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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 22 Nov 2025 11:23am - Edited by: paulz
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Thanks Trav. I have the battery preset at Lfp. I see the rotary switch, no need to bother I guess.
For some reason it shows 13.1v, even though direct vom reading only 12.5 this morning. Why? Going to be a sunny day, see what happens..
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FishHog
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# Posted: 23 Nov 2025 08:29am
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Quoting: paulz For some reason it shows 13.1v, even though direct vom reading only 12.5 this morning. Why? Going to be a sunny day, see what happens..
Strange, try taking the voltage right off the battery positive and negative on the charge controller. If they don't match, think I'd be trying another volt meter as one something is off. If 2 volt meters agree, then I'd be looking at replacing the charge controller. Id try this in the dark to be sure your getting accurate readings from the battery only.
Mine always match or at least are very close.
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MtnDon
Member
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# Posted: 23 Nov 2025 02:49pm
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What response do you get when you click on the "i" "why is the charger off?" question?
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 23 Nov 2025 03:40pm - Edited by: paulz
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I’m back at the grid for a couple days but I did look at that. Said check cabling etc. I just assumed it said off because the solar voltage was lower than battery voltage. This was early before sun hit panels. Be back Tuesday.
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 28 Nov 2025 02:56pm
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Starting to feel good with the new Victron SCC. 5 amps coming in on this cloudy morning with no sunlight hitting the array through the trees. One oddity is my panels measure about 90 volts open circuit with a volt meter but only show 50 something on the SCC. Is that the SCC usage knocking them down?
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MtnDon
Member
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# Posted: 28 Nov 2025 04:58pm - Edited by: MtnDon
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EDITED:
Not the SCC knocking down the voltage. Voc is the voltage that may be produced for an instant when the sun ops up over a ridge and direct sun first hits the panels. It won't last for more than a second. But it may last long enough to be higher than the maximum permissable voltage for the SCC. That is why, in the NEC, the Voc is multiplied by 1.25 to determine possible max voltage in sizing the panels to the SCC. On a very cold morning it might be possible for the first solar voltage of the day to instantaneously exceed the hardware limits of the SCC. The NEC has more detailed factors that vary with altitude as well as temperature, and just how cold it gets. In a warmer climate it is possible to use a lower value safety multiplier.
That reading means 55.18 volts was reaching the Victron SCC from the solar at that moment. That may rise as more sun hits the panels or fall as sun decreases. Plus 1.3 amps was being received from the panels at that moment. The graphed image indicates the power being received from the solar amounts to 72 watts.
Then we see that 5.20 amps are going into the battery at 13.13 volts in a bulk charge state.
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 28 Nov 2025 06:25pm
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Ok got it now. What I measure with the panels disconnected is open circuit voltage. Voltage shown on the app is voltage under charging, in my case about 30% lower. To test, I measured voltage with all hooked up, then removed just battery from the SCC, eliminating charging. Voltage went back up to 80 or so, same as open circuit.
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 28 Nov 2025 08:48pm
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As long as it has been determined that the Voc is less than the maximum voltage the SCC can handle, you never have any reason to check the Voc again. What really matters is what is going into the battery and that charging stops when the battery is fully charged.
I am so comfortable that our systems work well, that all I have been doing for some time now it a once a day glance at the meter or the app to see what is happening; mainly to see if a charge is underway and/or what the SOC is. At home I look even less as the UI monitors all 10 panels and the inverters, and sends an alarm if anything appears to be out of whack.
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paulz
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# Posted: 28 Nov 2025 09:33pm
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Yeah I should’ be about done messing around too. I did some rewiring while switching sccs. I don’t recall the Epever stating my panel voltage, I knew it was about 80-90 open circuit from previous measuring so was surprised to see it lower on the Victron display. Thought maybe it was my new wiring job but now know it’s just the voltage under charge.
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FishHog
Member
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# Posted: 29 Nov 2025 08:05am
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Quoting: paulz then removed just battery from the SCC, eliminating charging.
Shouldn't do that one again. SCC's should always have a battery hooked up first before anything else and that should be the last thing disconnected.
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 29 Nov 2025 09:17pm - Edited by: paulz
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Oh boy! At least it was just for a moment, though I’ve removed the batterys from the cabin many times over the years with the Epever, never seemed to bother it.
Can’t really compare them now, looked mid day today and the sun isn’t even clearing the hill. Lucky to get anything.
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 3 Dec 2025 12:21pm
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I have both the Victron and the Epever powered up, just have to switch the over the PV wires. First comparison this cloudy morning. Happy to report the Victron showed 2amps, the E only.7. I’ll be switching all day, supposed to get sunny.
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gcrank1
Member
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# Posted: 3 Dec 2025 04:13pm
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Im sure curious what you get in really good sun between both
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 3 Dec 2025 06:36pm
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Won’t be good sun here for 6 months. I was getting 15-20 amps out of the Epever last summer. About it for charging today, I switched back and forth several times. Hard to gauge with the sun flickering through the trees, the Victron amps change constantly a bit while the Epever read out stays more constant but in general the Victron at 4-6 amps, 2 or 3 higher than the Epever. Just my first day of any comparison but like others have said, it does appear to outperform. These are just the SCC readings, my battery bank amp meter will give true readings but with fridge, modem tv running that’s inconsistent too. Need to look with cabin power off, no wind…
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travellerw
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# Posted: 3 Dec 2025 06:59pm
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If I can find my old backup hard drives, I will post a comparison I did of EPEVER and Victron for 1 year. I did the comparison in the Caribbean where the weather and sun is very close year to year. If I remember correctly, the Victron harvested 20% more energy than the EPEVER. The numbers were gathered from a BMV-700 that used a shunt to measure total energy produced.
Of course its not a perfect comparison as it affected by usage. However, our usage was pretty consistent as we lived aboard.
Even not being a perfect test it was clear that the Victron did measurably better. I'm glad its showing the same for Paul.
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paulz
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# Posted: 5 Dec 2025 11:16am - Edited by: paulz
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Thanks Trav. No need to dig out your old test data, I’m convinced.
Yesterday I drug these old misc panels up here and hooked to the old Epever to see if they get anything. Nothing so far, but sun supposed to come out today. The two large pair have no labels, just this bar code.
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paulz
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# Posted: 10 Dec 2025 08:31am
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Back to the cabin after 3 days away. Graph shows the 3 days we were gone, solar going of course but power off. Two days prior using bank power. Don’t know that kWh mean..
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travellerw
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# Posted: 10 Dec 2025 11:19am - Edited by: travellerw
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Quoting: paulz Two days prior using bank power. Don’t know that kWh mean..
1 kWh = 1000Wh.
That is the total power you have generated since you plugged the controller in (Lifetime power). That number will continue to climb and cannot be reset.
The other number (since reset) can be reset using the app. Some people like to reset it periodically (1m, 3m, 6m, 1y). This can help you trend your power over time.
By default the app only shows 4 days of history. See the image I attached to see 30 days.
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paulz
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# Posted: 11 Dec 2025 01:01pm
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Quoting: travellerw That is the total power you have generated since you plugged the controller in (Lifetime power
Ok I get that, thanks. On the two bars next to each other, yield is much higher on one at 290 than the other 160 even though watts and volts are about same. Is that because power was on in the cabin on the lower day?
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travellerw
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# Posted: 12 Dec 2025 12:25am
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Quoting: paulz Is that because power was on in the cabin on the lower day?
It should be the other way around! On the days that you didn't have power on in the cabin, the batteries would fill much quicker putting the charger in float mode. Once in float, it pretty much stops capturing energy from the panels (just enough to keep floating the batts)
The days you had power on in the cabin and were actively using it, then you would generate more (if enough sun is available).
Remember, power that you are using during generating hours is coming from the controller/panels. e.g. if you have 9 amps going into the batteries, then turn on a device that draws 4 amps. You would then have only 5 amps going into the batteries. However, if your batteries are full and you turn on a device that draws 5 amps, the controller will flow that current from the panels leaving the batteries full still (again if sun is available). That energy is still counted by the controller as it went somewhere.
I hope that makes sense.
Now the question is.. Why it produced more while you were away. That seems strange to me!
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MtnDon
Member
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# Posted: 12 Dec 2025 08:53am - Edited by: MtnDon
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Quoting: travellerw Now the question is.. Why it produced more while you were away. That seems strange to me!
Perhaps that day had more sun to push power into the batteries? In Paul's location the sun is iffy and more iffy in winter
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 12 Dec 2025 10:37am
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Quoting: travellerw I hope that makes sense.
Yeah but I’ll have to read again.. and do a better job of logging the days cabin power is on or off, what the weather was that day.. too bad that history report has no dates, I guess the SCC doesn’t know. I barely do either. 
Still haven’t returned the non Bluetooth Victron I bought by mistake. Might try it, with a 20$ dongle I can monitor on a laptop? Nothing else needed?
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