

It's arguably not needed for small systems, but .... it's just really cool. You might consider saving a little $ and not getting the touch screen if you're good with using VC and/or VRM apps on your phone. That's the route I will go when I upgrade.

Thanks for the help ! Just did a upgrade before we hit the road for a few months... Think I might wait till we get back and recover from spending all this $$$$ ?
Got say this solar stuff is ADDICTIVE ?

 

[740GLE]

One thing that I wish Victron would streamline is their inter device communications.

Seems like they should just go with one standard. VE.direct is straightforward, why have VE.Bus?

One plug one cable to buy and you’re covered for everything. Or have Bluetooth to Bluetooth VE.Smart for everything.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

One thing that I wish Victron would streamline is their inter device communications.

Seems like they should just go with one standard. VE.direct is straightforward, why have VE.Bus?

One plug one cable to buy and you’re covered for everything. Or have Bluetooth to Bluetooth VE.Smart for everything.

A little bit of magic is involved in syncing inverters. That's done via VE.Bus, and I doubt it will ever change. VE.CAN is a way to connect up to 25 MPPT to the same GX and have them coordinate charging. VE.Direct is for shunts and non VE.CAN MPPT.

It's down to those three, and I doubt they'll ever go to two, let alone one.

 

[rhino]

(I have the Color Control GX - wish I had a Cerbo as I will want the added temp sensors

Assuming you want air temp sensors, can't you add a USB bluetooth dongle to the Color Control GX and use ruuvi sensors which Venus OS has built-in support for? They even recommend adding a USB bluetooth dongle to the Cerbo GX to get better range when using ruuvi sensors.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Assuming you want air temp sensors, can't you add a USB bluetooth dongle to the Color Control GX and use ruuvi sensors which Venus OS has built-in support for? They even recommend adding a USB bluetooth dongle to the Cerbo GX to get better range when using ruuvi sensors.

In addition to temp sensors, I'm going to want to use VE.Can for additional MPPT. I'll then need the BMS.CAN port for the Batrium as the BMS and MPPT can't share the same CAN port.

 

[Kcdaniels]

Assuming you want air temp sensors, can't you add a USB bluetooth dongle to the Color Control GX and use ruuvi sensors which Venus OS has built-in support for? They even recommend adding a USB bluetooth dongle to the Cerbo GX to get better range when using ruuvi sensors.

Using this ?

 

[rhino]

Using this ?

I assume any GX device with USB port could use this: https://icmontana.com/products/tp-link-usb-bluetooth-adaptor
With the Cerbo GX which already has Bluetooth and has USB ports they recommend adding that to increase the bluetooth range.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

I assume any GX device with USB port could use this: https://icmontana.com/products/tp-link-usb-bluetooth-adaptor
With the Cerbo GX which already has Bluetooth and has USB ports they recommend adding that to increase the bluetooth range.

There are some compatibility issues with some BT adapters, but that one says tested with, so I'd assume it's good.

 

[740GLE]

A little bit of magic is involved in syncing inverters. That's done via VE.Bus, and I doubt it will ever change. VE.CAN is a way to connect up to 25 MPPT to the same GX and have them coordinate charging. VE.Direct is for shunts and non VE.CAN MPPT.

It's down to those three, and I doubt they'll ever go to two, let alone one.

So what’s the difference in data throughput and capability of VE.Can and VE.Bus? Seems like this is two that could be reduced into one standard.

It’s like HD-DVD vs Blueray except it’s one company.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

VE.Can follows the J1939 standard, and it's designed to be an open interface to allow third party interactions like BMS. it may have made more sense for them to use an entirely new interface for the VE.CAN MPPT rather than try to integrate it into the VE.Bus daisy chain.

VE.Bus is completely proprietary. I can only guess that they want to keep it that way to protect their inverter "magic."

 

[Grakat]

Hi there

Thought I would tack my question onto the back of this thread. The system I am building is going to be remote and offgrid with no access to a wifi signal. Will either Cerbo work with a USB 3G/4G modem for its access to the outside world.

Graham

 

[rhino]

Not sure about "any" USB 3G/4G modem but Victron has their own that of course would work: https://www.victronenergy.com/accessories/gx-lte-4g

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Hi there

Thought I would tack my question onto the back of this thread. The system I am building is going to be remote and offgrid with no access to a wifi signal. Will either Cerbo work with a USB 3G/4G modem for its access to the outside world.

Graham

@rhino has the Victron solution. If you have a hot spot or other internet connection, the Cerbo can connect to it via ethernet or on board wifi.

 

[hammick]

Can I configure a Multiplus with the Cerbo GX and not have to buy an MK3-USB?

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Can I configure a Multiplus with the Cerbo GX and not have to buy an MK3-USB?

If you setup VRM on the GX, you can use VRM to download VEConfig files, modify them on your PC with VEConfigure3 and then upload them to the inverter.