How to test a used Victron inverter before buying? Tests & Tools?

[PopDBop]

I'm in the market for solid inverter, and some of you here have enlightened me on the value of spending the money for a Victron quality level device. So I found one locally that's a good candidate for my small off grid RV/cabin system. It's advertised as new/open-box, but I don't really trust that description. So I want to run some quick tests to verify that the thing is working properly.

I have the usual meters and a battery I can take, along with a couple portable folding 120W PV panels. But, I'm not familiar with this inverter or Victron equipment. I suppose I should connect everything up and make sure I can run a heat gun and portable air conditioner as loads to push the inverter limit, and check the charging circuit with the portable solar panels. Does anyone have any other suggestions on what to check before handing over the $$$?

Victron Energy MultiPlus 2000VA 12-Volt Pure Sine Wave Inverter 80 amp​

 

[rmaddy]

This is an inverter/charger, not a solar charge controller. So there's no point in bringing your solar panels to test this out.

You would first need to connect your battery to the battery terminals of the inverter. If you want to test charging you would need an AC source which is normally shore power. So you could wire up a 15A or 30A plug to the AC in and then plug that into a wall outlet. If you want to test the inverter you need to wire the AC out of the inverter to an AC breaker panel and then wire an outlet to the breaker panel.

To setup the inverter you need a Victron MK3 USB adapter and a UTP network cable so you can connect the inverter to your computer.

None of this is trivial and it's going to be a challenge to do all of this just to test it out. Most of this applies to any inverter/charger, not just Victron.

 

[PopDBop]

This is an inverter/charger, not a solar charge controller. So there's no point in bringing your solar panels to test this out.

Oh. Okay. I missed that. So this unit is only designed to charge batteries from shore/grid power? That seems to make this suited for something like a van/camper/RV then, where you'd regularly plug into an outlet at a campsite or park. Well, no SCC make it simpler to test and save me having to lug those around.

To setup the inverter you need a Victron MK3 USB adapter and a UTP network cable so you can connect the inverter to your computer.

That sucks. It's another $70 on amazon I see. Otherwise I have no idea what default configuration I'm testing, or whether the unit is configured to charge Li batts. I wonder if the guy has one of those along with this inverter. I don't want to purchase one just to test the inverter. I suppose if it didn't work out I could return the MK3, but I don't like doing that. However, if I end up buying the inverter, it sounds like I would need one of these anyway.

FWIW, I already have charge controllers for my system. I really just wanted this for the reliable inverter. Charging from shore/grid power (or a generator perhaps?) is actually a nice bonus as I don't have an AC charger in my system -- at least not one for a Li battery chemistry (just old SLA).

 

[rmaddy]

This is a full blown inverter/charger. If you just want an inverter, Victron does make the Phoenix inverter without a charger component. Probably a bit cheaper. But you could use the inverter/charger with a generator instead of shore power, if you wanted, as an additional charging source for your system besides solar.

 

[Bud Martin]

BTW, most Victron inverter is rated in VA, so in this case it is 2000VA/1600W inverter.

 

[Q-Dog]

If the unit has never been powered up it should be using default settings, which should be listed in the user manual. You can download the user manual from the Victron web site. Ask the seller for a photo of the tag on the box so you can see model and revision number. Older models may not have all the features of newer models.

 

[DJSmiley]

There are some jumpers inside which allow you to do some basic configuration even without the MK3.

For testing purposes, I won't mind which charge profile is enabled. You're not going to let it charge for a long time anyway during the initial testing.

If you have, a (DC) clamp meter will be usefull to see the current from/to the battery (So you can test if it's actually charging and at how many amps)
You can set the charge to a lower setting than the multiplus is capable of, and for maximum charge rates your batteries must not be full off course, but also for this, doesn't matter that much for initial testing.

As for the MK3: It's usually a one-time job. So you might be able to find someone near you which does have one to do your config with, instead of spending $70
On the other hand, it might be usefull to have one, since it allows you also to do some debugging and see what's actually going on.

The ones with the orange band are the newer models. As @Q-Dog it might be good to have the full model and revision. Preferably from the unit itself, since sometimes (with a broker) boxes might be mixed up.

And do the usual checks: General state, amount of dirt/dust, check for fans and strange noises when running at high loads and so on.