Victron Energy Lynx distribution system: experience? pros & cons VS classic bus bars?

[jms28]

Hi,

I've done some research into the Victron Energy Lynx distribution system and came to the conclusion that the main value add is how neat cables can be arranged. That, of course, comes at a price and I'm still unsure as to if I am better advised to wire things up manually or whether to go with the Lynx system; also, since the Lynx shunt is NOT an option unfortunately, due to the missing Bluetooth connectivity. Instead, I am considering the Victron Smart Shunt btw.

• Does anyone here have experience with this system?
• What are your thoughts vs "classic" bus bars?
• Does the below diagram for my house/ service bank make sense? (Lynx system in the middle: Distro + Power In)
• Lynx Distribution + Power In OR better Distribution + Distribution? Fusing on one side enough?
• Overkill or reasonable (considering that the two Lynx components will come at around 300-400€)?

Two things to consider:

1. I'm planning on expanding the house/ service bank to 4 batteries in the foreseeable future. In that case, the Lynx system could indeed be very poweful I think
2. Forgot to add in the above drawing but the house/ service bank will be connected to the starter bank via an ACR. Do I rightfully assume that either remaining slot in the Distro or Power In component can be used for this?

Thks!

 

[PaulRainbow]

Some busbars and a Smartshunt would be a suitable system for what you describe, IMO. Using the Distributor and Power In on their own doesn't add anything much over and above some busbars and fuses if just used on their own.

 

[geem]

I just purchased the copper bar and drilled and tapped two lengths for M8 bolts. A nice pair of busbars for very little money. I use a victron smart shunt on each of my batteries. You could use a single shunt but I was interested to see how two different sized lithium batteries played together.

 

[jms28]

Thanks again for all the replies. After careful consideration, I've come to the following conclusions:

• I will go with the Lynx system - or at least part of it for now
• Why? 3 main reasons:
  1. The neat and secure installation is really appealing
  2. If you put together the equivalent parts individually (bus bars, fuseholder, etc.), savings are actually not thaaat huge as high quality components will cost as well
  3. The modular nature of the system is neat: as stated, I am planning on upgrading to 4 house batteries (in a different location with more space) in the foreseeable future. Opting for the Lynx system allows me to reuse and expand on what I install now
• This brings me to one of the other main conclusions I drew: where my house batteries are currently situated, I do not have a lot of space and need to cram together quite a few components. Hence, I will only go for a single Lynx Power In for the 2 house batteries + various component for now.
• And why the Power In? I came across this helpful article that drew my attention to the fact that I might struggle with the mega fuses in the Distributor, e.g. when only connecting one MPPT charger with lower amps. With the (cheaper!) Power In device, I am flexible and can add whichever fuses I need now or in the future.

The main open question for now is this: how to wire things up in the best way possible? A few thoughts on this:

1. The way I see it, for safety reasons, it is arguably advisable to wire up the house batteries to the Power In individually fused, correct?
2. This makes using the internal positive connections for the batteries the more sensible choice (left out negatives for simplicity):

3. ... VS using the external bus bar connector on the left to connect the batteries in parallel like in the example below:





Would you agree with this assessment? If not, why not?
And could you advise on where in my master piece of art diagram (2.) the smart shunt would need to sit?
Think that'd be all for now. Hopefully the above makes sense. Any input or feedback would be highly welcome!

Best,
Mike

 

[jakew009]

Thanks again for all the replies. After careful consideration, I've come to the following conclusions:

• I will go with the Lynx system - or at least part of it for now
• Why? 3 main reasons:
  1. The neat and secure installation is really appealing
  2. If you put together the equivalent parts individually (bus bars, fuseholder, etc.), savings are actually not thaaat huge as high quality components will cost as well
  3. The modular nature of the system is neat: as stated, I am planning on upgrading to 4 house batteries (in a different location with more space) in the foreseeable future. Opting for the Lynx system allows me to reuse and expand on what I install now
• This brings me to one of the other main conclusions I drew: where my house batteries are currently situated, I do not have a lot of space and need to cram together quite a few components. Hence, I will only go for a single Lynx Power In for the 2 house batteries + various component for now.
• And why the Power In? I came across this helpful article that drew my attention to the fact that I might struggle with the mega fuses in the Distributor, e.g. when only connecting one MPPT charger with lower amps. With the (cheaper!) Power In device, I am flexible and can add whichever fuses I need now or in the future.

The main open question for now is this: how to wire things up in the best way possible? A few thoughts on this:

1. The way I see it, for safety reasons, it is arguably advisable to wire up the house batteries to the Power In individually fused, correct?
2. This makes using the internal positive connections for the batteries the more sensible choice (left out negatives for simplicity):

View attachment 175616

3. ... VS using the external bus bar connector on the left to connect the batteries in parallel like in the example below:

View attachment 175617



Would you agree with this assessment? If not, why not?
And could you advise on where in my master piece of art diagram (2.) the smart shunt would need to sit?
Think that'd be all for now. Hopefully the above makes sense. Any input or feedback would be highly welcome!

Best,
Mike

The Lynx really is adding almost nothing.

It’s fine to wire them like you have draw but you need to ensure the wires going to both batteries are exactly the same length. You also need to ensure the batteries are fused as close to the battery as possible, ie. the fuse in the Lynx is a bit redundant.

The battery negatives need to be joined together and then connected to one side of the shunt. And then the other side of the shunt needs to be connected to the rest of the negatives. So you can’t really use the Lynx to connect the batteries like you have drawn.

 

[PaulRainbow]

Thanks again for all the replies. After careful consideration, I've come to the following conclusions:

Why ask the question, then go against all of the advice you are given ?

 

[jms28]

The Lynx really is adding almost nothing.

It’s fine to wire them like you have draw but you need to ensure the wires going to both batteries are exactly the same length. You also need to ensure the batteries are fused as close to the battery as possible, ie. the fuse in the Lynx is a bit redundant.

The battery negatives need to be joined together and then connected to one side of the shunt. And then the other side of the shunt needs to be connected to the rest of the negatives. So you can’t really use the Lynx to connect the batteries like you have drawn.

Thanks for this. Made me rethink and will actually wire it according to 3. diagram I posted above. Once I expand to 4 house batteries & get another Lynx, I may revisit. But in order to be able to integrate the shunt I realized the flaw in my planning you rightfully pointed out.

Why ask the question, then go against all of the advice you are given ?

I'm still in the conceptualisation phase of the entire project. As such, I evaluate my plans against numerous sources, not just this forum here. And after having done so, I strongly believe that the Lynx is a neat piece of kit; especially if you're planning on expanding capacity in the near future as I am. Yes, I know it comes at a bit of a premium price. But first of all, buying several high quality bus bars with sufficient capacity will come at a cost as well. Secondly, I really like the neat protective casing and the modular nature for expansion. So I think the ROI is strong enough to jusitfy the cost. Plus I was able to procure the Power In for just 100€. Not like we're talking huge sums here

Anyhow, I think for now I've got all I need. I will be travelling down to Greece this week and I am sure there may be follow-up questions at some point. Genuinly value all the input here greatly!

Many thanks,
Mike

 

[PaulRainbow]

Thanks again for all the replies. After careful consideration, I've come to the following conclusions:

• I will go with the Lynx system - or at least part of it for now
• Why? 3 main reasons:
  1. The neat and secure installation is really appealing
  2. If you put together the equivalent parts individually (bus bars, fuseholder, etc.), savings are actually not thaaat huge as high quality components will cost as well
  3. The modular nature of the system is neat: as stated, I am planning on upgrading to 4 house batteries (in a different location with more space) in the foreseeable future. Opting for the Lynx system allows me to reuse and expand on what I install now
• This brings me to one of the other main conclusions I drew: where my house batteries are currently situated, I do not have a lot of space and need to cram together quite a few components. Hence, I will only go for a single Lynx Power In for the 2 house batteries + various component for now.
• And why the Power In? I came across this helpful article that drew my attention to the fact that I might struggle with the mega fuses in the Distributor, e.g. when only connecting one MPPT charger with lower amps. With the (cheaper!) Power In device, I am flexible and can add whichever fuses I need now or in the future.

The main open question for now is this: how to wire things up in the best way possible? A few thoughts on this:

1. The way I see it, for safety reasons, it is arguably advisable to wire up the house batteries to the Power In individually fused, correct?
2. This makes using the internal positive connections for the batteries the more sensible choice (left out negatives for simplicity):

View attachment 175616

3. ... VS using the external bus bar connector on the left to connect the batteries in parallel like in the example below:

View attachment 175617



Would you agree with this assessment? If not, why not?
And could you advise on where in my master piece of art diagram (2.) the smart shunt would need to sit?
Think that'd be all for now. Hopefully the above makes sense. Any input or feedback would be highly welcome!

Best,
Mike

Individually connection the batteries to a Power In has no benefit. I would fit them as below, adding additional batteries, as you plan to do, is simple. Connecting the batteries individually requires that all cables are exactly the same length.

 

[geem]

Thanks for this. Made me rethink and will actually wire it according to 3. diagram I posted above. Once I expand to 4 house batteries & get another Lynx, I may revisit. But in order to be able to integrate the shunt I realized the flaw in my planning you rightfully pointed out.


I'm still in the conceptualisation phase of the entire project. As such, I evaluate my plans against numerous sources, not just this forum here. And after having done so, I strongly believe that the Lynx is a neat piece of kit; especially if you're planning on expanding capacity in the near future as I am. Yes, I know it comes at a bit of a premium price. But first of all, buying several high quality bus bars with sufficient capacity will come at a cost as well. Secondly, I really like the neat protective casing and the modular nature for expansion. So I think the ROI is strong enough to jusitfy the cost. Plus I was able to procure the Power In for just 100€. Not like we're talking huge sums here

Anyhow, I think for now I've got all I need. I will be travelling down to Greece this week and I am sure there may be follow-up questions at some point. Genuinly value all the input here greatly!

Many thanks,
Mike

You can buy copper busbar in all sizes. Drill and tap the bar to meet your requirements. It's not expensive or hard to do. It is a tiny fraction of the cost of the Lynx system. Use NH00 fuses on each battery for a few £ and in my opinion, you have a better set up than the Lynx.

 

[jms28]

Individually connection the batteries to a Power In has no benefit. I would fit them as below, adding additional batteries, as you plan to do, is simple. Connecting the batteries individually requires that all cables are exactly the same length.

View attachment 175818

Thanks a lot for this. And yes, this is more or less exactly the system as I plan it/ partially in place already. E.g. the 3 isolator switches are installed exactly that way, including the emergeny combination switch.

One thing: I currently have two starter batteries connected in parallel and it is not 100% clear to me, how they are firing up two seperate engines (wiring installed by a marina ages ago before I got involved). As said, I am down in Greece next week and that's when the conceptualization for the starter batteries/ bank will start.

 

[PaulRainbow]

Thanks a lot for this. And yes, this is more or less exactly the system as I plan it/ partially in place already. E.g. the 3 isolator switches are installed exactly that way, including the emergeny combination switch.

One thing: I currently have two starter batteries connected in parallel and it is not 100% clear to me, how they are firing up two seperate engines (wiring installed by a marina ages ago before I got involved). As said, I am down in Greece next week and that's when the conceptualization for the starter batteries/ bank will start.

Not unusual to have the starter batteries starting both engines, i prefer that to the system where one engine has a starter battery and the other shares the domestic bank. My own boat has a pair of engine batteries wired in series, she is predominately 24v. They connect to both starter motors and alternators, the alternators have charge splitters that allow the domestic bank to be charged from them. Yours may be similar, but with some form of external splitters, perhaps diode split charging or VSRs ?

 

[jms28]

Thinking along the same lines, yes. But hard while not on site. Will investigate next week. This is particulalry pressing as I we've been having challenges with the starter bank slowly going down while at anchor. So I suspect some "rogue" connections somewhere, either in the switchboard or the engine wiring. Besides above project, this is my no.1 priority to get a grip on finally this year to ensure that starter and house bank are really 100% seperated w/o any blind connections somewhere... Any pointers would be highly welcome.