Hi I’d like to use a 200AH 12V Lithium battery LIFEPO4 to run my multiplus 12-3000-120-50 (the firmware version starts with a 26). Unfortunately the instruction manual says very little about lithium batteries. I use an epever MPPT which shows clear instructions on how to program for lithium. I have a MK3 VE bus to connect to the inverter. Could anyone point me to the S.O.P (standard operating procedure) to configure for this type of battery? PS I never use the inverter for charging the batteries but don’t mind configuring for charge and inverter functionality. Tx.
- 200Ah is a small battery for the peak power of your inverter which will demand over 250A. Check your battery is capable of supplying your needs and increase if required.
- The Multiplus is programmed with VictronConnect on your phone or VE Configure on PC. VE configure manual has a lot of detail on the Multiplus Settings. Be very careful changing settings. Link to index and charger section of VE Configure manual.
www.victronenergy.com/media/pg/VEConfigure_Manual/en/charger-settings.html
https://www.victronenergy.com/media/pg/VEConfigure_Manual/en/index-en.html
Thanks. Yes you are right on the peak power however we cook and heat with gas and wood and heat water using solar water panels. To be sure I have a 100A fuse between battery and inverter. Thanks again.
Hi Mr Farnell. I got this message from EASun saying their battery is compatible with the Multiplus 12/3000 series. Can you confirm you agree with it?. Thanks.
Just to elaborate on my previous post and assuming you are working for Victron (that may of course not be correct!) I wanted to know whether Victron had actually done any lab testing with these batteries as this is probably the only way to ensure they are fully compatible.
I am not a Victron employee, this is a community staffed by Victron users.
I can point you towards Victron’s tested batteries that are compatible, many others work but without complete integration.
https://www.victronenergy.com/live/battery_compatibility:start
Thanks a lot for your answer. I got confirmation from EASun that they had tested their batteries in the lab on a Multiplus and everything was fine.
For anyone out there following this…I connected up the battery at last to the Multiplus with a 300A fuse between the two. when I closed the fuse circuit (it was a Jtron fuse) nothing happened: the inverter didn’t switch on when I pushed the black ‘on’ switch in the middle of the unit. I check the voltages. First test between battery negative and fuse input positive: 13.27V. All ok so far. Then battery negative and fuse output positive with the fuse in closed circuit mode (ie current should be flowing) and I got 4V and a bit out. Something has happened to the fuse. I contacted Easun and got the runaround between them and Aliexpress who were unable to provide an order number that Easun recognises. So far the no techincal support from Easun on the fuse issue. The fuse worked perfectly just before when connected to the lead acid batteries.
If anyone has any ideas they would be welcome because I’m not confident enough to just go around the fuse or replace it without knowing what caused this defect.
cheers
What exactly have you used as a fuse, a proper fuse or a circuit breaker. Give a link to the product. When you close the DC supply yo an inverter there is a very high inrush current as the input capacitors are charged. You may well have partially damaged a breaker. Use a proper heavy duty isolation switch and a proper fuse. Also consider precharging the capacitors.
The inrush can be much higher with lithium than FLA. Some lithium battery BMSs trip when connecting to inverters.
https://nohma.com/van-conversion/electrics/how-to-pre-charge-an-inverter-easily/
Thanks for the answer. I used the fuse in the photo. (Inverter Jtron Circuit Breaker, 200 A AMP Car Audio Solar Energy Inline Circuit Breaker Fuse Inverter Avec Housse Étanche pour Moteur Voiture Marine Bateau Bike (300 A) : Amazon.fr: Auto et Moto)
I liked this fuse because it has very robust terminals and an easy button to interrupt the circuit if I ever need to disconnect batteries. This fuse served me well for the lead acid system which comprises 8 x Hankook 100AH units wired in parallel. By the way its a sealed lead acid system not FLA as I indicated…getting lost with all these TLAs!
I have another electronics expert looking into this so any relevant comments I will share.
thaniks
I would not use such a device on lead acid or lithium batteries. At 19 euro it is not a robust piece of kit and there are many reports of this type of budget breaker not making good contact and causing high resistance. Consider using equipment from a quality manufacturer like Blue Sea.
Thanks for your feedback. As mentioned the product is physically very robust. The thick gage wires went all the way in and the allen screws tightened up wonderfully on the wires. There would not have been any voltage spikes due to wire shorting. In any case I take good note of your advice with thanks.
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This is the continuation of a post which was closed automatically. Converting from FLA to Lithium batteries
Just to let those know who were following I have now connected the lithium battery and the system is working fine. I’m a bit disappointed in the battery performance so far and suspect the 200Ah claim is something akin to the range that manufacturers claim their EVs can achieve. I seem to be getting similar performance from one 200Ah lithium battery as I did from 8x100Ah lead acid batteries, one of which I tested and showed 20Ah capacity after three year’s use. That would suggest I have about 150-160Ah and not 200.Ah
PW Farnell, who was a great help, suggested I buy some really expensive control equipment to open and close the circuit. I could not do that because my battery cables are way too thick and wouldn’t fit into the devices proposed.
What I did to overcome the inrush current risk was simple put a 12V, 50W halogen lamp (for a car light) on the end of the positive cable and touched that on the Multiplus positive pole before connecting the battery cable without that lamp. Had there been a heavy inrush current issue the lamp would have lit and faded until the capacitors in the multiplus had been charged. This surprisingly did not happen. The inverter had not been energised for some days so in theory the charge in the capacitors from previous use should have dissipated. In any case there were no sparks when I completed the circuit with the positive cable connnection to the multiplus (the negative cable having already been connected).
I was very apprehensive about using lithium batteries but so far so good. Thanks to PW Farnell for the great support.
I have taken the liberty of reopening your original thread and moving this over.
I am glad it has all worked out well, your precharge unit is a good work around.
Thanks a lot. I also like the bridge photo. Although I have lived all over the world and write from France, I grew up around Shipley and Bingley and think the photo might be the bridge leading up to Eldwick and just before the Fisherman’s Inn…