Why I won't use Victron Multiplus in my personal van

Let me know in the comments if you agree, if you have had these issues and/or reasons you love the Multiplus.

Edit: I realize that programming can change the charge draw current but this isn't practical for most clients and you would have to change it back each time...

[TheGalifrey]

Pretty sure you can change the software settings from charger priority to load priority which would fix your second problem. If not you can limit the charge amps when you're in that situation.

[STRUTZKOFF]

the mp1 needs a mains detector to turn back on but this is fixed on multp plus 2, you can disable battery charging for charging, set shore power limit . or use charger only and set to current 0 ., you can also disable charging in dvcc menu.

[DaddyEric]

I run this in my van with a 15kwh battery. Plus an extra inverter on a separate circuit. I always had a victron 30 amp charger which worked out well if the battery died all the way and nothing else would charge it (happened like once I a year of full time living) I later switched that out to a 100amp charger as a backup/fast charger to combine with the multiplus.

Problem 2 seem like you need to dive into the settings more. Mine would pull from grid/generator up to about 1300 watts which would be sent straight to the appliance. Once the appliance turned off the charger would pick back up the 15 amps (1600 watts ish). It worked perfectly for that actually, which is why yours should too.

[junkerzn]

I prefer discrete systems over all-in-one's for small systems myself. Once a system grows large enough to require redundancy, paralleling two or three all-in-one's becomes the go-to choice. But for small systems having discrete components greatly improves flexibility and reduces the cost of maintenance.

But before you start spending more money you should really consider moving to at least a 24V system instead of 12V. Even 48V, but the charger controllers you already have can support 24V and you already have 2 x 12V batteries, so maybe stick with 24V. There is a lot of unneeded bulk and heat in 12V systems and it is totally unnecessary to saddle yourself with that.

For discrete components, my preference is to use a generator only for battery charging and have enough capability in the DC system to run all loads from the inverter. Taking the generator, for example, the most efficient use of fuel is to run it at 50% load. So if you get a battery charger to match that, you only need to run the generator for however long it takes to top-off the batteries and can then turn it off to return the peace and quiet.

Silence is golden.

Generator -> high-power-battery-charger (sized to 50% of the gen load) -> batteries (25.6V)

Shorepower -> load-support battery charger -> batteries (25.6V)
Shorepower -> (same high-power-battery-charger as used with generator) -> batteries (25.6V) (if needed)

solar -> charge controllers -> batteries (25.6V)

batteries (25.6V) -> inverter(s) (these would have to be 24V inverters of course)

batteries (25.6V) -> DC-to-DC converter(s) for legacy 12V gear.

--

Batteries: 24V (8s, 25.6V nominal). The best configuration is to have two or more in parallel, such as 2 x 24V batteries in parallel. But if you already have 2 x 12V batteries you are limited to have 2 in series with no paralleled redundancy unless you intend to add more batteries to your system. Or unless you want to buy new batteries (I assume the answer to that is "no").



load-support battery charger: Something like a Victron Blue Smart 24-volt 12A battery charger for example (if you had a 24V battery system). Bluetooth accessible, fanless, and can be put into power-supply mode to provide load support instead of fully charging the battery if desired. But limited to 25.6V x 12 = roughly 300W. You can have more than one though.

Charge controllers: Same ones as you have now, no need to buy new ones since those will support 24V batteries (and output far fewer amps in the process, so they won't even get warm).

Inverter(s): You would have to buy 24V inverters to match the ~24V system voltage.

That would be my recommendation. Get away from 12V... the sooner the better.

-Matt

[tonybaudier]

hey Sean, , I have experienced these same problems, also one other, I have an on board Generator, If you have the inverter controlled by Cerbo and you turn inverter off. and you run the generator to power you van direst or Shore power, the power will not pass through the Multiplus unless it is in On position .. real pain

[jonathanwiggins]

You could always just buy a ac bypass switch in the event of a failure which would cover your inverter failing or your batteries. Which is recommended by Victron to do anyway if you read the manual. Just a thought.

[jamesmason]

The Victron Multiplus 2 addresses most of these problems, my only problem with it is being able to afford it as i am disabled and unable to work anymore and live on a very fixed income

[Downgrader]

Are you sure about your first point re: absence of DC power? I’ve had the 12/24v side disconnected and also dead while still getting shore power A/C passthru to work. The first instance I engaged the 12/24v disconnect switch while everything was previously on and didn’t lose any power to my 120v circuit (interestingly I discovered that because I have a 24/12v dcdc converter I was also able to keep my DC circuits powered from the A/C line). The second instance accidentally drained my LiFoPos completely (shore power was out overnight) and when shore power came back I was able to get power to the Multiplus to charge the batt bank. I’ll concede that I’m not exactly sure how this is working; i was under the impression the Multiplus wouldn’t do anything without DC power. I wonder if the 24/12v converter can charge using the inverter during passthru. Either way, I would like to understand this better and see better documentation from Victron.

[summerWTFE]

You did a pretty good job at making a compact setup there! I’d be interested in seeing what you come up with because I also don’t like the idea of these all-in-one monsters where magic just happens. I’d rather have a more complex setup with individual parts that don’t necessarily come from the same brand.

[pifle]

I wonder if Victron could add an "ignore battery" function that would solve both problems ? Either through software or a tiny hardware box to attach?

[ShaneFromSA]

Problem 1: Just flip the switch to charger only mode. It will output 12V on the battery terminals, as you don't have a battery attached you can't put on large loads as there is no buffer.
Problem 2: on the GX, set the input current limit to match your generator size. Inverter will only pull that from the generator and it automatically slow down/turn off charging if the AC loads exceed the current limit.

[xrmad]

you havent configured it properly by the sounds of it. the multiplus can be configured for load priority so it wont charge the batteries when the AC power is needed elsewhere

[MichaelSchmitz-mkll]

Hmmm my Victron Energy 150/70 MPPT controller app (battery) has a enable battery / disable battery .. Real easy an works every time, sucks that your having issues.

[adamsherman]

I do not experience the First problem you describe at all. The second one can be solved with the “prioritize wind and solar” feature.

[awesomusmaximus]

I have the quattro I can turn the charger off

[jeffreyumeh]

Like if you wanted a bunch of high power stuff... dude you should have went 24 or 48V with a bigger inverter, personally I would suggest 5kVA, to be fair if your going for 51.2V that does require you to go with 200Ah which is the equivlent of 800Ah of 12.8V (aka 10.24kWh), but really if your going to have an air conditioner etc honestly I think thats about how much you should be aiming for anyway with at least 1000W of solar. If you go with a Sprinter LWB you can fit 3x 425W pannels (1275W total) with space for a roof fan / skylight, semi directional 5G antena and omni directioal 5G antena.

[TWTM]

A bypass is pretty simple to wire up, like this: watch?v=qbZ6NmXhV10 Though if/when my multiplus dies i'll probably go separates for more resiliency.

[schwarz]

Sorry pal ... seems to me not having a Victron problem ... more an "understanding the system" problem ....

[shanonqual]

sounds more like you dont know how to use the victron software