Victron MultiPlus: Noise & Support

[Morgan]

So I found a pretty screaming deal on a Multiplus 12/3000 unit from eBay. It was listed as new with a damaged box. When it arrived it was in good shape, but obviously installed somewhere and missing manual/mounting bracket/voltage sensor. Seller offered to knock down the price some more.

When I hooked up the unit everything seems to work in terms of charging/inverting. However, there is a low humming sound when in inverting mode and nothing connected. It's the same sound when I connect a space heater in fan-only mode, but as soon as I turn it to heat mode the humming gets extremely loud and erratic.

I contacted the dealer on the 27th (1.5 weeks ago). They said they would reach out to Victron about it. I followed up last week and they were still waiting, haven't heard back on my second follow up. Just tried calling Victron and they wouldn't talk to me & told me to contact the dealer.

I tried researching noise on these units and the some say they are absolutely silent, others that torodial transformers make noise. So I'm not sure what to believe.. The only video I could find of someone with the same problem is here on YouTube but I don't see any resolution.

My questions:

-Should these units be completely silent when inverting with no loads (ie use it as a pillow silent)?
-What noise is normal when inverting with a moderate load (before the fan kicks on)?
-Does anyone have experience with Victron support/warranty?

Very much appreciate anyone's feedback on their experience with these units. Victron makes gorgeous stuff & I love their open source protocols, but not impressed with their technical support.

Inverter on w/ nothing connected	Inverter on w/ space heater	My Video: Turn on unit, turn on fan, turn on heat
		https://imgur.com/a/3fCPBR1

 

[Bob142]

@Justin Laureltec may be able to provide some insight.

 

[Justin Laureltec]

@Morgan, just as a general note, Victron doesn't sell to consumers, nor do they support the sale of their larger Quattro and MultiPlus units directly to consumers, so all of their technical support is handled by their dealers and distributors, which is why it's critical to purchase Victron components from dealers you trust - because all support and warranty service/replacement will be handled by the dealer, not by Victron. In this case, I am highly suspicious of both the dealer who sold you the item -since Victron very strongly discourages its dealers and distributors from selling these units on eBay or Amazon- as well as the dealer's claim that they've contacted Victron. Granted I'm closely associated with Victron, but I expect to hear back from them within 24 hours on the rare occasion that I need to contact them directly... I'm sure this dealer doesn't have the same relationship, but literally no authorized Victron distributor has ever needed to wait more that 5 business days to receive an answer back.

All that being said: the Quattros and MultiPluses are most assuredly not silent; toroidal transformers are usually low-noise but the noise is certainly present. In listening to your video, however, I suspect that something else is up with the unit. This sort of noise can be caused by: loose PCB serial cable connections (check all the serial cable connections between the PCBs in the units; one less-than-seated cable can cause noise like this); noise like this can also be caused by the use of 3rd-party RJ45 UTP cables (I'm not sure where the cable you have plugged into the left VE.Bus port is going, but try replacing it with a genuine Victron cable); it can also be caused by poor DC or AC connections and/or dirty power on the AC input side.

Bottom line: check all your cables, make sure that everything is connected properly and that you have programmed the MultiPlus appropriately for your particular system. I also strongly recommend that you update the unit to the latest firmware while you're checking the programming, as some behavioral issues are simply a result of outdated/unstable firmwares. If all of those items check out, then it may well be that your unit was damaged by the previous installer and that's why you got such a screaming deal on it, and you'll either need to really jump on your seller about getting your unit serviced/replaced or -more likely, I'm afraid- return the unit to them and purchase a new unit from a reputable and authorized distributor.

Good luck!