Inverter query…

[philippo]

Passing this simple question about inverters on to this forum…apologies are due though, because I’m sure it’s been asked before

Earlier this afternoon I gave AM Solar a call (Solar installation company in Springfield, Oregon), only to find that they had closed their doors last summer.

To say I was…Gobsmacked?…doesn’t begin do it justice; I’ve been counting on them over the years for technical advice - ever since they installed a fabulous solar system on my truck camper in December, 2020. (They were such an obviously cutting-edge and extremely competent company I cannot imaging what might have happened…)

Anyway, back to my question: Should I turn my inverter OFF when plugged into shore power or leave it ON?

(the installed system includes 800+ Watts of solar panels, ReLion batteries, and a 3000W Victron Multi-Plus Inverter)

 

[Primerump]

Passing this simple question about inverters on to this forum…apologies are due though, because I’m sure it’s been asked before

Earlier this afternoon I gave AM Solar a call (Solar installation company in Springfield, Oregon), only to find that they had closed their doors last summer.

To say I was…Gobsmacked?…doesn’t begin do it justice; I’ve been counting on them over the years for technical advice - ever since they installed a fabulous solar system on my truck camper in December, 2020. (They were such an obviously cutting-edge and extremely competent company I cannot imaging what might have happened…)

margins are slim in the solar industry, many outfits have closed doors due to the post covid economy..

Anyway, back to my question: Should I turn my inverter OFF when plugged into shore power or leave it ON?

(the installed system includes 800+ Watts of solar panels, ReLion batteries, and a 3000W Victron Multi-Plus Inverter)

leave it on, the multiplus II has a transfer switch and therefore behaves as a UPS system. the multiplus will also charge the battery bank when on shore power. It should have been installed this way ( unless you have very specific requirements ).

 

[John From Detroit]

Is the inverter a pass through inverter/converter type? or a "Stand alone" I'm guessing the former

And since shore power (Unlike a good battery backed solar system) is ... Well right not the news is talking about the thousands of Michigan citizens in the dark due to a power fail due to a storm (That's as I type). I'd leave it on.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Anyway, back to my question: Should I turn my inverter OFF when plugged into shore power or leave it ON?

(the installed system includes 800+ Watts of solar panels, ReLion batteries, and a 3000W Victron Multi-Plus Inverter)

There is some confusion on this point because of differences among inverter types & models. There are vanilla inverters, inverters with auto-transfer switches, and combo inverter chargers. And further differences in how the inverter is wired into the RV power system. It would take a thousand words to try to explain all these variations, but yours is simple. The Victron MultiPlus is an inverter charger with a built-in auto-transfer switch, so just leave it on and let it manage shore power vs inverting. About the only reason for turning it off would be during storage periods.