4. Installation
Warning
This product should be installed by a qualified electrician.
CAUTION – To reduce risk of injury, charge only VRLA or Li-Ion batteries. Other types of batteries may burst causing personal injury and damage!
4.1. Location
The product must be installed in a dry and well-ventilated area, as close as possible to the batteries. There should be a clear space of at least 10cm around the appliance for cooling.
Warning
Excessively high ambient temperature will result in the following:
Reduced service life
Reduced charging current.
Reduced peak capacity, or shutdown of the inverter.
Never mount the product directly above the batteries.
For mounting see G
Warning
For safety purposes, this product should be installed in a heat-resistant environment. Prevent the presence of e.g. chemicals, synthetic components, curtains or other textiles, etc., in the immediate vicinity.
4.2. Connection of the Battery cables
NO internal DC Fuses.
In order to fully utilize the full capacity of the product, batteries with sufficient capacity and battery cables with sufficient cross section should be used. See table below:
12/2000/80 | 24/2000/50 | 48/2000/25 | |
|---|---|---|---|
Recommended battery capacity (Ah) | 350-1000 | 200–500 | 100-250 |
Recommended DC fuse | 300A | 200A | 100A |
Recommended cross section (mm2) per + and - connection terminal | |||
0 – 5 m | 70mm-2 | 35 mm2 | 25 mm2 |
5 – 10 m | 95mm2 | 70 mm2 | 50mm2 |
Remark: Internal resistance is the important factor when working with low capacity batteries. Please consult your supplier or the relevant sections of our book ‘Energy Unlimited’, downloadable from our website.
Procedure
Proceed as follows to connect the battery cables:
Warning
Use a torque wrench with insulated box spanner in order to avoid shorting the battery.
Recommended torque: 12 Nm (M8 nut)
Avoid shorting the battery cables.
Undo the two screws at the bottom of the enclosure and remove the service panel.
Connect the battery cables: see Appendix A.
Tighten the nuts well for minimal contact resistance.
All servicing must be undertaken by qualified personnel.
4.3. Connection of the AC cabling
Warning
This is a Safety Class I product (supplied with a protective grounding terminal). Uninterruptible protective grounding must be provided at the AC input and/or output terminals and/or chassis grounding point located externally on the product.
The MultiPlus is provided with a ground relay (relay H, see appendix B) that automatically connects the Neutral output to the chassis if no external AC supply is available. If an external AC supply is provided, the ground relay H will open before the input safety relay closes. This ensures the correct operation of an earth leakage circuit breaker that is connected to the output.
In a fixed installation, uninterruptable grounding can be secured by means of the grounding wire of the AC input. Otherwise the casing must be grounded.
In a mobile installation, interrupting the shore connection will simultaneously disconnect the grounding connection. In that case, the casing must be connected to the chassis (of the vehicle) or to the hull or grounding plate (of the boat).
In case of a boat, direct connection to the shore ground is not recommended because of potential galvanic corrosion. The solution to this is using an isolation transformer.
The mains input & output terminal connector can be found on the bottom of the MultiPlus, see appendix A. The shore or mains cable must be connected to the connector with a three-wire cable. Use a three-wire cable with a flexible core and a cross section of at least 6 mm². Recommended torque: 1,6 Nm
Procedure (see appendix A) Do not invert neutral and phase when connecting the AC.
The inverter does incorporate a mains frequency isolating transformer. This precludes the possibility of DC current at any AC port. Therefore type A RCD’s can be used.
AC-in
The AC input cable can be connected to the terminal block ‘AC–in’.
From right to left: “N” (neutral), “PE” (earth) and “L” (phase)
The AC input must be protected by a fuse or magnetic circuit breaker rated at 50A, and cable cross-section must be sized accordingly. If the input AC supply is rated at a lower value, the fuse or magnetic circuit breaker should be down sized accordingly.
AC-out
The AC output cable can be connected directly to the terminal block ‘AC-out’.
From left to right: “L” (neutral), “PE” (earth) and “N” (phase)
With its PowerAssist feature the MultiPlus can add up to 2kVA (that is 2000 / 120 = 16A) to the output during periods of peak power requirement. Together with a maximum input current of 50A this means that the output can supply up to 50 + 16 = 66 A.
Ground-fault circuit-interrupters shall be installed in the recreational vehicle wiring system to protect all branch circuits. Victron Energy recommends to use the Blue Sea systems GFCI circuit breaker PN3093.
4.4. Optional Connections
A number of optional connections are possible:
Undo the four screws at the front of the enclosure and remove the front panel.
4.4.1. Second Battery
The Multi has a connection (+) for charging a starter battery. For connection see appendix A.
Trickle charge output is protected by automatic overcurrent & overload protection (trip current 1A Imax= 5,5A)
4.4.2. Temperature Sensor
The temperature sensor supplied with the product may be used for temperature-compensated charging. The sensor is insulated and must be mounted on the battery minus pole. Default output voltages for Float and Absorption are at 25°C. In adjust mode temperature compensation is disabled.
4.4.3. Remote Control
The product can be remotely controlled in two ways:
With an external on/off switch (Remove Link “Remote Switch connector H”)
With a Multi Control Panel
Please see section 5.4 for appropriate DIP switch settings.
4.4.4. Programmable relay
The MultiPlus is equipped with a multi-functional relay that by default is programmed as an alarm relay. The relay can be programmed for all kinds of other applications however, for example to start a generator (VEConfigure software needed).
4.4.5. Parallel Connection (see appendix C)
The MultiPlus can be connected in parallel with several identical devices. To this end, a connection is established between the devices by means of standard RJ45 UTP cables. The system (one or more MultiPlus units plus optional control panel) will require subsequent configuration (see Section 5).
In the event of connecting MultiPlus units in parallel, the following requirements must be met:
A maximum of six units connected in parallel.
Only identical devices may be connected in parallel.
The DC connection cables to the devices must be of equal length and cross-section.
If a positive and a negative DC distribution point is used, the cross-section of the connection between the batteries and the DC distribution point must at least equal the sum of the required cross-sections of the connections between the distribution point and the MultiPlus units.
Place the MultiPlus units close to each other, but allow at least 10 cm for ventilation purposes under, above and beside the units.
A battery-temperature sensor need only be connected to one unit in the system. If the temperature of several batteries is to be measured, you can also connect the sensors of other MultiPlus units in the system (with a maximum of one sensor per MultiPlus). Temperature compensation during battery charging responds to the sensor indicating the highest temperature.
Only one remote can be connected to the system.
4.4.6. Three-phase operation (see appendix D)
The MultiPlus can also be used in 3-phase wye (Y) configuration. To this end, a connection between the devices is made by means of standard RJ45 UTP cables (the same as for parallel operation). The system (MultiPlus units plus an optional control panel) will require subsequently configuration (see Section 5).
Pre-requisites: see Section 4.4.5.