Phoenix Inverter

Hi,

On our boat we have a Phoenix Multiplus 12/1200/120 which used to work fine. Currently it goes frequently into an error condition when disconnecting a 220V appliance, with three leds switching on on the control unit:

Overload

low battery

temperature

I tried to diagnose the error as we are on vacation and need the 220 V for our cooking appliance. Initially I assumed it was due to low battery (even though our battery voltage remained stable and the battery monitor indicated 75% load approx.)

Charged our battery pack with the generator, waited for the Phoenix to cool down. Tested the inverter using a small water heater. Current draw 100 Amps at 12 Volts. Ripple measured at the battery peak 300 mv at start of the heater. A pretty constant 260 mv while the water heater was in operation. No errors recorded.

Once the waterheater stopped operating I could hear what sounded like a relay switching a couple of times in the Phoenix Multiplus. The ripple current came down to zero but peaked at about 50 mV and 100 mV while I the Phoenix unit made the switching sound. Subsequently the PHoenix went into the error condition (Overload + low bat + temp).

What surprises me is that the error is generated when the inverter switches off. I had seen it earlier when pulling the plug from an ipad charger for example.

Any advice on what could be the issue?

Thanks,

Frank

Hallo,

ich habe einen Phoenix Wechselrichter 12/500 im Einsatz, soweit ganz gut.

Meine Beobachtung ist folgende: Bei gleichbleibender Last, eine einfache 40 W Glühbirne, schwankt die Stromaufnahme aus der Batterie über die ganze Zeit mehr als 1 A auf und ab. Ist dieses Verhalten normal oder liegt bei meinem Gerät ein Defekt vor ?

Gruß

Lars

Hello,

is there a way to turn on the Phoenix 12/500 inverter at a defined battery level (or voltage)?

I have a small island system with 240 Wp charging a 55 Ah/12V LiFePo via SmartSolar MPPT 75/12. This is running fine so far, but I often have a fully charged battery with no way to discharge it on the 12 V system (which I use to charge smart devices and notebook computers). So a lot of sun energy is wasted (charger in float mode).

So I installed a Phoenix 12/500 inverter that now runs a fridge most of the time. I also installed an automatic transfer switch, so the fridge gets landline power in case the battery is too low for the inverter. This also works fine.

But now the inverter discharges the battery completely and then it does not turn on again, when the battery is full again. But I would like to switch off at 20% battery level (so I have enough spare for my more efficient 12V system) and automatically turn on at 80% battery level (so the inverter just kicks in, when I risk to run into a 100% full battery)

Is this all possible with the two Victron devices or will I need to read the battery level with an Arduino via VE.direct from either MPPT or inverter and then switch the inverter manually on and off via the remote control port of the Phoenix?

Thank you very much

Oli

Can I monitor the consumption through the Phoenix Compact 12/2000 inverter with my Venus GX?

Hi.

As said in the title, I planed to run 0.8 kW waterpump with a 12/1200 phoenix inverter compact. The pump run "only" about 15s everytime. So, my questions:

1°) Does it suit ?

2°) What kind of battery should I use (some special solar batteries I used are marked: "Initial current = 40Amps)

Thx

As much as I'd love to mount my Phoenix 12/1200 in free air, it just has to be in a compartment. I can add all the fans I like, though. How much is enough?

The Phoenix datasheet quotes its "max" efficiency at 92%, I'm going to be a little pessimistic and figure 85%. If 15% of 1200 watts is turning into heat, that's 180 watts I need to move.

Hey, that's pretty similar to the TDP of an average PC, which is adequately cooled by a pair of 25cfm case fans, so I figure something like 50cfm ought to do it. I'm looking at a fan rated at 62cfm, maybe I only need one of those.

There MUST be a more rigorous way to figure this, but all the formulas I find require you to know things I don't know, like the thermal resistance of my heatsink. (Okay, that's internal to the Phoenix, and anyway, it has its own fans so I'm lost at how to even begin.) Does my cocktail-napkin math sound sane, at least?

Also, since I don't have the unit in-hand yet, does anyone happen to know which side of the Phoenix is its intake and which side is the exhaust? The manual says not to mount it with the fan on top, but I can't tell from the photos which side that even is.

Thanks in advance!

My inverter on board of my boat is connected to a healthy 525 AH battery bank and works fine with low loads connected. However, the moment I use my 1600W espresso machine, it drains the battery banks voltage to 10.3 Volts and starts cutting out. Any idea what could be wrong? There is no other load connected when I am doing this. Thanks a lot. Sonke

I use Phoenix 12/375, together with VictronConnect. VictronConnect shows no load on the "speedometer" nor in percent. All firmware is up to date.

I can use both Iphone and Mac to turn the inverter off and on.

Hi,

I own an old Phoenix 1000w inverter. It came with my kastenwagen. It is great-robust and quiet, although old. Its serial number starts with 14, but I am not sure how old is it. I recently converted my entire system to lifepo4 and replaced pretty much everything, but I like the inverter and don't feel like changing it.

So, there is a RJ port on it and I cannot figure out what's it for. In the manual it only says "For future use". Has this Futuristic time arrived alreay? Can I buy some cable and set anything through it? I want to set low cut off voltage to something higher than 10.6, or interconnect it with my other victron devices.

Hi everyone, can anyone help with the setup of an assistant, I essentially want a relay to close when the inverter is being used and open when it is not. I see there is a charge state option, and I can select "not charging" but I feel like there must be a better way. Can anyone share some light on this?

We have a Phoenix 3000 and we need to power a compressor of a refrigerator that has high starting currents. In the datasheet you can read that the Phoenix is supported with sinusmax technology but I haven't found clear explanation of how it works. Also the datasheet shows that the peak power of the inverter is 6000 W. But How long this power can be handled by the inverter? There are capacitors inside but how many seconds can be covered?

We need to know how much can we push the inverter before it goes in overload condition.

Hi!

Is there any way to configure the remote on/off port to behave that when closed, the inverter is off and when open, the inverter is on (in reverse as factory default)?

There is plenty of configurations in the software but that one is lack of it.

Hi all,

In my caravan I currently have an option to switch of my 12 volt battery. I also have a Victron Phoenix 350/12 inverter which has remote on/off functionality. I would like to make use of my existing outlet to be able to switch the inverter on/off remotely from within hand reach, while currently one switch in the outlet is not used. Could I do the setup as in the picture? Thus combine the 12 volt and 5 volt (neutral) wire?

[image]

Hope you can help.

Tim

I have a a Victron centaur charger and I would like to add a phoenix inverter to run a small TV off my batteries. Is it possible to connect the phoenix directly to the DC outputs in the centaur charger?

My centaur is in my cabin while my batteries and in the engine room behind a bulkhead. If I can avoid running longer distance wires from the phoenix to the batteries that would be helpful.

Thanks

Is the Phoenix Inverter Control switch at all water resistant? I.e does the panel include a rubber gasket and the switch itself is waterproof?

I don't need it to be 100% waterproof, just splash and dust proof.

I understand that Eco mode pulses the inverter output for a short period and looks for an increase in load in response to determine whether or not to fully power one. It also appears that Eco mode can cause problems with high inrush loads such as compressors. My question pertains to its use will relatively low power loads such as TVs or other electronic devices with sleep (low power) modes and longer duration power up cycles.

A TV, for example, will power up into sleep mode and await a subsequent power on command from the control panel or a remote control; the power sensed by the inverter may not reach the minimum detection threshold. It seems like Eco mode is not well suited for loads with any sort of internal power consumption intelligence - you need something like a light bulb hooked in to the same circuit to provide a power draw that is sufficiently high and of the right type to be reliably detected.

My specific case is for a TV of about 20-60W with a 3-5W sleep mode on a Phoenix 12/250 or similar inverter. My hunch is that this would not work with Eco mode.

Does anyone have any experience with this use case?

I want to get bluetooth connection to the VE.Bus in my 10 year old Phoenix Multi 12/3000/120

The firmware is 1909125 and doesn't look possible to upgrade to above 415 needed for teh bluetooth dongle. So how to I upgrade the controller or CPU board?

Hello !

I just had new Phoenix Inverter Smart installed on my boat along with VE Super Pack lithium batteries and Solar controllers and BMV-712. I’m planning to buy Cerbo GX and connect every component to it. I understand that VE Bus (RJ45) cable should be used from inverter to cerbo gx - could someone help me understand which port on the Inverter this cable should be connected to ? Seems there are 3 ports on the bottom, not sure which should be used.

Thank you,

Alex

Phoenix inverter 24 / 500 is giving me problems with the dimmer lights

The lights flickers when on inverter mode if I dimm them a bit but if I leave them on max output they work fine, if I move the lights to the grid they work perfectly either dimmed or at max output.

Any help on this?

I have a phoenix 24 500 inverter connected to two Optima batteries and a Victron 24v battery charger.

This systems powers 100watts of LED lights and a 20w ceiling fan located in a room, the issue I have is sometimes the ceiling fan starts to make a strange noise (like a strong buzz), and the inverter is also buzzing.

This issue happens once or twice a day and I can last few minutes to more than half a hour. Sometimes I have to turn inverter off and turn it back on and noise is gone.

Any ideas what could cause this?

I've got a home setup as follows:

• Generator/Solar PV panels
• 24V Lead acid battery bank
• Victron Phoenix Inverter exclusively for water pump
• Victron Skylla-tg 24/50 charger (to charger batteries from genset)
• Victron Inverter 3000 for house AC power
• Venus GX
• BMV-700 battery monitor

And this is the Remote Console view:

[image]

'DC Power' shows solar power coming in (-W) AND also shows the power going out for the water pump (+W from the Phoenix). This also registers negative Watts when the generator is charging through the Skylla-TG.

'AC Loads' shows the power being used in the house (from the 3000 inverter).

The problem I've got is that sometimes the Phoenix is left running (due to water leak or taps on). This can be seen as +1000W in the DC Power box above.

My question is: how do I monitor this high DC wattage, and can I set an alarm if this goes too high for too long? (In case of water leak).

Thanks!

I'm trying to supply a electric blanket with a nominal load of 60W at my Phoenix 12/250 inverter.

The blanket has 3 power steps selectable by a switch. Step 1 = 20W, step 2 = 40W and step 3 = 60W.

The inverter is connected via a bluetooth dongle with the Vitron app.

The app is showing the load of the inverter in all the steps of the blanket switch correct.

In steps 1 and 2 the inverter works ok, but in step 3 (60W also showen in the app) the inverter goes into overload after 1sec.

The app never showes more than 60W power in the app.

The DC current is at 5,5A measured at the battery

The blanket is working normal at a 230V wall outlet.

DC 100ah battery is full and new, inverter is connected with 10mm2 cable with aprox. 1m length.

DC level in the app and measured with voltmeter is always over 12V.

I don't understand where the problem is, becauce the blanket is drawing much less the the 200W allowed.

I tried the inverter with an electric drilling maschine up to 250W load. The inverter is working ok and also the app shows everything correct. DC current goes up to 20A as expected

Can you please help me to solve this miracle.

Thanks in advance mzfly

I have a Multi (no Plus) 24 3000 70. Serial no is 2120336010

I am interested in the approximate age of the device, out of curiosity. It´s gotta be early to mid 00 years? Still going strong and takes any abuse.

Also was wondering if there was documentation available, later documentation kinda fits with the dip switches but is not always fitting it seems. I am interested in the things that can be adjusted beyond the dip switches. A former owner might have configured something weird because it keeps klicking and humming, it was suggested that it might try to initiate a generator start and is suprised nothing is coming. Also I can either charge or invert. With the transfer relais I would have thought that I can pull the full genny load while charging and it regulates the charge accordingly. I assume power assist it does not have.

Does the device has further adjustments regarding generator troubles as later models have? It doesn´t quite like my genny so was hoping to lighten the mood.

What equipment do I use to adjust further settings? I heard about MK 1 possibly MK2 working.

If something special, is there a suggestion where to buy/borrow the equipment in Germany?

Cheers guys

Hello,

normally my loads are small so I chose a medium size Multiplus due to the lower standby consumption. This is also the reason I don't want to use a bigger unit or parallel setup because this would give me a much more higher daily consumption.

Anyway there are a few high loads I hardly use. For these loads I want to put a Phoenix 3000 at the AC-in of the Multi so I can run the small unit 24/7 and the bigger one only when I need it. Doing this I still can use the same circuits.

Technically this is not a problem, I think. But what about the Venus device. I can only set "grid" or "generator" as far as I know but not "inverter". This would give me a muddled VRM as the energy comes from the battery. Can this probably somehow be added in future versions of the OS? Or isn't it possible at all.

Can both, a Phoenix AND a Multiplus even have a VE.Bus connetion to a Venus or is this only possible with VE.Can?

regards,

Porcini

I have just installed a new Phoenix Inverter Smart 12/2000. The push button mode switch will not work even if held on for more than ten seconds. The unit will change modes correctly using Bluetooth. How do I get the push button to work?

Warren.

Hi,

I've got a Phoenix inverter 12/1200 VE.Direct with Bluetooth dongle. With VictronConnect I can configure the Phoenix and see how high the load is, but I cannot see how many Watt or Ampere it's outputting or taking from the battery.

I though the bigger Phoenix would be able to show that?

If now, how can I realize that?

Thank you for any information or hint!

In user manual is reported that Inverter Voltage is adjustable (210-245V).

Because i have an automatic switch commutating inverter vs. grid, sometimes happen the main differential switch turn-off, letting me without energy at home. Grid voltage comes at 247V, default setting for Phoenix Inverter is 230V, so I need to make equal the values, to avoid falling down of energy.

How may I set up a Voltage higher than 230V?

Many thanks if you can help me.

I have an old Victron Phoenix 24v 3000w Inverter, with an old "generic" solar charge controller.

My old batteries have finally given up.

I want to replace them with something with a good lifespan and was thinking about the Lithium HE battery 24V 200Ah 5kWh

I THINK I need some fancy battery monitor in addition to the battery. Is there something specific I need to check on the old charge controller? (From Memory it had options for sealed, flood, and gel. Lithium didn't really exist when I bought it). If no good what would be a good controller (around 500w of Solar)

Thanks in advance

Phill

Hello the community,

I got a new inverter Phoenix 800/12 working at 230V.

I have a really simple scheme : one battery, one inverter.

When I plug a 300w resistive load (baby cooker) it works perfectly. But if I plug a handtool (jigsaw) or another inductive load (150W or 350W) it doesn't work. Well, it's work for 3 secondes, and the red light comes for 30 secondes. I don't have Ve Bus direct, so I can't upload firmware ...

Do you think inverter is broken ? Thus, I don't have 700w resistive load to try, but I am sure it could work...

Many thanks for your help.

Jb

I have a mini-fridge 45L at work and tested how much power it is draining before buying Victron inverter. Tested for 48 hours. So from start, it takes 380W and max is 480w. Usually, it takes up to 400W and is going down after one second to 80W. So I counted, 12/250 is too small but 12/375(peak power 700W) is plenty of power with extra reserve. Buying inverter 12/375, taking the same fridge to the boat. Connecting to 2x110 new lead-acid batteries and what am I getting? Inverter says it's overloaded. After getting the same message 3 times, the fridge starts running at 80w. When the fridge cycle finishes, the fridge stops and when it comes to the new cooling cycle, the same story. The fridge can't start from the first try and is getting overloaded and after a few tries, it starts working. It only needs 400W peak power but I have 700W. Why is it not working on the first try? Why does it start after a few tries? Faulty inverter? Wrong specification? The inverter doesn't have 700w peak power only 400W? Thanks.