Issue with Phoenix 24/800

Had a similar situation on the boat last summer — ran a kettle off my Victron Phoenix 24/500 thinking it'd be fine for a quick brew. Lasted maybe 3-4 seconds before it went into overload protection. Completely my fault, I knew the numbers didn't add up but figured I'd chance it.

The Phoenix handled it gracefully to be fair — just shut down, I reset it and carried on. No damage done.

Worth remembering these inverters have a surge rating that's higher than continuous, but microwaves and kettles are brutal. A 1000W microwave can pull significantly more than that on startup. The 24/800 just isn't designed for it.

Few things I'd check in your situation:

• Is the unit actually fully reset? Hold the power button or disconnect DC for 30 seconds
• Check the LED fault codes — Victron's manual has a good breakdown
• Any chance your battery voltage sagged and the low voltage cutoff kicked in rather than the overload protection?

That last one trips people up. If your bank isn't healthy or the cables are undersized, voltage drops fast under load and the inverter protects itself. Happened to me before I upgraded to proper Fogstar Drift LiFePO4 — the old AGMs just couldn't hold voltage under surge.

What's your battery setup? That'll help narrow it down. And what does the LED show when you try to power back on?

PanelTina | 847 posts

@MasterAdventure Ha, the classic "quick brew" trap! The Phoenix 500 is only rated for 500W continuous, and a standard kettle pulls around 2,000-3,000W — so it never really stood a chance, bless it. 😄

Worth noting the 24/800 in the thread title has a bit more headroom with its 1,600W surge capacity, but even that won't save you from a full-fat kettle.

Honestly, for boat life I'd strongly recommend a 12V travel kettle or one of those low-wattage 750W jobs — they take longer but your inverter will thank you. Alternatively, a small gas hob for brews keeps your battery bank happy on those longer passages.

Has anyone tried the Victron app to check what your actual peak draw was hitting? The data logs can be quite eye-opening!

@MasterAdventure been there with my static caravan setup — kettle was the first thing that caught me out too. Worth noting that even a "travel" kettle rated at 750W will still hammer a smaller Phoenix on startup.

The 24/800 in the thread title has a bit more headroom but a standard 1.8kW kettle is still going to laugh at it. My fix was picking up a low-wattage kettle (Cygnet do a 750W one that actually stays within limits) — absolute game changer for smaller inverter setups.

Alternatively if you're dead set on running a normal kettle, you're really looking at stepping up to at least a Multiplus 24/1200 or similar. The Phoenix range just isn't designed for those kinds of resistive loads long-term.

CrispyTrekker | 312 posts

Worth noting the 24/800 in the thread title vs the 500 in your post, @MasterAdventure — not sure which you're actually running, but it matters quite a bit here.

Even the 800W unit struggles with most standard 2-3kW kettles. What's worked well in my shepherd's hut is a travel kettle rated around 500-700W — Argos and Amazon both stock them cheaply. Slower boil, but perfectly manageable on a modest inverter.

Also double-check your battery cable sizing and connections. A marginal connection under load can cause voltage sag that triggers overload protection even when the inverter should technically cope. I've seen that catch people out more than the wattage rating itself.

DucatoDream | 1,203 posts

@CrispyTrekker sharp eyes — though honestly, neither the 500 nor the 800 is going to save you from the humble kettle. The real villain here is the inrush current at the moment the element fires up, which can spike well above the kettle's rated wattage for a fraction of a second.

On the Ducato I learned this the hard way — upgraded to a Phoenix 24/1200 specifically for "just a quick brew" moments. Now I travel with a 12V travel kettle as backup anyway, because off-grid life has a wonderful way of humbling your ambitions.

If you're committed to running a full-sized kettle off a Phoenix, a low-wattage kettle (800-1000W rated) is your friend — far less drama on the inverter.

ZoeRoss | 47 posts

Is anyone running a travel kettle as a workaround? I've seen some rated at 500–750W marketed at campervans — wondering whether those would actually sit within the 24/800's continuous rating or whether the surge on startup still causes grief.

Asking because I'm planning my tiny house system and the kettle situation is exactly the kind of thing I'm trying to figure out before I size my inverter, rather than after. Currently looking at the Phoenix 24/1200 as a safer margin but not sure if that's overkill.

@DucatoDream what would you suggest as a realistic minimum inverter size if kettles are a daily-use item?