Friday the 17th Feb I heard a loud noise (like a machine gun going off) and my inverter stopped inverting (Victron Multiplus II GX 48/3000) - passthrough was till working, it was just not inverting from batteries/solar anymore

Unit was installed and worked perfectly for 2.5 years.

Just got the "report" from my installer - apparently the unit had too much dust and overheated (also some MOSFETs are damaged)- I mean how can it get too much dust - it was installed inside the house and is only 2.5 yrs old. Apparently Victron warranty does not cover dust - but how can this be prevented in the 1st place ? What is gonna stop this from happening again in 2.5 years ?

Now apparently this cannot be fixed as the board is no longer available - and this for a unit that was manufactured in 2019 ?

Does this sound plausible ? Or is someone trying to scam me into getting a new unit ?
Overall I am very disappointed in the support I received.
And to add to that it seems that insurance may also be reluctant to payout as this is not loadshedding/lightning related

 

Good points - and isnt the unit supposed to switch off when it gets too hot ?

I didnt receive any alarms - I was looking at the console about that time (LS ended about 30 minutes earlier) and saw that it was pulling from grid and not solar - I was still investigating when I heard the noise. Thereafter I switched it off and contacted the installer.

From what I can see its not Victron directly (but not the installer either). I'll see what I can do to get a 2nd report.
But for info: attached is the report I got:

InverterReport-BT Konsult-dust(1).docx

17 minutes ago, starmage said:

Good points - and isnt the unit supposed to switch off when it gets too hot ?

I didnt receive any alarms - I was looking at the console about that time (LS ended about 30 minutes earlier) and saw that it was pulling from grid and not solar - I was still investigating when I heard the noise. Thereafter I switched it off and contacted the installer.

From what I can see its not Victron directly (but not the installer either). I'll see what I can do to get a 2nd report.
But for info: attached is the report I got:

InverterReport-BT Konsult-dust(1).docx 1.36 MB · 0 downloads

I had a look at the pictures of the inverter no bulging of electrolytic capacitors normally a sign of long term heat exposure but heavy dust can frustrate heat dissipation and cause failures. Potentially, heavy dust in high humidity environments could cause trouble. But what you describe makes me believe the failure was unrelated to dust and more likely related to component failure.

Edited February 27, 20233 yr by TaliaB

A 10+ year old CRT-based TV might look like this.  CRTs use extra high voltages of 25KV+ and the resulting electrostatic fields act like a big dust magnet.  Inverters don't have high enough voltages to be considered electro-static.  My guess is that your installer might have placed the unit on the floor and then started to drill many masonry mounting holes right above it.

The unit needs a proper high-pressure blow-out.

Inverters normally use many MOSFETS in parallel to share the load currents.  If one pops, it will put more strain on the others and then they can pop in a chain reaction.  So yes, a short burst of machine-gun fire.  LOL.  Hopefully you find someone that can repair the unit.  Spectacular blow-ups always have the potential to burn PCB tracks and depending on the extend of this, reliable repair is not always possible. 

A decently designed product should have gone through extensive product testing and should have multiple thermal protection.  Both firmware monitoring and controlled shutdown as well as electro-mechanical thermal cutouts or thermal fuses should be implemented. 

CTek battery chargers are normally highly rated automotive accessories, but I remember a youtuber who bitterly complained on the build-standard of one particular CTek charger.  Sadly, much equipment with high prices ride on some historic good name and there is no guarantee that workmanship and good design will forever prevail.  The opposite is also true.  Sometimes I come across cheap Chinese equipment which is astoundingly well made.  As engineer, I normally open a newly acquired product BEFORE I even plug it in for the first time....  to see what crap I spend my money on this time, or how lucky I got.  LOL.

Inverters are often installed in garages and other less-than perfectly clean environments.  So we should always consider the possible attack by creepy-crawlies or worse, rodents.  Even an army of tiny ants can cause problems.  Might be a good idea to place a few moth-balls in close proximity and do a visual inspection every 3  months.

7 hours ago, starmage said:

Now apparently this cannot be fixed as the board is no longer available - and this for a unit that was manufactured in 2019 ?

So much for the big blue premier larger than life  product support chain. A technical team, but they cant source a pcb for you, never mind repair one.  2019, discontinued! Sorry, buy a new one, pffft! 

There is another SA forum with some Victron gurus on board, if you cant find them, pm me. 

 

Edited February 27, 20233 yr by BritishRacingGreen

Unfortunately Victron South Africa is is a toothless marketing organisation and they rely on their authorised distribution chain to provide necessary technical support. Some of these are better than others as attested to by a recent experience of mine.

I have a 2 year old 15 kVA Victroninverter,in stopped to work,10 day after re.oval to fix,I was notified that rodents caused rhe failure and no guarantee ,how is this possible,the unit is suppose to be sealed,so I must buy a new one?a rodent is bigger than flies,ne xt time dust?