This would also be useful if you have an EV with 120v V2L capability. You could hook it up to charge the home battery or via generator inlet to power both legs of the home electrical panel.
I'm not liking Victron's lack of an excitation power number for these auto-transformers. All transformers have an excitation current that results in power loss. I recently thought I'd try using cheap 240V only inverters and a 240 to 120/120 transformer to provide split phase service. It works great! I can have all 10kW of inverter output at 240V show up as 83Amps on one 120V leg if needed. The problem I quickly found out, was with even NO load the transformer's excitation required 201 watts! For those following along that's 4.8kwhr a day lost to just transformer excitation. So here Victron is offering a transformer that offers lots of possibilities but fails to mention a large down-side or put a number on it. Johnny, could you please tell us what your Victron AT draws from a source with no load on its output? That will be its "excitation energy cost". Hopefully it's really low...
Ahh interestingc, yea I wouldn’t assume it would waist that much as I only use it to fast charge items from a 120v source. But I can play around with it and see how much waist there is at idle and loaded
@@johnnysweekends That would be great to see. I thought I'd re-wire mine into an auto-transformer to see if that reduced the excitation, but realized I could test that by simply tripping the my transformer's output breakers, thereby leaving just the input being supplied. It made no difference at all in the excitation waste, as the transformer windings still had the same 240V across them. Btw 200W in an insulated shed seriously adds up to the warmest place around. 🙂
Interesting options, I can see this being very useful for EV charging in scenarios where you don’t want to add a 240V circuit into your garage. Thanks for sharing.
This won't help at all in EV charging. If the 120V plug can only delivery 1800W, this device still will only output 1800W, which will be half the amps at 240V. You can directly charge an EV (at least my Tesla) at 120V@24A=2880W from a source like a TT-30 outlet.
@@janbottorff4642 I think you are incorrect. The Victron combines the two legs AC (alternating current) of 120v @ a max of 1800W per leg (combined total of 3600W) with a total combined amperage of 30A. This is a significant upgrade for EV charging over even a 120V @ 20A wall plug.
That is very cool i could use some like this my home back up right now is two 3500 in parallel for up to 50 amp at 120v i just turned off my 240v loads right now nice video. Thanks for the information.
I did a video on powering my house and 3.5ton ac unit on batteries and my two 2500 inverter generators recently using this unit. It worked great, only issue I ran into is when you push it, you start to run into an issue where its not perfectly balanced on L1 and L2 on the output and so you are limited to the lower voltage Leg for low voltage cutoff. I was running a long 30amp cord between the gens and the autotransformer and it was just too much, got a few more amps out of it with a shorter cord though. if it was balanced perfectly I could have gotten a couple more amps still before the voltage on one leg went below the cutoff of my inverters. These are indispensable for balancing 240 however, definitely a must even if you have a 240v genny powering your house panel as it can shift unbalanced loads to keep from overloading one leg. Really allows you to get more usability out of both a 240 genset and a 120v only, just for different reasons.
Possibly useful for some, but its $500 and sort of an awkward piece of additional equipment. The new serial capable smaller generarors seem like a better answer for most.
True the new genmax models allows two units in series or parallel. Which a couple other brands have now just adopted. But it’s two generators burning more fuel and maintenance. But again options are always good!
Hey Johnny I’ve got a Ford lightning and I’m trying to look for a very specific used case for a generator. Even if you can point me to one of your specific videos I would appreciate that. I’m also running experiments on my channel. Now Ally, I have the world’s biggest battery powered generator basically and I usually don’t have any anxiety. But I do want to have a back up plan and I’m looking for a generator that would be able to 240 V power my Ford lightning as a range extender. Let me know if there’s anything you can recommend for that.
Interesting idea. If you look at the fuel consumption of a typical, big 240v generator, and you don't have either natural gas or a giant propane tank on-site, you are not running it all that long before you are out of fuel. A couple of barbecue propane tanks or Jerry cans of gas can get you through a day or two, but not a week. For somebody who needs just a bit of 240v power for a well pump, etc. this could be a good idea, particularly if you pair it with a power station that can let you power critical loads for a few hours without the generator running.
The major reason to use one of these is to load balance across the two legs of a 240V generator or inverter. This can save a lot of headaches trying to manually balance loads.
While a generator may be capable of 240v, it's still only providing single phase, unless of course you're running a mounted diesel 3 phase genset, and even then they all don't provide split phase...
I started using the auto transformer to balance out the 240 source being generated by two Victron MultiPlus inverters and it worked awesome. Since then I just use it now to create the L2 and generate 240 from a single Victron multi + a little Honda generator. There is a lot of flexibility with this unit
I have 2 Delta Pro's with 2 extra batteries on each. I use the Victron Autotransformer 32 amp to take 240 volts from the Double Voltage Hub without neutral into the autotransformer so that the 2 Delta Pro's share load equally. The output side creates the neutral and the loads can be unbalanced, but the Delta Pro's don't see it.
Seems like anytime you convert something, such as with a 12v to 110 inverter there is always current/wattage lost due to nothing being 100 percent efficient. I am suspicious that since the inverter generator is already converting 12v to 110, it might be fairly inefficient to convert it again with the Victron to 220. What's the actual tested loss with this setup? Are you burning substantially more gas since you have to run the generator near full tilt to make up for the extra conversion? I'm not an electrician or current RV/ Tesla owner, so your research is really appreciated.
So I had my autotransformer wired how the instructions say to and it was the -5%..... Seen how you had yours wired and changed my "120v in" from L2 to L1 how you have yours wired.... Sure enough +5% voltage.... But I looked everywhere and I couldn't find any instructions that stated that..... Just wondering how you figured that out? And is the +5% the better way to go? I have no idea myself..... Why would you ever want - 5% ??
Hi, I ordered the autotransformer to split phase from my 110v honda generator for a worst case scenario recharge my solar system batteries at a low rate. Do you have a closeup picture or diagram thay is better than the one supplied by victron for this specific situation. Thank you in advance.
I might add this to my Victron power system in my RV, thinking maybe going with a 240v Mini Split or wait to see what 48v AC units come out in the next year.
Can it balance a 240v load? I see asymmetric loads when I connect my generator to the house. Might see 45 amps on leg 1 and 38 amps on leg 2. If I feed the 100 Amp autotransformer with 240v from the generator and feed the house from the autotransformer, will the generator see a symmetric load?
Ahhh good question! I need to try that. I do know that 240v in will balance the 240v load out so I would assume the generator should see equal loads on both sides …🤔 especially since the auto transfer former is before the generator.
just breaking ground on building our first home. Looking to find a recommended medium-sized (3,000-7,000kw) dual or tri fuel generator that is quiet and portable enough to take camping/tailgating, but that could also hook up to a transfer switch at the house using 240v to power essential items only (fridge, a few outlets and lights). Is this the setup you would recommend?
Can you connect two 120v generators to this? This would make it useful for those that already have a 120v generator and want to get the most out of their EG4 Chargeverter by buying a 2nd 120v generator
@@johnnysweekends ah yeah, of course! This actually might be a cheaper route as Genmax asks a premium for their serial capable generators and lightly used 120v generators can be had for a bargain.
Love it. I just bought the same auto transformer. Using mine to transform 220 generator to 120v solar inverter grin tied input. Will you please test the sign wave from 220v to 120? Thanks. Got a sub here. Good job.
I'm not sure I understand correctly. I have a Delta 2, with the Victron, could I plug a 120v wire into the "Victron Energy Autotransformer 120/240V" and it would output 240v? Could this run my 240v 1/2hp well pump?
Possibly. It depends on the starting amperage draw of your well pump. Keep in mind that your Delta can only output 15 amps at 120 volts. When this 120 volts is fed to Autotransformer to get 240 volts, you will only be able to output 7.5 amps at 240 volts from the Delta 2 which may or may not be enough to power your 1/2 HP well pump.
Kevin did it explain it but also some well pumps are 230v not split phase. Which this can do 240v only as well depending how you wire. You need to see what the amps and volts are of the pump you have. Also depth can make a difference. If it’s really deep it need more power to kick on.
Watched the video, read through the comments. I still have a question (anyone can answer). I have two Jackery E2000 Plus solar generators. Jackery makes a connector which can be connected between the two E2000 Plus generators with a 240v 50A receptacle in the middle. I can power my water well from this crossover connectors 240v receptacle, BUT the two E2000 Plus generators disable the 240V connection when I also try to charge them using their 120v AC charge cables. This limitation effectively prevents me from charging up the E2000s using a gas generator without first disconnecting the water well and the 240v connector. I found this video while searching for a way to "create" a 240v outlet without using the Jackery 240V connector, but instead, drawing 120v from the 120V 30A RV outlet on the face of the E2000. By drawing it this way, I could trick the E2000s into charging 120VAC while outputting 120V 30A from this RV outlet on each of the units. The problem is setting the two 120v feeds to 180 degree split phase signal to produce a usable 240V. So, with all the exposition out of the way, could the Victron Autotransformer do this for me? No neutral required if I borrow (or combine?) the neutral coming out of the E2000s. I could send one "leg" (out of one E2000) through the Victron and the other leg through the Victron coil - thus "balancing" them 180 degrees and producing 240v? If Yes, then I could charge up the E2000s off of a Champion 11000w gas generator through their 120vac charge plugs, combine their respective 120V outputs in the Victron to create 240V for my water well. (NOTE: I have the 5kw EG4 CHARGEVERTER to make pure sine wave out of the Champion, as the E2000s require clean power to AC charge. I charge off of solar panels when the sun is good, but have auto generator start when grid down/stop when grid up with threasholds. The "grid" here is the battery capacity of the E2000s, and NOT utility Power. So I have to find a way to charge the E2000s from the Champion while supplying 240v to the water well). Maybe I am attacking this from the wrong direction, and should just buy a 11000W 240v inverter generator, but... Money =(
Read the data sheet. You should let the viewers know that there is a 100 amp model for only a little more money. The 32a model only allows 32a in, so I'm assuming just 16a at 240v assuming no power conversion losses.
I did let people know as I did state it in the video. There is a 32 amp and a 100 amp. But again you need to know how you are wiring this and what you are using it for. In the video is a 100 amp model but it’s still limited to 32 amps due to the neutral wire. You can’t just run a 100 amps unless you wire it that way. Again people need to know what they are doing to not over load these. If you read the instructions you can see how to do 100 amp.
At first, I thought this unit was sort of a "mini me" backwards version of the big transformer hanging on the utility pole. Where as one wire supplying 5-15KV goes into it, and lowers down to splt phase 120/240 to your house. So, you turn it around, re-wire it as a step UP from single phase 120v in and the secondary is a center tapped output giving the same as the big pole transformer is outputting to your house! But, this Victron unit plays a little game where somehow it taps into the single 120v from a power supply and "splits" it, sending a direct line to L1 and the other goes through some auto transformer providing a 180º out of phase 120v to L2 whereas the combined output (L1+L2) ends up looking like regular 240v? Hmm. Is this right? Another thing, generators that are born with a 240v socket will use use more fuel because they ARE bigger, beefier than a little portable unit. Because when 240v enters the chat, it is expected to power some really nasty loads! These loads need tons of power, especially surge power that the little guys can't think of providing. Unless you got a whole lot of gear from the UK that needs 240vac, I don't think this upconverter really makes sense.
To help someone, answer me if I do this with a 3kw 120v output Victron inverter and then I put an autotransformer to achieve the divided phase, would it be okay? According to the manual this can be done but it causes me doubt and I don't see information, does anyone know how? Would the system behave in that case?
Imagine the inverter as a gas generator…the transformer doesn’t know or care what the power is. It only takes what is being imputed and adds a second line out at 120v and 60hrz…
The neutral wire when used is only able to handle the 30amp But if you read the instructions it shows how to use 240v load carrying with no neutral I’m not using it for that and never will with the 30 amp setup for me is perfect since I also would only use this smaller gens of 35 amps and less.
Your only going to get about a max of 3,800 watts total out of that auto transformer when converting from 120V to 240V, Just need to keep that in mind.
@@johnnysweekends If I have two small generators that can be parallel with a output of 120VAC 50amp plug, I should be able to get 6000 watts out of this device right? That would only put 25 amps at most on the neutral in a unbalance load?
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You have to look at the wiring schematics. The neutral wire can only handle 30 amps. But 240 load pass through is different. Wiring is available online
It can be used for 240VAC balancing at higher amps but it can't be used as a step up transformer in the 100 amp model since they both use the same transformer and limits to 32amp on the neutral.
Overuse of the word "utilize"! Try the word "use" once in a while. "Use" means to employ something for its intended purpose. "Utilize" usually means to employ something for a new, creative, or strategic purpose, or to make use of something in a practical way.
Utilize means to get a result effectively; use doesn't carry the “effective” connotation. Utilize means to give a use to something that was previously useless (this may share the improvisation idea with #1). Utilize is neutral, while use has a negative connotation (as in “I feel used”)
@kevinlauzon7665 Kevin I utilized the Victron auto transformer to charge my DPU using the 240 input plug. After using it for several hours I found it to be useful for my application. Which I was happy about, as I didn’t want to test it and find it to be a useless item. 👍🏼
@AlternativePower903 you utilize a funnel to fill your lawnmower and your lawnmower uses fuel to run. The word used is for when something is being consumed or depleted. At the end of the day, I don’t really give a fuck what you do with which word but to argue about these two words on this guy’s RUclips video is absolutely ridiculous.
I don't think this is really necessary. Any generator that only puts out 120v isn't capable of driving the wattage needed for 240v appliances. These 120v generators are 4000w max, 3600w running. A much cheaper solution would be to build a phase split cable to power both sides of your panel, and keep the 240v breakers off. If you really need to run AC/or electric heater appliances, you'll need a 6kw generator that will already have a 240v output.
This isn’t for running large appliances. That’s like people trying to run a dryer with a delta pro 3. It barely will do it and be dead in less than a hour. But the DP3 can do a lot of other things. This does a lot if it fits what you need to do.
@@tylerwatt12 you could run 240v natural gas furnace that runs the computer, blower fan, and inducer motor. This could allow you to keep your home warm in the winter. It could also power a small home A/C. Lots of options. Obviously you would want to run a high energy 240v dryer.
This is a common problem with tryng to power your household with backup power. The engineers that designed the appliances in your home assumed infinite power would always be available. In my case, I have limited myself to a reliable 4 kW inverter to power the house. To get around the huge power draw a central HVAC system uses, I went to 2 high efficiency mini-splits. With the electric water heater, I connected the top and bottom heating elements in series and control them from the bottom thermostat, reducing the draw to 2 kW. For cooking, I use an induction hot plate, which consumes 1/3rd to 1/6th the power of a glass top stove burner at 512 watts. Obviously I still need to budget the power availability but, the changes put in place make living on backup power long term, much more convenient.
@AlternativePower903 Great idea! Heating water with heating elements is one of the biggest power consumers in the average house. I installed a 28 gallon unit for my whole house and only turn it on for about 20 minutes before a bath. Dishes are manually washed by placing a 2 gallon plastic pan in the kitchen sink. I heat the water with one of those 300 watt coffee cup heater coils. So much heat is lost in the average house transporting the hot water from the water heater to the use point. I know the ideas I am sharing seem cheap, over the top, and unnecessary. I am just concerned the direction the country is going and being proactive, developing some ideas to fall back upon, if hard times become the norm.
@billharris6886 I like the Idea as well. As I continue to load shed more and more adding the 120v water heaters definitely helps get me away from my 120v gas heater. Which like you said is far away from my kitchen sink and takes a while for hot water to reach. Which waists water and energy to reheat that.
I did this 3 year ago, except went the cheap route and bought a 5 kW, 120 to 240/240 to 120 volt auto transformer off of eBay for $75. That Victron shown in the video is a poor design mechanically, the power transformer, being by far the heaviest component in the box, should always be mounted in the bottom of the box so the box won't be top--heavy.
I’ll agree top heavy for sure. Not sure if it’s a poor design, but some more thought could have made it better. Typically most victron units through are built pretty tough and should last a very long time. Not sure how the eBay $75 is doing but dont think much customer service or warranty will come with that. But at $75 you can buy several over this, as long as they dont burn up.
I have had this unit for almost 2 years. Who cares where the weight is? This AT is a very high quality, thick steel housing and can be hung on the wall very securely. How does the weight being in the top of the unit affect the unit's performance?
@@thechamp66 No impact upon electrical performance. My criticism was purely from a mechanical perspective; it affects ease of handling and installation difficulty. It may not be a problem for you but, after designing similar products, I have a feel for potential problem areas.
@@johnnysweekends I agree with you assessment and the step-up transformer is a good idea, as a lot of the larger inverter generators are 3,500 to 4,500 watts at 120 volts only. I only use the cheap Chinese set-up transformer occasionally and my use of it is electrically derated for safety margin.
Been doing this for about 25 years. Victron however does make good stuff.
I didn't know about this cool option. Thanks for sharing !!!
This would also be useful if you have an EV with 120v V2L capability. You could hook it up to charge the home battery or via generator inlet to power both legs of the home electrical panel.
Well worth $500 VS 240V genny in cases where it's only needed intermittently. GREAT info.
This was an excellent video - been looking for a device like this. Thanks for posting!
I'm not liking Victron's lack of an excitation power number for these auto-transformers. All transformers have an excitation current that results in power loss. I recently thought I'd try using cheap 240V only inverters and a 240 to 120/120 transformer to provide split phase service. It works great! I can have all 10kW of inverter output at 240V show up as 83Amps on one 120V leg if needed. The problem I quickly found out, was with even NO load the transformer's excitation required 201 watts! For those following along that's 4.8kwhr a day lost to just transformer excitation. So here Victron is offering a transformer that offers lots of possibilities but fails to mention a large down-side or put a number on it.
Johnny, could you please tell us what your Victron AT draws from a source with no load on its output? That will be its "excitation energy cost". Hopefully it's really low...
Ahh interestingc, yea I wouldn’t assume it would waist that much as I only use it to fast charge items from a 120v source.
But I can play around with it and see how much waist there is at idle and loaded
@@johnnysweekends That would be great to see. I thought I'd re-wire mine into an auto-transformer to see if that reduced the excitation, but realized I could test that by simply tripping the my transformer's output breakers, thereby leaving just the input being supplied. It made no difference at all in the excitation waste, as the transformer windings still had the same 240V across them. Btw 200W in an insulated shed seriously adds up to the warmest place around. 🙂
Interesting options, I can see this being very useful for EV charging in scenarios where you don’t want to add a 240V circuit into your garage. Thanks for sharing.
This won't help at all in EV charging. If the 120V plug can only delivery 1800W, this device still will only output 1800W, which will be half the amps at 240V. You can directly charge an EV (at least my Tesla) at 120V@24A=2880W from a source like a TT-30 outlet.
@@janbottorff4642 I think you are incorrect. The Victron combines the two legs AC (alternating current) of 120v @ a max of 1800W per leg (combined total of 3600W) with a total combined amperage of 30A. This is a significant upgrade for EV charging over even a 120V @ 20A wall plug.
@@heart4Pahoa they said it cant make more energy that comes in remember
Great review, Johnny! Victron is a really great product, and you did an awesome job with this explanation.
That is very cool i could use some like this my home back up right now is two 3500 in parallel for up to 50 amp at 120v i just turned off my 240v loads right now nice video. Thanks for the information.
I did a video on powering my house and 3.5ton ac unit on batteries and my two 2500 inverter generators recently using this unit. It worked great, only issue I ran into is when you push it, you start to run into an issue where its not perfectly balanced on L1 and L2 on the output and so you are limited to the lower voltage Leg for low voltage cutoff. I was running a long 30amp cord between the gens and the autotransformer and it was just too much, got a few more amps out of it with a shorter cord though. if it was balanced perfectly I could have gotten a couple more amps still before the voltage on one leg went below the cutoff of my inverters. These are indispensable for balancing 240 however, definitely a must even if you have a 240v genny powering your house panel as it can shift unbalanced loads to keep from overloading one leg. Really allows you to get more usability out of both a 240 genset and a 120v only, just for different reasons.
Possibly useful for some, but its $500 and sort of an awkward piece of additional equipment. The new serial capable smaller generarors seem like a better answer for most.
True the new genmax models allows two units in series or parallel. Which a couple other brands have now just adopted. But it’s two generators burning more fuel and maintenance. But again options are always good!
Hey Johnny I’ve got a Ford lightning and I’m trying to look for a very specific used case for a generator. Even if you can point me to one of your specific videos I would appreciate that. I’m also running experiments on my channel. Now Ally, I have the world’s biggest battery powered generator basically and I usually don’t have any anxiety. But I do want to have a back up plan and I’m looking for a generator that would be able to 240 V power my Ford lightning as a range extender. Let me know if there’s anything you can recommend for that.
Range extender as in while driving or taking when with you to charge while stopped ?
Interesting idea. If you look at the fuel consumption of a typical, big 240v generator, and you don't have either natural gas or a giant propane tank on-site, you are not running it all that long before you are out of fuel. A couple of barbecue propane tanks or Jerry cans of gas can get you through a day or two, but not a week. For somebody who needs just a bit of 240v power for a well pump, etc. this could be a good idea, particularly if you pair it with a power station that can let you power critical loads for a few hours without the generator running.
Exactly!
The major reason to use one of these is to load balance across the two legs of a 240V generator or inverter. This can save a lot of headaches trying to manually balance loads.
While a generator may be capable of 240v, it's still only providing single phase, unless of course you're running a mounted diesel 3 phase genset, and even then they all don't provide split phase...
I started using the auto transformer to balance out the 240 source being generated by two Victron MultiPlus inverters and it worked awesome. Since then I just use it now to create the L2 and generate 240 from a single Victron multi + a little Honda generator. There is a lot of flexibility with this unit
I have 2 Delta Pro's with 2 extra batteries on each. I use the Victron Autotransformer 32 amp to take 240 volts from the Double Voltage Hub without neutral into the autotransformer so that the 2 Delta Pro's share load equally. The output side creates the neutral and the loads can be unbalanced, but the Delta Pro's don't see it.
Nice!! Load balancing !
Seems like anytime you convert something, such as with a 12v to 110 inverter there is always current/wattage lost due to nothing being 100 percent efficient. I am suspicious that since the inverter generator is already converting 12v to 110, it might be fairly inefficient to convert it again with the Victron to 220. What's the actual tested loss with this setup? Are you burning substantially more gas since you have to run the generator near full tilt to make up for the extra conversion? I'm not an electrician or current RV/ Tesla owner, so your research is really appreciated.
This could be super helpful for my delta pro. Thanks for the video
Definitely!! 👍🏼
Excellent solution for the 5 people in the world that needs it.
Tons already using these. They are not new, and serve a purpose for the right reasons. It’s like a tool.
I needed one and bought one and it's awesome
So I had my autotransformer wired how the instructions say to and it was the -5%.....
Seen how you had yours wired and changed my "120v in" from L2 to L1 how you have yours wired.... Sure enough +5% voltage....
But I looked everywhere and I couldn't find any instructions that stated that..... Just wondering how you figured that out?
And is the +5% the better way to go? I have no idea myself..... Why would you ever want - 5% ??
I read several instructions and from website.
Plus when its -5% the voltage drop is to low around medium draws or more on one leg
really cool product!
Hi, I ordered the autotransformer to split phase from my 110v honda generator for a worst case scenario recharge my solar system batteries at a low rate. Do you have a closeup picture or diagram thay is better than the one supplied by victron for this specific situation. Thank you in advance.
Really cool product. Never knew that a product like that was available. Again, a very useful video. Thank you.
👊🏼😀
I might add this to my Victron power system in my RV, thinking maybe going with a 240v Mini Split or wait to see what 48v AC units come out in the next year.
You could definitely use it in a Rv for a few things. And yes wait for a bit on the ac systems!
Can it balance a 240v load? I see asymmetric loads when I connect my generator to the house. Might see 45 amps on leg 1 and 38 amps on leg 2. If I feed the 100 Amp autotransformer with 240v from the generator and feed the house from the autotransformer, will the generator see a symmetric load?
Ahhh good question! I need to try that.
I do know that 240v in will balance the 240v load out so I would assume the generator should see equal loads on both sides …🤔 especially since the auto transfer former is before the generator.
just breaking ground on building our first home. Looking to find a recommended medium-sized (3,000-7,000kw) dual or tri fuel generator that is quiet and portable enough to take camping/tailgating, but that could also hook up to a transfer switch at the house using 240v to power essential items only (fridge, a few outlets and lights). Is this the setup you would recommend?
I'd use a 120v transfer switch (and smaller 120v generator) to power those few loads instead of trying to supply the entire house w/ 240v
Can you connect two 120v generators to this? This would make it useful for those that already have a 120v generator and want to get the most out of their EG4 Chargeverter by buying a 2nd 120v generator
You could parallel the two gens to increase amps so yes. It’s just normal paralleling and double amps.
@@johnnysweekends ah yeah, of course! This actually might be a cheaper route as Genmax asks a premium for their serial capable generators and lightly used 120v generators can be had for a bargain.
@shaunnightfire8269 for sure, 120v are everywhere lightly used for cheap.
The generators would have to have a parallel kit. You can't hook up any two generators because the phases wouldn't line up.
Of course either a kit or the wires provided for the machines you have. Some are just wires only. There is no communication in a parallel kit.
Love it. I just bought the same auto transformer. Using mine to transform 220 generator to 120v solar inverter grin tied input.
Will you please test the sign wave from 220v to 120?
Thanks. Got a sub here. Good job.
Also, what’s your O-scope? Or where did you get it?
Sine wave will remain. It shouldn’t change from the source it’s powered from.
I'm not sure I understand correctly.
I have a Delta 2, with the Victron, could I plug a 120v wire into the "Victron Energy Autotransformer 120/240V" and it would output 240v?
Could this run my 240v 1/2hp well pump?
Possibly. It depends on the starting amperage draw of your well pump. Keep in mind that your Delta can only output 15 amps at 120 volts. When this 120 volts is fed to Autotransformer to get 240 volts, you will only be able to output 7.5 amps at 240 volts from the Delta 2 which may or may not be enough to power your 1/2 HP well pump.
Kevin did it explain it but also some well pumps are 230v not split phase. Which this can do 240v only as well depending how you wire.
You need to see what the amps and volts are of the pump you have. Also depth can make a difference. If it’s really deep it need more power to kick on.
Well pump: run at 230v / 5.3amp. - pick 230v at 10.6 amp
Watched the video, read through the comments. I still have a question (anyone can answer). I have two Jackery E2000 Plus solar generators. Jackery makes a connector which can be connected between the two E2000 Plus generators with a 240v 50A receptacle in the middle. I can power my water well from this crossover connectors 240v receptacle, BUT the two E2000 Plus generators disable the 240V connection when I also try to charge them using their 120v AC charge cables. This limitation effectively prevents me from charging up the E2000s using a gas generator without first disconnecting the water well and the 240v connector.
I found this video while searching for a way to "create" a 240v outlet without using the Jackery 240V connector, but instead, drawing 120v from the 120V 30A RV outlet on the face of the E2000. By drawing it this way, I could trick the E2000s into charging 120VAC while outputting 120V 30A from this RV outlet on each of the units. The problem is setting the two 120v feeds to 180 degree split phase signal to produce a usable 240V.
So, with all the exposition out of the way, could the Victron Autotransformer do this for me? No neutral required if I borrow (or combine?) the neutral coming out of the E2000s. I could send one "leg" (out of one E2000) through the Victron and the other leg through the Victron coil - thus "balancing" them 180 degrees and producing 240v? If Yes, then I could charge up the E2000s off of a Champion 11000w gas generator through their 120vac charge plugs, combine their respective 120V outputs in the Victron to create 240V for my water well. (NOTE: I have the 5kw EG4 CHARGEVERTER to make pure sine wave out of the Champion, as the E2000s require clean power to AC charge. I charge off of solar panels when the sun is good, but have auto generator start when grid down/stop when grid up with threasholds. The "grid" here is the battery capacity of the E2000s, and NOT utility Power. So I have to find a way to charge the E2000s from the Champion while supplying 240v to the water well). Maybe I am attacking this from the wrong direction, and should just buy a 11000W 240v inverter generator, but... Money =(
Is there another cheaper way to convert a PowerStation 120v 30a TT-30 to a 220v L1-L2 to power your house?
There are other transformers but its the only way I know of
Question, does this have the effect of turning a non-inverter based generator to pure sine wave?
Not that I read. It cant change the type of power coming in as far as modified, square or pure sine
Read the data sheet. You should let the viewers know that there is a 100 amp model for only a little more money. The 32a model only allows 32a in, so I'm assuming just 16a at 240v assuming no power conversion losses.
I did let people know as I did state it in the video. There is a 32 amp and a 100 amp. But again you need to know how you are wiring this and what you are using it for.
In the video is a 100 amp model but it’s still limited to 32 amps due to the neutral wire. You can’t just run a 100 amps unless you wire it that way. Again people need to know what they are doing to not over load these.
If you read the instructions you can see how to do 100 amp.
Still find it odd that the AutoTransformer can't exactly match the incoming 120v - but it looks like it should be set for the 'higher' option
can you do 3-phase?
At first, I thought this unit was sort of a "mini me" backwards version of the big transformer hanging on the utility pole. Where as one wire supplying 5-15KV goes into it, and lowers down to splt phase 120/240 to your house. So, you turn it around, re-wire it as a step UP from single phase 120v in and the secondary is a center tapped output giving the same as the big pole transformer is outputting to your house! But, this Victron unit plays a little game where somehow it taps into the single 120v from a power supply and "splits" it, sending a direct line to L1 and the other goes through some auto transformer providing a 180º out of phase 120v to L2 whereas the combined output (L1+L2) ends up looking like regular 240v? Hmm. Is this right? Another thing, generators that are born with a 240v socket will use use more fuel because they ARE bigger, beefier than a little portable unit. Because when 240v enters the chat, it is expected to power some really nasty loads! These loads need tons of power, especially surge power that the little guys can't think of providing. Unless you got a whole lot of gear from the UK that needs 240vac, I don't think this upconverter really makes sense.
To help someone, answer me if I do this with a 3kw 120v output Victron inverter and then I put an autotransformer to achieve the divided phase, would it be okay? According to the manual this can be done but it causes me doubt and I don't see information, does anyone know how? Would the system behave in that case?
Imagine the inverter as a gas generator…the transformer doesn’t know or care what the power is. It only takes what is being imputed and adds a second line out at 120v and 60hrz…
does this transformer go up to 380 volts? i would really like to see if it could power my workshop.
No, it doesn’t show anything about stepping up 120 or 240 to 380.
Are there autotransformers for converting single phase (120V North America or 230V Europe) to 380-400V three-phase?
you need a rotary phase converter + transfomer or a variable frequency drive to upconvert to 3 phase
are you saying not to buy the 100a model because its restricted by the 30a cord?
The neutral wire when used is only able to handle the 30amp
But if you read the instructions it shows how to use 240v load carrying with no neutral
I’m not using it for that and never will with the 30 amp setup for me is perfect since I also would only use this smaller gens of 35 amps and less.
Your only going to get about a max of 3,800 watts total out of that auto transformer when converting from 120V to 240V, Just need to keep that in mind.
Hence again your limited to 30 amps
But it still allows for some very usable options
@@johnnysweekends If I have two small generators that can be parallel with a output of 120VAC 50amp plug, I should be able to get 6000 watts out of this device right? That would only put 25 amps at most on the neutral in a unbalance load?
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If the Autotransformer can only provide 30 amps, then why do they have a option of 100 Amp?
You have to look at the wiring schematics. The neutral wire can only handle 30 amps. But 240 load pass through is different. Wiring is available online
It can be used for 240VAC balancing at higher amps but it can't be used as a step up transformer in the 100 amp model since they both use the same transformer and limits to 32amp on the neutral.
Hey I've got one of those autotransformers brand new that I'm not using. I'd like to get rid of it if anyone is interested.
I bet what comes from mains power isn’t that clean…
Overuse of the word "utilize"! Try the word "use" once in a while.
"Use" means to employ something for its intended purpose.
"Utilize" usually means to employ something for a new, creative, or strategic purpose, or to make use of something in a practical way.
Sorry haven’t been to my speech therapist for a while
Utilize means to get a result effectively; use doesn't carry the “effective” connotation. Utilize means to give a use to something that was previously useless (this may share the improvisation idea with #1). Utilize is neutral, while use has a negative connotation (as in “I feel used”)
@kevinlauzon7665 Kevin I utilized the Victron auto transformer to charge my DPU using the 240 input plug.
After using it for several hours I found it to be useful for my application.
Which I was happy about, as I didn’t want to test it and find it to be a useless item. 👍🏼
@AlternativePower903 you utilize a funnel to fill your lawnmower and your lawnmower uses fuel to run. The word used is for when something is being consumed or depleted.
At the end of the day, I don’t really give a fuck what you do with which word but to argue about these two words on this guy’s RUclips video is absolutely ridiculous.
I don't think this is really necessary. Any generator that only puts out 120v isn't capable of driving the wattage needed for 240v appliances. These 120v generators are 4000w max, 3600w running. A much cheaper solution would be to build a phase split cable to power both sides of your panel, and keep the 240v breakers off. If you really need to run AC/or electric heater appliances, you'll need a 6kw generator that will already have a 240v output.
This isn’t for running large appliances. That’s like people trying to run a dryer with a delta pro 3. It barely will do it and be dead in less than a hour. But the DP3 can do a lot of other things.
This does a lot if it fits what you need to do.
@@tylerwatt12 you could run 240v natural gas furnace that runs the computer, blower fan, and inducer motor. This could allow you to keep your home warm in the winter. It could also power a small home A/C. Lots of options. Obviously you would want to run a high energy 240v dryer.
This is a common problem with tryng to power your household with backup power. The engineers that designed the appliances in your home assumed infinite power would always be available. In my case, I have limited myself to a reliable 4 kW inverter to power the house. To get around the huge power draw a central HVAC system uses, I went to 2 high efficiency mini-splits. With the electric water heater, I connected the top and bottom heating elements in series and control them from the bottom thermostat, reducing the draw to 2 kW. For cooking, I use an induction hot plate, which consumes 1/3rd to 1/6th the power of a glass top stove burner at 512 watts. Obviously I still need to budget the power availability but, the changes put in place make living on backup power long term, much more convenient.
@AlternativePower903 Great idea! Heating water with heating elements is one of the biggest power consumers in the average house. I installed a 28 gallon unit for my whole house and only turn it on for about 20 minutes before a bath. Dishes are manually washed by placing a 2 gallon plastic pan in the kitchen sink. I heat the water with one of those 300 watt coffee cup heater coils. So much heat is lost in the average house transporting the hot water from the water heater to the use point. I know the ideas I am sharing seem cheap, over the top, and unnecessary. I am just concerned the direction the country is going and being proactive, developing some ideas to fall back upon, if hard times become the norm.
@billharris6886 I like the Idea as well. As I continue to load shed more and more adding the 120v water heaters definitely helps get me away from my 120v gas heater. Which like you said is far away from my kitchen sink and takes a while for hot water to reach. Which waists water and energy to reheat that.
I did this 3 year ago, except went the cheap route and bought a 5 kW, 120 to 240/240 to 120 volt auto transformer off of eBay for $75. That Victron shown in the video is a poor design mechanically, the power transformer, being by far the heaviest component in the box, should always be mounted in the bottom of the box so the box won't be top--heavy.
I’ll agree top heavy for sure. Not sure if it’s a poor design, but some more thought could have made it better. Typically most victron units through are built pretty tough and should last a very long time. Not sure how the eBay $75 is doing but dont think much customer service or warranty will come with that. But at $75 you can buy several over this, as long as they dont burn up.
I have had this unit for almost 2 years.
Who cares where the weight is?
This AT is a very high quality, thick steel housing and can be hung on the wall very securely. How does the weight being in the top of the unit affect the unit's performance?
@@thechamp66 No impact upon electrical performance. My criticism was purely from a mechanical perspective; it affects ease of handling and installation difficulty. It may not be a problem for you but, after designing similar products, I have a feel for potential problem areas.
@@johnnysweekends I agree with you assessment and the step-up transformer is a good idea, as a lot of the larger inverter generators are 3,500 to 4,500 watts at 120 volts only.
I only use the cheap Chinese set-up transformer occasionally and my use of it is electrically derated for safety margin.
This can kill if set up wrong
"Utilize" is a word that drains credibility.
You have no clue what you are talking about. If you have nothing to say about the topic, GTFOH