Victron Multiplus II Assisting

[caymaanedge]

I installed the Multiplus II 2x120 in my Class A back in the fall and am coming off the first big trip with it.
Couple comments:
Super nice to be able to run a anything off the inverter. We even ran one AC unit at a marina for a couple hours. Inverter provided good power while Solar was replenishing.

Yesterday for the first time I was able to use Assist mode. 30amp service, 2x1350w AC units, fridge and some other stuff running. As you see, inverter simply added extra power when needed behind the 30amp service. Cool thing too is when one unit would shut off it would divert that power to recharge the batteries.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Yep. It's a very cool feature. It's also helpful for charging with an undersized generator... keeps from overloading the generator when loads exceed AC input limit.

 

[RoadTurtle]

Yep. It's a very cool feature. It's also helpful for charging with an undersized generator... keeps from overloading the generator when loads exceed AC input limit.

How does assisting differ from sharing?

 

[sunshine_eggo]

How does assisting differ from sharing?

What do you mean by sharing?

Victron PowerAssist supplements incoming AC power with synchronized inverted power.

 

[Vigo]

Not sure what you mean by sharing. Generally other brands of inverter that lack this feature must go into 'ac bypass' when accepting any power from their AC inputs, meaning they cannot also invert at the same time, so 100% of loads must be powered by the AC input.

What the Victrons do is great and im surprised it's not more common. I once bought a parallelable 1700w inverter generator off Amazon for $220. A parrallelable inverter generator synchronizes its output waveform to the thing it is paralleled to and contributes power up to its max. And this $220 parallelable inverter also included THE ENGINE, the physical generator head, everything else too! So how much did this feature really cost? I understand the software side of things is more complicated in the Victron inverters than the generator, and a battery inverter would require additional hardware (boost converter etc) while an inverter generator only needs software to add this feature, but still..im surprised that this 'assist' feature does not exist in cheaper units.

It may be that other lower-end manufacturers feel that there's so little understanding in their customer base of what the feature even does, that they won't seek it out or spend an additional penny on it.

 

[RoadTurtle]

What do you mean by sharing?

Victron PowerAssist supplements incoming AC power with synchronized inverted power.

Bad choice of words on my part. I went back to the manual and I'm using sharing instead of the correct word, power assist.

 

[PowerMan]

I'm looking forward to testing this once I install my MP II 2x120 12volt, once the weather warms up. Hopefully I'll be able to use my 1600W Yamaha generator to run my AC. I don't have solar and I'm not sure how often the air conditioner cycles off so the battery will remain charged. Any insight on that?

 

[sunshine_eggo]

I'm looking forward to testing this once I install my MP II 2x120 12volt, once the weather warms up. Hopefully I'll be able to use my 1600W Yamaha generator to run my AC. I don't have solar and I'm not sure how often the air conditioner cycles off so the battery will remain charged. Any insight on that?

Assuming typical rooftop RV A/C unit.

3kW MP should start it fine; however, if you use ANY other loads, you may hit the AC input limit and end up never charging the battery or partially discharging.

 

[David_532]

It's great to hear that you had a positive experience using the Victron Multiplus II in your Class A vehicle. The Multiplus II is a powerful inverter/charger that can provide reliable and efficient power to your appliances while also recharging your batteries. The Assist mode is a useful feature that allows the inverter to supplement the available power from an external source, such as shore power or a generator, to meet the high-demand loads. This helps to prevent overloading and tripping of the external power source while still maintaining continuous and stable power supply to your appliances. Overall, the Victron Multiplus II is a reliable and efficient power solution for your Class A vehicle.

 

[RoadTurtle]

I'm looking forward to testing this once I install my MP II 2x120 12volt, once the weather warms up. Hopefully I'll be able to use my 1600W Yamaha generator to run my AC. I don't have solar and I'm not sure how often the air conditioner cycles off so the battery will remain charged. Any insight on that?

If you haven't already, look at MicroAir EasyStart product. I had it on my first TT, and just ordered it for my 5th wheel
link

 

[PowerMan]

If you haven't already, look at MicroAir EasyStart product. I had it on my first TT, and just ordered it for my 5th wheel
link

I already have one installed. Thanks for the tip though.

 

[cinergi]

This feature is why I can get away with a tiny Honda 2200 generator for my dual 5kVA Quattro setup. Love it!

 

[sunshine_eggo]

This feature is why I can get away with a tiny Honda 2200 generator for my dual 5kVA Quattro setup. Love it!

parallel 120V or split phase?

 

[HRTKD]

The 2818 watts that are shown on the screen translates to 23.4 amps. On a 30 amp circuit, why is the inverter pulling power from the battery? The output amps from the inverter is still only 27.1 amps.

This is a bit of a rhetorical question. I've seen the same thing on my Victron system. No matter what I set the max shore power input amps to, the inverter never comes close to using that many amps from shore power. I believe there is a setting for unreliable shore power and as far as I know it is not turned on in my Multiplus.

 

[cinergi]

parallel 120V or split phase?

split