I purchased the “MultiPlus-II 48/5000/70-95 120V” for my off-grid, solar powered cabin.
Unfortunately, after our well was drilled, the 500’ depth requires a 230V pump.
Trying do decide what to do:
a) Best Case: Use my current Multiplus II for the cabin and buy another piece of equipment to power the pump at 230V
b) Alternate: Try to sell the Multiplus II that I bought (it has never been used) and just get an inverter that can do both 230v and 120v
I really know nothing about alternating current (barely know DC!) So I’m looking for some advice.
Would like to stay in the Victron ecosystem as I bought the Cerbo GX, 7" touch screen, cellular modem, Smart Solar MPPT, etc.
System Info:
Six 550-watt solar panels, total 3,300 watts
Four 100ah Pytes V5 rack style batteries (compatible with Cerbo/Victron)
Smart Solar MPPT 150/60-Tr
Thanks in advance for your patience and knowledge!
–Kevin
If the only 240V you ever expect is for the well pump, you could get the Victron Autotransformer to convert the 120V up to 240V.
You can also get a second identical Multiplus-II and configure them in split-phase mode, but that will be expensive.
For a single 120V multiplus, the well pump starting surge power may well exceed what the multiplus surge capability is. Get the pump electrical info, and see if they specify LRA (locked-rotor amps), and then double it to compute how many surge amps you would need at 120V. Then multiply the surge amps by 120 to get surge watts.
Also look at the run amps for it and multiply by 240 to see how many Watts will be used while the pump is running.
Your multiplus-ii 5k can do 4000W continuously, so if you are running a microwave or lots of other loads, just running the pump might be enough to overload.
But it is critical that the 230V European neutral never interconnect with the rest of the North American power. Both outputs of the Phoenix (L, N) should be considered hot. No N-Ground bound should be installed. Also, the default 50Hz should be changed to 60Hz, or the pump will overheat.
I would put the well-pump breaker in its own box to keep things separated and hardwire the inverter.
Appreciate your thoughtful reply. Right now I am leaning toward the Autotransformer as it’s $452 vs. another Multiplus II at $1621. Though if the cabin’s Air Conditioning comes on when the well pump is running, we would be over the Multiplus II’s max. The well pump will only run when the pressure tank drops below a certain threshold. I’ve never done any of this before so I want to avoid (more) mistakes if possible.
I’m supposed to speak with the good group I bought from (Backwood Solar) to get their suggestion. It may be better to get the extra capacity now.
The biggest risk you’ve got is potentially finding out that the well pump will not start due to surge power needed from the inverter through the autotransformer.
Getting the pump electrical info may give you more information to reduce that risk.
Good luck!
I checked at InverterSupply.com and all of the entries for the 48V indicated that it was not for USA. [ See the screenshots below ] As a total novice, that made me run away. But, please tell me more!
See my post above about using a European 230v inverter in the US in a reply.
It can be done, but there are pitfalls. Probably not great for first time diy.
The biggest issue I see is knowing how big in watts it needs to be for your pump.
You can disregard the note, 230V is 230V, ofc these units CAN be used in the US of A, they can even be programmed for 60cps, totally useless in Europe, so clearly made for USA too.
But I was actually thinking of the 48/3000 @ 230V .
