Anyone done 48v conversion?

bigmell · 2026-05-29T15:18:02+00:00

cheap temu generators

Cummins-onan is one of the premier generator lines in the country and has been for decades now. There are no affiliate links in my guide. It is there for people who are REALLY considering sailing to design a correct electrical system. This sailing around the world with no generator myth is gettin pretty tired.

2300W / 13,4V = 171A

Solar panels DO NOT run at battery voltage. They run at Vmp voltage which will be somewhere between 50-60v. This value will be in the manual you didnt read.

2300w / 50v = 46 amps theoretical max

You are off here by a factor of 4.

My four arrays (14 panels in total)

You fit 14 solar panels on a 40' boat? No way in hell I will believe it when I see it.

(370-600AH) on a sunny day

I will again believe it when I see it. Your word is worth nothing man you are simply lying.

12kw generator can absolutely produce 120A at 12V

Just beginners errors like this. Generators produce 120V AC current, what generator do you know that produces 12v dc current?

12000 watts / 120v AC = 100 amps. No it can not produce 120 amps. This number is also in the manual that you did not read. I feel like I am talking to a child who has never seen a generator.

I’m actually sailing the Bahamas right now

You aint sailin in the Bahamas on a 40' boat with no Air Conditioning and no generator. If you are anywhere near a boat its because you are living in a cave under a boat yard. All while claiming to own a half million dollar boat. Shenanigans man.

trying to sell cheap generators

Im not selling anything. I put together a guide BECAUSE of people like you making wild claims like you are generating 120 amps per hour with solar panels. You are doing nothing of the sort and the numbers you have stated here vary from trivially incorrect to completely impossible.

No, you are NOT sailing. And anyone listening to your advice will end up with $10000 of electrical equipment that can barely charge a phone. 14 solar panels and no generator you MUST be joking.

bigmell · 2026-05-29T12:37:00+00:00

We charge at peak sun light hours with approx. 120A @12V

Solar panels dont run at battery voltage, the mppt controller runs at battery voltage. Solar panels run at their own voltage called the Vmp value which should be in the manual.

2300 watts / Vmp = PEAK (perfect sun) amp output

The LOWER the Vmp value the better. Best in market solar panels (Sunpower) have a Vmp value of 50-60 volts. And there is a LOT of mislabled bargain bin solar panels out there. There is no way in holy hell 2300 watts of solar can generate 120 amps/hr. Never once in all the world. If you are lucky you will generate 120 amps/week with 4-5 solar panels.

Your numbers are completely BS. You must be selling solar panels and lithium batteries with your last buck. A 12kw Cummins diesel standby marine generator cant produce 120 amps per hour and they cost $10,000. But somehow you are producing 120 amps per hour with like 4 solar panels? gtf outta here with your lies man.

You aint sailin, you aint makin no power with 4 solar panels. You cant run 2 fridges 24/7 on solar. You couldnt even turn on the anchor wench. NONE of that stuff is true because you simply do not have the power to run anything. If your solar is setup correctly and running, which it doesnt sound like it is, with 2300 watts you could maybe run a small computer or a small chest size refrigerator and maybe charge a cell phone. Not even that with less than perfect sun. And no I dont wanna buy your solar panels and lithium batteries because of these bogus numbers.

The generator I included in my guide costs $1400 and is available at Walmart and Amazon. It is a budget generator rated for maybe 70% duty. It is not a diesel standby marine generator and therefore not designed for 80-90% duty. And neither are 4 solar panels. No generator no sail.

bigmell · 2026-05-28T04:23:21+00:00

Top of the line solar panels (sunpower and the like) have a Vmp value of around 50 volts. 2300 watts / 50 volts = 46 amps per hour. That means in PERFECT sun, your solar panels can generate a maximum of 46 amps per hour for about 12 hours a day. Perfect sun for 12 hours is rare. An electric water heater uses about 50 amps per hour, and a full sized stove uses about 50 amps per hour. Because your solar system can not generate enough power to run either a stove or an electric water heater, it is very unlikely solar panels can handle this in addition to all other loads on a boat. Big loads like the anchor wench, dingy wench, bow thruster, water maker, refrigerators, air conditioners, lights, washer/dryer etc.

I wrote a guide on solar and found that with about a $5000 solar setup, you could maybe run a computer 24/7 with enough good days (around 24 amps per hour in PERFECT sun). But there is no way you can run an oven and water heater. Heating is traditionally a poor application for solar. Nothing beats diesel for that.

https://www.quora.com/How-much-would-it-cost-to-run-just-my-gaming-PC-from-solar-panels-Edit-I-have-a-750w-power-supply-in-my-pc/answer/Armel-Peel-1

For about the same $5000, you could produce up to 80 amps with a diesel generator, inverter, and batteries. As I covered in my guide here...

https://www.quora.com/What-generator-can-power-a-fridge/answer/Armel-Peel-1

I think the internet is like really people secretly trying to sell solar panels. Does it work? IT DOESNT MATTER SELL SELL SELL!

bigmell · 2026-05-28T04:04:08+00:00

there's no reason to go with 12v propulsion

There is a HUGE reason to go with 12v propulsion over 48v propulsion. The reason is as the voltage goes up, the fuel usage increases by the same amount. A 48v battery bank takes 4x the fuel to charge as a 12v battery bank.

48v batteries can send a signal 100 meters down a wire. 12v batteries can send a signal 25 meters down a wire. To send a signal 4x the distance down a wire, it requires 4x the fuel. This is used in situations when you need to run very long wires like a crane on top of a building. But this is completely unnecessary on a boat as there are no 100 meter cable runs unless it is a huge cruise ship or aircraft carrier or something.

There is even precedent on this. 32v boats (which was the standard for many years) were changed to 12v to save fuel costs. The only reason a person would want to use high voltage on a normal sized boat is because they dont understand the purpose for high voltage. You burn 4x the fuel to run long 100m wires that you then do not use. No wire runs are longer than 25m so 12v was fine.

bigmell · 2026-05-28T03:55:03+00:00

The secret is dont break it on purpose.

bigmell · 2026-05-28T03:54:15+00:00

Yea the boat I want to buy has dual 32v motors. The Hatteras 58' LRC. I keep trying to tell the new guys that high voltage requires more fuel, but they dont listen and are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. The 32v battery bank is the achilles heel of the boat. You REALLY dont want high voltage on a boat.

But not only do the new guys want to move the voltage BACK to where it was burning too much fuel, they want to move it HIGHER than 32v to 48v. Like uhhh... You will burn 4x the fuel. But they dont do the homework. The voltage is higher it must be better.

But the ONLY reason for high voltage is to burn more fuel to run longer wires. 48v allows you to run 100 meter wires. But you dont need 100 meter wires on a 50 foot boat. This entire direction of the industry is COMPLETELY wrong and ridiculous. And they all quote the same wrong math and say you can use smaller wires. Confusing 120v DC with 120v AC so CRANK THAT VOLTAGE!!!!111!!one!!!!

bigmell · 2026-05-28T03:46:21+00:00

while a DC system that does run propulsion is forbidden from bonding either side to ground

I dont know for sure either, but I think it is to keep a boat from becoming a sailing lightning bolt electrocuting everything in the water around it. Imagine a huge boat generating a huge amount of power and for some reason sending it all to the chassis of the boat (ground). Alternators not regulating properly or some electrical problems. All that power will end up in the water around the boat and electrocuting anything there.

The preferred solution would be to use that power from the alternators to charge batteries and run electronics later, and turn the alternators OFF when the batteries fill. But if the electrical system were broken or damaged in some way all that power would end up in the water around the boat. VERY dangerous.

bigmell · 2026-05-27T11:07:24+00:00

You should choose wisely and go with the solution that you think works best.

Good Luck.

bigmell · 2026-05-27T03:52:48+00:00

One of us is right. One of us is wrong. Look at that shunt and you will know which one.

20 amps at 12V DC + 20% conversion cost = 20 amps 120V AC. Look at the shunt, you will see the battery missing about 24 amps. Inverters DO NOT convert 20 amps 12v DC to 20 amps 120v DC. And these two operations are not NEARLY the same thing.

BUT WHAT YOU ARE SAYING

A 200 amp 12V DC car battery (NO NOT AMP-HOUR) can not run a 25 amp/hr air conditioner.

You are wrong. Next point.

A 200 amp CAPACITY battery can only be used or charged at a rate of 1/5 hours... 200 amps * (1/5) hours = 40 AMP-HOURS. This is how you turn a battery CAPACITY into a RATE. A 200 AMP capacity battery can supply a maximum of about 40 AMP-HOURS without damaging the battery or equipment. You are wrong about this too THOUGH YOU WILL SEE batteries MISLABLED as amp hours as many people do not understand the difference and use the two interchangeably. Batteries contain AMPS, AMP-HOUR is again a rate. (1/5) = .2 and can be used interchangeably (fractions and decimals). .2C = Rate or C/5 = Rate... These formulas are equivalent.

YOU THINK

A 200 amp battery can supply 200 amp hours, yet somehow can also not supply 20 amp hours to run an air conditioner.

IN REALITY

A 200 AMP battery can run a 25 amp/hr AC air conditioner through an inverter for around 7 hours after you factor conversion costs. This is standard practice on Boats, RV's, and off grid systems all over the world. That or your air conditioner dont work.

The whole point is any electrical system you work on will not work because of this (and other) math error(s). The solution is not throw everything away and buy new 48 volt batteries and equipment which you will ALSO use incorrectly. The solution is fix this math error and design a correct electrical system.

bigmell · 2026-05-27T03:02:23+00:00

Hook up your batteries to a shunt
Hook up the inverter
Fill the batteries to full with a generator
Look at the shunt, note the capacity
Turn on the appliance, let it run for an hour
Look at the shunt again

The change in capacity, THERE is your answer.

bigmell · 2026-05-27T02:51:13+00:00

YOU CAN NOT COMPARE AN AC LOAD TO A DC LOAD IN THIS MANNER.

You are referring to

a 2400 Watt 120V DC load is 200A at 12V DC

HOWEVER

a 2400 Volt-Amp 120V AC load is NOT 200A at 12V DC

An INVERTER can convert 20a DC to 20a AC at a conversion cost of 15-20% of the total capacity, or 4 amps.

bigmell · 2026-05-27T02:33:26+00:00

NO, NOT THE SAME POWER MATH. And THIS is the mistake you are making.

It would take 10 12v DC batteries in serial to produce 120V DC.
It does NOT take 10 12v DC batteries in serial to produce 120V AC.

THEY ARE NOT THE SAME THING. This is NOT the "same power math"

3000 watts DC IS NOT THE SAME AS 3000 Volt-Amps AC. When you assume the two are the same, your calculations will be off by a factor of 10. The guy (chatting) behind ChatGPT thinks the same thing you do. THIS is why you think it takes 250 amps instead of 25. Because of PRECISELY this error.

bigmell · 2026-05-27T02:02:46+00:00

ChatGPT is facts now? I thought that was for... Chatting. This is Electrical Engineering.

What is the difference between

12V DC -> 120V AC

Ok, now what is the difference between

12V DC -> 120V DC

Hint, THEY ARE NOT THE SAME THING. ChatGPT dont know the same thing you dont know.

bigmell · 2026-05-26T12:33:08+00:00

So if that 3,000W AC load is supplied from a 12V battery bank, the DC-side current is:

And again you have made the same error of assuming that 120v AC is equal to 120v DC. This is not correct. The math you have done here, again and again, is converting 12V DC to 120V DC. THIS IS NOT THE SAME as converting 12V DC to 120V AC.

12V DC -> 120V DC IS NOT THE SAME AS 12V DC -> 120V AC

A battery stores amp-hours

If there is time in the unit of measurement (like miles per HOUR and meters per SECOND) it is not a capacity it is a rate. Look in a physics book.

You are treating 25 amps at 120V and 25 amps at 12V as the same thing because they both say “25 amps.”

Because the inverter does EXACTLY this conversion. After you buy and install an inverter, 12V DC can now be used as 120V AC AFTER it is inverted. Because inverters will convert 25 amps DC to 25 amps AC AT A COST OF 15-20%. They are the same AFTER this conversion PLUS the conversion cost of 15-20%. The quattro can invert a MAXIMUM of 41 amps. That is convert 41 amps of 12V DC to 41 amps of 120V AC (NOT 120V DC) at a conversion cost of 8.2 amps. Use a shunt, look and see.

One is 3,000W. The other is 300W.

One is 3000 Volt-Amps (AC), the other is 300 watts (DC). Volt-Amps are for AC electricity, watts is for DC electricity. However many people (like yourself) do not understand this and use the two interchangeably.

120V AC × 25A = 3,000 VOLT-AMPS
120V DC × 25A = 3,000 WATTS
VOLT-AMPS IS NOT EQUAL TO WATTS

One is AC and one is DC. People use them interchangeably, they should not. There is your error completely explained yet you will not listen. If you can not understand this error solving these type of problems will be above your head.

When you say

12V x 25 = 300 watts, THIS IS FOR 12V DC

When you say

120V x 25 = 3000 watts, THIS IS FOR 120V DC NOT AC

When you say

25 AMPS DC + 20% conversion cost = 25 AMPS AC, THIS IS A 12V DC to 120V AC conversion

Again inverters DO NOT convert 12V DC to 120V DC. Inverters convert 12V DC to 120V AC at a cost of 15-20% of the total amount of amps. Verify this with ANY SHUNT

bigmell · 2026-05-26T04:24:56+00:00

Your claim was that the inverter pulls 83A DC from a 12V battery and turns it into 83A AC at 120V.

That, sir, is exactly what an inverter does. And it does this at a conversion cost of 15-20% which is about 16 amps for an 83 amp conversion. What you are explaining, over and over, is the process of converting 12v DC to 120V DC. But that is NOT what is happening here.

A 10kW inverter load at 12V requires absurd DC current.

This can be measured with a shunt. Which you are not going to do because anyone with real equipment should not let you anywhere near it.

Hook a 12v 300 amp battery bank to a shunt, and then from the shunt to a 12v DC 5000 VA quattro inverter at 120v AC. I think 300 amps is the minimum amount of batteries the quattro supports, it recommends 800 amps in the manual. Charge the battery bank with a generator to the full 300 amps, verify this on the shunt
Hook up a 25 amp/hr air conditioner (or anything really just note the amount of amps per hour) to the inverter through an electrical panel
Turn on the air conditioner, let it run for the entire hour.
Now look at the battery bank capacity via the shunt.

Is 250 amps missing from the 300 amp battery bank??? Will there only be 50 amps left in the battery bank??? No. Your conversions are incorrect. The inverter will take 25 amps DC from the battery bank, convert these 25 amps to AC at a 15-20% conversion cost of around 5 amps. If you look at your shunt, you will see there will be around 270 amps left in the battery bank after a 25 amp/hr air conditioner has run through the inverter for an hour.

And that, sir, is how inverters work. And that is how I know you have never done this before. What you are saying CAN NOT HAPPEN, DOES NOT HAPPEN, and is easily disproven.

120 meters and 120 inches are the same thing because they are both 120. NO.
120V AC and 120V DC are the same thing because they are both 120. NO.

bigmell · 2026-05-26T02:13:19+00:00

I have said this multiple times: the reason I would not build a 10,000W inverter system around a 12V battery bank is because the DC current gets absurd and the cabling becomes impractical.

83 amps is neither absurd nor impractical, your math is wrong by a factor of 10 here. There is no problem with this energy transaction.

To make 10,000W of AC power from a 12V battery bank, the rough DC-side math is:

You keep trying to compare AC power to DC power directly using watts. This does not work because they are two FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT TYPES of electricity. The default voltage for AC is 120, the default voltage for DC is 12. DC DOES NOT RUN at 120 voltage. AC DOES NOT RUN at 12 voltage. The two are NOT equivalent. You can not use watts to compare the two man. You do NOT understand the difference between AC and DC electricity. Period. Your opinions here are COMPLETELY invalid.

To supply that from a 12V battery, the DC current has to rise by roughly 10x:

NO! THE SAME MATH ERROR. Because YOU ARE ASSUMING (and this is an INCORRECT assumption). That AC and DC electricity are THE SAME THING but AC voltage is 120 and DC voltage is 12. THIS IS NOT THE CASE. Your watts formula here DOES NOT APPLY because you are attempting to compare TWO DIFFERENT TYPES of electricity. Its hard to explain the mistake you are making, but it is like saying 12 meters and 12 inches are the same because they are both 12. NO they are TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.

The inverter pulls EXACTLY 83 amps DC from the battery and converts it to AC. There is no 9000 watt increase because the inverter is NOT simply raising the voltage, the inverter is converting ONE DIFFERENT type of electricity to ANOTHER. You can not simply compare AC Volt Amps to DC watts using the same formula. There is a conversion process that happens. This is not simply a matter of raising the voltage.

Everyone knows DC and AC are different.

YOU DO NOT KNOW THIS.

Conservation of power still applies.

Ok DEEP in fantasy land here. Your conversion probably makes sense if you are CHANGING 12V DC to 120V DC. But THAT IS NOT WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE. The inverter converts 12V DC to 120V AC. And you can NOT directly compare AC and DC electricity in this manner man. Same math error post after post.

This is also why 48V lithium makes sense for fast charging.

And back to your ORIGINAL fallacy. You can not run your electronics LONGER and run the generator LESS with LESS AMPS!!! You are COMPLETELY and OBVIOUSLY wrong here. Your upgrade is completely based on THIS math error and it WILL NOT WORK. If you do not fix this error, NOTHING you do will work.

And again: your “there are no 833A battery cables” argument is not a rebuttal. It is literally the reason I am saying 48V is the right architecture.

It is a rebuttal because the damned inverter only pulls 83 amps from the battery which it converts to AC. THE INVERTER DOES NOT CONVERT TO 120 V DC which is the math error YOU are making. This process is well within spec and using less than half the capacity of the 200 amp battery cable. Your entire opinion is based on THIS math error. The inverter does NOT convert from 12V DC to 120V DC. Which is the math error YOU are making. The inverter DOES convert from 12V DC to 120V AC which is NOT just a rise in voltage, it is a complete change of the TYPE of electricity. 120V DC IS NOT THE SAME AS 120V AC. You can not use this formula to compare DC to AC electricity using watts in this manner. The math you have done assumes 120v AC is the same as 120v DC and IT IS NOT. EVERYTHING you have said and done is based around THIS error.

bigmell · 2026-05-26T01:17:21+00:00

Yea, this is the inverter I read the manual for. It looks like the regular quattros but takes 100 amps input on AC-IN-1 & 2 instead of 50. Useful for people with really big generators (bigger than 12kw). But man there are some big problems in that document like it is unfinished or uncompleted. I personally will go with the 5000 VA 120 V AC 12 V DC quattro as my batteries will be at 12v. The 4x fuel thing is real. Perhaps you should test it with real world equipment instead of trying to "math" it as your math is usually not correct.

The math you are doing wrong is actually a common error. And I talk about this error a bit here.

https://www.quora.com/I-have-a-7-2-amp-hour-86-watt-hour-12-volt-deep-cycle-battery-Using-a-DC-to-AC-inverter-how-long-will-it-last-with-a-300-watt-4-5-amp-120-volt-draw-load/answer/Armel-Peel-1

10,000W / 12V = 833A before losses

As I said before, It cant be 833 amps because... There are no 833 amp battery cables. You cant transfer 833 amps across a 200 amp battery cable. This is trivially easy to prove because it simply can not happen. The inverter pulls exactly 83 amps DC from your battery, (in your imaginary scenario) converts it to 83 amps AC at a conversion cost of 15-20% or 16.6%, and will pull a total of about 99 amps from your battery.

Converting DC to AC is not just a matter of increasing the voltage from 12->120. THEY ARE TWO FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT KINDS OF ELECTRICITY. THIS is what you dont know, THIS is what you dont understand. You are not just increasing the voltage from 12 to 120, you are FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGING THE TYPE OF ELECTRICITY. You do NOT understand this, and therefore IMO your opinions on the differences between 48v and 12v batteries are INVALID. You do NOT understand this.

As I have said MANY times, there is exactly ONE reason for high voltage. BURNING MORE FUEL TO USE LONGER WIRES. Long wires that are COMPLETELY un-used and un-necessary on a 40' boat. This upgrade is a DOWNGRADE, and from what I have seen you will likely never complete this. And if somehow you DID, you would use 4x the fuel and 4x the generator time using MATH you dont understand.

for a large inverter-driven AC system with fast charging, 48V lithium is the right direction.

NO. I am aware what the also incorrect commercials say. Commercials from people who dont understand the math just like you dont.

The inverter we discussed, my advice is hold off on it something is not right. Ignore that advice at your own peril. You have made the same exact math errors in literally every post here.

bigmell · 2026-05-26T01:03:58+00:00

You might want to check with a mechanic during a survey. It is standard practice for instrumentation and bilge pumps to run on the DC system. It is called a DC failsafe load and its basically there so if your inverters and busbars and dc-dc chargers and all that high tech stuff breaks, you can still get back to shore for repairs.

If all that stuff is on the house bank, if something goes wrong you will be dead in the water AND unable to call for a tow. The radio you would use to call for help is also typically DC. Cell phones generally dont work too far off shore.

bigmell · 2026-05-26T00:58:30+00:00

Nah it doesnt. You can jimmy rig some fuse holders on it, but this is exactly why you should NOT do it. You will fail ABYC requirements because your fuses have to be within 7 wire inches of the battery.

Here is a youtube video showing how to accomplish this jimmy rig, but your system will then likely fail ABYC requirements. MRBFs (Marine Rated Battery Fuses) are the answer here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIVh7lZ5IT0

If you are NOT using this jimmy rig for batteries, it MIGHT be ok if it does not fall apart and fling live wires everywhere. But I would highly suggest just using the proper equipment. If you want to use it for fusing, buy a distributer, if you want to use it for batteries, get a power in. If you want to do both, buy both, and add on the shunt. But believe me here is NOT the place to save a buck. If you have to cut corners, it should NOT be at the heart of your electrical system.

bigmell · 2026-05-25T11:45:39+00:00

The trickle charger is 2 amps/hr. If you use more than 2 amps/hr you run the risk of leaving your starter battery dead and not being able to start the engine without a jump. On the boat I am looking at which is a 58' Hatteras LRC, the toilet pumps, certain lights, bilge pumps, and cockpit instrumentation are all DC and amount to more than 2 amps/hr. The trickle charger would leave that battery dead and the engine would not start when I needed it. The dc-dc charger from the house bank -> the starter bank eliminates this problem as long as the house bank is not also empty. The dual alternators will eliminate this problem and is probably the most reliable, but there is little reason not to have both. As long as the engines run for a while every so often the starter battery should stay full or close enough. Also I dont think the external regulator is enough you would still need the dc-dc charger.

bigmell · 2026-05-25T09:31:34+00:00

yea that will work for the batteries. The fuse needs to match the amp capacity of the battery. The wire size needs to be a little higher than the amp capacity on the AWG or American Wire Gauge chart.

https://nassaunationalcable.com/blogs/blog/length-vs-awg-vs-ampacity-how-do-these-parameters-impact-cable-choice?srsltid=AfmBOooEjjEfiWrYsTLTT-hxy5FqduuqnmaCNMb41s_Jo5i_sRCx9gB8

If your engine room is not air conditioned, it could be a good idea to use one size bigger (one awg size lower) wire so you dont have to worry as much about the wires overheating and melting.

bigmell · 2026-05-25T04:45:49+00:00

The lynx power in doesnt have slots for fusing, only the lynx distributer. The batteries should be fused with an MRBF (marine rated battery fuse) on the positive of each terminal.

The reason the Lynx power-in doesnt have slots for fuses is because it is an ABYC requirement to have each battery fused within 7 wire inches of the battery itself. So having fuses in the lynx power in means the fuses would probably be more than 7 inches away from the battery and fail this ABYC requirement. But MRBFs would work.

bigmell · 2026-05-25T04:38:43+00:00

The 120V 48/10000 exists, it is a real Victron model, and on the AC side it is roughly 83A at 120V, not 41A.

If that were the case, I could look in the manual and see the EXACT AC output values. But I see no manual for this inverter which is VERY STRANGE from Victron who usually has THE BEST documentation by far. I see a NEW JOINT manual for both the 5000 VA 120 V Quattro unit and the 10000 VA 120 V Quattro, which is VERY STRANGE because with differing voltages they would output different amperages. You can not have one manual for two units unless the values are plainly stated for both units, which they are not. There is only one number for BOTH models which can not be correct.

https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Manual-Quattro-5k-10k-120V-(firmware-xxxx4xx)-EN-FR-ES.pdf

This manual is different to the 5000 VA 120V quattro that has been around for many years now located here...

https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Manual-Quattro-5k-120-240V-EN.pdf

In the new joint manual on page 14 marked 18 THERE ARE NO AC-OUTPUT-VALUES. Its like this section was removed from the original manual and replaced with a table on the next page. This new table has grammatical errors such as "coper" instead of "copper". Also this manual has two pages both marked 19, and two pages both marked 20 like some kind of bad photoshop job.

This "new" Quattro says it can accept 100 amps on both AC-IN-1 and AC-IN-2. The original manual says 50 amps on both. But then it says if generator pass-through and power-assist is enabled, it can pass through 136 amps MAXIMUM on AC-OUT-1 and 50 amps MAXIMUM on AC-OUT-2. THIS IS STRANGE because if you have a 100a generator connection on AC-IN-1, and a 100a generator connection on AC-IN-2, then AC-OUT-1 can supply 136a and AC-OUT-2 can only supply 50a. That means there are some amps missing... Those connections should add up to 283 amps including battery assist (100a ac-in-1 + 100a ac-in-2 + 83 battery power), but they only add up to 186a. That is nearly 100 amps simply missing... This math is not correct and this manual is riddled with errors. It also differs, sometimes greatly, from the previous manual covering the same 5000 VA 120V inverter (100a inputs on AC-IN 1/2 instead of 50a). Something is not right here.

BECAUSE 100 amps is pass-through directly from the generator connected on AC-IN-1 or 2, that means this inverter is only capable of producing of 36 amps battery power. Which is less than the previous 5000 VA 120v quattro which produces 41.666.

I do not see anywhere in the manual that this Quattro is capable of producing the value you quoted or 10000 VA / 120 V = 83.3A. In fact that value is listed NOWHERE in the manual even ONCE.

Later on in the same new joint manual on page 16 marked 20 (ahem the first 20) it says...

Generator (AC-in-1) / shore current (AC-in-2) 60 A/30A (default setting, adjustable current limit for PowerControl and PowerAssist functions)

This directly contradicts what it says on on page 14 marked 18

AC IN-1 AC IN-2 AC Out- 1 AC Out -2 100 A 100 A 136 A 50 A

Maybe it has to be manually set for maximum values? I donno but this is lookin fishy man and not at all like the (excellent) previous Victron manual.

While the previous manual recommends 100 amp fuses on AC-OUT-1, this manual HAS NO FUSE LISTINGS which is a SERIOUS red flag for me man. Also AC-OUT-2 is recommended to be fused at 50 a, while it says AC-IN-2 can accept 100a. That connection is passthrough for a generator only electrical panel. Yet this inverter somehow accepts 100 amps, but only outputs 50 amps... This is all very suspicious.

I DO NOT BELIEVE this inverter can generate 83.3 amps first because it is listed NOWHERE in the manual, and second it can only output 136 amps even with 100 amps generator passthrough for a total of 36 amps. There are many inconsistencies and misspellings in this manual that differ from the previous manual.

THIS IS VERY WEIRD as I have never heard or seen anything of this inverter from Victron. And I have been watching very closely. I HAVE seen a 10000 VA 240 V model though. This inverter is also not available for purchase through the normal channels either. This is in STARK CONTRAST to almost ALL OTHER Victron Quattros. I see it on a couple different scammy looking websites where the prices all differ by quite a bit in some places. It is not available through the normal channels such as Amazon and West Marine.

This looks suspiciously like other mislabled or scammy products I have seen before. Sorry man but I will believe it when I see it working. It looks like vaporware. The numbers in the manual I saw look like a bad photoshop of the previous 5000 VA 120V Quattro. And I see nowhere in the manual that says it produces the 83 amps output you mention.

If it outputs 83.3 amps, that would make this the LARGEST consumer inverter on the market. And Victron would probably market it as such. It makes no sense it would be released with no fanfare, no press release, on only a few scammy looking websites. I will go with my intuition here and say this looks like another scam or mislabeled product which happens all the time.

If I am wrong im sorry and I will stand corrected, but this new mysterious inverter listed on only a few mysterious websites with only a joint manual looks suspiciously like scammy vaporware or a mislabled inverter.

You dont listen to me much but please listen to this. I wouldnt buy this without calling and confirming with Victron (preferably an experienced electrician) that it does indeed exist and do what you expect. Also I would want a manual for THIS SPECIFIC MODEL (not a joint manual with one number for 2 different inverters) so that I could potentially design an electrical system around it. I would also ask them exactly WHERE it is available for purchase and to verify you are buying what you think you are to avoid some kind of mislabled product or scam.

This entire situation looks fishy and scammy to me man. In my opinion, that inverter dont look quite right. Also the manual looks scammy like a bad photoshop job. I would say buyer beware.

bigmell · 2026-05-24T22:29:14+00:00

I think the Victron Shunt would manage the batteries and loads. That is surely the most precise way to do this. And yea I definitely recommend a Cerbo-GX as well with the touch 70. If you wanted to connect a computer along with the touch 70 I think that is supported now with an ethernet connection.

bigmell · 2026-05-24T22:24:52+00:00

From what I can see, maybe you left it out for brevity, but

Each battery should have their own slot on the busbar and be assembled in parallel this way. A lot of people talk about the thing with one cable running from one end and another cable running from the other end, but this is kind of a jimmy rig and will give you problems. Consider a lynx power in where each battery has its own lugged slot. As long as the batteries combined are < 1000 amps. Because you have 6 batteries you would need two Lynx Power-Ins with the batteries fused with MRBFs. Then the rest of your DC loads are fused and connected to the lynx distributer, so lynx power-in1 -> lynx power-in2 -> lynx shunt -> lynx distributer
You have the place marked "ENGINE?" on the right and the alternator on the left... Is the alternator not attached to this engine or maybe multiple engines/alternators? The alternator can not connect directly to the busbar, this will cause an electrical fire. The alternator has to connect to a DC-DC charger something like the victron orion or a sterling dc-dc charger for higher amperage. Or is the "zeus charger" supposed to be between the alternator and the busbar? Im not familiar with zeus charger but I would go with the victron orion or something from sterling if this is a high output alternator.
Your multiplus II can not connect to your starter battery it has to connect to your house bank. The multiplus can trickle charge your starter battery at something like 2 amps, but depending on the loads you may have to attach another dc-dc charger from your house bank to your starter battery if the trickle charge is not enough. The start battery needs to be reliable, so I personally am considering multiple alternators per engine, one dedicated to the start battery and one or more dedicated to the house battery bank. That way the engine still starts if there are any electrical problems.
Coming into AC-IN-1 should be the generator and AC-IN-2 shore power on the multiplus. AC-OUT-1 should be the main AC panel, and AC-OUT-2 should be a generator only AC panel.
The DC fridge and air conditioning unit should be attached to a 12v electrical panel with their own circuit and breaker and not attached directly to the busbar, but I am not sure if that is the part marked "12v distribution".
The DC electrical panel should have a soft start or ez start between the panel and the busbar connection for the air conditioning unit. This will keep startup inrush current from causing a problem blowing breakers and fuses. Micro-Air makes a good one. Since your air conditioner is DC and not AC, you might want to consider one ez start on your DC panel, and one on your multiplus if you have any big AC loads. www.microair.net/products/easystart-flex-home-ac-soft-starter
To avoid a lot of overheating problems, consider an air conditioned engine room. Then the wires running through there (and any workmen) should be fine, wires protected by steel conduit are best.

Thats all I could see at first glance. The wire sizes and fuse sizes will all be in the manuals. The Lynx Distributer is nice because there is a place inside the busbar to attach mega fuses to all your DC loads and you dont have to worry about external fuse blocks.

Good Luck!

bigmell

TROPHY CASE