Can Anyone with the Multiplus show us how the VE Bus Smart app works?

pthomas745

The 2023's 320's with the "lithium upgrades" are showing up.  Can any of you with the Multiplus show us how the VE Bus Smart works to turn on and off the inverter and charger, etc?  Victron makes wonderful products, but their manuals and documentation seem to be aimed at rocket scientists.

elbolillo

here here are some images of the VE.Bus. I currently have it connected to shore power and have it set to charger only and have set the input limit to 20 amps as it is plugged into a 20a circuit.

To select the mode you touch the box on the left side that looks like a switch. Here you can choose what is needed. When boondocking I set it to off. Shore power, charger only. And when needing to run 110v appliances, inverter only.

And this is the screen for setting the load limit. If it is set higher than the circuit you are using it will trip the breaker. 

pthomas745

@elbolillo Thanks a lot!  The "box on the left" is the box with the "A" and the 20 amp notation?

When boondocking, you leave the "Inverter off" until you need to use it.  Have you sorted out what the parasitic drain of the inverter is if you leave the inverter on when it is not in use?

On the Mode screen, what is meant by "On"?  Does that setting turn on the charger and the inverter?

Does your model inverter have a physical On/Off switch? 

elbolillo

pthomas745 said:

@elbolillo Thanks a lot!  The "box on the left" is the box with the "A" and the 20 amp notation?

When boondocking, you leave the "Inverter off" until you need to use it.  Have you sorted out what the parasitic drain of the inverter is if you leave the inverter on when it is not in use?

On the Mode screen, what is meant by "On"?  Does that setting turn on the charger and the inverter?

Does your model inverter have a physical On/Off switch? 

Yes, the box on the left is where you set the current limit.
Yes I leave the inverter off until needed when boondocking. I have not determined the parasitic draw.

On = "Auto Mode" and allows automatic handling of the internal transfer switch

Inverter only = keeps unit running off batteries only, disabling shore/gen power pass through

Off = completely shut the unit down while still attached to power

Charge only = only allows charging the batteries, does not allow pass through or battery power

The Multiplus has a physical switch on the unit itself. I do not have a secondary physical on/off switch. I just control everything through the app.

ASpurlock

Hi there.  Thanks for answering this.  I was looking for information on the 320’s lithium package and this kind person asked the question here.  I am so confused lol. But my understanding is getting better after reading this thread. As far as the energy being sucked out of the batteries when everything is turned off – I have no idea what could be using any kind of power. There are no lights on on the radio nothing that’s turned on that I can tell so it’s a mystery to me how the batteries are being drained. The inverter is off the battery disconnect is in the off position.  Any idea? 

pthomas745

@ASpurlock did you ever figure these things out? 

Tabmanic

fully charge the batteries and than disconnect your batteries from all connections and check the voltage, let set over night and check again to see if you have unusual drain. This will tell you if it's the batteries or a draw in the system. If I fully charge my batteries to 14.6V they will be at 13.8 or so by morning and this is normal.

ASpurlock

Tabmanic said:

fully charge the batteries and than disconnect your batteries from all connections and check the voltage, let set over night and check again to see if you have unusual drain. This will tell you if it's the batteries or a draw in the system. If I fully charge my batteries to 14.6V they will be at 13.8 or so by morning and this is normal.

ASpurlock

Thank you for the suggestions.  I'm waiting for two things at the moment:  1) the buyer of my T@g to pickup her camper; 2) Pending #1, I can move my T@b under my carport to charge with my generator.  The sun isn't going to be out here in my area for a good week or so.  :(  Thanks for the followup. 

ASpurlock

pthomas745  I think I might have figured things out with the help of an actual Victron dealer.  The settings were a bit wonky on my app.  Now I just have to wait for sunshine to see if the solar will work as expected.  LOL.   Just my luck.  In the mean time, pending the above reply to Tabmanic, I'll just try to charge with my genny and at least get a full charge and see how long things last in driveway camping.  Thanks again for your help.  I'll keep you posted. 

pthomas745

@ASpurlock Good, trying to get all those things talking to each other is not easy.  What exactly was the issue with your settings?  Just wondering, so get all those other things done and let us know!

ASpurlock

@pthomas745 I'm not sure I understand it all but it had to do with some settings that allows all the bits and bobs to communicate to one another.  the walk through with the Victron guy helped me tweak things so they would had a "tech conversation" then I had to make sure I had the right settings on, off inverter only or charge only and i should really only worry about on or charge only for now unless I'm off grid then inverter only.   Now I just need sunshine?   I'm still not clear how many watts my T@b's panel is and awaiting clarification is it is 105 or 180.  So far nuCamp has not responded.  

Tabmanic

My Tab 2021 320 was 105 and my 2023 400 is 195 watt, I think you have a 105 watt. I also saw some listings showing 135 watts.

ASpurlock

Tabmanic said:

My Tab 2021 320 was 105 and my 2023 400 is 195 watt, I think you have a 105 watt. I also saw some listings showing 135 watts.

Right.  I have a 2023 Tab 320S BD so who knows.  Its seems a bit underpowered for 2, 100ah lithium batteries for charging 

ASpurlock

Here is what I did find out about the size of the solar panels:  Per NuCamp not everyone got the same solar panels for their solar package.  Due to supply, you could have gotten 100W, 105W, 180W - no one knows unless they look at your VIN.  I did find out I would be OK to directly connect my 100W Renogy suitcase solar panels to the batteries as long as my panels have a charge controller, which they do.  So if I have 180W panels and would like to augment that with the 100W Renogy it would be safe to do so.  I'm breaking a little easier as I put all my scattered ducks in a row.  

Tabmanic

My 320 had 105 watt and it kept my 2 100Ah lithium charged pretty fast on a sunny day, I also had 200w on the ground for some extra boost. When we boondock we would use about 17 to 20% thru the night and the solar would put us back to 100% by noon, I think you will do just fine charging your batteries as long as Mr. Sun is available. 

ASpurlock

@Tabmanic Do you mind if I ask what you are running over night that uses that power?  Just trying to gauge my use.  I like to keep track of analytics.   

Tabmanic

We used TV, Alde, Lights, Water pump, Computer (I switched to 12V with buck converter), Refer and radio, we used these without conserving.

pthomas745

@aspurlock Most everything about the power use of items in the trailer is well known, and very predictable.  Well, mostly.  The trailer, except for the fridge, simply does not use much power.  Jenn Grover has made spreadsheets with the measurements for her trailer with a 2 way fridge, which will use about 30-40 amps per day, depending on several factors.  If your trailer is getting decent sun, the fridge use over the course of the daylight hours is practically "free", since the solar might be able to easily keep up with a 1.5 amp (average) power use.

This is Jenn's blog with the info.

https://jenngrover.com/power-consumption/

ASpurlock

pthomas745   This is awesome and exactly the kind of data I would be gathering.    I am analyst for my profession.  Thank you for sharing.  

ASpurlock

Per NuCamp, my T@b has a 135 Watt solar panel on the roof.  I will augment that with my 100W Renogy suitcase if needed,  that should keep me out and about for a good while.   

pthomas745

Jenn Grover has been doing this for the group for quite a while.  If it wasn't for her, I'd still be huddled in the dark wondering what I'm doing!

ASpurlock

I think I've watched most of her videos on YouTube.  I need to get in there and review   She has great information.  

elbolillo

Tabmanic said:

My 320 had 105 watt and it kept my 2 100Ah lithium charged pretty fast on a sunny day, I also had 200w on the ground for some extra boost. When we boondock we would use about 17 to 20% thru the night and the solar would put us back to 100% by noon, I think you will do just fine charging your batteries as long as Mr. Sun is available. 

Overnight we generally end up using about 10%. Definitely having sun is always helpful. We spent some time in Latijas, TX recently and when we arrived my battery bank was down to 80% (After two days of travel with no sunshine). Sunshine was a mixed bag and the lowest we got during our week there was 23%.