Hi everyone,
My first posting and wonderful to have such community and help! I am new to van life, and I am working on getting a Sprinter van battery house (Chinese lithium batteries: 8 cells @ 3.6V 280Amp) which will give me 560Amp 12V house bank. I would like to be able to charge my house batteries while driving (using the Sprinter alternator battery), and also while parked in my garage or campgrounds using AC plug. I don't plan on using solar. I like what i have read so far about Victron products, and I would like to know what will be the best package to order and install (there seem to be many products and options doing the same thing: i.e. the Multiplus vs EasyPlus, etc. I plan to have a small induction stove (1200W), small portable 120V air conditioner (6 Amp), and the Bosch electrical water heater (120V, so these would be my three 120V AC load. Any advise is greatly apprecaited.
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My system is on a boat with a MultiPlus Compact 12v/1600va/70a and a digital multi control panel.
I have 4x175w Victron PV panels connected to a Victron 100/50 MPPT controller.
My understanding is that both the multiplus and the mppt are both charging the battery bank simultaneously whilst connected to shore power. Can I turn off battery charging on the multiplus so that batteries are charged only using the solar power via the mppt?
I need AC shore power whilst in the marina so can’t turn the multiplus off completely.
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Hello everyone,
the manual states(Multiplus 48/3000), that the Phase from the Grid should be connected to the Phase-In from the Inverter. Due to the mobile usage of the Inverter, the Inverter shall be connected to the Grid with a Schuko plug https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Schuko_plug_and_socket_annotated.png/240px-Schuko_plug_and_socket_annotated.png. However the right plugging of the schuko plug is not always ensured, because you can plug the schuko plug in two ways (Not turned Phase to Phase, and turned Phase to Neutral). Does somebody know a device, that stops the current from follwing when the device is not connected properly?
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I labelled my Quattro AC input 1 as ‘shore power’, then set up an alarm rule on my CCGX where all input labels (not available, grid, generator, shore power) were enabled.
When I disconnected my shore power, the CCGX and VRM gave me ‘grid lost’ alarms. I acknowledged the alarm on the CCGX and reconnected shore power but it took a reset to clear the CCGX, and I can’t clear it on the VRM.
I’ve tried deleting the rule and setting up a new one, re-labelling my input as ‘grid’ to see if that’ll clear it - no luck.
Any advice appreciated - would like to clear from the VRM.
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How can I disable MPPT going into Bulk in the morning when my boat is connected to the shore power and the batteries are at Float level kept by the AC charger? Thanks.
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Hi,
i have a Multiplus 12/3000/120 setup inside my van. Everything works fine. The System is connected to shore. The Battery is fully charged.
Now i connected an electrical heater (2000W) to the system. The heater is the only thing connected.
Usually the Heater should consume around 2100W. Connected to the Multiplus it doesn't use more then 1700W and the heater isn't getting warm as usual. The Multiplus is in Absorption mode. If i disconnect my shore cable, the consumption is around 2300W and the heater is getting warmer and blows faster. The MultiPlus show inverting and the Battery gets empty (as expected ;) )
Any Ideas why the heater is getting less power on shore connection?
Max. shore Current Limit is set to 16A/230V. Charging the Battery (additionally to the heater) with 1200W works fine. All in all providing at least 3200W from shore is working fine. VRM shows 8A usage when heater is connected.
But the heater is working with less power.
Does someone has any good idea belonging to this strange behavior?
thanks!
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Having a problem connecting shore power. I have a multiplus 3000 120 16 together with 100/30 and 100/50 smart mppt with a Cerbo gx. When I connect the ac in it throws the main beaker on the dock. Tried not connecting the earth...same. If I disconnect the ac out all works good and charges my batteries. Now the weird bit. With the shore power disconnected the inverter powers the whole boat without a problem. Any ideas?
1 Answer
Hi,
I have a setup with the Cerbo GX, ET112, BMV712 and a Quick 12v battery charger in a boat. I have the ET112 in-line on the shore power to monitor load. No inverter or Victron charger in the setup by now.
On the GX I can see the ET112 and the power passing through it, and it reports itself as grid. Is there any way I can change this to shore and configure an alarm/notification if disconnected?
-vga
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My Multipass 24/3000 was installed this past summer. Everything has been great until two weeks ago.
Recently, I went to use my boat and after unplugging from shore power, engines start etc. I noticed the breaker for the inverter was not illuminated, but the breaker was on and had not tripped. Before starting the boat, AC/DC panel showed inverter breaker operating and illuminated. The inverter is left in charge only when connected to shore. The color control GX showed no alarms or issues.
With the engines operating the port side steering was not functioning but starboard size was. (Boat uses jet drives with buckets and joystick steering). After a few minutes trying to trouble shoot, I started the generator and then the breaker switch for the inverter became illuminated and now both port and starboard steering began to work.
The alternators on both engine were replaced during the Multipass install and everything had been working without issue.
Summary: the Multipass 24/3000 only is working when connected to shore power or receiving generator power source. It does not work when the engine is running.
What am I missing that may cause this?
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I have 2 x 200ah lithium batteries from victron.... they charge through a multuplus 12/3000 on shore power and typically charges fully in 90 min or less.
Now my batteries and multi aren't "activating" when the shore power is on..... is this temperature related? It just got to freezing temps around my area, the batteries on the app say they are at 50° +.....
In the settings for the batteries it looks like this
[image]
Its approx 40° outside......
Any help appreciated. The system worked well for quite some time, only the ambient temps have changed so I'm curious if my settings are wrong or if I simply need a battery warmer of some sort....
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I want to add on my Caravan a Solar Panel. Actual is build in a Blue Smart IP65 Charger that charges a 50Ah AGM Batterie. For charging with solar i bought a BlueSolar MPPT 75/15 Charger.
My Question, can i connect the MPPT Charger parallel with the Shore power Charger direct on the Batterie?
3 Answers
Hello all,
I have a Multiplus (V476) connected on a Cerbo (V2.6)
No alarm after 5 seconds of loss of shore power
But if I configure the AC input for Grid, it works!
[image]
[image]
Thank you for your help
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I am in the process of a new install. I have wired up the system for Shore power. I have not yet connected batteries to the Victron Mulitplus but would like to test the AC portion of what I have connected so far. Is it OK to plug-in shore power and turn on the Victron to test the AC portion of the circuits without the batteries connected or will the Victron error out and not pass the AC.
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So a 50amp RV shore outlet is actually two 50amp connections for a total of 100amps right? So when I program my multiplus inverters, is my input current limit 100amps meaning I program 50amp or is it 50amp and I program 25amp? Or am I totally misthinking this because it mentions "per phase" and a parallel system is single phase so I should just set it to 100amp... or is that 50amp...
I'm following the following information from the Parallel and three phase VE.Bus systems document
The following settings need to be made in the master of each phase:
Inverter output voltage
Input current limits
(the effective input current limit is the setted limit multiplied by the number of units per phase. For example, setting a 10A limit with VEConfigure in a system with two units per phase results on a 20A limit for that phase. Being able to set a different limit per phase allows for maximum configurability.
Also when I'm looking at the maximum charge current, if my total charge limit is 70amp I would set it to 35amp?
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New to the group. To lay the groundwork for the question:
We have been, in the past three months, mostly on shore power, and always on (confirmed) 50 amps. We found that one of the monitor panels (not listed above) showed us at 30 amps continually. Reached out to seller, he indicated that if I had the inverter on, I'd be limited to 30 amps. Turned it to Off, and I'm back to 50 amps and I can run the air conditioners. Excellent for the Texas heat we'd been dealing with.
Two days ago, we relocated to a park, and were fortunate enough to park in the shade. Sure, solar will be very much reduced, but that's okay: we have 50 amps.
Tonight...the generator kicked on. Turns out we ran down the batteries to 50%. Direct DC usage in the rig, like lights, whatever else is straight DC, ran them down. With the Victron set to off, the shore power doesn't recharge the batteries. If I turn the Victron to just "Charger" (not Inverter), it will recharge the batteries, but I will still be limited to a 30 amp system.
This feels wrong to me. I'm a programmer, have been for 30 years. I'm decent at debugging, but I haven't examined all the the wiring and gotten a deeper understanding of the layout. It just feels wrong that it's this way.
When we have good sun, the batteries always get charged up the next day, even on cloudy days. We've been here, in the shade, for... two full days, I think.
I'm trying to determine if one or more of the following are true:
I'm trying to determine that, if the Victron being on limits me to 30 amps, is there a different way to charge the batteries when on shore power? I know my question might be difficult to many without y'all knowing more about how it's wired up. But I'm hoping I kept my questions as free of the implementation as possible and focused on generalizations, and typical scenarios.
For the moment, there's a chill coming into the area tonight and I don't need two A/C's. I'm okay with the 30 amps for now, and I'll get my batteries replenished. Not a long term solution.
I truly appreciate any help anyone can put forth, or any education I can glean out of your answers. I did do extensive research into solar, DC, AC, converters/chargers, inverters, MPPT, etc. before we bought the rig. I feel sort of comfortable in my general knowledge. I was a little sad I didn't get to do the install myself so I'd REALLY know it, inside and out, but the deal was just too good to pass up and our seller was a pleasure to work with. But I lack the intimate knowledge that installing it myself would have gained.
Thanks in advance for any assistance.
- Will B.
Somewhere in Kansas at the moment.
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Mark
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My Motorhome Question
Will I damage my Multiplus if the battery is disconnected while the multi is connected to shore power? I'm thinking of a weird use case where I've either switched off the battery disconnect switch or somehow my battery cable came loose.
1 Answer
Hi,
I have purchased the following devices and I am starting to setup the system on my Boat, where I have a Starter Battery and a House Battery:
My question relates to situation in which these devices will all be working at the same time.
The AC/DC and DC/DC Charger, will rarely do that, as I will either be on Shore Power or on Engine Power, but there could be very rare instances of the engines being run while on the dock for a few minutes when also still connected on Shore power.
My main concern is the MPPT Solar Charger running at the same time as the DC/DC Charger when under way and in daylight. But technically, if I am in the situation described above at the dock, all three chargers could be working at the same time, for some short period of time.
Can this damage the devices or the Battery? At present the Battery is a AGM 100Ah Deep Cycle but I will soon be replacing it with a LiFePO4.
Can someone please recommend the best way to setup this system? Am I better off switching manually things on off based on the usage? Or can I setup the devices parameters in such a way that they will automatically stop working at the right time based on the voltage produced by other devices?
I would appreciate some guidance and help.
Thank you in advance,
Adri
2 Answers
Hi,
I'm looking to install a multiplus 3000 on my yacht, i see there are 2 outputs from the unit, does anyone know if they can be configured so that one of them is only active when connected to shore power or the generator?
My calorifier and battery chargers are currently on the circuit that comes from the gen/shore power so i don't want the inverter to be putting power out on the 2nd output when i'm just on batteries.
Hope that makes sense....
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I just purchased a Catamaran that is setup on 220 50hz. Aircon, water maker, hot water heaters are all 220 50hz. I have the following:
I plan to upgrade to 1200ah or 1800ah lithium batteries.
Based on what I have read it appears there is no way to convert 60hz to 50hz with these devices.
I was thinking of replacing my inverter with 1 Victron (maybe 2 stacked) inverter(s) and run all AC loads through them and add a separate charger or 2 that run off shore power or genset. The idea would be never run all Aircon at same time unless plugged in to shore power or the genset is running. I know there will be losses with AC to DC to AC. What I don’t know is what impact this setup can have to batter life if you assume never discharge bellow mfg recommendations.
Is the above a bad idea?
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I have a Victron Energy Multiplus Inverter 3000 and currently trying to connect up to shore power. When I connect up, the "Mains On" light usually comes on, now it doesn't! I tried to run my genny (Fischer Panda inboard), the genny starts but it won't switch over to Mains power. Usually there is a slight delay of 15-30 seconds and it 'clicks on'. Does anybody know what this might be? The 12v circuits and Inverter running off the batteries seem to work fine, just the mains won't connect. Tried a different shore line, no different, the bollard says that there is nothing connected (Vacant), so it seems like something on the boat.
5 Answers
Hello.
I have a MultiPlus 12/2000 in our RV. We have an imbalance issue with our lithium cells that causes an overvoltage condition when absorption charging. Obviously this is not an issue when inverting off the house bank, but connecting to shore power and setting the inverter "On" (in order to energize the relay that connects the MP's AC input to the AC output) also inevitably turns on the charger, eventually tripping the OV relay and shutting down the whole rig. The cell balance issue will get resolved in time, but meanwhile I would like to be able to use shore power.
I see that someone else asked about this issue here, and was told they could use an assistant to set the charge voltage to 0V. I looked in VE.Config and found the "charge current assistant". This seems to allow me to set the charge current to 0V, but also allows "disabling the charger when the charge current should be zero". Does anyone know whether to check this box; i.e., whether disabling the charger would also disconnect the passthrough relay?
Thanks!
/afb
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Have a Multiplus 12/120/3000 with 4-100 amp hour Lithium batteries in series installed in our fifth wheel trailer. Everything has been working great and as it should, but I recently tried to plugin to a standard 120 wall outlet just to trickle charge the batteries while parked in a friends driveway and it would trip the breaker. I tried turning off everything via my breaker panel in my trailer that wasn't necessary to see if it was a load issue...still trips. I also played around with the current limiter settings on my victron digital multi control...nothing made a difference. Multi control was set to charger only. Has anyone else had any issues like this? Maybe something else I can look into to try. Please advise? Thank you in advance :)
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Hi, I have been using a 12/3000 flawlessly for 2 years. Last year cleaned connections and replaced lugs with proper crimps and added lithium. I have a line filter that monitors surge, Hz and power characteristics. Everything still worked fine and my batteries are fully charged at 13.4V.
Today, I plugged in AC source (generator and shore) and no AC gets passed through and the batteries do not charge (however the inverter works fine). I measured 120VAC at the first input terminal (on the left). When I connect AC source, the 12/3000 beeps and clicks then beeps and clicks again 30 seconds later. After 4 or 5 beeps and clicks, it stops trying.
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Are Victron stainless steel inlet sockets (can't find a specific product page on the Victron website - see here for another source: https://www.kuranda.co.uk/victron-energy/shore-cords-and-connectors/power-inlet-16a-stainless-steel-shp301602000-victron) compatible with non-Victron shorepower cords?
I.e. could I use something like this https://www.distributionzone.com/Products/Cables/Made-up-Cables/5-Metre-Black-HO7RN-F-2-5mm-with-16A-2P-E-Plug-Con?
I have been given conflicting answers so would appreciate some clarification.
Many thanks!
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What waterproof rating are Victron shorepower cords https://www.victronenergy.com/cables/shore-power-cable? I have seen them listed as IP56 and IP67 in different places.
Many thanks!
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I have 800 Watts solar panels. 3000watt /12v Multiplus and 3 LifePO4 100 ah batteries.Line 1 (from shore power) goes into Multplus and then goes into the right side of my RV breaker panel of which the circuits I mainly use when boondocking are. Line 2 goes into the left side of my breaker panel and is only used when on shore power, which can be 50a, 30a, or 15.
I have successfully run 15a in and set 10a as my limit in my Color GFX and run the air conditioner till the generator ran out of fuel during my 1st test.
My question relates to settings when on 50a shore power. I am not sure if my issue was a bad surge protector at the shore power or something else but want to check before trying this again.
I went from a week of boondocking to a 50a hookup in the sun at a RV park on Lake Michigan. Heat index was 98 so I pulled in (with almost full charge on batteries) and hooked up to the 50. Set max of 50a on the Color GFX and ran the air conditioning. Ran for 90-120 minutes and all of a sudden shut down. I turned off air conditioning and had to leave. Batteries were now showing about 35% charge. There was some sun left so when I got back after sundown batteries were at 40%. Later I figured out I was not getting any shore power even though (it was off and on via the lcd on my Progressive surge protector). Thinking the 50a shore power may be bad, I used my 30a cable and plugged in and batteries charged up. I have since unplugged and running strictly on solar as weather isn't as cold. My question is 2 fold, when running on 50a shore power, should I limit the amps to 25 or 30? 2. Am I correct in assuming the most probable explanation of my batteries going down to 35% was because the the surge protector shut off the power and I was running the air for a while off the batteries and I was getting 300-400 watts from my panels at the time?
Thanks in advance for advice!
1 Answer
I have a 12/2000 multi.
The other night I lost shore power and didn’t realize. The inverter flipped its transfer switch and began trying to power the load with the batteries. When the air conditioner kicked on, one of my 250 amp fuses blew.
Is there a way to program the inverter to shut down if shore power is lost, so I can at least turn off my air conditioner before drawing from the batteries?
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I’d like to be able to monitor the shore power coming in to my yacht and also the generator power when I’m away from shore power.
How can I connect the E112 in to the Venus GX?
Do I need 2x E112? Or can I put the inputs from my shore power and generator in to one E112?
The breakers for shore power and generator are right next to each other.
1 Answer
I have a MultiPlus 12/3000/120/16 connected to my batteries and also a BlueSolar MPPT 100/50.
Is it possible to configure the MultiPlus so that it will prefer the sun to charge the batteries, and if the sun isn't strong enough, it will be supplemented with shore power?
5 Answers