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fordens avatar image
fordens asked

MultiPlus ll not charging from Honda generator?

Hi all,

just tried to top up my batteries with Honda eu2000i generator and it seems not working at all.

in the first place, when plugging the IN cable into Honda, there will be no immediate reaction from MultiPlus, about 10 sec with nothing. Then I see the green button going “charging” and orange “bulk”, the generator starts revving up and the MultiPlus switches off straight away. Then another about 30 sec nothing, and the cycle recommence. Goes in chrging mode for a second or two, then switches off immediately.

I was thinking that the generator doesn’t produce enough amps to keep the inverter in mode charger, I am wrong? Any thought? Cheers

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3 Answers
Kevin Windrem avatar image
Kevin Windrem answered ·

I have an EU2200i with a 2000 VA Multi Compact and it works great.

The ~10 seconds is normal. During this time the Multi is synchronizing itself to the incoming voltage and frequency. There will be the sound of the AC input relay closing, connecting the inverter in parallel with the generator. This allows power assist: combining generator and inverter power to satisfy the AC loads.

The generator revs up as the Multi draws more power. The Multi switching back to inverting is most likely due to voltage sag as the generator is overloaded.

As mentioned above, you need to set the Multi's AC input current limit based on what the generator can supply. The EU2000 actually only produces 1600 watts continuous, so a maximum of 13 amps. The 2000 watt spec is the peak power which intended to deal with startup surges.

Don't forget to compensate for altitude. Generator power drops off about 3.5% for every 1000 feet above sea level. So the 1600 watts becomes 1300 watts at 5000 feet.

Also selecting dynamic current limit will help. When this is active the Multi slowly increases its draw from the AC input allowing time for the generator to produce power.

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fordens avatar image fordens commented ·

I have followed your advice and set the MultiPlus II current limit to 13 amps but was still having issues with overload. With 13 amps setup the inverter was not switching off anymore, but this time was pulling straight 1980W of the Honda eu2000i. The gene didn't like it at all by the way :)

As there is no direct Bluetooth access to the MultiPlus II, I had to go through Cerbo GX interface which is quite limited, but still OK for very basic settings.

I tried to tweak the settings and found that the "input current limit" set at 7 amps pulls 1580W from the generator which is a perfect load, as per specs. This produces me regular 95Ah into the system, perfect.

Thanks for advice, cheers


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mvas avatar image mvas fordens commented ·
Did you enable DYNAMIC ?
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klim8skeptic avatar image klim8skeptic ♦ fordens commented ·

@Fordens I tried to tweak the settings and found that the "input current limit" set at 7 amps pulls 1580W from the generator which is a perfect load, as per specs. This produces me regular 95Ah into the system, perfect.

Given that the 2000i is rated for 1600w continuous output, that makes sense.

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kevgermany avatar image kevgermany ♦♦ klim8skeptic ♦ commented ·
Guessing it's 220/240V, not 120V then.
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klim8skeptic avatar image klim8skeptic ♦ kevgermany ♦♦ commented ·
Guessing so as the op has had success @ 7a input limit.
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gerard-van-seventer avatar image
gerard-van-seventer answered ·

The "Grid current limit" of the MPII should not be set higher than the generator can deliver. Have you checked that?

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fordens avatar image
fordens answered ·

The DYNAMIC mode is not available from Cerbo interface, I guess I have to do it from my laptop via usb

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djsmiley avatar image djsmiley commented ·

You can use remote veconfigure from the Victron VRM.

https://www.victronenergy.com/live/vrm_portal:remote-veconfigure


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