Emerging from the dark side and going Victron. Here's why.

[wildebus]

Scary if you don't know or RTFM

You know, if the info is provided with the product but someone can't be arsed to read it and has a problem ....

 

[number14]

Scary if you don't know or RTFM

And that's the whole point of my OP. I did read RTFM very thoroughly but the sequence of connections is just not mentioned.

Whatever may be available online, there should be no presumption of prior knowledge in the manual concerning critical factors and to assume otherwise is just disingenuous.

Anyway, time to move on, I think. My Victron bits arrive today and I'm looking forward to having a great charging and monitoring system. Many thanks to @wildebus and others for all the tips.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

And that's the whole point of my OP. I did read RTFM very thoroughly but the sequence of connections is just not mentioned.

Whatever may be available online, there should be no presumption of prior knowledge in the manual concerning critical factors and to assume otherwise is just disingenuous.

Anyway, time to move on, I think. My Victron bits arrive today and I'm looking forward to having a great charging and monitoring system. Many thanks to @wildebus and others for all the tips.

I do see your point and agree, but surely if you don't know, and it isn't in the manual which is unusual for electrical installations, then you need to find out before starting an electrical job

 

[TJBi]

I do see your point and agree, but surely if you don't know, and it isn't in the manual which is unusual for electrical installations, then you need to find out before starting an electrical job

But you need to know that you need to find out, and if the manual doesn't tell you that...

 

[marchie]

But you need to know that you need to find out, and if the manual doesn't tell you that...

My old boss used to say, 'How do you know what you don't know until someone tells you?'

Steve

 

[wildebus]

My old boss used to say, 'How do you know what you don't know until someone tells you?'

Steve

and there is another truth - that teenagers have yet to learn .... the more you know, you know there is more to know.

 

[Robmac]

and there is another truth - that teenagers have yet to learn .... the more you know, you know there is more to know.

And don't forget that we are too old to know everything.

 

[marchie]

And don't forget that we are too old to know everything.

That is for teenagers, who *think* that they know everything, without pausing to think that, if they did, there'd be nothing more to learn, so they might as well be dead ...

Steve

 

[Nabsim]

Knowledge and commons sense has little to do with age, I know a lot of older people who are positively clueless and I know teenagers who are really switched on.

Don't suppose the OP's original controller has a blade fuse you can pull like the Votronics. I know Victrons didn't but don know if they have changed. I fitted fuses in line before the controller for the express reason I could isolate either or both panels if I needed to. If you are changing controller may be worth doing that.

While it may not damage the controllers I have seen the odd post where Victron (and other brand) controllers have had to be reset again as they selected wrong voltage on connection. I have never had that but I have always connected battery first, maybe there is a setting though, never needed to look

 

[wildebus]

Knowledge and commons sense has little to do with age, I know a lot of older people who are positively clueless and I know teenagers who are really switched on.

Don't suppose the OP's original controller has a blade fuse you can pull like the Votronics. I know Victrons didn't but don know if they have changed. I fitted fuses in line before the controller for the express reason I could isolate either or both panels if I needed to. If you are changing controller may be worth doing that.

The Victrons DO actually have an external blade fuse (in most cases)

While it may not damage the controllers I have seen the odd post where Victron (and other brand) controllers have had to be reset again as they selected wrong voltage on connection. I have never had that but I have always connected battery first, maybe there is a setting though, never needed to look

There is a setting to change the battery voltage in the App. And it has a 'double protection' for that - you change the voltage selection, but before it is actually changed, you are presented with a number series that you also have to enter to make sure you really wanted to change it. I like that as it is so easy to tap on fields and change entries without meaning to and a voltage change is important.
Certainly recommended to connect battery, then panel.
Sometimes I will go into the settings and turn off the charger before installing the controller and making all the connections. I'd typically have already connected the controller to a battery before install in order to configure it and also do the firmware update (EVERY Victron smart device will end up asking for a firmware update as soon as it is connected to the app for the first time!)