Hello all, Trying to find a safe standalone inverter for a small stationary dwelling (Australia), looking at the 2000VA phoenix. Looking at page 5 of the Inverter Smart manual ( https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Inverter_Smart/106668-Inverter_PH_Smart__VE_Direct_and_SUN-pdf-en.pdf ) i…

Something similar here below… Can I mix AC & DC grounding? - Q&A and troubleshooting - Victron Community (victronenergy.com)

[image] MPower: Is it necessary to earth the battery negative for the system to be safe? Exactly that could create the shock hazard ! This is why they say in the manual: The ground wire “G“ that connects the output neutral to ground must be re-positioned to a “dummy” terminal, if a floating …

Thanks for your answer, I’m still a bit confused. Does that mean the phoenix is the same as the cheap camping inverters? In other words that there’s no isolation between dc input and ac output? Yeah, I saw the advice for the floating output too. But if you separate neutral and earth on the ac side …

[image] MPower: Does that mean the phoenix is the same as the cheap camping inverters? In other words that there’s no isolation between dc input and ac output? Yes, for the first question. As with any SMPS. For the second, generally speaking, the DC-minus is connected to (metallic) enclosur…

Okay, thanks for that Alex. I will go with the Phoenix for the situation. I believe it is safe if you have AC Earth and Neutral bonded and an earth stake and a RCD on the inverter output, as close as possible to the inverter. DC side will be protected from touch to the degree you would the AC side …

[image] Franco: Good point. My phoenix 12V/500 is actually isolated AC to DC as stated in the user manual. Itested for AC voltage from the active ac pin to both DC connections and it showed 120V AC. I then tested it with test lamps and no volts. Im guessing this has dragged down those stray volt…

Thanks Franco, always great to have some data from an actual inverter. Best to only use one earthed appliance at a time with that inverter! For camping it should be okay, but in a more permanent situation, if you have a standard fridge, that’s your one earthed appliance, so that’s a bit limiting.

Isolation AC to DC Phoenix Inverter

DIY

alexpescaru (Alex Pescaru) 3 February 2025 08:03 7

Sounds good.
Also take a look at what Guy is saying here: Can I mix AC & DC grounding? - #2 by guystewart

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Isolation AC to DC Phoenix Inverter

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