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billk avatar image
billk asked

How to connect the 240 volt output of a generator to a pair of Quattro 48/5000 inverter/chargers

I want to make sure I am understanding the manual correctly. If I want to use the 240v output of my generator to charge my batteries through both inverter/chargers is it as simple as attaching one leg to the generator output L1 on each inverter and providing a neutral and ground connection to each inverter? Thanks

Generator
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2 Answers
Mark avatar image
Mark answered ·

Refer to the Appendix C in the instruction manual;

Link to instruction manual;

https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Manual-Quattro-5k-24v-48v-100-100A-230V-(firmware-xxxx4xx)-EN-NL-FR-DE-ES-SE-IT.pdf

As your dealing with high voltage AC, please involve a qualified electrician/installer.


2 comments
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ben avatar image ben ♦ commented ·

Note that this is a diagram for Multiplus (although the concept is the same) and the diagram has a typographic error that makes it quite confusing ("AC IN-2 L").

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Mark avatar image Mark ♦♦ ben ♦ commented ·

Good catch, extract and link just updated to Quattro specific manual for accuracy.

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ben avatar image
ben answered ·

Essentially, yes: you can parallel two Quattros on the same AC source.

But, you're a bit vague with your wording, and you should be precise so we can give you the best answer.

What does "one leg" mean?

Why does your generator have an "input"?


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billk avatar image billk commented ·

Thank you for pointing out my error regarding the generator "input" vs "output. As to the "one leg" perhaps it would be better to call them "hot 1" and "hot 2". These would be the two conductors carrying 110 volts. It's a basic generator, nothing fancy and it has a 50 amp, 240 volt circuit I'd like to use to charge the batteries during our cold, dark winter months.

So perhaps the question should have been phrased "Can I simply connect the generator's "hot 1" conductor to the AC IN-1 of one inverter and the "hot 2" conductor to the AC IN-1 of the other inverter?"

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ben avatar image ben ♦ billk commented ·

Okay, so you have a North American split-phase generator, and you want to feed two matched inverters.

Yes, this is a supported configuration. You do wire one line output to each inverter, and both get the shared neutral and safety ground.

You configure them for split-phase in the software.

Lots of folks are doing this. There are some tradeoffs when running split-phase. You can read about some of them in other discussions on this site.

Good luck!

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billk avatar image billk ben ♦ commented ·

Thank you Ben, I've been off grid for over 20 years running a little 12 volt system with a SolarOne lead acid battery cranking out the equivalent of one 20 amp circuit.. Moving into the world of Li, 6000 watts of panels, 2 inverters, 2 charge controllers, BMS, etc....well it's a bit overwhelming and a very steep learning curve. Nice to have a place to ask questions or just confirm that I'm reading the manual correctly. I will read up on the split-phase compromises.

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