Victron-Cegasa E/Bick Battery Quick Start Guide

This guide outlines the essential steps for commissioning one or more Cegasa E/Bick 15kWh LV batteries with a Victron Energy system that includes, at a minimum, a Victron GX device (such as a Cerbo GX MK2 with a GX Touch display or an Ekrano GX) and a Victron inverter/charger.

Please note that this guide is not a replacement for the Cegasa Installation Manual included in the packaging; rather, it is intended to be used in conjunction as a practical commissioning guide.

Required Materials

• 1-20 x Cegasa E/Bick Battery Package(s)
• For installations with more than two batteries, a Cegasa E/Bick Platform is required. Up to four battery modules can be stacked in a tower.
• 1 Cegasa E/Bick LV Parallelizing Kit. For more than two batteries stacked, one kit is used to jumper the batteries together. Four batteries require two kits, etc.
• 4/0 wire cut to your ideal length. The Cegasa E/Bick has a 4/0 output. Each battery includes quick-connects for attaching a cable length of your choice.
• 1 Cegasa MCS Master Box Unit is required for 1-20 15kw modules. For systems with more than 20 batteries, a special MCS is needed to manage communications.
• Minimum of two Cegasa E/Bick LV Communication Cables. This cable is used to connect stacked batteries, connect to the MCS, and use another standard RJ45 connection to the GX device. If a shorter cable works for your setup, you may also use a Victron RJ45 cable.
• 1 Victron VE.Can RJ45 terminator. This terminator is placed on one of the CAN ports for the Cerbo or Ekrano, set to 500kbps LV BMS.
• Victron Energy MK3 to USB Adapter to program the inverter.
• The Cegasa E/Bick has an integrated 250A breaker, but additional fusing may be required.

Included Materials

• One RJ45 communication cable per battery module
• Mounting brackets to secure the batteries to each other, to the floor, the back wall, and/or to a supporting wall from the sides.

Quick Note on Base Requirements

Installations of one or two Cegasa E/Bick batteries do not require any special racking to stack and secure. However, a stack of 3-4 batteries requires the use of a Cegasa E/Bick Platform. This base is a heavy steel structure that nests the bottom battery into place and lifts the battery bank slightly off the floor. Adjustable legs allow you to level it on uneven surfaces. Each battery also comes with brackets to firmly anchor individual modules to each other, to the ground, to a back wall, or to a side wall.

Basic Commissioning Process

Step 1: Unbox the Cegasa from its pallet. At 198 lb per battery, the Cegasa E/Bick requires a two-person lift. Deep, grooved handles on both ends provide a secure hand-hold. Place the battery(s) in the intended installation location, and on a base if required.

Step 2: Inside a small box on the pallet, you’ll find the positive (red) and negative (black) 4/0 cable connectors. Connectorize these amphenol-style heads with your own supplied 4/0 cable.

For an installation of two or more batteries, connect each battery with the supplied RJ45 cables from the bottom RJ45 port of one battery to the top RJ45 port of the next.

A paralleling kit (110143) from Cegasa contains the positive (red) and negative (black) jumper cables. Use them to connect the stacked batteries in a parallel configuration.

See page 34 of Cegasa E/Bick Installation Guide

Step 3: The upper network cable port on the first connected battery provides communications as well as Power over Ethernet (PoE) to the MCS module. Run the Cegasa communications cable from the top network port on the (first) battery to the MCS port labeled “CANBUS BATT.” This connection communicates all battery information for all connected batteries in the system to the Victron Cerbo GX, and also allows direct access via Wi-Fi or the local network (LAN). 

Step 4: The MCS box also includes an RJ45 terminator. Plug this into the bottom communication port on the last battery in the string.

Step 5: Connect a standard communications cable between the MCS (port labeled ‘CANBUS INV’) and a Victron Cerbo/Ekrano GX using the Victron CAN connection of your choice. Close the open CAN port with a Victron VE.Can RJ45 terminator. This port on the Cerbo or Ekrano needs to be configured for 500kbps LV BMS, which is the default for VE. CAN 2. 

Cegasa Start Up Sequence

Step 6: Ensure the breakers supplying power to the inverter are off/open. Connect the DC cabling to the inverters, following any manufacturer-reccomended torque specifications. Then, flip the inverter breakers to the on position. 

Step 7: To start the batteries, flip the built-in breakers on the front-left face to on. Hold down the Start/Stop LED button on any of the batteries in the stack, located on the front-right side of the battery. The LED will first turn YELLOW. Next, a BLUE light indicates the BMS has powered up. Finally, the batteries will display a slow, GREEN blinking pattern, indicating the batteries are precharging as a complete bank. When they are done, they will all turn SOLID GREEN. Now, the system is fully powered on. 

Step 8: The batteries should now be online and accessible. Consult the display of your GX device. Check the Device List to confirm that the Cegasa batteries are recognized. Updating the Victron GX device software is recommended with new installations. 

Battery Shutdown Process

To turn the battery bank off, press and hold any green button on any battery in the bank until the light starts blinking quickly, then slowly again.

Note: Each battery has three layers of protection.

1. Communication between the Cerbo GX and the battery gives the Cerbo the ability to protect battery voltage and current. Learn more about Victron’s DVCC function here.
2. The internal BMS provides primary current protection.
3. A circuit breaker in the battery provides mechanical isolation. This breaker is also a shunt-trip type, so it can be tripped by the built-in BMS under certain conditions if the BMS fails.

If the 250A breaker is insufficient for the cabling or scenario, additional fusing can be added.

Battery Faults

The precharge circuit coordinates across all batteries simultaneously, so there should be no faults or overloads on startup. Each BMS can trip its own battery breaker remotely, but under normal operating conditions this is typically not an issue.

Accessing the MCS E/Viewer Platform

Once the system is online and the Wi-Fi antenna is installed, you can connect the system to the EViewer app using the ETHERNET port or wirelessly via wifi. 

To connect via wifi from your computer or phone, connect to the Wifi network labeled ‘MCS’ using the password ‘Cegasa24.’

Next, open a new browser and type in 10.0.0.1; it will open up the Cegasa E/Viewer page. To login, enter the user name ‘installer’ password ‘installer.’

Under the ‘Config’ tab, you can identify the inverter model.

You can also view/modify how many batteries are in your system. The system below has one string with one battery. If necessary, change the ‘Parallel count’ to the number of batteries connected together in each string and click Save.

Under ‘String’, you can click through to see battery level data for each module in the system.