Did You Know?

Got a question? Afraid to ask?

Our series of Did You Know videos answers FAQ’s – fast.

In only a minute or two, each one demonstrates a useful – but little-known – setting or feature on your device; or they de-mystify power generation, storage, and supply.

The videos are presented by knowledgable members of Victron staff, or Ambassadors who work with our products everyday. They present complicated technology, simply.

At the time of writing there are 24 videos in our Did You Know playlist – and we’re adding more all the time.

Here are the neat little questions we’ve answered so far:

Did You Know…

Why an MPPT charge controller starts 5 Volts DC above battery voltage? Johannes Boonstra 1:16

How to Trigger a Solar dump load when your batteries are full. Johannes Boonstra 2:01

How to extend the life of your Lead-Acid Battery. Johannes Boonstra 5:43

How to reduce inverter power consumption when in standby Simon Ytterbom. 1:59

How to use your Blue Smart Charger as a power supply. Jono 0:57

What is the C-Value, or 20-hour rate, of a battery? Johannes Boonstra. 4:04

How to test a battery temperature-sensor. Johannes Boonstra. 2:17

How to create a battery profile for non-Victron Batteries. Marianka Pranger. 1:20

How to update the MultiPlus Firmware using an Android Phone. Lucian Popescu. 1:26

How to change the logo on a GX display. Lucian Popescu. 1:07

How to monitor your system remotely using Victron’s Remote Management platform. Nate 1:25

You can add a GPS receiver, and create a Geofence Alarm to your system. Jono 0:52

How to change the name of your device. Jono. 1:02

How to move VRM data from an old to a new GX device. Lucian Popescu. 0:45

How to remotely change settings for the MultiPlus & Quattro. Simon Ytterbom. 1:26

How to add power to a limited shore-power outlet. Nate. 1:44

How to disable Bluetooth on a Smart device. Lucian Popescu. 1:25

How to integrate your Victron System with Home Automation. Valentin 1:15

How to use an Autotransformer. Marc Stevens. 0:53

Learn more with Victron Online Training, and webinars. Nate. 1:40

How to calculate the right size MPPT Solar Charger for your installation. Bob Hopman. 1:20

How to Download GPS tracking to VRM and plot your route. Simon Ytterbom. 1:16

Find technical documents, learn, and get involved with Victron Energy. Nate. 0:58

How to Protect Batteries with MultiPlus Charge-Only mode. Simon Ytterbom. 1:49

More Video Information

Whilst visiting our YouTube channel why not browse the titles in our Instructional Videos? There you will find both long and short videos which provide often asked-for information.

Or you can sit back and attend one of our technical Webinars which explore some of our applications, and our third-party product compatibilities.

Full In-Depth Product Training is also available for our entire product range on the Online Training page of Victron Professional. You will need a Victron Professional account to login – if you don’t already have a login account you are welcome to create one.

Spend some quality time in our video library!

Related Blog Posts

• 26 March 2020

Sailing Uma: Off-grid energy usage

With 156,000 subscribers, the Sailing Uma YouTube channel is a fun and educational resource for voyaging sailors – particularly those on a budget that do their best to avoid marinas. Doing so means living primarily off-grid using the power of the sun for Uma’s principal energy needs. No mean feat when you consider Uma has an electric motor for auxiliary propulsion, rather than diesel. Uma Uma is a 1972 Pearson 36. As her webpage says: “She is neither fancy and expensive, nor cheap and flimsy—to us, she is perfect. We wanted a name that carried with it the motivation and rational that led us to buy her in the first place. Her name was inspired by the Portuguese number 1 (uma), meaning first or primary.” Electricity needs Personally I’ve been following this adventurous couple ever since they first got Uma and started converting her to electric propulsion. My interest was to see how others do it, having converted in much the same way to auxiliary electric propulsion some 7 years ago myself – and having discovered just how hungry power needs onboard can be, when considering generation of electricity, storing the resulting energy and managing the use of that power. My own electric journey with Sailing Yacht Elektra is linked from my personal webpage, along with a little about myself: http://John.Rushworth.com My own efforts aside, how have Dan & Kika done it? Some of it is down to using efficient Victron Energy products, but that’s only part of the story. Good management of resources is also key. In this video Dan explains how they have arrived at a good balance and understanding of their energy needs. Note: Do forgive Dan his muddling of Power (W) vs Energy (Wh), as you know what he means to say! Conclusion Having recently crossed the Atlantic to UK, Uma’s current stats say it all and give Dan & Kika the authority to talk about voyaging and energy use onboard a sailing yacht. Countries Visited – 22 Nautical Miles Sailed – 18,358 Gallons of Diesel Consumed – 0 I trust you agree and enjoy the video above and their excellent YouTube channel. My thanks to Dan & Kika for the use of images and content for this blog. To learn more about energy onboard why not check out the Victron Energy booklet – Energy Unlimited , available for download as a PDF in our Whitepapers section of the main website. John Rushworth Links Sailing Uma Website Sailing Uma on YouTube Sailing Uma on Facebook Sailing Uma on Instagram

• 07 January 2020

Raymarine & Victron integration video

It’s that time of year in the UK, when many a boat is hauled out and their owners upgrade and maintain their systems. Victron video Victron video producer Jonathan Cecil recently took a trip to Whitehaven Boatyard in Cumbria to see what such owners, Victron dealers and installers get up to over the winter period – and in so doing produced the fascinating video embedded later in this blog. Upgrade brief In this instance the brief, to Victron specialist Chris Dobson of UK Marine Electronics Ltd., was a full Victron and Raymarine upgrade for sailing yacht Pilgrim, including a lithium battery system, upgrading Victron power systems and integrating them with a new Raymarine MFD. Pilgrim prepares for her winter haul-out Pilgrim was built on the Hamble in 2002, is 32′ LOA, planking construction and sheathed in epoxy – making for a heavy displacement, stable vessel. Raymarine integration This very useful upgrade with the advent of Victron’s latest Venus OS for their GX devices and the release of Raymarine’s latest Lighthouse software, means that users can view the status of Victron equipment on their Raymarine MFD. A Venus GX is device is able to communicate with the Raymarine Axiom Multi Functional Display (MFD) either directly or through a network router, via the Ethernet port and a RayNet adapter. Upgrade components Raymarine Equipment Raymarine Axiom 12 Display with RealVisio 3D Sonar Lighthouse 3 Software Update to Firmware: v3.11.42 i60 Wind Instrument i50 Speed and Depth Instruments Quantum Wireless Chirp Radar Click image to download PDF schematic The Raymarine Equipment is connected together with NMEA 2000 / SeaTalk ng . In this installation the Victron Venus GX is connected to the Axiom MFD via Ethernet with the Raymarine RayNet Female to RJ45 Male Cable adapter. It is also possible to connect all the Victron components to a Venus GX device, and have that connect to NMEA 2000 as well, providing yet another way to display your power system information on your boat’s Multi Functional Display/s. Victron Equipment Venus GX MultiPlus Compact 12 |1600 | 70 VE.Bus BMS 2 x 150Ah Victron Lithium LiFePO4 batteries BMV-712 Smart battery monitor and shunt SmartSolar charge controller MPPT 75 | 15 BatteryProtect 65A to disconnect solar charge BatteryProtect 220A to disconnect 12v load 50A Buck-Boost DC-DC Converter for engine alternator to control the power to the Lithiums Blue Smart IP65 Battery Charger 12v 15A Click image to download PDF schematic Video – Raymarine & Victron Integration Learn more – MFD integration for Raymarine and other brands For the full documentation about MFD and NMEA 2000 integration, please see the following. The main NMEA 2000 & MFD integration guide https://www.victronenergy.com/live/ve.can:nmea-2000:start Integrating with GX Devices For MFD App-type integration: https://www.victronenergy.com/live/ccgx:start#marine_mfd_integration_by_app For NMEA 2000 integration: https://www.victronenergy.com/live/ccgx:start#marine_mfd_integration_by_nmea_2000 Lithium cold charging issue Chris Dobson (seen in the video above) loves problems and is very keen to solve them, especially ones such as – lithium don’t like to be charged below 5C. This being an issue, Chris thought outside the box and used the resistance properties of a Venus GX to measure the temperature of the battery box, which in turn controlled a relay. Chris used a PT100 temperature probe inside the battery box, between the batteries, which is a resistance probe. As the Venus GX uses resistance for its tank levels, Chris used this to control one of the Venus GX relays. This, in turn, controlled a 12v Coil VF4 SPDT relay to turn a 12V 30W heat pad on/off, that was placed under the batteries. Whilst not included in the video, Chris also insulated the battery box and added some strips of ply to form an air gap between the heat pad, aluminium sheets and the batteries – so they weren’t just sitting on the heat source. Conclusion Apart from the innovative solution for ensuring lithium batteries are charged correctly when it’s cold outside, it’s great to see how well Victron GX devices now integrate with Raymarine MFDs. A winning combination for many boat owners, I suspect. For any technical discussions regarding this blog (rather than using Disqus below) please see this thread on the Victron Community: https://community.victronenergy.com/articles/38545/raymarine-victron-integration-aboard-a-32-foot-sai.html John Rushworth Credits Installer – Chris Dobson for UK Marine Electronics Ltd., who are a Victron Dealer in Whitehaven, Cumbria and offer marine, off-grid & backup, energy storage and support. Website – https://www.ukmel.co.uk Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/UKMEL/

• 28 November 2019

Inside the Victron MultiPlus with Johannes Boonstra

It’s sometime ago since I wrote about how I used a MultiPlus on an electric sailing yacht – MultiPlus magic: Small generator, big power . I wish Johannes had done this new video back then – I might not have had to do so much reading to discover how they work! Here then is that new video with work colleague Johannes Boonstra explaining the MultiPlus and how it works. John Rushworth Credits The video producer is Jonathan Cecil . The video was filmed at Midland Chandlers in the UK, who have four well stocked showrooms based in Preston Brook (Warrington), Braunston (Daventry), Penkridge (Staffordshire) and Willington (Derbyshire). Midland Chandlers have been established for over 40 years and are a Victron Energy dealer and market leader in the supply of equipment for inland waterways craft.

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