Anyone else had grief with a Victron MultiPlus 12/3000 tripping on a basic induction hob?

So I've been pulling my hair out with this for the past week. I've got a MultiPlus 12/3000/120-50 running off a 400Ah LiFePO4 bank (4x 100Ah Lishen cells, JK BMS) and every time I try to use my Russell Hobbs 1800W induction hob on anything above setting 4, the inverter throws a low battery warning and cuts out within about 30–40 seconds. Batteries are sat at a resting voltage of 13.1V, so they're not exactly gasping.

The weird bit is the MultiPlus is rated for 3000W continuous and 6000W surge, so an 1800W hob should be well within its comfort zone. I've checked my cabling — 70mm² from the battery to the inverter, connections are tight, fuses are correct. When I chuck a clamp meter on the DC side during cooking, I'm seeing the current spike up to around 180A before it trips. That feels high to me for 1800W at 12V, but I might be missing something obvious.

Has anyone else seen this with induction hobs specifically? I've read they can have a nasty inrush and that some inverters just don't play nicely with them regardless of the power rating. Wondering if it's a setting in VE.Configure I need to tweak, or whether I'm just flogging a dead horse trying to run induction off a 12V system at this load level.

Reply by Chopper62:

@Kingy74 Classic one this! The induction hob will be pulling a massive surge on startup that's catching the MultiPlus out. Even a modest 1800W hob can spike well beyond 3kW momentarily.

Few things worth checking — have you looked at the PowerAssist settings in VEConfigure? Also worth reviewing the "AC input current limit" as that can throttle things unexpectedly.

More likely though, your JK BMS is seeing that surge current and disconnecting before the MultiPlus even gets chance to react properly. Check your BMS discharge current limit settings — I'd want at least 200A configured on a 12V system running an induction hob.

What's your cable sizing and connection quality like between the battery and inverter? Voltage sag under load is often the hidden culprit with these setups. Have you got a Cerbo or anything monitoring real-time voltage?

Reply by VanBarry:

@Kingy74 Worth checking your DC wiring before anything else mate. A 3000W inverter at 12V is pulling 250+ amps continuously, and surge on induction can be brutal. Even slightly undersized cable or a poor connection will cause enough voltage drop to make the MultiPlus panic and trip on low battery voltage rather than overload.

What cable size are you running from the battery to the inverter, and how long is the run? Also check all your terminal connections are properly torqued down - I've seen loose busbars cause exactly this behaviour.

Also worth looking at your JK BMS settings - if your low voltage cutoff or peak current limit is set conservatively it might be the BMS pulling the plug before the MultiPlus even gets a chance to react properly. What are your BMS current limits set to?

Reply by PGL_Builds:

@Kingy74 Worth checking your JK BMS discharge current limit - if it's set conservatively it might be pulling the plug before the MultiPlus even gets a chance to handle the surge itself. I had almost identical grief with a 12/3000 and an air fryer until I realised my BMS was set to trip at 150A when realistically a 3000W inverter at 12V can draw 300A+ momentarily.

Also check your battery cable sizing and connection quality - any resistance there will cause a voltage sag that the inverter interprets as a low battery condition rather than a surge event. What gauge are your battery cables and how long is the run?

@Kingy74 Check your BMS discharge rate limit — JK units sometimes default to a current threshold that'll cause it to pull the plug faster than my ex-wife did, and the MultiPlus sees that as a dead battery rather than a trip condition.

Reply by TimHarris:

@Kingy74 One thing nobody's mentioned yet — have a look at the PowerControl and PowerAssist settings in VEConfigure. The MultiPlus has an AC input current limit that can cause it to behave oddly, but more relevant here is the inverter's transfer switch behaviour when it sees that initial induction hob spike.

Also worth checking: what's your battery voltage actually sitting at when it trips? If your cells are even slightly out of balance and the pack voltage dips under load, the MultiPlus can interpret that as a low battery condition and shut down before the BMS even gets involved. Connect VictronConnect or a Cerbo if you've got one and watch the live data while you attempt to use the hob — you'll see pretty quickly whether it's a voltage sag issue or something else entirely.

Had this exact issue with my setup. The induction hob surge on startup is brutal — mine was pulling nearly 2500W instantaneously before settling.

Few things to check that haven't been mentioned:

• Battery cable gauge and length — even a small voltage drop under load can trigger low voltage cutoff before the BMS even gets involved
• Cell balance — if one cell is lagging, the JK will pull the plug sharpish when that cell hits undervoltage under surge conditions

Run VictronConnect during the fault and check the minimum voltage logged. If you're seeing it dip below ~11.5V momentarily, it's almost certainly a wiring or cell balance issue rather than the inverter itself.

What cable size are you running from the battery to the MultiPlus?

Reply by Tom1997:

@Kingy74 Worth checking your AC output frequency settings in VictronConnect — I had similar grief and it turned out my MultiPlus was hunting slightly on frequency under heavy load, which was confusing the hob's inverter circuitry and causing it to demand even more startup current. Also, what cable runs have you got between the battery and inverter? Even a decent gauge cable with a long run can introduce enough voltage drop under that initial surge to push the MultiPlus into protection. I'd aim for 35mm² minimum and keep it as short as physically possible. @LB_Camper is spot on about the startup surge being vicious on induction hobs.

Had this in my shepherd's hut last winter with a similar sized inverter. The thing that finally cracked it for me was checking the transfer switch settings in VEConfigure — specifically the AC input current limit. Mine was throttling the whole system before the PowerAssist even had a chance to kick in properly.

Also worth checking: what cable runs between your battery bank and the MultiPlus? I'd underestimated voltage drop on a 2m run and the inverter was seeing a false low-voltage condition right at the surge peak. Swapped to proper 70mm² welding cable and the tripping stopped almost immediately.