Hello friends,
I have a sailing yacht which has a fairly large DC Bank (660AH@12v AGMs) and an older 40A charging system with no inverter installed. It's my intention to replace it with a multiplus compact since my 800w @ 120v suitcase generator can't drive the 40A charger, and to run various AC appliances, no more than 1600w total. I imagine this setup is not uncommon on smaller yachts.
I have seen the guide which mentions minimum AC amperage for inverter boosting, and I've read "Multiplus magic" a few times through, but I'm still not sure my use case will work. The data seems to vary and much of it is hidden behind the "professional" portal. The questions are:
- Can a 4-5amp (think eu1000i) 120VAC generator be used with a Multi 800? 2000? 3000? I realize the DC charge current will be limited, but is it even doable or will the Multi simply barf?
- Some articles hint that it is, others say it's minimum input amperage is 13A@120VAC.
- Can that same portable genny be used in conjunction with PowerAssist to deliver some efficiency-adjusted figure of 800w+inverter output? Or is this where the 13A minimum applies?
- Is this setup at all typical/supported, or would this be considered very 'edge-case'?
- Why hide the "real" minimum current figures behind the professional portal? It's a selling point for cheap yachties!
Really the reasons for this scenario are logistical. The tiny genny fits in a cockpit locker and is reliable, but we do have occasional need to run a hair straightener or other needless AC gadget if we're going out in a snootier anchorage. The dream is to be able to minimize the draw on the house bank by running the genny when we're using large AC devices, and when we need to throw some amps at the battery, without starting the diesel.
Thank you for your input (get it?)
