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Petr Klus avatar image
Petr Klus asked

Quattro overload alarm even when grid connected

Hi,

I have a 15kVA Quattro with all loads connected to its primary output.

When I turn on a few heavy loads (oven, stove, electric kettle), I can get to around 14kW of power draw, as measured by the Quattro. At that time, some of the energy will be coming from the DC side and around 2-3kW from the grid connection (which is limited to 8kW).


When that happens, I am getting an overload warning from the Quattro. Why is that? I thought that if it was passing through current from the grid, it can easily stay under its max output limit and the overload alarm should only sound if the grid failed? Or am I missing anything?

MultiPlus Quattro Inverter Charger
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Alexandra avatar image
Alexandra answered ·

@Petr Klus

If it is a warning, only then you are ok. Also check the heat of the inverter as well. Remember there is also derating with temperature.

If grid were to fail/disconnect, you would be overloading at 14kwh. So it is really there to keep you aware of what you are doing and what the system is capable of.

If you are using ESS it is not as simple as it passing through, the inverter will consider itself (and your battery) as your primary power source not the grid.

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Petr Klus avatar image
Petr Klus answered ·

@Alexandra Thank you very much!

So as long as the grid is there, it's "OK" behaviour or am I overloading the Quattro?

I am planning to switch some of the loads to the second output of the Quattro, which would get turned off when grid is off, do you think I will still be getting the warnings or would the Quattro know in that scenario that there is not even a theoretical overload?

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Alexandra avatar image Alexandra ♦ commented ·

To answer the question I would need to know the temperature of the unit. There is a webinar on YouTube with done by Victron that describes diagnosing overloads.

You will still get the warning even with the loads on AC 2 if the wattage is high or close to max inverting.

Is your grid voltage ok? You will also see overload warning with lower grid voltage and higher loads since the amperage is higher.

If I remember correctly the AC 1 has an amperage lower than the passthrough current or transfer switch a ability. There is a sticker somewhere on or in the unit that shows the max loads for the 2 outputs. It varies depending on the model you have so you will have to check your unit.

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Petr Klus avatar image Petr Klus Alexandra ♦ commented ·

Will look into the temperatures - considering the ambient is 20C and the duration of the load was short, I do not think it was due to overheating.


Just checked the Quattro, it seems to note that it has 100A AC transfer capacity x2, which I presume means that there are two transfer switches for each input, each with 100A capacity.

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Then on the label next to the outputs, I see the following:

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Which lists 53A for AC-out 1 and 50A for AC-out-2.

Does it mean that I should basically never exceed 53A from output 1, regardless if there is grid assist?

The label does not seem to distinguish between what is the inverter and what may be pass-through, which confuses me a bit, sorry for all the questions and thank you again for responding.


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