How Does VICTRON POWER ASSIST work?

[@TeutonicNordwind]

Nate, this stuff is so incredibly helpful and your teaching is so plain-spoken and easy to understand. Thanks! And Steph was cute as a button in this 😊

[@DJFitzie]

LOVE your channel (you and Will Prowse) . You both are the driving force for me building a solar setup for my cabin, total amateur here and still managed! Victron is the way to go for quality and getting the most from your setup.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Awesome! Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!

[@brianchetelat6601]

Well done on that explanation Nate. Even the most novice person should have grasped that well enough. Yes, we like those types of videos and thanks again to you and Steph : )

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Awesome! Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!

[@VinceBadovinatz88]

I agree Brian

[@VinceBadovinatz88]

@EXPLORIST life - DIY Campers thank you and yep what Brian said 😊. I didn't really realize so many other places had such a different power grid

[@billgardyne7328]

I’m a complete novice and I now fully understand what I was hoping to achieve. Thanks heaps

[@robbehr8806]

Hi Nate, Excellent video! I suggest you do a video on the difference between volt-amps and watts, including power factor. Victron tends to emphasize VA, rather than watts. Of course, due to power factor, the watt rating is below the VA rating.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

I'll see what I can do! Thanks for watching. 🙂😁

[@cargenerator]

Great video thanks. I shared it with one of our customers who has an Airstream trailer with a Victron inverter charger, and he wants to use a CarGenerator to provide shore power, using the "power assist" feature so that when he runs his Air Conditioner, his tow vehicle provides about 1500 watts of power, and the RV trailer batteries provide a few hundred extra watts needed. So that when running the AC unit, instead of pulling all 1800 watts out of the RV batteries, we pull 1500 out of the tow vehicle engine, and pull only a few hundred watts from the RV battery bank. Happy to send you guys a CarGenerator demo unit if you would like to check it out. thanks.

[@ploobr132]

I am hooked up to 30amp shore power 24/7 in an RV Campground. I have a Victron multiplus, 300ah lithium batteries and 700 watts of PV I would like to use my solar panels to off set the cost of shore power. If I lower my AC input to the multiplus to 15 amps, will the load on the batteries during power assist mode allow the PV panels to generate power and use less shore power? Thanks for the very informative video.

[@benoithebert6532]

Hi, I built my system based on one of your plan and it works great. My question is if I on shore power can I take advantage of 1100 watts of solar panel to save on electricity. My inverter is a Victron MultiPlus II 3000. I have 2 12v 100 amps batteries and a Epever 40 amps controller.

[@ColinPLennon]

Thank you for this video. Getting information at a basis level helps me to better understand the elements involved with the power requirements and sources for my RV. Keep bringing these kind of videos to your line up. Thanks…

[@LexxandDoze]

Wow. This video made so much sense to me and answered a ton of questions I had. Thank you so much Nate and Steph!

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Awesome! So glad it helped. Thanks for watching!

[@danielread443]

Hi can I work inverter using battery at 3000 watt and will shore power adding power for load ect as have solar and looking to use batterys as main power with shore power helping

[@whitewatervans]

Great video, thanks Nate. I love this style that explains why decisions were made. Maybe you could do a video on multiplus wiring and why you use 4/0 for ground and negative.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

I'll see what I can do! Thanks for watching. 🙂😁

[@reeceyianni5001]

does the inverter have a battery priority where it draws the inverter capacity first, then switches to shore assist above that?

[@seangordon4492]

Im searching for the same answer.

[@rvorbust6260]

Nice video on power management. It's always fun when boondocking to keep everything alive without tripping the system. But, it never fails. A few days into the trip and you forget about the coffee maker reheat mode coming back on for a few seconds and POP...everything goes dead. Love your videos and keep them coming!

[@EXPLORISTlife]

🤣😂 Yeah, that's off-grid life for ya.

[@s10mods]

Can that be setup so the Multiplus takes priority over shore power? So the Victron uses its battery power then if more than 3000w is needed it will then use shore power for assist?

[@camo8768]

Yes

[@erickessler6094]

Yes, I loved that video! Now I really want one of these Inverter-Chargers. But my RV Trailer/camper is only small couples camper with a 30amp shore power. Do they make small ones with this Power Assist? Cheers, Eric

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Yep! They make a 2kVA inverter/charger like you are describing. Try the system picker on our shop homepage at shop.exploirst.life to get our recommendation there.

[@erickessler6094]

@@EXPLORISTlife THANK YOU... I will .

[@EphraimKiptiony]

deep and detailed explanations in every video. I really appreciate your work man. I only wish all those fancy equipment's were affordable to all then the world would really be a better place.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Awesome! Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!

[@jimhanty8149]

Good deal… I wasn’t going to mess with that feature as I didn’t really understand it … now I do.. so now I will set up the multiplus to work that way… thanks.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Glad it was helpful. Cheers!

[@xrbrown]

Really like these type videos. I’m not building a van I’m upgrading a Coachmen Nova 20RB from AGM to Victron smart batteries with multiplus 3k. Would love to see how you would approach something like that. Great job explaining everything!

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Sure! We've got diagrams for that already good-to-go at www.explorist.life/solarwiringdiagrams and will be making videos about each of them later this year.

[@xrbrown]

@@EXPLORISTlife Thanks! I’ll be looking at this.

[@frankcastellano9890]

hi Nate do you have a video explaining the power control please

[@russellharman1436]

Hi. Watching from uk and ALL your videos have been super helpful in planning my build. Struggled to get my head round all of the awesome features Victron have and this video was a light bulb moment in the understanding of power assist. Planning on installing a multi rs solar 6000 so confirmed my power needs. An awesome channel. Thx guys

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Awesome! Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!

[@agent8699]

is there a way to get the solar panels to do more work to take the load off shore power? being on metered shore power with available solar but I can't get the system to pull the solar wattage. Seems like my SCCs are idling too much and letting shore power do almost all the lifting.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Yep! It's on my radar to make a video about this, but in the meantime, You'll want to hop into the advanced programming of the Multiplus and set that up through the Self-consumption hub-1 assistant.

[@KevinCGleason]

Your Genie is so cute!

[@EXPLORISTlife]

I think so too! 🤣😂

[@Altboatlife]

Brilliant explanation! You can even start & stop your generator automatically with the Multiplus II GX triggered by a couple of parameters including AC load effectively reversing the process of load assist. Your generator will then assist the inverter when drawing a high AC load.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Yes! For sure a good feature as well.

[@ourtimetorv3151]

Nate, first KUDOS on the top notch content u produce. I’ve watched countless hours of materials from the channel and used it to install a complete solar system in my truck camper 18 months ago and it works flawlessly. But I have a question on this video. When u are augmenting the shore power load with the battery capacity, since the resulting AC is still running thru the distribution box, aren’t u still limited by the size of the master AC breaker in the unit. For example, my 30 amp truck camper would still trip the master at 30 amp (3600 watts). True?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

That is indeed true! In that scenario, power assist will be beneficial when connected to 15A shore power, but less useful when connected to 30A shore power.

[@billcoleman7316]

Good morning and as usual your video was very helpful and easy to understand. Thanks!

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Awesome! Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!

[@john0270]

So having purchased and am using a phoenix 1200 on a small off grid system, and am now wanting more capacity.... I don't have to replace the 1200, I can use a multiplus to supliment it!

[@tmanrings8258]

This inverter is on another level, it makes sense why it's expensive

[@FLCrackerVideo]

Hey Nate, well done and good info. One note about how a generator interacts with the Multi-Plus II. In doing his install Chad from "Changing Lanes" discovered a problem Victron has with Pass-Thru power with an Onan generator. The way Victron handle an In-Sync connection (like a 30amp dog bone adaptor for 50amp rigs) it drop 1 leg and pulls all the power from the L1 leg and then splits it our into L1 & L2 on the far side of the MP II. Because the generator produces 5500 watts and outputs it thru (2) 30amp breakers and the power comes from the same generating source, they product In-Sync phases, thus it's interpreted as a dog bone adaptor. So the MPII attempts to get 5500w or 6500w (depending on genset) off 1 leg which in turn overloads one breaker and it trips. This in essence crippled the generator down to a 30amp source. His fix was to connect the two 30amp legs, (L1 & L2) together just before the ATS on the generator side. This makes it a parallel connection and gives back the full wattage of the generator to L1 and the MPII handles the distribution on the RV side. In his case the ATS still responded to power on L1 only and performed as the ATS should with only one input leg. So this may be something you want to cover unless Victron has done something to address this since his install. I'm about to install my MPII and believe I will have to parallel my generator outputs as well but have not done it yet. Sorry it's so long but a lot to say.... Thanks, Charles

[@EXPLORISTlife]

This has been something we have been talking about with Victron and when we do our 50A OEM RV Retrofit video later this year, I'll be sure to cover the best way to approach that.

[@dbjr2667]

I Love your channel. Great job and Excellent way of explanations on how this system works. Thanks so much to both of you.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Awesome! Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!

[@Just_An_Idea_For_Consideration]

Loved the pop in with questions!

[@KSFoods-o8o]

Was looking for a video like this, did not know the correct search word to find it. For ignorant people like me, please make a video on sizing inverters and include this valuable information. I kept searching for sizing, best inverters, etc. etc.. Thank you.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Awesome! Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!

[@michaeldean3771]

Is the Quattro able to be set up to run both AC outputs on battery and run on battery when attached to shore using shore only as the assist. The multiplus is capable to do this. I want to run off battery and solar as primary and pull from shore only as needed. This way when on a metered site i keep the draw to a bare minimum. I am wanting to use Quattro. Thanks for your help I really appreciate your videos

[@ssailes]

great channel and lots of wonderfully assistive videos. am a newbie and in the process of building a system on a boat and i may have read something wrong but is it possible for Quattro (what i have) or Multiplus to temporarily exceed three capacity, and if so how long for. Your example of the 4500w load against only 4200w of supply made me question whether the inverter could kick up for a short time to cover the excess. Sorry if a dumb question, just thought id seen a feature saying a temporary excess could be covered. Thanks again

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Power Assist will work until your batteries run empty.

[@ssailes]

@@EXPLORISTlife Thanks for reply but don't think my question was clear. I thought (?) that if i had a 3kw Multiplus, that it would at certain times allow a peak or overdraw above 3kw. So in your example of a 4500w load against 4200w of supply, would the inverter/charger allow a peak draw above its nameplate?

[@alanblyde8502]

Pulling big currents together will ultimately warm up the inverter/charger and derate the output ability, we’re have a lot of those problems here in Oz🇦🇺 at the moment with hi ambient temps, have been playing around with additional fan pulling air through the top of inv/chg with some success, but well explained as always none the less🤙

[@Scat.original]

Thank you so very much for this video. I have been asking all around this question: How long can a Quattro Inverter Charger 48v Input 5000va power a surge of anything between 5000Watts and Peak power 10000Watts? The reason I ask is that the Schneider XP Pro can hold a 8500 Watt for 30 minutes and it is rated at 6800Watts. Thanks again for your explanation of Power assist

[@cragar24]

Hey Nate, I assume the answer is yes but since I have never heard you mention in it any of your RV electrical system upgrades and or New build I thought I would ask the following question. Should I continue to use an EMS between shore power and the Multiplus?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Yep! We like the ones that plug into the shore power pedestal.

[@DuaneRonan]

Excellent video! Really enjoy your content.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Much appreciated!

[@billyk7831]

Hey Nate, love your videos. Would love a video on how to set correct parameters on Victron components.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

I'll see what I can do! Thanks for watching. 🙂😁 Worth noting: Each video in the 'full install' playlist shows how to program the components.

[@jay6.7powerstroke63]

How would that work with 2 units in parallel? I just got 2 multiplus ii. Would each unit power assist or just the master? L1 says up to 75amp if boosting from a 50amp input and L2 is non power assist up to 50 amp. Could I real get up to 150amps on L1 Between both? Or would I get 75 from one and 25/30 from other?

[@missy-and-barbara-reunion-tour]

Nate, I love this video! You explain things so easily. If I have my van set up for shore power..do I have to choose 30 or 50 amp shore power when I am setting up? If I am wired for 50 amp can I use it with 30 amps?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

I recommend 30A shore power for vans. There is usually no reason for 50A shore power unless you have two or more air conditioners.

[@kenshin-1135]

Is it possible for the inverter and solar to assist the Quattro inverter like AC power?

[@mav3598]

Another good explanation, thank you. Does the victron Cerbo GX / is there a way to display how many watts are available to the system and how much you are using ? Some sort of graph for example to show that your now at 85% capacity for instance or an alarm to warn you you reaching peak capacity rather then finding out by tripping the breaker? As a side subject i would love to hear your thoughts on tankless vs tank water heaters

[@djkillachris]

Why do I always need to push the boundary. I want my 3k multiplus to get an assist from my Phoenix 1200. So already on battery power, can it get a boost? I guess thats kinda reversed. Anyways, can't find an answer to this anywhere!

[@atthelimit88]

So the MultiPlus has settings "on, off, inverter only, and charge only", which setting should I have the MultiPlus set too if I am running my generator as shore power? Does the charger also charge the batteries if they are assisting the shore power?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

I only ever use 'off' and 'on'. The charger will charge the batteries when the loads fall below how much shore/generator power is available.

[@kristopherdavis8300]

Great video!!! I’ve got the multiplus 3000VA, and I’d love to start using this function. I see there are options for Digital Multi Control panels. Just wondering if I can purchase the smart dongle to control this function, without having to purchase a control panel. Thanks in advance Nate!

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Yep! The VE.Bus Smart Dongle will indeed allow you to change the shore power input current limit from the VictronConnect app: shop.explorist.life/shop/all-products/monitoring/victron-ve-bus-smart-dongle/

[@davidbrandi3947]

hi Nate, love the informational videos. I have 2 questions 1, I am wiring the ac side of my system. I have a Victron multiples 2 50 amp. My research says in need awe 6 w ground. I do not want to use romex / can you recommend what where I need and size and where to buy. Marine anchor ? will that work? Q2, Can you recommend a way for me to wire 4 100 amp battle born. I am in need of a bus bar or something since using 4/000 the loops are to high and will not fit - looking to wire the terminals with a battery bar or something like that. Thank you Dave B

[@devil262786]

I have a question what happens if you have the inverter that allows you to plug directly a generator and short power and you have both available does it have a preference on one over the other or does he use both at the same time to power up your loads?😅

[@EXPLORISTlife]

It chooses one or the other.

[@robingee8195]

Another great video Nate!! Your clear content & diagrams have allowed me to confidently create the system for my van. I wish your shop would have been open when I was buying supplies. No kidding on the Multiplus cable gland being a little too small for 6/3 wire!! OMG and the cable I purchased is NOT flexible like what you offer!! And I'm using AC Output 2 for one outlet for my fridge when on shore power (I didn't want my DC fridge switching to 120V every time I'm off grid and turn on my inverter) but having to make those grounds share a common landing spot on the inverter almost forced me to abandon that small convenience. Luckily AC Out 2 is 12/3 wire since only one outlet.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Nice! Sounds like a cool setup!

[@meandtee_travels]

I see the line out wire gauge issue has been addressed in other comments but, it might be worth mentioning that in order to achieve the “..up to 3000 Watt/max output” boost for power assist, the batteries must be capable of this output power as well. Some batteries are limited by the BMS and may not be able to achieve the inverter max limit without increasing parallel battery count .Something to consider during the design phase before choosing/purchasing batteries.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Of course. The batteries must indeed be sized to power the inverter.

[@michaelskeels4442]

I have really been helped with your videos and wiring kits etc. have a trailer with inverter prep. Its an orange romex wire like you find on all Grand Designs. Its a loop, a fold in the line that I assume goes back to the breaker panel on one side and from shore power on the other (I assume.) Can I wire in the multiplus II 12/3000 120 using the inverter prep loop like I would behind the breaker panel as in your video? The other issue is confirming what side of the loop is from shore power and what side in return to breaker panel. One side of the loop has green tape on it and the other side has black tape. I assume that would tell me which was out and which was in if I understood the code. I hope you can point me in the right direction.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

This may take a more in-depth look at your personal setup. If you have purchased/are purchasing from our store (shop.explorist.life) reach out for some more personalized help: shop.explorist.life/support If you've purchased/are purchasing elsewhere, reach out to your dealer for support. We'd love to have you as a shop.explorist.life customer so we can provide a bit more help in the future. 🙂

[@brycecastleton5863]

Got a question! Substitute the shore or generator with another solar setup acting as the shore supply. (Eg another 3000w multiplus) can you do this?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Technically it would work, but I'm struggling to think of a scenario where that'd make sense to actually do.

[@brycecastleton5863]

@@EXPLORISTlife I have two power systems (tow behind and truck camper). Truck camper has a smaller array and sometimes may want to top off the battery bank with another supply.

[@GK49245]

Have you had instances where the Victron MultiPlus II trips a GFCI feeder supply? I see several instances on the Victron Forum. When I contact our retail vendor for warranty repair, they say it is not the Victron.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Yes. And it's just the way all inverter/Chargers handle the ground to neutral bond relay. You'll just want to find a non-gfci shore outlet.

[@GK49245]

@@EXPLORISTlife My MP2 is on charge only, so the neutral/ground relay should not be the issue. When any %)A or 30A RV outlet is installed under 2020 or 2023 NEC at a residence or other structure, GFCI is required (NEC §210.8(A)(3) and (B)(4)). So this will be a BIG issue for anyone who plugs in their RV at home. The RV Park industry continues to fight this requirement for the pedestal, but it will be a requirement there soon.

[@MrGeozac]

Can power assist work as a primary source solar and battery and assist with grid when the maximum power is more than inverter can handle?

[@chrisbaker4x4]

Is it easy to adjust the shore/grid power max allowable amps in before powerassist knows it needs to draw the balance from the DC via inverter process? What would be the process to do this on a Multiplus?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Super easy. 3 clicks on the app or the gx touchscreen.

[@chrisbaker4x4]

@@EXPLORISTlife thank you.

[@garykinzie3307]

Nate, Do you have to adjust your multiplus to tell it to allow 4500w to be able to use the power assist. I normally set my multiplus to 30a, as I have a 30a electrical system, not 40a. I ask because this last summer I had a problem with shore power not being able to run my A/C and my microwave at the same time (outside temp was 101*). I figured the shore power wasn’t providing the 30a it was supposed to.

[@anyalpine]

Can you cover Victron’s inverter rating system? For example 3000VA vs other’s 3000Watts.

[@HyperionMV]

Thanks, I am designing a system for my boat around a multiplus. Is it worth gettimg the super expensive victron lifepos of go with cheaper ones like Battleborn or even cheaper ones?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

I design/recommend Battle Born batteries into all of my systems because they are incredibly easy to incorporate with their internal BMS and their quality is backed up with a 10 year warranty and top-notch customer support IF an issue ever comes up. Victron batteries are very high quality, but their external BMS and related programming makes them 'less than user friendly' to install and set up and they only have a 5 year warranty.

[@HyperionMV]

@@EXPLORISTlife Thanks. I have a cool old grand banks trawler that was set up to run of only generators and I am embarking on a project to add inverter, solar, and remote monitoring to it. I really appreciate the videos and advice. If you ever want to make a video on a beautiful yacht. Let me know.

[@jfsbtx]

Great amazing video for Rockies like me !!!! 😁

[@rickharold7884]

Super cool stuff. Always love the explanations thx

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Hey, Rick Harold! I appreciate that. Thanks for watching! 🙂😀

[@Just_An_Idea_For_Consideration]

QUESTION: What if I have multiple inverter systems (of any brand), can one of the additional inverter systems become a source in place of the shore power, or generator, so that you could essentially daisy chain multiple inverter systems each feeding the next until it is used by appliances

[@EXPLORISTlife]

'theoretically' that would probably work, but that's not really how these systems should be designed.

[@rabbytca]

Can the controller be set to accept less or no "shore power" automatically based upon time of day programming? Would DC loads be retained between the battery bank and the inverter or is there primary DC output as well that can be powered by AC so that charging the battery bank remains secondary to providing the amps to a DC load, (lets say its a DanFoss refrigeration compressor).

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Can you give me a scenario why you'd want time-of-day programming? Let me know what problem that would solve and I'll see what I can come up with.

[@rabbytca]

@@EXPLORISTlife The proposed electrical rates at night are less expensive than daytime rates and during the evening (dinner time to about 9 or 10) hours the proposed rates are to be higher than daytime rates. So I would want to completely curtail charging and drawing from the grid during the evening hours if possible, if the utilities commission approves the changes to the rate structure.

[@1983Robt]

Hey Nate, You have provided me with a lot of knownlege. One thing I am confused about is you 900 watts into the inverter and 900 watts out. My system takes about 90 amps out of the battery to get 900 watts out of the inverter. What am I missing?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

The inverter takes a bit of power to run, so you won't see 100% of the power on the output.

[@1983Robt]

@@EXPLORISTlife Thanks Nate! How can I know how much amperage it will take out of the battery to get say 1000 watts, before I buy a converter? Thanks

[@fmhaccord6437]

Could the Multiplus use the shore power as power assist instead Multiplus assisting the shore power?

[@ronbridegroom8428]

My question would be about surge loads. What happens when you start, for example, the air conditioner and the surge load goes for a second above what the shore power and MPII are rated for? So how quickly does the Victron respond to a surge load? Also, what about a 240volt split phase system? Is this capability there also?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

It's near-instantly. This capability is indeed available on a split phase system.

[@kasperholmj]

Thank you for another great video :) Though, how about vice versa? Can the MultiPlus use the battery bank as primary source and use the shore power as power assist? In my case I'm building my system on my live-aboard boat and would like to limit my pull from shore as prices are quite steep...

[@chachi5975]

You can do it manually by limiting the input with the digital multi control panel.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Basically no. Not just like that, but you can reduce the shore power limit to it's lowest level like what Cha Chi said to have the multiplus do the bulk of the heavy lifting and then shore power would only contribute for small loads.

[@skyler_wa]

Have you ever set up 2 multi pluses in parallel? I did, and I discovered the hard way that they have a minimum current input for the power assist function to work. With two Multipluses, I cannot set the input current to less than 18.4 A, and therefore I cannot use power assist when I’m hooked up to a 15 amp shore power connection.

[@timdunmyer4549]

Nice explanation. How do you keep track of her if she keeps popping in and out like that? Lol When are we getting back to the van build?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Haha, right? I can barely keep up! Back to a Transit build episode next week!

[@christiansmet]

Perfectly explained!

[@theghostlyorb]

So here's my question: I have a multiplus II 2x120 for a 50 amp rv. Right now it's set on 50 amp (so 50 amp per hot line). If I go to a house and set it to 15 amp, is it assuming 15 amp per line? Do I really need to set it at 7.5amps?

[@D2O2]

Had this feature on a Trace Engineering SW series inverter 20 years ago.

[@mikesabiking]

Question - your example with 3600w shore power and upto 3000w inverting power = 6600w. That would require the main power wires feeding your AC panel (disconnect breaker) to handle 6600w. I've been using 10awg to a 30amp disconnect breaker. For this to work correctly/safe we need 6awg with a 60amp disconnect breaker. Is this a correct assumption?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Yep! 6ga and a 50A breaker with a 50A capable breaker box in my designs since a single pole 60A AC HOM breaker doesn't really exist. I spec 10ga wire and a 30A breaker in most RV's with 30A shore power because most of the time, those breaker boxes aren't rated for 50A, so we keep the 10ga wire and 30A breaker in place and that is just the limiting factor in power assist, but it will still work great when connected to, say, a 15A outlet. All of that is covered in my wiring diagrams, though: www.explorist.life/solarwiringdiagrams and kits at shop.explorist.life

[@holdenman8850]

Awesome video Nate as usual.. Could you do a video on putting 2 multiplus ii in parallel, series and split phase.. More so in parallel please :)

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Yep! Will have a video about that later this year, but already have a diagram for it available over at www.explorist.life/solarwiringdiagrams

[@holdenman8850]

@@EXPLORISTlife That's awesome and thank you Nate and the team for a great video as normal.

[@M35a2guy]

Nate, nice video. I was wondering what the power looks like coming out of the multi in power assist mode using a generator. Let’s say we have a generator with 10% total harmonic distortion just curious if the multi makes it better or worse. Anyone you know ever throw a scope on it to see what the waveform looks like?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

AC in =AC out. The multiplus doesn't do anything to the AC input except add amperage to it, which it matches to the incoming voltage.

[@M35a2guy]

@@EXPLORISTlife I was just wondering because I suspect the multi would have to match the voltage and any distortion not to cause problems. If the AC in is really dirty I know the multi won’t “lock” on to it. Would still like to actually see it though. Haven’t had a good scope in years with the resolution needed to see this.

[@andynoiseboy]

@@M35a2guy My educated 'guess' on this is that the inverter would indeed sync to frequency, primarily by using zero-volt-cross points, but it would not attempt to replicate a distorted land power source. It would effectively superimpose its cleaner sine wave onto the dirty land power. This would equate to a scenario where the instantaneous power at a given point on the 'mixed' waveform could vary somewhat between the 2 sources but the average power consumption would adhere to the settings chosen. I stand to be corrected but I'd be very surprised if a Victron or any other inverter attempted to replicate a waveform that deviated significantly from a sinewave.

[@M35a2guy]

Makes total sense, thanks for sharing your take!!!@@andynoiseboy

[@paulwhalley7256]

Hey y'all. You guys do great video's. Just a thought. I wonder if you would want to do a bit more in depth video of the avalible battery power and how that effects the victron assist feature and the boost factor in conjunction with battery over draw shutdown of the battery. Hope that made sense. It's a bit complicated but interesting to me and maybe complicated for video. Similar to regulating the a/c input, the d/c source has to be big enough to give what is asked of it. Just a thought have fun. You all do good work.

[@goodoz9942]

Good video! Worth mentioning for others viewing (IMO), make sure you use properly sized cable (especially the cable connecting the I/C and a breaker panel). In your example of 4500W, you'd need a minimum 40A rated cable (8ga). My guess is that most will use 50A cable (6ga) for this connection but copper is super expensive these days and some may opt for less expensive cable. Be careful not to pull more watts than your cable can handle just because the components can make it happen!

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Of course! All of my full system diagrams at www.explorist.life/solarwiringdiagrams and kits at shop.explorist.life account for that. 🙂👍

[@chachi5975]

An RV with a 30A OEM breaker box may not be able to handle the extra amperage either. I've been thinking about upgrading for this scenario but I think I'll have to replace the breaker/fuse distribution panel as well as running higher gauge wire.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

@Cha Chi Our 30A OEM RV Retrofit upgrade wiring diagram accounts for that. We leave the 10ga wire and 30a breaker and breaker box in place. If more than 30A is asked for, that breaker simply trips. I've found that unless you are tripping breakers regularly in your camper, it usually not worth the effort to upgrade. Power Assist will still function, but will primarily be used to assist when connected to a 15A outlet.

[@MyMichel23]

I have a question my Grid network is quite unreliable sometimes voltage drop as low as 80v in this case multiplus can raise up the voltage to 120v?

[@cujo7240]

Sometimes, the voltage from the park pedestal is low. Will the Victron 3000 inverter charger correct the voltage deficit? I was thinking of getting a Hughes Autoformer for this low voltage situation, but if the Victron inverter charger could correct voltage issues as well I might just get the Victron unit.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

The Multiplus/Quattro's will not boost a sagging voltage from shore power. If AC is present, it will pass through whatever it is given unless the voltage is so low that it presents a fault condition, and then it will not pass through anything (programmable/customizable). The hughes autoformer is a good option for the scenario you are running into.

[@hoists1829]

Awesome video, love your channel, but how could we contact you?Thank you very much.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Thanks! You just contacted me. 🙂 There aren't enough hours in the day for me to answer phone calls from the 13,000 people watching these videos every day, if that's what you were asking.

[@Just_An_Idea_For_Consideration]

Suggestion for a video topic: Create a video that shows multiple inverters (preferably 4 or more, not just two), that are paralleled (stacked), to supply power to critical loads breaker panel, and show clear wiring from each inverter, to supply the breaker panel, and how and why you selected breaker size, and how you determined which leg to connect each inverter. My thinking is that it would be more organized to have a small breaker panel with a main breaker, to be used for all incoming AC from each inverter, then a mains wire from this supply side panel to go from to the mains breaker of the critical loads panel. your opinions?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Neat idea, but I probably won't make a video like that for a WHILE. I can't see any reason why a camper (what this channel is about) would need 4x inverters. We can get 30kVa out of only 2x Victron inverters.

[@eliesimionides34]

Hi Nate. i installed recently the ESS and it is working fine, however when my load exceeds the AC1 or AC2 input limits, it is not power assisting and the Quattro is allowing the input to exceed the limit which can end up by tripping the AC-In feeding breaker. how can i continue using the ESS while benefiting from the power assist function. (I used the ESS because without it my quattro was pushing the MPPT to throttle and not allowing the use of Solar power in the presence of the grid for both load and charging). please advise

[@mrbork5409]

so in that example you would need a wire capable of handling about 6000 watts coming out of the inverter?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Exactly. Which is why we spec 6ga wire and 50A breakers in our 'from scratch' kits.

[@mykolapliashechnykov8701]

I'd appreciate a follow-up video with the actual Power Assist setup process. Because this video makes it look like the inverter "automagically" detects the power limit of the network mains.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

To set up with power assist, you simply set the shore power current input limit on the cerbo gx, victronconnect app via ve.bus smart dongle, or digital multicontrol. This was covered in all of the videos in the following playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLmvhcyi4n0TUU8FUc6LE38TBkdSLjdw_5

[@GolfSierra47]

I like your genie!

[@ThomasBrennan-xh5bz]

How long can you run on power assist if you was taking 3000w from the battery

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Watt Hours of Battery Bank / Watts of draw from Batteries = Runtime in Hours. Fill in the knowns and solve for runtime in hours.

[@joeboxter3635]

What if you pay for electricity so you want all power to come from solar/battery, and draw from shore only as needed?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Good idea. I'll make a video about that.

[@dieselpower3202]

@@EXPLORISTlife Please do make that video, I would be interested.

[@jasonnoble2194]

So, if I get a 3000 multiplus i also have to get a transfer switch??

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Not necessarily. That just depends on what you are trying to accomplish with your system. You'll need an external transfer switch if you have shore power as well as a built-in/hardwired generator.

[@Angkasa_Berkah]

very useful video, great channel thank you

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Hey, Rafi Craf! I appreciate that. Thanks for watching! 🙂😀

[@9111logic]

For a non mobile setup it would be awesome if it could be used in reverse, drawing from the grid if the battery/inverter rating is insufficient

[@flanneryd]

Thanks for the video. The way you described this is the way I thought my system should work. But my system has never worked this way, and I always trip the shore power breaker. Wish you would've explained what the multiplus settings should be, for the power sharing to work. I have the Multiplus 12/3000 with the smart dongle connection. My rig is 50A. Right now, for instance, I'm connected to 20A shore power and would love to get some battery assist a few times during the day. I've set the multiplus to AC-IN of 20A (so I won't over-draw from shore power), Mode is set to ON, and batteries are charged to 99.8% and in float status. If I pull too many Watts (like forget, and start the electric kettle when the electric heater is on), the shore breaker trips. If anyone has insight on this, I would really appreciate it!

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Lower the Shore Power Input Current Limit to, say, 15-18 so the breaker has a bit of breathing room.

[@matt635d8]

I love victron , use Quattros 10 kVA and 15 kVA with lithium EV batteries. Quattro 48 V is capable of delivering 64V DC so that gives me great options of using 8S LG Chem cells .

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Great, Thanks!! 👍

[@Alex300zxTT]

Is one inverter feeding the other? Can u run battery and 2 ac inputs for power assist at the same time?

[@matt635d8]

@@Alex300zxTT yes

[@matt635d8]

Yes u can run ac input just one grid or generator plus battery also solar pv ac coupled . Depending on configuraton however Its my Home system caravan / boats r more likely mppt pv

[@jtgasper4]

Do van electrical system batteries qualify for the tax credit? I know this isn’t a tax advice place or related to the video, but it crossed by mind, and you guys might have some insight into it.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Steph here! While I can't give tax advice, I would point you to the instructions for the tax credit, which specify who is able to claim the credit and for what. I'd recommend asking your tax accountant about your specific situation. www.irs.gov/instructions/i5695

[@mistercohaagen]

What if your AC wiring on your load side is only rated for 15A?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Hopefully it is protected by adequately sized overcurrent protection & breakers.

[@mistercohaagen]

@@EXPLORISTlife So there's no way to limit the output side in software settings. Makes sense, given the nature of grid wiring.

[@pdxagogo]

Can someone clarify if the Victron Inverters rated at 3000 va (volt amps with a .8 power factor) are able to actually provide 3000 watts? Thanks!

[@EXPLORISTlife]

3000VA is closer to 2400W output depending on power factor, temperature, and 'type' of device being powered (inductive vs resistive, etc).

[@andynoiseboy]

There are situations with generators where users may run into difficulty with power assist. A system with significant instantaneous load increases can 'bog down' a generator to a point where a Quattro or Multiplus may consider the 'shore power' unsuitable - ie. the voltage and/or frequency drop below acceptable thresholds. The result would be that the Victron protects and drops output power.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

That can be fixed in most cases by turning on Dynamic Current Limit in the multiplus settings via MK3-USB dongle. We turn that on for all multiplusses we pre-program for Battle Born batteries heading out of our doors.

[@andynoiseboy]

@@EXPLORISTlifeThanks for that tip. I'll look into this on a tricky setup I'm working on...!

[@803mastiff9]

With my Multiplus II 3k 24v I do not understand why Powershare does not use full available shore amps available especially when there is no solar available. I had incoming amp limit set to 12 amps and with Powershare set to 2. With a 1200 watt load 750 watts was drawn from shore power (generator) and 450 watts was drawn from battery bank.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

This may take a more in-depth look at your personal setup. If you have purchased/are purchasing from our store (shop.explorist.life) reach out for some more personalized help: shop.explorist.life/support If you've purchased/are purchasing elsewhere, reach out to your dealer for support. We'd love to have you as a shop.explorist.life customer so we can provide a bit more help in the future. 🙂

[@craigbishop]

Nate, I apologize for this question (and I know that I should ask Victron directly... or read the manual), but what if I'm in an older campground with out-of-date power distribution in the middle of summer and everyone has their air conditioner running AND I'm only getting 110 volts out of the 15 amp power post. For my scenario, I've got a 3500 watt draw in the van - what does power assist do with the voltage differential? Do I get 120 volts in the van? 110 volts? Something in-between?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Power Assist Voltage matches whatever is the incoming voltage from shore given it is within the parameters of the unit.

[@awesomedee5421]

If you have a quattro, are you able to get power assist from both sources simultaneously? or is it literally an dumb ATS and can only get power assist from only 1 source? literally possibly needing battery power assist when both sources could power the complete load.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Nope. There is no way for the quattro to sync phases. Your genny and grid power would be out of phase.

[@awesomedee5421]

@@EXPLORISTlife That is good to know. Quattro is basically a glorified overpriced ATS included with a MultiPlus.

[@jeanajiao5552]

heyyy really love your videos and they did inspired me for some ideas, may i ask how to reach out for a collaboration opportunity? thx

[@stevenbernier4206]

I have yet to put mine in the motorhome. I think one thing it will also do is eliminate the need for a soft start for the AC and I can run that thing on the 2K watt Honda. Instead of having to listen to that noisy built-in generator.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Awesome! Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!

[@and7rei]

Hy. I see that are two types of 12v/3000W multiplus inverters. One with 16A transfer switch and one with 50A. Can you explain to me please what is this transfer switch?

[@brianchetelat6601]

Hi Andrei, not to jump in front of Nate but Victron's website has a bunch of helpful documents that explain all of their products and their KZbin channel is also filled with helpful tutorials. Great question though.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

The transfer switch is the piece inside of the Multiplus that 'switches' back and forth between supplying AC power from batteries vs shore power; and the transfer switch rating is the max that the transfer switch can handle. We see 16A on some of the smaller multipluses for 240V service (Everywhere but N. America) and 30A, 50A, or 100A for the larger inverters. Basically: It's the largest shore power supply you can connect the unit to.

[@and7rei]

@@EXPLORISTlife thanks. I have a 240V 3000W inverter with 50A transfer switch.