Charging using Gen with multi-plus 2 Inverter

My multiPlus 48 3000 120 accept the 2000W generator current on position "Charger only" (switch on position 2), and charges the battery just fine as well as providing direct AC, but does not charge on position 1.

1. Does that mean that position 1 is only for Inverting only? or that it is not able to synchronize with the Gen current?
2. Then is it normal that in order to add a charge to the battery with the Gen requires to switch from position 1 to 2, therefore interrupting the AC out to the home?

Tks

Please clarify. Are you getting AC loads powered via gen on position 2 or charging only?

jlachapelle7 said:

My multiPlus 48 3000 120 accept the 2000W generator current on position "Charger only" (switch on position 2), and charges the battery just fine as well as providing direct AC, but does not charge on position 1.

1. Does that mean that position 1 is only for Inverting only? or that it is not able to synchronize with the Gen current?
2. Then is it normal that in order to add a charge to the battery with the Gen requires to switch from position 1 to 2, therefore interrupting the AC out to the home?

Tks

Click to expand...

The inverter setting can also charge your batteries. Post your inverter settings screens, do you have the battery charger enabled and what are the settings?

I never put my multiII in charge only mode, it isn't needed, but your settings may need an update.

Hi, and thank you for your response.

I'm only 6 month into the learning of solar and still learning, plus I just put the Cerbo GX in, and haven't had some time to learn how to change the setting on Multiplus like I used to by the smart bluetooth, so sorry if it takes a few shot to grab your explanation.

My Victron RS 450/200 is connected with my multiplus and a 48V 280A Eve cells.
Everything is running smooth and I have plenty of power for the camp. The other night, I overused the power and the BMS recorded a low cell and shut down the system.

I recharged the battery with a small 2000w inverter generator on position 2 of the multiplus. I ran the gen for 8 hours and filled the battery SOC to 50%, but I had to switch the multiplus to 1 after turn off the gun in order to recover the power in the house, interrupting the power in the house. I tried to run the Gen on position 1, and the MP seems to not reject it as it shows voltage in, but no amps are going through.

Also, the smarthsunt is losing SOC everyday, while the voltage clearly is higher than the recorded SOC on the shunt menu. I have to recalibrate every week or so.

I also just noticed this morning that the BMS does the same. SOC at 38% while voltage is at 53.36V which is about 90%. (see picture in PDF)


I'm attaching picture of the setup and a PDF of all screenshots by component

My system is
6.2 KW 9S 3P Canadian Solar 230
Victron Smart Shunt, Lynx Distributor & Cerbo GX
Victron RS450/200
EVE Lifepo4 16S 2P 48V 560AH 13400Wh
BMS JBD 7s-20s 200 A
MultiPlus-II-48-3000-120-35-50-120V
Cerbo GX

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME!

sunshine_eggo said:

Please clarify. Are you getting AC loads powered via gen on position 2 or charging only?

Click to expand...

The Multi-plus position II is "charger only" as I understand or am I mistaken?

Lilikoi_Heavy_Industries said:

The inverter setting can also charge your batteries. Post your inverter settings screens, do you have the battery charger enabled and what are the settings?

I never put my multiII in charge only mode, it isn't needed, but your settings may need an update.

Click to expand...

Thank you for your reply. I added a post of my issue and pictures of my setup screenshots.

jlachapelle7 said:

Thank you for your reply. I added a post of my issue and pictures of my setup screenshots.

Click to expand...

Your smartshunt needs this setting updated, it will track your SoC better after:
Charge efficiency factor: 99%

Can you clarify which screens are for your inverter? It's your inverter's charger settings that need to be reviewed. The screenshots aren't apparent what device they belong to, I don't use this same user interface.

If you did already post those as the last screenshots, the follow-up question is what your system voltage was when the charger didn't kick on, it has specific voltages listed.

EDIT: You may also need to make sure "storage mode" isn't turned on, in the inverter charger setup screen... I don't even see that option in your screenshots though. It's on by default when you pick their LiFePO4 setting I believe--and I never fully learned the storage functionality but I know it won't charge your batteries to full in that mode.

Hi again,
I separated the picture for each component in separate PDF

jlachapelle7 said:

Hi, and thank you for your response.

I'm only 6 month into the learning of solar and still learning, plus I just put the Cerbo GX in, and haven't had some time to learn how to change the setting on Multiplus like I used to by the smart bluetooth, so sorry if it takes a few shot to grab your explanation.

My Victron RS 450/200 is connected with my multiplus and a 48V 280A Eve cells.
Everything is running smooth and I have plenty of power for the camp. The other night, I overused the power and the BMS recorded a low cell and shut down the system.

I recharged the battery with a small 2000w inverter generator on position 2 of the multiplus. I ran the gen for 8 hours and filled the battery SOC to 50%, but I had to switch the multiplus to 1 after turn off the gun in order to recover the power in the house, interrupting the power in the house. I tried to run the Gen on position 1, and the MP seems to not reject it as it shows voltage in, but no amps are going through.

Click to expand...

Charging will occur in position 1; however, there is a delay as the inverter evaluates the condition of the incoming power and syncs to it.

jlachapelle7 said:

Also, the smarthsunt is losing SOC everyday, while the voltage clearly is higher than the recorded SOC on the shunt menu. I have to recalibrate every week or so.

Click to expand...

Victron indicates that you must synchronize at least twice a month to maintain accuracy.

It appears the BMS has a relay. What is the consumption of this relay? If it's not a NC relay and is drawing current to hold the relay closed, the draw of this relay is not registering on the shunt. This should actually have the opposite effect.

jlachapelle7 said:

I also just noticed this morning that the BMS does the same. SOC at 38% while voltage is at 53.36V which is about 90%. (see picture in PDF)

Click to expand...

Voltage to SoC relationship is not reliable in an operational system. They are RESTING voltages with ZERO charge or discharge for about 30 minutes, i.e., system is off with no charging or discharging for 30+ minutes.

Is the Shunt properly configured to sync when the battery is fully charged?

jlachapelle7 said:

The Multi-plus position II is "charger only" as I understand or am I mistaken?

Click to expand...

You are correct; however, the way you worded your initial post made it sound like it was providing AC loads in that setting. It is now clear it wasn't

You likely just need to be more patient waiting for it to start charging.

Also, https://www.victronenergy.com/live/multiplus_faq - read this.

jlachapelle7 said:

Hi again,
I separated the picture for each component in separate PDF

Click to expand...

MPPT voltage is way low. You aren't getting reliably charged especially with a 2h absorption.

Recommend 55.2 absorp and 54.4 float.

It appears you've modified your Cell % voltages in the BMS. This is not reliable. Recommend:
3500 100%
3400 80%
3300 60%
3200 40%
3100 20%

Balancing at 3.30 is pointless. Balance doesn't start to matter until you're over 3.400. Recommend raising balance to 3400

Shunt will NEVER sync given the fact that charged voltage is ABOVE your MPPT charge voltage. Charged voltage should be 0.2V below absorption.
Peukert 1.05
Efficiency 99%

Your system is not configured correctly as you have documented.

P.S. you haven't included the Multiplus Config. You've reported what remote console shows.

You configure MP via VC or VEConfig. What are those settings?

sunshine_eggo said:

P.S. you haven't included the Multiplus Config. You've reported what remote console shows.

You configure MP via VC or VEConfig. What are those settings?

Click to expand...

I used to configure the MP with the smart Bluetooth adaptor, but with the Cerbo, this is the config menu I get (through the Cerbo remote console)

sunshine_eggo said:

You are correct; however, the way you worded your initial post made it sound like it was providing AC loads in that setting. It is now clear it wasn't

Click to expand...

Sorry, I also misinterpret your word. while I was charging on position 2, the MP was indeed providing AC to the home (200W) and recharging at 1200W, for a total of 1500W. On the screenshot, I reduced the AC in load to 10 AMP as the Generator was running a little too hard. Once I stopped the Generator through, I had to switch back to position 1 to get AC in the house (from the battery).

For the rest of your recommendation and info, thank you for your time, I will update my settings accordingly.

jlachapelle7 said:

I used to configure the MP with the smart Bluetooth adaptor, but with the Cerbo, this is the config menu I get (through the Cerbo remote console)

Click to expand...

I get to my Multiplus using a USB-MK3 adapter and then I run VEConfig... From there, I'm able to access the multiplus battery charger settings. There are other ways that work also.

Looking at a cerbogx monitoring screen doesn't provide what you need to get to.

There's also a way to run VEConfig through the VRM portal, but I don't recommend it for initial system setup like you're doing now.

jlachapelle7 said:

Sorry, I also misinterpret your word. while I was charging on position 2, the MP was indeed providing AC to the home (200W) and recharging at 1200W, for a total of 1500W. On the screenshot, I reduced the AC in load to 10 AMP as the Generator was running a little too hard. Once I stopped the Generator through, I had to switch back to position 1 to get AC in the house (from the battery).

For the rest of your recommendation and info, thank you for your time, I will update my settings accordingly.

Click to expand...

Setting "I" is "ON". If on battery, it inverts. If it senses an acceptable AC input, it will passthru AC input and charge. It is very easy to overload a small generator with charging + AC loads. The max AC input is not a hard limit. It's the level at which it throttles charging and/or provides powerassist with loads. Passthru Loads can still exceed generator input.

It can take 30+ seconds for the MP to transition to generator on setting "I". Important that you check your inverter configuration against the generator FAQ I linked above. There are far more settings available via VEConfig - many that are not available in Remote Console. Remote Console only provides a few options.

Lilikoi_Heavy_Industries said:

I get to my Multiplus using a USB-MK3 adapter and then I run VEConfig... From there, I'm able to access the multiplus battery charger settings. There are other ways that work also.

Looking at a cerbogx monitoring screen doesn't provide what you need to get to.

There's also a way to run VEConfig through the VRM portal, but I don't recommend it for initial system setup like you're doing now.

Click to expand...

If I search for VEConfig app,It brings me to the Victron connect App. Is this the same thing? (Im on MacOS)

Older intel based mac? Might need bootcamp and run windows to run VE config.

jlachapelle7 said:

If I search for VEConfig app,It brings me to the Victron connect App. Is this the same thing? (Im on MacOS)

Click to expand...

VictronConnect is newer. I think it'll do the job but I haven't used it.

I thought I had read recently that they had improved VictronConnect to include series/parallel inverter configurations, which sounds way more advanced that just setting up the battery charger. I'd try to connect with VictronConnect and see what's available.

jlachapelle7 said:

If I search for VEConfig app,It brings me to the Victron connect App. Is this the same thing? (Im on MacOS)

Click to expand...

If you have MK3 to USB adapter, Victronconnect can configure a MP.

Is it me or Victron has so many different hardware and software that it is mind boggling looking at the simplicity of the Chinese products interface!
Victron, I think it's time to hirer younger engineers!..lol

I'm far away from my install so I purchased the Cerbo because it said that I could do everything I did with the Victron smart dongle from the internet.....

jlachapelle7 said:

Is it me, but looking at Chinese product interface, Victron has so many different hardware and software that it is mind boggling.

Click to expand...

You don't have to look past this forum to find lots of people struggling with "Chinese product."

jlachapelle7 said:

Has VEConfigure been replaced by VictronConnect?

Click to expand...

VEConfig is the only software that allows for complete configuration of all Victron VE.Bus inverters. VEConfig is for PC only.

They are in the process of moving to VictronConnect, but some advanced functions are not yet configurable.

jlachapelle7 said:

The VEConfigure download link always brings me back to the VictronConnect download page.

Click to expand...

All downloads are here:




DO YOU HAVE A MK3-USB ADAPTER?

As I'm far from my install, the USB option is not viable, and was trying to mange and configure remotely. I though the Cerbo GX was doing it all (Config and monitor), but I guess not! I finally figured out and installed VEConfigure on Mac via Parallel app. I found a video on how to Download/upload the MP config file. It works flawlessly, but instead of taking screenshot of all the pages, Couldn't I just share my config file which you can load into VE Configure?
Thank you all for your great support!

jlachapelle7 said:

As I'm far from my install, the USB option is not viable, and was trying to mange and configure remotely. I though the Cerbo GX was doing it all (Config and monitor), but I guess not! I finally figured out and installed VEConfigure on Mac via Parallel app. I found a video on how to Download/upload the MP config file. It works flawlessly, but instead of taking screenshot of all the pages, Couldn't I just share my config file which you can load into VE Configure?
Thank you all for your great support!

Click to expand...

I've used a 120' CAT6 ethernet cable with the MK3-USB before without issue... Actually I think that same 120' wire is what is connecting my inverter to my raspberrypi right now (with the MK3-USB). Not sure if that helps you any.

Personally, I had problems changing some of the MPII settings through VRM+VenusOS--but I may need to update my VenusOS software, I'm using a hacked up build from when they just started figuring out raspi4 support, NOT a blessed Victron build, it could easily be my fault. You have a real supported cerbogx, it may work better for you. But that's the reason I suggested that VRM may not work well for these changes. On this issue, I'm learning myself, so I was only able to provide details on how I've been able to do it before successfully.

After you deploy the change, make sure to load it up again back into VEConfig to make sure that they actually took effect. That's how I noticed that some settings weren't making it through when I did VRM based changes to the MPII settings.


EDIT: Also... I don't know if you understand how to map a usb device through in parallels... but you may have just made yourself more problems by introducing a virtualization layer, something that's typically bad for hardware device support (somebody else suggested bootcamp, which is not virtualization, it's dual boot)... What happened to trying VictronConnect for Mac?

jlachapelle7 said:

As I'm far from my install, the USB option is not viable, and was trying to mange and configure remotely. I though the Cerbo GX was doing it all (Config and monitor), but I guess not! I finally figured out and installed VEConfigure on Mac via Parallel app. I found a video on how to Download/upload the MP config file. It works flawlessly, but instead of taking screenshot of all the pages, Couldn't I just share my config file which you can load into VE Configure?
Thank you all for your great support!

Click to expand...

I use VEConfig remotely via VRM regularly. Be happy to take a look at it.

sunshine_eggo said:

I use VEConfig remotely via VRM regularly. Be happy to take a look at it.

Click to expand...

I can't upload the VEConfig file, Here is the pdf/txt file. Thank you

The switch settings may also change the input AC frequency accept range. If generator is synchronous type and rpm of engine is low it may go out of frequency range for a given switch setting.

From manual there are three different ranges. 45–65 Hz, 45–55 Hz, 55–65 Hz.

If you have a DVM with frequency reading function, you might want to check generator output AC frequency. Inverter likely also reads out frequency, but it has to be locked on generator and connected to match its frequency.

The unit has load shaving and AC input current limit setting so it should work in these modes. There really isn't any reason to use charging only mode. Set AC input current limit to capability of generator to avoid overloading generator. Inverter will automatically back off charging current if AC output loads takes too much of limited AC input current. If load exceeds AC input limit setting, battery power will supplement AC input power.

I think 'charging only' mode just stops inverter from using battery power to supplement AC input limit to maintain AC output load. It likely still reduces charging current as AC output load increases, but inverter will shut down if AC output load exceeds AC input limit setting. A better description of mode would be 'do not use battery power'.

Most all hybrid inverters have their actual inverter circuitry hard wired to AC output. Although possible, I highly doubt Victron would put in a second pass through relay to break inverter connection to AC output for charging only mode.