I went to a two-day Victron training this week. Offered for free, with lunch provided. I've been hyped about Victron — both the equipment and the company — for a few years now. My drive down to San Diego (from Oakland)... a PV-nerd pilgrimage of sorts. Post training, I'm stoked to report: I'm now more drunk than ever on the Victron kool-aid.
Another blog post will share technical notes from the training. This blog post is more about... the vibe.
Their equipment is really well made. Built to last, in rugged environments. Hardcore motor-start-up surge support. (And, with thoughtful design, Victron systems look cool.) They own the high-end U.S. marine and RV power-electronics markets. Always innovating (e.g. "microgrid clusters", y'all).
The 50-year-old Dutch company is family owned (and debt free). It's flatly organized, where one engineer leads a new product's entire creation process — from conception thru manufacturing.
Rad software. A whole operating system in fact ("Venus OS") — open source and deeply customizable.
Wizard sales manager Rich Shea led the training. He gave a very inspiring talk. ...Along the lines of this video, that shares the company's history and celebrates Victron's year-50 anniversary. Here's a more conversational take, from Victron's online training manager (the video should start at time 21:10).
I love to run my yap about solo installing an off-grid Victron system last year (my second Victron install is tentatively planned for this Fall). Thanks to the industry peeps that helped me remotely. But still, I was woefully ignorant and mostly alone in the wilderness. Stumbling thru an install of equipment that is philosophically component based (vs. in a big "all in one" box)... super modular / flexible, with a related learning curve.
At this San Diego training, I got to help wire up and fire up a wide variety of Victron components. ...With the friendly support of four Victron reps, a Victron "ambassador" (an official super-pro Victron installer), and Victron-advanced students. It was wonderful to get blocked >> struggle a bit >> flag down an expert >> get unblocked >> onward (vs. get blocked >> stay blocked >> think about my life decisions).
They split us into small groups. We got a syllabus, with step-by-step instructions that walked through the build out of a complete split-phase Victron system. Plus adding third-party auxiliary stuff, managed thru Victron software (e.g. make a fan turn on when the temperature goes above x degrees). ...Powered by a Victron battery, a 12-volt charger (simulating an alternator), and a 24-volt charger (simulating a PV array). We unboxed the components / wiring / fuses, put it together, set it up in the software, and made it live.
Props to Portland-based next-level Victron distributor Sam Reiser (of Artek), for making "training boards". ...Every component has a labeled spot on the board.
We wired up the core Victron stuff on day 1. Here's the board in action:
The board got busier on day 2, with the third-party peripheral stuff:
One of the students was Lia Ditton — who rowed solo from California to Hawaii. She shared the story with us. Really needing reliable rugged equipment out there (she got rolled twice by epic cliffs of water)... Victron equipment in the mix.
Upcoming in-person Victron trainings are here.
Thanks so much to Victron for making this investment in me. Onward and upward with this bad-ass equipment.
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