Victron Smart Solar Charger Review After 4 Years Of Use. Features, Apps, Wiring Explained.
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- Опубликовано: 9 фев 2025
- After four years of daily use, here is my review of the Victron SmartSolar MPPT 150/35 solar charger.
Details of Bluetooth apps, programmable charge settings, advanced MPPT, protection circuits, how-to wire, and more.
Correction! Around 01:30 I meant "Pulse Width Modulation" not "Pulse Wave Modulation".
Index
00:00 - Intro
00:26 - Features
05:46 - Wiring
06:29 - Apps
11:47 - Conclusion
Buy the Victron SmartSolar MPPT 150/35 on Amazon: amzn.to/3Q0qUGa
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lots of good information with Bob Ross effects. good on you.
Best overall information on the web, very accurate and in depth. Victron pls make notes!
Thanks!
Right 👍
Really good 👍 straight to the point, easy to understand, just bought 2 x 100/50 s. Upgrading panels and controllers. My xantrex pwm c60, has been rock solid for 15 years off grid, but the newer mppt is definitely the way to go, hello from Ireland ;)
Thanks, Keith.
Best most informative video, thank you for avoiding extra common youtuber "influencer mumbo jumbo" just facts - respect!
I appreciate that!
Quick, clear, consise narrative . . . Thank You
Thanks!
Rocky and Bullwinkle!
I think I'm convinced to Victron.
A classic!
Great explanation, will check out your other vids 👍
Very clear and detailed presentation... thank you!
I have two questions:
- How much is the max input voltage from PV... 150V with zero tolerance?
- How much is the max input current coming from PV... 20 A or more... with zero tolerance?
You have to add adjustments for cold temperature s and irradiance. Victron has a calculator for that
at www.victronenergy.com/support-and-downloads/software down at the bottom of the page. Its called MPPT Calculator Excel sheet
As a ballpark figure, make sure you stay below 120v using your Open-circuit Voltages. As I understand it, the MPPT charger will only pull what it needs and cap amperage there. On my 150/35 model it will never pull more than 35 amps. I believe that refers to 35 charging amps going to the battery, not pulling 35 amps from the solar panels
You are conferming my doubts about,
data from victron are not so evident and ready to be understandable at the first reading.
120V is a good compromise to Vbatt+5V and 150V is acceptable but 150V maybe regards to Voc of PV.
Just missing the correct load and streetlight info. These DO have a "Virtual Load" output. You can set the VE direct output as a switching level output for an external load controller such as a relay module. You can do a lot with the load and streetlight settings. Like set the voltage range for your load and when in a day cycle it comes on (they don't have a realtime clock they uses the solar cycle to time off).
PWM = Pulse WIDTH Modulation, or so I’ve heard.
Yes, it should be "width"... my brain misfired.
Good information, well presented. Thanks!
Outstanding video very informative Thank you Sir,
thanks!
Hello. Does the mppts hooked in different solar array charge the same batt bank at ago
I have two Victron MPPT chargers, and they both charge the same battery bank. I hook up the outputs of the chargers to two bus bars (one for positive, one for negative). These bus bars are also connected to each 48v battery and the inverter.
Great video.
Excellent video.
My question is ...
Is there a problem if you input too much solar panel power?
I have a 1500 watt array that I power my water heater with.
When the water is up to temp, the solar panels are electronically disconnected.
I would like them to switch over and start topping off the battery bank.
Is there a problem feeding 1500 watts at 115 vdc into a 150/45 charger?
My thought is the charger will max out at 45 amps with no harm done.
What do you think?
The Victron will limit PV amps to 45. As far as voltage, you have to account for variables like cold temperatures. Victron has a spreadsheet that helps: www.victronenergy.com/upload/software/VE-MPPT-Calc-4_0.xlsm
Hi very good easy to understand video. I’m in the uk just brought victron solar charger 100/20 got a 200w panel could I an another 200w panel to the victron or would I need a bigger unit. Also question on voltage settings for battery on victron float and absorption mode .. I’ve got a renogy 170amp lithium battery what should I set the two voltages at . Thanks mike
I've never used either if those, so I can't tell you from experience, However Victron has a calculator on their website where you can see how many panels work with different chargers.
See the MPPT calculator excel sheet at the bottom of: www.victronenergy.com/support-and-downloads/software
You'll have to get the recommended charging voltages from Renogy.
As long as your Voc Max on both panels sums to less then 100v, you're good to put them in series. Do factor in a little overhead if your area is likely to get cold in winter, as this can push the Voc too high and fry your Victron.
Nice clear and concise. Thanks. I noticed you used 48 volts in one of the settings, but I think said your Chevy batts were 46. Did I miss something?
The 48-volt setting is a general range of battery... the choices are 12v, 24v, 36v, or 48v. The precise charge voltages are set under absorption and float voltages.
I've since upgraded to EG4 Lifepower rack mount batteries, they are still set to the "48v" range, but the charge voltages are much higher than the volt batteries.
@@ReelClearMediaLLC thanks!
Thanks for your video. I understand that victron have a app and the good but since I can't get them on the phone to ask my questions I hope you can help. What happens when the internet go out and I can't use your victron app?
You can still use the bluetooth app, as long as you are in within a few feet of the charger
just order a 150/60 with the reader do i have to have a wifi i have bat meter on all the batterys?
If its the "smartsolar" model it has bluetooth built in. Just download the Victron Connect app, no wifi needed.
@@ReelClearMediaLLC thanks
the screw on the left from the side is for ground. i saw u dont have it connected. is that the solution to the case of possible ground fault you mentioned at the end of the video? i have this in my car and i want to ask u if u know for certain if it needs to be connected to the car ground (chassis)?
I'm unsure of how to wire that for mobile use. There are forums online for wiring RVs and vans that would be able to help.
@ReelClearMediaLLC thanks. i think its the sam as with solar panels. in house yes on car no. why i think is that if a lightning strike the car and my vic is connected to the chassis.... well i presume byebye victron
@@chupo4putin If lightning strikes the car , the Victron will be the least of the problems.
@@ReelClearMediaLLC if lightning strikes it goes thru the tires and inro the ground. car suffers no damage so i think i think its fine. i think that bolt would kill me if lightning would strike at the precise moment i would be touching it or heat sink if it was scratched. thats what i think not sure thou....
Great teacher!
I have two growatt 3000 in para. and slit phase. They don't seem to charge the battery's fully, I was thinking of going to theses charge controller's, do you think that would be a good idea? Thanks
The victrons are great chargers. What is happening with the growatts?
@@ReelClearMediaLLC when they get the battery's up to around 25.6 they stop charging , the battery symbol blinks showing fully charged. The only way I get the battery's to fully charge up to 27 v is to take all loads off the inverters , and let the solar panels or shore power charge only the battery's. I was wondering if a stand alone solar charger would do better? Thanks
p.s. I have the charge shut off set to 27.2 in the growatt.
@@bianchispurs Check Setting 2 and 11 to make sure it's charging with enough amps in absorption and float mode.
If that doesn't help, The Victron chargers are very flexible. Make sure to pick the right model for your batteries and solar...
@@ReelClearMediaLLC Thank you, I will check that.
Hello. Thank you verry much. It's really helpfull! Is it possible to use victron mppt as a booster. For exemple i have a ebike with a batterie 48v. 25 amp. And a solar panel 100w 12 v ? I want to charge my bike while riding... let's say with a smal victron mppt. Have a nice day!
I suppose it MIGHT work... You would have to find a charger that matches both your solar panel and your battery. Victrons need 5v more voltage for solar input than your battery voltage, usually requires multiple panels.
@@ReelClearMediaLLC Thank you!
no. it is a step down charger. not step up.
if you have a 48V battery you'd need to build a 48V system. and having 2x 40V panels plus a 48V mppt charger would be a proper way of doing this.
I can never tell from victron controllers which ones can be used with 48v batteries I wanted to get the 75|15 controller but unable to tell from spec sheet if it will work with this battery
No, the 75/15 only works with 12v or 24v battery systems
Thanks for the video. Is it possible to set the battery charge voltage? My battery needs to be charged at 12.6V 20A CV/CC, will I be able to set this? Thank you.
You can limit output current to 20A if you want, and charging setpoints to 12.6v if you want.
@@fratermus5502 thanks for answering, I was busy and away from RUclips this week
Well explained !
Great review and explanation
Hey mate, my victron app doesn't show any wattage only under load. So you think it's in mt settings?
Thank you
If you are looking at a charger in the app, you might not see any watts if the battery is fully charged. If the battery is charging you should always see watts on the charger page of the app.
on my 12 volt off grid system I have 4 of victron charge controllers, a 75/15, two 100/30's and one 100/50. I have a home assembled 630ah lifepo4 bat. I have the smart shunt to keep track of battery level/current/voltage ect. I would like to limiit the overall current the battery will be charged at without limiting the charge controllers(for supplying the loads) Anyone aware of this being a possibility?
Well-Done
Thanks 😁👍
My victron charger i had 5 years ago thati paid $300 for.didnt have reverse polarity.i was chargeing car batterys and didnt relise the terminals swtched + and - because some dumb cars
How much DC load can be run by this ?
This model doesn't have any DC load out. Some of the smaller Victron chargers do.
@@ReelClearMediaLLC so you use this only charging batteries ?
How you run DC load then ?
@@imranraza1978 I don't need to run any DC loads directly. My AC loads come from the inverter, and when the battery is full, the inverter uses solar from battery buss bars, which also connect the Victron chargers.
You could also use a DC/DC converter to convert the 48v from the batteries to whatever DC voltage is needed. I just run adapters for the few DC loads I have.
@@ReelClearMediaLLC thanks
bluetooth does not work well on windows PC I can only setup VE Network on a smart phone. Victron Connect and VRM do work okay though on Win 10
Thanks for sharing.
VE is not supported on Windows platform via bluetooth unless you use a VE.direct to USB cable (non bluetooth). It sucks that we have to buy an andriod device (table) to do the simple stuff.
Maybe try updating your bluetooth drivers. There may be a driver package with more BT options direct from manufacturer of your BT chip.
Why have two solar chargers instead of one larger one?
I started with one array of solar panels and charger, added another array and charger a year later. Also adds redundancy in case of a problem with a charger.
Are you using 10awg for your pv input?
8 AWG, mostly because the run is 150' long, so a bigger cable for less resistance and voltage drop.
@@ReelClearMediaLLC oh yes, that's true, 8 awg, would be the way to go. How much voltage and current do you have going into, your charge controllers? From your array
@@carlosreyes6448 The first array has 15 panels, 160w each. There are three strings, with five panels to each string. The three strings are paralleled using a combiner box.Voltage ranges around 90-100 volts, current average 10-20amps. My max power is around 1700 watts.
The second array has 12 panels. Three strings of four panels each. Voltages average 80-90v, current 15-25amps, max power is also around 1700 watts.
@@ReelClearMediaLLC I'm thinking about installing 8 rec 420watt panels and running a victron 150/60, it's rated for 3440 watts, but not sure about the configuration I'm thinking about 4 strings, series parallel, but they are rated at 59volts voc, and 8.9 isc,amperage.
@@carlosreyes6448 Victron has a spreadsheet to help you design arrays for their chargers.
Download at the bottom of the support page. www.victronenergy.com/support-and-downloads/software
So for a noob, the 150 / 35 means it can take upto 150 volts VOC and 35 amps input from solar panels. Is that correct?
Generally, yes.
The voltage can be affected by temperature and other factors. Victron has a spreadsheet on its website.
35 amps is the most the charger will pull from the panels, even if the panels can produce more than that.
@@ReelClearMediaLLC so...victron mppt controllers can overpanel both voltage and amps then regulate down to their max SAFELY?
@@MyChannel-vm6dw NO! Overvoltage will fry the charger. It is more complex than just the VOC, you have to account for temperature and other variables.
Download the calculator here
www.victronenergy.com/upload/software/VE-MPPT-Calc-4_0.xlsm
@reelclearmedia4157 thank you!
To my knowledge 35 means the max *output* amps from Victron controller to the battery. For example 35A * 12V = 420W and 35A * 24V = 840W charging the battery.
You can only connect Bluetooth one piece of equipment at a time ie phone or tablet etc
You can synchronize them.
Pulse WIDTH modulation.
Not pulse wave modulation
Thanks!
Your welcome 🤣😂
Apparently don't try taking them apart!!!
Having trouble with connection to my android 12 tablet. Currently no problem with my smart phone. Maybe I should uninstall it from my phone then try to connect to my tablet ... anyone else have these issues ?
If you're connecting with bluetooth, it may only allow one device at a time. If so, You don't have to uninstall the smart phone app just disconnect from blutooth
Check to make sure the VeConnect application is supported on android 12. It may be supported now as when I purchased my tablet I chose v11 for that reason if memory serves me
@@Gary-wh7ce i just tried it and now it's working 👍👍. super awesome I'm excited thanks very much
I had the 75/15 fell apart and full of sand.
I guess it wasn't real.. They shouldn't be full of sand. 😂
@@ThisIsNotRealityBase used for cooling open one up.
FYI Can a mppt Controller work Without a Battery? (absorption voltage) ruclips.net/video/XPXpqYnZlVY/видео.html
That's cool. Thanks! The ones I have (smart solat mppt 150/35) don't have a load out, only battery out.
*SHOCK*: YOU ARE PUSHING 30A @ 58V into your battery on FLOAT!!!
RIP battery life
That's 30 amps max into a bank of two EG4 Lifepower4 batteries... each battery gets 15 amps. Their max charging current is 100 amps each, recommended 30-50 amps each. These batteries will be fine.
@@ReelClearMediaLLC your missing the point.... FLOAT you shouldnt be drawing that much current in FLOAT. you either have crap batterys, crap BMS or as leak somewhere. pushing 1.7KW!! into a full bank thats not doing anyhting?? 1.7KW is not float current.
@@freelectron2029 Thanks, I forgot this when video was recorded I was using 6 chevy Volt modules(12S)... The BMS was crap, but with 6 modules, that was about 5 amps/module. Recommended charge was 49.2V per module, I was undercharging to 48V to give the batteries a longer lifespan.
I've since switched to EG4 batteries, but I still have the Volt modules I'm going to use for some smaller projects around the homestead.
The title says "after 4 years of use". Why are you comparing to PWM? Later
Viewers range from beginners to experienced. Some may not know the value of using an MPPT charger.
Exactly right !
Always one😂
Click bait!
How's this clickbait?