diy solar

diy solar

Victron is Over-priced Eurotrash. Why would anybody buy Victron over an AiO?

One has to factor luck into the equation. I rolled the dice on a refurb EG4-6000EX-48HV, $900 from SS, and $1400 for 10 x 360watt used panels from SanTan solar, and so far, it seems like it's paying off. With only $2300 invested in the inverter, and panels, and another $2k in 10kw of batteries, it's looking like this system we're using to charge our Lightning will pay itself off in 3-4 years. Better than I could have expected. We'll see how the inverter holds up, as I think I'd be closer to $3k in splitphase inverter at 6kw for a equivalent Victron. Solar assistant plugged right in and monitors better than Victron does in my opinion.

That said, the 100/50 that we swapped out the Epever 200/80 for in our off grid shed, seems like it may be worth the extra dollars, but we won't know for sure until next summer. I definitely have been able to just forget about it, for the most part.
 
Murphyslaww said:
That said, the 100/50 that we swapped out the Epever 200/80 for in our off grid shed, seems like it may be worth the extra dollars, but we won't know for sure until next summer. I definitely have been able to just forget about it, for the most part.
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I've had the same experience. Swapped out all my Epevers to Victron SCCs and my system is performing so much better now.

Plus much better data logging.
 
Zwy said:
I'd rather take the $2K I mentioned in my example above and buy another pallet of 370W panels. That was just the cost difference for wire, never mind additional items that would have been needed with poor planning.
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Devils advocate here: that money saved/washed by putting instead into panels….how much are you now hypothetically net negative after mounting an entire pallet to compensate for saving on wire costs on your other strings to have a bit more voltage?

Separately, there was a post on here the other day about Victron charge controllers in action. They can “turn on” at 5v above battery voltage. Which would seem to imply one will start generating power much sooner than the budget controllers that are cranky until 140+v
 
G00SE said:
Devils advocate here: that money saved/washed by putting instead into panels….how much are you now hypothetically net negative after mounting an entire pallet to compensate for saving on wire costs on your other strings to have a bit more voltage?
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I'm not compensating, I'm expanding my system. It was a deal I couldn't pass up. I'm adding another heat pump in the house and adding a system to my shop.


G00SE said:
Separately, there was a post on here the other day about Victron charge controllers in action. They can “turn on” at 5v above battery voltage. Which would seem to imply one will start generating power much sooner than the budget controllers that are cranky until 140+v
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From my experience with a 3K GW inverter and the EG4 MPPT's, these turn on as soon as there is enough light at sunrise.

The GW MPPT will put a load on panels but would shut down if there if the PV voltage drops with the load. Then start up again and keep repeating the process until there is sufficient PV when the load is applied.

The EG4 MPPT's will turn on and look for a power point. Usually it will output 100W or so in low light but not uncommon to see 2KW as soon as the sun breaks the horizon if there isn't any haze.

With panels in series, the string voltage is high enough to enable power up and the MPPT to begin a load. Some MPPT's can adjust for power point well enough to begin drawing a load. I have found the EG4 does this very well and will draw what the panels can produce. The GW inverter MPPT doesn't and it is a lower VOC rated unit with lower operating voltage.
 
Zwy said:
I'm not compensating, I'm expanding my system. It was a deal I couldn't pass up. I'm adding another heat pump in the house and adding a system to my shop.
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my mistake, I thought it was a hypothetical as a counter to spending the 2400 on a Victron 450.
Carry on sir.
 
Brucey said:
Smartshunt arrived....about to order a Lynx Distributor...when will the madness end?

Also not sure if there's lower rated mega fuses for say my 150/35.
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Do you need the distributor. Heard it truly doesn’t offer much without the Lynx BMS with Victron batteries. People modify the Lynx Power in by just adding bolts.
 
Brucey said:
Smartshunt arrived....about to order a Lynx Distributor...when will the madness end?

Also not sure if there's lower rated mega fuses for say my 150/35.
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A lot of folks seem to be buying a Lynx setup . . .I’m sure it’s a great device as it’s Blue Stuff.
But …
I have been watching videos for along time on peoples installs and yet I still have the same question…Other than save some room ( as in a boat or sprinter type build) what does it do better than having true components of exactly what one needs for their particular system..??

I have never messed with one , but it seems a bit tight in space, it limits what fuses can be used and customizing would seem to be a challenge , but it must do a lot right.. many people seem to have or want one…

thx, J.
 
JRH said:
A lot of folks seem to be buying a Lynx setup . . .I’m sure it’s a great device as it’s Blue Stuff.
But …
I have been watching videos for along time on peoples installs and yet I still have the same question…Other than save some room ( as in a boat or sprinter type build) what does it do better than having true components of exactly what one needs for their particular system..??

I have never messed with one , but it seems a bit tight in space, it limits what fuses can be used and customizing would seem to be a challenge , but it must do a lot right.. many people seem to have or want one…

thx, J.
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Basically cleans up the install in terms of fuses. They are fairly large. The power in isn't much more than the Victron bus bars alone are.

Screenshot_20240113_130220_Chrome.jpg
Screenshot_20240113_130155_Chrome.jpg
 
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JRH said:
A lot of folks seem to be buying a Lynx setup . . .I’m sure it’s a great device as it’s Blue Stuff.
But …
I have been watching videos for along time on peoples installs and yet I still have the same question…Other than save some room ( as in a boat or sprinter type build) what does it do better than having true components of exactly what one needs for their particular system..??

I have never messed with one , but it seems a bit tight in space, it limits what fuses can be used and customizing would seem to be a challenge , but it must do a lot right.. many people seem to have or want one…

thx, J.
Click to expand...
I’m not a Victron guy (yet) but got the Lynx Power In for two reasons: 1) with the limited space I have for my equipment it saves space on the wall vs having positive and negative bus bars mounted separately. 2) one thing I really like about it is better protection from accidentally touching the bus bars. My setup is in my office in my house and I have little kids and all the other bus bars have only marginal protection with the covers they provide - still very easy for a little kid to reach through openings and touch the shiny metal. The Lynx provides much better protection in my opinion anyway.
 
Kiwi2000 said:
You can add fuses to the Power In.
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Inside my Lynx Power In:

1f788415-b8c7-47e1-98fa-3a8992c01742_1_105_c-jpeg.147986


And with the lid on:
9da38a94-69da-4d12-b57d-b696e7773336_1_105_c-jpeg.147987


The secondary lower bus bar is for my lead acid bank (used as reserve capacity), which has its own fuses/disconnect.

When I priced up making my own busbar arrangement from individual components, the Power In was actually pretty good value, had more carrying capacity than I needed, used less room (I have a tight space) and looks half decent.
 
ChrisG said:
Do you need the distributor. Heard it truly doesn’t offer much without the Lynx BMS with Victron batteries. People modify the Lynx Power in by just adding bolts.
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The Lynx Distributor is an absolutely awesome pair of 1000A bus bars. With the built-in fuse holders, it's hard to match with non-Victron choices. As @Kiwi2000 pointed out, you can hack a Lynx Power In (which is cheaper than the distributor) to be essentially like the Lynx Distributor. The Distributor provides LED status indicators for the fuses, but that part requires that the distributor is connected to either the Lynx BMS or the Lynx Shunt, or you do the hack that Explorist Life has shown on his YouTube channel. In my opinion, the Lynx BMS and Lynx Shunt are NOT worth buying. I've done the hack and it works great to provide the LED status of the fuses.
 
AZ Solar Junkie said:
I’m not a Victron guy (yet) but got the Lynx Power In for two reasons: 1) with the limited space I have for my equipment it saves space on the wall vs having positive and negative bus bars mounted separately. 2) one thing I really like about it is better protection from accidentally touching the bus bars. My setup is in my office in my house and I have little kids and all the other bus bars have only marginal protection with the covers they provide - still very easy for a little kid to reach through openings and touch the shiny metal. The Lynx provides much better protection in my opinion anyway.
Click to expand...

A Power In was the first Victron component I ever purchased. Seeing how well engineered and made it was got me switched on to Victron.
 
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