Victron vs Mastervolt

[Tri]

Hello,

I wanted to pick your brains. I am looking to buy a solar charger and a new Lithium battery (LFP).

Who would you recommend - Mastervolt or Victron? Please don't recommend any other brand because it has narrowed down to the two brands and I really need to close this soon now.

The electricity system is DC only and only fed by the outboard engine charger and 4 solar panels of 460 Wp total.

The aim is to have a high quality, reliable, install and forget system that can easily be fixed if something goes wrong.

I would be really looking forward to your feedback.

Thanks and cheers,
Achim

[AFKASAP]

Originally Posted by Tri

I would be really looking forward to your feedback.

Me too

[Tri]

I bought Victron in the meantime. The decision was twofold. First I started to realize that the Mastervolt bus system is far to complex for me because I was looking for a simple setup and secondly because the Mastervolt sales guy kept on trying to push me in order to buy more and more stuff he considered imperative that I (with the background of being a radio amateur and having double checked with the Mastervolt technical service) considered nice to have but not imperative.

I am extremely happy with what I have bought and the service I have received from preVent Gmbh Germany (Mr Stengel). I live off solar power alone with no shore power on board at all. The system and setup is fantastic. No more power worries. Truly install and forget!

[AFKASAP]

Thanks for the information.

Beneteau Oceanis 40 - 2008
Netherlands

[socaldmax]

Yes, thanks for the information!

[exMaggieDrum]

I have seen the Victron Multi highly recommended specifically for LFP systems versus the Mastervolt. The reasoning was that the Victron was able to be set to match the specific low and high voltages necessary to care for your LFP batteries. They both have good reputations in the marketplace but the times I have looked at Mastervolt they did seem overly complicated with many add-ons required and not good information on exactly what I would have needed. It looked to me to be both more complicated and more expensive overall.

I am having difficulty sourcing LFP cells right now, at least the brands I want, in the US. So good luck with yours. You should be reading the active (and huge) thread on LiFePO4 battery systems on CF if you have not. A ton of good info on there, but many opinions on what is best, etc.

We would all appreciate if you could contribute to the thread as you get your system together and later as you get experience with it.

[Tri]

I have the system running for 7 month now and am - can't repeat it enough - extremely happy. I have a LiFePo from Victron as well as you can see on the pic above. I have 3 MPPT regulators and the possibility to run the solars in a row or in parallel. There is not a big difference (0.5 Ah overall) but I have not managed to get the battery below 75% anyway even with a 25Ah watermaker, fridge, navigation and autopilot all running at the same time. That is the same in summer and in Mediterranean winter with shorter days but lower temperatures and therefor higher charge efficiency for the solars. Like said install and forget. A true pleasure.