Victron Phoenix Inverter 1200VA install | EP32 | Ford Transit Campervan Build

[@markchurchward482]

What I love about your build is the attention to detail for example why doesn’t everyone paint the inside of their cupboards 😂 such a finishing feature. Your painted electric cupboard makes it sooo much easier to see everything rather than a plywood finish. Well done sir I doff my cap.

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Thank you very much. I personally thing the extra details are important. In the electrical cupboard it just makes everything easy to see ( and look cool ). In reality it’s not that much more after work. I have the paint anyway for normally visible parts so I might as well use it. Just wanted to you see the finishing work on the water and plumbing cupboard haha

[@spike178]

Will be buying the same 1200VA just use as a basic backup system in my house running off two lipo batteries to keep my freezer and Internet running during any power cuts. Have two 518 watt Jackery power stations and 80 watt solar panel at the moment.

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Good plans for a power out back up, same for the jackerys

[@johnpicone3050]

Nice job & thanks for sharing!

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

No problem

[@AMGMANIAC]

Very well put together system. I'm beginning to wish I'd kept everything Victron. Really enjoying your content, Alex.

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Thank you. I installed a few other brands on different vans but i always go back to victron

[@theonlywoody2shoes]

Thumbnail says EP32, but video title says EP31. Not an issue at all, so long as you correct it before the next video comes out - or you could just leave it and have 2 x EP31’s. Great content as ever, good to see the progress you are making. 👍

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Much appreciate. Cheers for noticing. My fault I normally copy and paste the previous title then change it I must’ve forgot on the episode number. all sorted now. Thanks for following along. Been a busy week! More up-to-date and live content on the Instagram stories if you don’t already follow

[@MrButuz]

You deserve way more views etc very neat install mate!

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Thank you! Getting there slowly, sub count is definitely starting to grow faster

[@julianrout1347]

Great vlog , love your work thanks and am waiting for the shower plumbing as thats what i want to put in my van.. Stay safe 👍👍🚙

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Thanks! That’s actually what I’ve been working on yesterday getting the filters mounted, you can check my Instagram story for a sneak peek of that!

[@bradtenbonga]

Yo , thanks for the no bullshit waffle explanation. Needed the reassurance to add an inverter to the existing system to power 240 volt blanket and Brompton batteries ......watched most of your Freeze Yer Balls Off videos and trust your Electrickery knowledge. Thank you B

[@UKsystems]

but a lot of features are not talked about

[@Jake-xo1wl]

Hello. Thanks for the helpful vids. Question. Why did you not ground the inverter? Thanks

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

“Ground” is the wrong terminology, “Earth bonding” The Phoenix by default has neutral & earth bound inside so it’s a floating earth. additionally it’s uses a normal plug socket to direct plug “normally” with a single appliance, the wire can be kept an eye on all the time. However, if I was running cables in the wall to sockets in different parts of the van where I couldn’t see any risk or potential damage has occurred to them, you can unbond neutral and earth inside the unit, and then use a consumer unit containing an RCD and MCB downstream of the inverter and then bond the inverters Earth point to the vehicle chassis. in this case, it would protect you from live earth fault ( live comes in contact with the vehicles metal work ) If you look at my later multiplus inverter videos, I do earth bonding and explain the uses of this equipment

[@greg.ocallaghan]

I have an already fully built out campervan (Hymer Grand Canyon) that has 3 wall sockets in various spots in the interior, but those only work when I'm hooked up to shore power as the van didn't come with an inverter. Since I almost never use shore power anyways, I'm going to install a Victron inverter too and feed the 3 wall sockets with that, but disconnect the shore power going to the sockets. Same reason as you, to simplify the system and not have to add complex switches, grounds, etc.. One question though, why didn't you use the ground point to ground the inverter itself?

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Hello, I think for you Victron multiplus might be a better option. As you can keep the shore hook up and have a inverter all using the same sockets. I swap the this Phoenix for a multiplus further down the line and explain why. And on those videos, I also install a consumer units ( up stream and down stream of the unit ) and use the built-in earth point.. As to why I didn’t use the Earth point ( bond Earth to chassis ) in this video is because this unit has Earth and neutral Combine and I didn’t have wires running in the walls ( so a risk of a live Earth fail isn’t there ) and a normal outlet to plug into . Using the Earth point on the inverter only does anything if running a RCD down stream of the AC OUT on the inverter. In my multiplus videos I explain why it’s important to use the Earth point

[@theoteam4641]

I have the same unit, but in 24V. Just wanted to say its a 1200VA which is just over 1090Watts, we are also planning on getting another inverter that’s 3000Watts at 24V to run items that require high Watts, this is when we get 2 Tesla batteries, at the moment we only have 1 Tesla battery

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Yeah it very true. It’s more 1000w at 25c and decreasing wattage as temperature increases. About 850w at 45c. I find using VA can confuse people a wee bit. That’s really cool you’re using Tesla batteries.

[@theoteam4641]

@@MispronouncedAdventures thanks, we don’t have much running on our system, but when we go full time abs we discover it’s not enough, then I’ll add another battery to the build. I’ll have to make space for it now just Incase 😁

[@rnishanthan1988]

can you run up to 2000watts in what is the max it can reach

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Yeah I believe looking at the data sheet the max peak is 2200w. But I presume peak power is only for a few seconds

[@theoteam4641]

@@MispronouncedAdventures yes that’s right, I ran a heat gun at first speed 1300W and it worked for over 30 seconds but I kept getting overload warning. Then I put it to second speed at 1800W it worked for about 3 seconds then the inverter shutdown lol

[@samhartfieldlewis5247]

Sorry realise is a old video and have read the comments about (the earth debate) I got this inverter just and was wondering Is it not earthed because basically the sockets you put in the van are just a solid style (extension) lead And because (shore/mains power) isn’t sharing or supplying power to those sockets ever it’s not a issue. Sorry get it your probably sick of this type of question. Go steady the new inverter in a later video looks cool, nice one go steady.

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

More or less because I was just using an extension lead out of the unit at the time, so because again live van body fault wouldn’t be possible . However if you were installing sockets and having cabling running throughout the wall I would definitely put a consumer unit with a RCD and MCB on the AC output from the unit and earth bonding the body of the unit to the vehicle metal work Further down the line I have moved to using a multiplus unit and have a consumer unit on both the AC in and AC OUT and the unit Earth

[@samhartfieldlewis5247]

@@MispronouncedAdventures Good going, thank you very much

[@hauk3839]

How do you see charging by watts with dongle if there is way. I can see battery volts 13 plus volts. Just curious is there a meter new type of lithium batteries

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

12V batteries is just a generalised term. “12V” isn’t necessarily 12V. 12V system will charge up to 14.8V depending on chemistry. to see Watt’s you could use a Victron Smartshunt or BMV-712 to see a system total output or a Victron Bluetooth dongle for this inverter to see the inverted output

[@garylingard1879]

I would be cautious about connecting the inverter cut off from the battery voltage cut out as you may finish up with hunting. If the battery low voltage cut out resets automatically if the voltage recovers, then the the inverter would be re-powered pull the voltage down again and be cut off again and the cycle would repeat with potential damage.

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Aye I see what you are trying to say. For this set up the low voltage cut off its can be both hardware based via the remote off / on pins and a signal wire which I have connected up to the Victron Battery protect. which will trigger a low voltage cut off at a set low System voltage and then a different “clear” and higher voltage before it re-engages. To get past the clear voltage after a low voltage trigger would probably take about 30-40ah of ( at 12v ) power put into the batteries. On this model of inverter is can also be software based and managed the inverter itself again with a low voltage cut off and a clear re-engage voltage.

[@garylingard1879]

@@MispronouncedAdventures Having a deadband between cut out and re-engage should stop an potential off/on oscillation provided the margin is large enough. When the inverter load cuts off the sensing voltage will rise due to the loss of load volt drop on the cables and the battery voltage will rise as the batteries recover even without any additional charge added.

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Ah voltage Sag under load. Very true. Definitely more problematic for lead acid based Systems compared to lithium-based ones

[@william38022]

Have you ever had issues with wires coming out of the inverter? I thought about using ferrules how ever I’m not sure if that is recommended or not?

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Ferrules are not recommended for most Victron equipment. Ferrules are great for screw terminals. Most Victron equipment uses raising plate terminals ( which are operated by a screw which causes confusion, but the screw never makes contact with the conductor ) The multistrand core needs to be loose, so when the plates come together, it can squeeze the multistrand core to fill the entire space, Ferrules in this case would hold the core captive, preventing an as good of a connection.

[@william38022]

@@MispronouncedAdventures thanks 👍😊

[@demil3618]

Isn’t it frustrating that you need to cut off the batteries when there is still lots of power in it, just to protect them? That‘s really bugging me about batteries. Capacitors would eliminate this, but I don’t trust them, they can fail and … bang! Earthing inverters seems to be a bit of a discussion on the net as far as I saw. Question: Why not use the earth against the body of the vehicle? It‘d be earthing the 230V but aren’t you currently unprotected?

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

This is a old video. The swap the phoenix for a Multiplus later in and talk about consumer units, RCD and a protection, Earth bonding to the vehicle which is 100% necessary with that type of unit where you have a hook up and wires running in the walls A standalone Phoenix, however with wires which are not running those the walls wouldn’t necessarily need any protection from a RCD, and being a uk plug would be fused. Earth bounding to the vehicle chassis wouldn’t do anything, unless you had a consumer unit containing an RCD.

[@demil3618]

@@MispronouncedAdventures Hmm, thanks for the details. I‘m still digging through your channel… 🙂

[@jimmccarron1286]

Nice vlog mate do you have a vitron BtB smart charger fitted as well and have you a video on the install of it , I've subscribed .

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Indeed I do. Episode 21 is the B2B install. Subsequently moved location since that install but same method

[@David_11111]

At what point in the planning stage do you work out where the electric bits and bobs go, or is it all add hock ????

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

A mix really. I made an electrical diagram back at the very start before I got the van. So I could try and understand and visualise where the conduit layout / cableway were going to be. In reality the core of the electrical System remained to same but the layout and physical aspects of the electrics changed and adapted over time when necessary. Such as the physical space for putting things was created like the cupboards or The realising I made a mistake or needed to add something new

[@jellevanelsacker7353]

What made you choose a 1200W inverter?

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Budget at the time. I subsequently upgraded, to a Victron Multiplus 1600VA, which 1300w. You can see this in videos.

[@benmusci405]

Hey Alex, great van build series! Been perusing through your electrical system videos specifically. Is there a reason you haven't run a ground wire from the inverter to the chassis? I've used a couple of inverters and I think they all said to do that for safety considerations. Just wondering why you opted not to.

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

This is a older video. Do you mean ground? As in DC negative or are you referring to AC Earth bonding? If it’s the AC Earth. On this inverter in its current configuration ( in the video ) I was just using the ports directly, not circuits run off it. With a floating Earth ( neutral and earth bonded within the inverter ) and nothing like a RCD used bonding the Earth to the vehicle chassis I wouldn’t see it achieving anything. However in the later videos where I’m using a multiplus inverter ( or if I had fully integrated this Phoenix inverter with circuits for sockets throughout the van ) I used consumer units containing a RCD and MCB’s as I have installed circuits throughout the van and have a shore connection where bonding the AC earth to the vehicle is very important for safety, and doing so allows the RCD to function

[@pinerock9668]

I'm thinking of buying this inverter. Can it power a microwave?

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Potentially, depends very much on the wattage of the microwave. 1200VA might be on the smaller side of some microwaves

[@Ben.ODonohue]

Just curious as to whether you connected the inverter negative to your shunt or battery terminal? Cheers

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Yes it will have to be connected to the shunt otherwise the shunt wouldn’t see / log the Energy it uses

[@Ben.ODonohue]

@@MispronouncedAdventures I thought so, I just didn’t see you make that connection in the video. Cheers

[@cryptolegs]

Great videos!! You have been helping me a lot in my own van conversion! I know this must be getting old but I am really stressing about the grounding and I just want to be 100% sure, but it is fine not to use the grounding point on the inverter as long as I am only using an extension lead straight from the inverter for my appliances? Thank you

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Two ways I could help answer this. But first just a terminology point to prevent any confusion. here you’re referring to “earthing” or particularly “AC earth bonding”, grounding is more DC electrics If you check some of my later videos for the Victron Multiplus install I talk all about from earthing, consumer unit and RCD’s & MCB’s However for your question for this particular inverter I would personally be happy to use an extension lead as long as I was not running that extension lead out of the vehicle or through any of the walls, effectively that I could see the extension lead wire. If however I was running the extension lead throughout the walls of the van where potentially it could become damaged without being known and make contact with the vehicles metal body then I would definitely be earth bonding the inverter to the vehicle chassis and implementing an RCD unit for safety. This particular Phoenix inverter if you wish to earth it needs to be opened up and wire moved across which is detailed in the manual

[@cryptolegs]

@@MispronouncedAdventures Thank you, you have made my day, this helped massively :)

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Glad to be of service

[@michaelsrowland]

Do the cables to connect to the battery come with the inverter?

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Nope, because different cable thicknesses and length would be different between the inverter and batteries depending the there set up however some companies do sell premade cables

[@michaelsrowland]

@@MispronouncedAdventures where do you get the cables in England?

[@mhelander]

This is funny, my van has exactly same inverter. Little bulky but rock solid performer. I've done fixed AC wirings and have electrical box which has GFCI protector followed with 10A and 12A dual pole circuit breakers. Ground is connected to chassis and inverter ground also.

[@mhelander]

Here is my arrangement: photos.app.goo.gl/1gzv1KJLgBzcfxkA8

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Looks good. So far I’ve been love it, they definitely seem like a sturdy bit of kit. Depending on how many AC outlets I go for I might add a small electrical box for the just ease of wire management

[@mhelander]

@@MispronouncedAdventures Yeah, that's why by box has cable with plug for inverter and then spreads from two circuit breakers to two circuits. 12A is for driver side where induction hob is, 10A to passenger side outlets. It's important to use dual pole breakers and put GFCI in front of everything, dual pole because as inverter is coupled with cable & EU plug it's not guaranteed which one is ground. I've replicated what's factory built to my Solifer camping trailer here.

[@mhelander]

Ah, another important thing for AC circuits... always use cabling with multi strand wires. My choice was to buy 20 meters 16A rated extension cord, red, and initially just chopped it between box & one outlet. Cable was circled around all necessary outlet positions without cutting and then when was time to install outlets cut cablings accordingly. This was both cheap and provided functionality during building, with protection. Also connected chassis ground to box initially...

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

I definitely seems like a good course of action. If and when I take it further than just using it as an extension plug. I would definitely use Duel pole as well, whilst most of the 12 V stuff in the van a single pole isolators, things like the solar im using dual pole

[@tanaarcher3258]

Where did you get your inverter from please?

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

12Voltplanet.co.uk as they definitely had the best price

[@diy-bj2ed]

Do you think that victron would handle a 1000w electric kettle or hot plate?

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

In theory yes but 1000w continuous would be a at the very top of its limit if it as running at 25c, 40c it would be only 850w ( information from the Victron spec sheet ) running it at its max I can’t imagine is the best idea. I think if you wanted to run a 1000w hot plate I’d probably look at some of Victron other inverter lines. You’d also need a decently large battery bank to match such a high demand

[@diy-bj2ed]

@@MispronouncedAdventures ok thanks for the information

[@javieralejandro8144]

Hi! What's that inline fuse holder you're using? I've never seen it before and looks quite small

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

They are called “Midi or strip fuse holders”

[@pau1phi11ips]

Did you know you can make a Victron CCGX (~£500) out of a Raspberry Pi 3? Would be pretty sweet to tie all that Victron stuff together. You can add tank level sensors to the Pi too.

[@pau1phi11ips]

Oh yeah, and you can add a £30 USB GPS to the Pi and have live location on the van and setup a Geofence so if the van moves out of that you get an alert. Obviously need a internet connection for the Pi for this but it looks like you have that covered.

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Indeed I do, I’ve had a Pi 3b+ running Venus OS in for about 3/4 months now. Brilliant adding to the System. Additional I when for a generic USB GPS to give me the location and geo fencing on the pi! I will be making a video on it at some point

[@pau1phi11ips]

@@MispronouncedAdventures nice. I still haven't got the van yet but I've got a shed load of LiFePO4 on their way from China. Can't wait to start building.

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Ah brilliant, which cells and BMS did you go for?

[@pau1phi11ips]

@@MispronouncedAdventures Got 8 280Ah LiFePO4 cells and 100A Daly BMS. Gonna use that together with Victron a battery protect.

[@keithviglucci5934]

cant hurt to bond that ground lug on the inverter to the chassis of the vehicle as it may provide another path for fault current

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

You are correct but additional equipment would be needed to detect the fault ( which is done at a later video ) In the case on the Phoenix install in the this temporary set the Earth point and Earth boarding of the inverter to the van chassis wouldn’t serve a purpose as there is no RCD downstream of the inverter which would detect that type of fault., That being said in the most recent videos I’ve change the Phoenix for a Multiplus and have used the Earth point & installed consumer units with RCDs and MCDs and speak about the whole earth bonding process the inverter to this vehicle chassis to detect for the particular reason you mentioned.

[@AlabamaTree]

Hi Alex, I’m about to wire in my Victron inverter. Why isn’t it necessary to use the ground connection of the inverter? EDIT! I’ve just seen that you cover this right at the end. We have a 240v hook up in the van, but won’t be using the hook up 240 and inverter 240 at the same time. Do I still need to have a chassis ground cable?

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

I would watch my later video when I use a Multiplus inverter and talk about the important of customer units ( RCD + MCB’s ) and the need for the inverter earth to be bonded to the chassis. I take it your 240v hook up already has a customer unit? If there are no ac cables running out of sight then you could just plug into the inverter directly but if you have a bunch of socket with cables hidden, there is a risk on cable damage going unnoticed. So s customer unit and earth bonding the inverter to the chassis would be important

[@jimmymcdaniel979]

Man I’m struggling with this so much

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Which part?

[@David_11111]

yay

[@nickluce2617]

The Victon manual tells you to mount vertically with the controls on top, not the way you done it

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

You are wrong or have misread the manual, it says the opposite, under section 3.1 of the “Phoenix inverter VE.direct” manual. it says the fan which is located at the end of the unit with a DC connections, power switch and other connections is to located towards the bottom. The opposite position with fan, controls and connections pointing up is labelled as a not a recommended position, same with all Victron equipment, connections are recommended to point down to prevent the risk of debris and dust settling into the connections and unit over time. However if you’re saying this is what your manual says. please tell me which manual it is and which page number and I will download the PDF and check myself

[@aberdeendeltaforce]

I built my van around 12v, no way I’d have an inverter, they are just so inefficient and kill your batteries, there are other ways.

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Whilst the vast majority of the van is built around 12v, and if possible I have things running from 12v over 240v. The convenience of being able to plug-in something 240 V when you need to when you’re living full-time it’s pretty important, sometimes sometimes it just isn’t a 12v version. Inefficiency wise it Depends on your model inverter, and your battery bank. The Phoenix in the video it 91% efficient. if I’m running the 28inch monitor and streaming 4K to it from the Apple TV via the inverter that only uses 3.9amp which is pretty much nothing when my battery bank is 390ah and having 500watts of solar

[@aberdeendeltaforce]

@@MispronouncedAdventures it’s the conversion of volts back and fore that kill the battery, makes them work harder than they were designed to do, granted the victron is the dogs bollocks of inverters but it’s still not great for you batteries, I live in my van full time and disconnected the inverter because I never used it once in over a year.....what are you using that requires an inverter anyway, I mean if you need one you need one right. Great video anyway, not being a hater just putting my view across. 👍

[@aberdeendeltaforce]

@@MispronouncedAdventures forgot to say, I have a jackery 1000w lithium power station that I can plug 240v into but again rarely use it.

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

No worries man. I’d definitely agree inverter can be a large draw and a large parasitic draw ( I normal turn mine off when I not in use ) My main use is the 28in tv. It’s 48w, whilst I know you can get 12v TVs. I didn’t think a spec I liked. Could also had my Xbox to the van if I wanted too for some fun. For me it’s convenience. If I have to charge up something obscure which doesn’t have an equivalent 12v charger and so on. Nice I can also run a bunch of my power tools of it as well.

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

I’ve seen those Jackery all on one units a lot recently. I think they look like a good option if someone doesn’t want to massively included 240v in there van but would need to from time to time

[@crazywayne7051]

Wake me up when the paint dries

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Sure will do, turn on the bell notification

[@jonathantillotson9936]

Owned, well done Alex 👍🏻🤣🤣