Victron Multi-Plus from Bimble Solar - Correct Price?

[strummerjoe]

Hi all,, hope everyone is keeping safe in these strangest of times.

 

I should preface this with the admission that I know very little when it comes to electrics. I am now at the stage where I am about to buy a Inverter/Charger for my boat and I have settled on a Victron Multi-Plus. I have been scouting the web for best prices and have come across this on Bimble Solar:

 

https://www.bimblesolar.com/offgrid/victron-equipment?product_id=1213&sort=p.price&order=DESC

 

There are a couple of odd things I've found. One is that the picture iincluded on the page is of a Phoenix Inverter and not the multiplus and , secondly, when you search the product number i only find two british websites selling it, both solar companies, which I find odd. (I only did a brief search)

 

But what is even stranger is the price. Here is a link to what i think is the same model on the Off-Grid website, which s a full £550 more expensive so I am assuming that something must be wrong or I am missing something obvious, which is probably the case.

 

https://www.off-grid-europe.com/inverters/inverter-chargers/victron-energy/victron-multiplus-12-3000-120-16-inverter-charger

 

I would really appreciate any thoughts and comments, especially if anybody has experience purchasing through Bimble Solar. 

 

Cheers

 

strummerjoe. 

[Richard10002]

£1371 at Cactus Navigation:

 

https://www.cactusnav.com/victron-multiplus-123000120-230v-vebus-inverter-charger-p-28069.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjw-r71BRDuARIsAB7i_QOiT973Lbbzi7BR_U4PCocijPUWzFrd2R3N1neaGoU8etybitLanzsaAjM_EALw_wcB

[LadyG]

I have bought stuff from Bimble Solar, no problems

[RufusR]

Bimble are fine . Good company .

 

 

[reg]

That's a decent price and I would say a good find. I have purchased from Bimble a  couple of times, solar panals and mppt controlers, and found them to be very helpful.

[pearley]

Just make sure the inverter is set for marine use. There is a setting for use in homes running solar panels and feeding back to the grid. It's easy to change via VE Net but a bugger to get the correct code you need to do it.

[strummerjoe]

Hi,

 

Thanks for all the responses. And especially thanks to pearley, I had no idea they had two different settings and I was just about to take the plunge and order one from Bimble! I'll drop them an email just now to check. 

 

strummerjoe

[pearley]

Just to fill in some background. When we plugged into the shoreline in Liverpool last June our 8 year old Multiplus decided to trip out. After a few attempts it was taken to a Victron distributor for repair where a PCB was replaced as part of which it had the latest firmware. When I refitted and ran through the settings there was a new tab titled Grid. This was set on UK with a drop down menu allowing you to select other countries or none. However whichever you selected asked for a code. On asking the repairer I was told it didn't matter and I could leave it as was.

 

This in most cases when being used on either shoreline or inverter is probably correct but not when using a generator. We are a gas free boat and use a built in diesel generator and under certain loads the mains passing through the Multiplus would drop out, so there on the input but not on the output. After doing all the checks and programming changes asked, it was then suggested it was a generator or wiring fault. Both these were checked with no faults found. It wasn't then until back on a shoreline on a winter mooring that I started to investigate again and gave some thought to this Grid Selection question. By this time the Victron Community pages had a number of comments about the question when being used with a generator. I managed to get a code, which I imagine will work with any UK Multiplus, and able to change the setting. We are still in a Marina due to the lockdown but have ran the generator for a couple of hours to simulate the conditions which previously caused it to play up and all now seems fine.

[strummerjoe]

Thank you for the context, hopefully the chap fitting it knows about all of this but i'll pass all this on to him. 

 

Cheers

strummerjoe

[Up-Side-Down]

17 hours ago, strummerjoe said:

Thank you for the context, hopefully the chap fitting it knows about all of this but i'll pass all this on to him. 

 

Cheers

strummerjoe

Well he is a marine electrician so he ought to!!

[OldGoat]

1 hour ago, Up-Side-Down said:

Well he is a marine electrician so he ought to!!

That doesn't necessarily follow. There's a mile of difference between fitting 'electrics' and knowing the ins and outs of the 'electronics'. The more so as equipment gets cleverer by the day....

 

Bimble are just across the 'border' from me and specialise in folks who want to live independently . They keep their prices competitive by having no grand premises and - I hope - selling lots of solar kit, thereby getting better prices (I assume - I didn't ask).

They deserve to succeed - while still helping folks to get good value!

[Up-Side-Down]

26 minutes ago, OldGoat said:

That doesn't necessarily follow. There's a mile of difference between fitting 'electrics' and knowing the ins and outs of the 'electronics'. The more so as equipment gets cleverer by the day....

 

Bimble are just across the 'border' from me and specialise in folks who want to live independently . They keep their prices competitive by having no grand premises and - I hope - selling lots of solar kit, thereby getting better prices (I assume - I didn't ask).

They deserve to succeed - while still helping folks to get good value!

I'll happily second this approach. I'll soon be in the market for a complete solar set up and they would be near the top of my list to supply the kit.

[strummerjoe]

Hi,

 

Thanks for the comment OldGoat, that was my thinking as well. 

 

I went with Bimble and ordered it today along with the required batteries as they were also the cheapest for those as well. I'll also go back for my solar panels next week!

 

Cheers

strummerjoe