Victron question.

[Tim120]

Not got the manuals and can't see the answer in the online pdf.

Have a Multiplus 2 3000 and Ve Bus Smart thingy controlled by an app on my phone.
All works well, however if my phone dies, how do I turn on the inverter?
I've looked and nothing obvious (to me)
There must be a way like an old fashioned on/off switch, I hope.
Thanks.

 

[wildebus]

Not got the manuals and can't see the answer in the online pdf.

Have a Multiplus 2 3000 and Ve Bus Smart thingy controlled by an app on my phone.
All works well, however if my phone dies, how do I turn on the inverter?
I've looked and nothing obvious (to me)
There must be a way like an old fashioned on/off switch, I hope.
Thanks.

the inverter has a switch at the bottom where the cable entry is - on the right hand side.
The smart dongle overrides that, but as soon as you switch it OFF at the switch, it is properly off and you have "cabin doors to manual" again with the ON/OFF/Charger Only physical switch position.

 

[Tim120]

Thanks David, found the switch which is in position 1. I'm now confused, is there a switch on the dongle I can't see to switch that off? or by putting the switch to position O will that switch the dongle off or do I unplug it?

 

[wildebus]

Thanks David, found the switch which is in position 1. I'm now confused, is there a switch on the dongle I can't see to switch that off? or by putting the switch to position O will that switch the dongle off or do I unplug it?

What are you trying to do?

If the physical switch is in the middle - O = Off - then the Multiplus is off regardless of what the Dongle says or you try to do with it.
If the physical switch is in - or == , then you can use the virtual settings via VictronConnect to set to 4 different options:

• ON
• OFF
• Charger Only
• Inverter Only

If you have the dongle, you would generally put the physical switch in "-" (ON) and leave it like that. The only time you need to use the physical switch is if you are doing some maintenance on the AC Sockets (remember even if unplugged from EHU, they are still live); or you want to do a reset/power cycle on the Multiplus.
When the physical switch is set to OFF, the dongle is still powered on (it is powered by the Battery, not the Multiplus) but it will just tell you the Multiplus is off and you will not be able to turn it on.

 

[Tim120]

I suppose essentially what I am asking is, can I use the multiplus without a Bluetooth connection, as in my phone is dead/missing?

 

[Tim120]

Deleted

 

[wildebus]

I suppose essentially what I am asking is, can I use the multiplus without a Bluetooth connection, as in my phone is dead/missing?

for sure. plenty of people don't have any external controls. generally you leave it on "ON" and just let it get on with working as it needs to.
If you are having to go into the Victron app and change stuff frequently to use the Multiplus, I would suggest it has not be configured correctly.

 

[Tim120]

Not having to change stuff, just turn it on and off, for which I use the app on my phone. Just wondering how to use it without an app and phone. I imagine without the VE bus thingy I would select via the rocker switch,
I, inverter
O, off
II, inverter & charger
?

 

[Tim120]

It's beginning to dawn on me I may be using this setup incorrectly and should just leave it on all the time rather than switching it on and off via the app.
Turn fridge and heating to gas/electric as and when required.
Is there a reason to turn on only the inverter rather than inverter/charger?

 

[wildebus]

Not having to change stuff, just turn it on and off, for which I use the app on my phone. Just wondering how to use it without an app and phone. I imagine without the VE bus thingy I would select via the rocker switch,
I, inverter
O, off
II, inverter & charger
?

I is on and II is charger only.
there is no physical switch setting for inverter only.

It's beginning to dawn on me I may be using this setup incorrectly and should just leave it on all the time rather than switching it on and off via the app.
Turn fridge and heating to gas/electric as and when required.

If you have an AES fridge for example, then it will automatically switch to "Mains" if you have an Multiplus. So it is possible you could limit the use of the battery on the fridge by turning the multiplus off and on, but that negates a major reason to have a Multiplus.
It would be a better option to not use the AES function on the fridge which lets you still have an inverter-on-demand use for other stuff.
PS. The Multiplus has an AES mode, but that is nothing to do with Fridge AES. Fridge AES is Automatic Energy Selection and detects which power source is available. Multiplus AES is Automatic Energy Saving and is a programmed way for the Multiplus to go into Low Power (or AES) mode when there is no demand.

Is there a reason to turn on only the inverter rather than inverter/charger?

yes and no.
I do actually use Inverter only mode quite often when at home. It allows me to leave the MH plugged in for convenience, but to use the Solar to do the charging ... Free Power And if I find I need power from the mains, I change the mode via the app (or the Cerbo screen in my case) rather than having to expend energy going around and plugging a lead in (Basically, Inverter only could be called 'Lazy B******d mode' ).
Right now my Multiplus is probably in Inverter Only mode and the EHU lead is plugged in?
There are circumstances where the above scenario can be handy, but maybe quite limited and maybe why that option is not available on the physical switch? Inverter Only is essentially having the Inverter set to ON but no EHU Lead.

 

[Tim120]

Thank you David for your explanation, it is beginning to make sense and my understanding of how best to use the system is better.
Initially my concern was inability to turn it on or off without a phone.