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Neutral Earth Bond in 230v Victron Phoenix 24/3000

I have purchased an older used Phoenix 24/3000 230v inverter. I've set it up for testing and it seems to work well. My meter shows 230v between the active and neutral and approx 114v between neutral and earth, and 116v between active and neutral.

The manual is very vague and makes no mention of whether or not the earth can be bonded with the neutral. Seeing 114v on my neutral suggests to me that inverter is of the split phase twin active variety, and if I were to earth the neutral I would essentially be placing a dead short on unit.

Does anyone know if earthing the neutral is safe/will work?


The serial number of the unit is 0850317012

Grounding
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tilo avatar image tilo commented ·

The current model has an internal connection between Neutral and Earth (inverter enclosure which is also the grounding point). You might try with a resistance making a connection between Neutral and Earth, for example with an incandescent light bulb. If you measure no current, and if the voltage difference between Neutral and Earth disappears, then I assume you can connect Neutral to Earth without provoking a short circuit.

As Victron is about 40 years old, it might help to know how old your model is. The serial number can give a hint about the age of the inverter. Can you post the serial number? Some "veterans" then could help further, if in the past existed models that had no internal Neutral to Earth connection.

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jacob89 avatar image jacob89 tilo commented ·

I don't think its super old, but its not the latest model, thats for sure. The serial number is 0850317012.

Thanks, I will try the light bulb today

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tilo avatar image tilo jacob89 commented ·

Manufactured in 2008.

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jacob89 avatar image jacob89 tilo commented ·

So I tried the bulb trick and it worked, with the results I wanted. I can safely earth the neutral on this inverter.

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1 Answer
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jacob89 answered ·

So I've found an answer to my own question. I put a light bulb between neutral and earth, and it did not light at all. Measuring between active and earth with the bulb in place I now had 230v between active and earth.

So I felt safe to try a link between neutral and earth, and it gave me the results I wanted.

It is safe to bond neutral and earth with this inverter.

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