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teejmiller avatar image
teejmiller asked

Orion TR Smart woes. Not impressed.

Hello,

I have three different Victron DC systems and had plans to add the Orion TR Smart to two of them. I purchased a 12v 30a non-isolated Orion TR for my RV and to bluntly put it.. I'm not impressed.

This device has no ve.direct connector, what is the logic behind this decision? If I've invested the money to control every aspect of my Victron system through Venus, why would this device be headless? There also seems no way to add it into the bluetooth VE networking protocol.

I have come to rely heavily on DVCC for my dynamic charging needs, so the fact that this device can only be controlled through bluetooth with an extremely limited set of configuration options is frustrating.

The bluetooth radio in this device is abysmal. I can control every other Victron Smart product meters away from them, whereas this Orion TR doesn't even broadcast outside of the vehicle it's in. I have also seen similar complains in the ratings sections of a retailer and on this forum.

Has anyone used the external relay control features of their multiplus or possibly bmv-7xx to provide at least some type of logic-based control to their dc-dc charger?

I feel like this device was rushed to market. I am struggling to see the value in the Orion TR, I am considering returning this item. Does anyone have any insight if there are firmware improvements scheduled for this product or if I'm missing something here?


Venus OSorion-tr smartOrion DC-DC Converters not smartDVCCdc system
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4 Answers
nebulight avatar image
nebulight answered ·

I'm a huge victron fan and recommend their products to everyone looking to buy. I hate to say it, but I'm with you on this. My camper has a Multi, BMV and 100/50 smart but I have another brand of DC-DC. I was planning to get the Orion Smart, but the lack of VE.Direct port has held me back.

I too wish there was a ve.direct port so it could be controlled and monitored by the GX. There is no real perk of going with this versus something like a Kisae DMT-1250 that has 50 amp charging and a cooling fan (that may not be ideal for all applications, but suits mine fine). Since there is no integration with the rest of the product line, this is just another non-monitored uncontrolled charge source.

A firmware update can't add a ve.direct port.

I don't mean to sound negative, but this product seems to fit outside the rest of the Victron offerings.

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safiery avatar image
safiery answered ·
@teejmiller We have installed many of these devices with Cerbos and Venus. They do not have a current measuring ability. They are purely voltage driven. We see the power from the unit in the "DC Loads" window as a negative number. This works perfectly well for our customers as the charging control is fixed. With Victron Lithium we disconnect the remote for stop charge from the BMS. We love em.

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dgorman avatar image
dgorman answered ·

I agree with you here. I have (2) of these as well for the ability to charge our RV from my truck should we not have solar for many days (we have 1200Ah + 2kW solar potential) and would like the Orion’s to show up on the bus. So stupid - I assumed that Victron would be consistent.

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alnavasa avatar image
alnavasa answered ·

Showing charging as negative dc loads makes no sense, you can’t control everything then.

If you have something consuming 10 and something charging 5, it will show as if you have something consuming 5


this charger (or any other option of alternator or dcdc charger) should be venusOS adoptable, and sync it with your Venus device.

What’s the reason of having a DVCC system, if you can’t control one of the chargers....

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