Saturday, September 14, 2024

Build 5kW powerbank with Victron Energy Multiplus II GX inverter and 5kW 48V LiFePo battery

I have Victron Energy Multiplus II GX 48V-5000VA-70A inverter and 5kW 48V 100Ah LiFePo battery from Ukrainian vendor ADS.

First initialization and configuration Victron Energy Multiplus II GX inverter

  • For testing reason I connected cable to the AC-IN terminal block on inverter and to electrical socket.
    CAUTION!!! Be sure that phase, neutral and ground is correctly connected to the inverter AC-IN terminal!!!
    Connection of the AC cabling
  • Power on inverter (put switch button to the position I)
    On/Off/Charger only Switch
  • Connect WiFi antenna to the socket on the top of the inverter.
  • There are several options how to connect to the inverter:
    • Using MK3-USB cable to connect inverter and PC/laptop. This cable is not included with inverter and have a price EUR~70-90.
    • Install VictronConnect app on smartphone/tablet and connect to the inverter via Bluetooth.
      Bluetooth password is printed on a label located on the inverter.
      Picture 1. Victron Multiplus II GX
      WiFi/Bluetooth/VRM data.
      Go to Settings and configure WiFi connection on the inverter.
      Picture 2. VictronConnect - Device List.
      Picture 3. VictronConnect - Multiplus II GX data
      Picture 4. VictronConnect - Settings - Network
    • Or connect inverter to home network via ethernet cable. This option is more stable and better then WiFi.
    • Or connect to the inverter WiFi access point. WiFi AP password is printed on a label located on the inverter (Picture 1.).
  • Open web browser and go to address http://venus.local. If this address don't work check inverter IP address (you can find inverter IP address in VictronConnect app, for example) and go to address http://<inverter_IP_address>. This is inverter remote console. All inverter configurations could be done via this console.
    Picture 5. Inverter Remote Console
  • Register inverter on VRM portal
    • Create free account on VRM portal
    • Register inverter on VRM portal with inverter VRM ID. You can find VRM ID on the label on the inverter (Picture 1).
    • Keep inverter connected to the internet and VRM portal will collect and show real-time info of your installation
      Picture 6. VRM Dashboard

Connect battery to the inverter

  • I have battery ADS LT-LFP 48100Т (5kW 48V 100Ah LiFePo) from local Ukrainian vendor ADS. This battery built on prismatic cells and JK Inverter BMS PB1A16S10P (Hardware Ver: V15A, Firmware Ver: V15.27).
    Picture 7. ADS LT-LFP 48100T battery
    Picture 8. Battery JK BMS data
  • Install JK BMS app on smartphone/tablet and connect to the inverter via Bluetooth. Default password is "1234".
  • Prepare cable to connect battery and inverter. You need Type A cable to connect battery BMS to inverter VE.Can port (VE.Can to CAN-bus BMS cables manual).
    FunctionVictron VE.Can sideBattery side
    GNDPin 3Pin 6
    CAN-LPin 8Pin 5
    CAN-HPin 7Pin 4
    Table 1. Cable Type A pinout scheme.
  • Open inverter remote console. Press "Enter" button, go to "Settings" -> "Services" -> "VE.Can port" -> "CAN-bus profile" and select option "CAN-bus BMS LV (500 kbit/s)".
    • Open JK BMS app, go to "Settings" page, click on "Verify PWD" and enter Bluetooth password once again (default is 1234), click "Advanced Settings". Scroll down and click on the option "CAN Protocol No.:", select option "004 - Victron_CANbus_BMS_protocol_20170717", click "Ok" to set this option.
      Picture 9. JK BMS CAN protocol for Victron Multiplus II GX
  • Connect battery and inverter with prepared cable.
    Put the VE.Can RJ45 terminator to the second VE.Can port in the inverter.
    Be aware that cable is not symmetrical. So you must connect battery cable side to the battery and VE.Can cable side to the VE.Can port in inverter.
    Picture 10. Inverter VE.Can ports
  • If connection established successfully you can see new device "JK-BMS" on inverter Remote Console.
    Picture 11. JK BMS in Inverter Remote Console
    Also battery will show in VRM portal.
    Picture 12. Battery on VRM Dashboard
    Picture 13. Battery in VRM Device List

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Brocade FC switch: Unable to collect ConfigUpload or Supportsave via SCP and SFTP (scp failed)

 Situation:

  • host with OS Linux (RHEL, Rocky Linux etc.)
  • host can access to switch
  • no firewall blocks between switch and host
  • network admin open access from switch to host on 22 port
  • but configUpload returns error: scp failed

 SCP Example:
switch:admin> configupload
Protocol (scp, ftp, sftp, local) [ftp]: scp
Do you want to continue with CRA (Y/N) [N]: y
Server Name or IP Address [host]: 10.0.0.1
User Name [user]: admin
Path/Filename [<home dir>/config.txt]: /configupload.scp
Section (all|chassis|switch [all]): switch
lost connection
configUpload not permitted (scp failed).
Terminated

 Resolution:

Clear all known hosts keys on switch:
sshutil delknownhost -all

Found this on Dell support knowledge base:
Connectrix B-Series:Unable to collect ConfigUpload or Supportsave via SCP and SFTP