Water Heating & Pumping

Hi guys, Please help me to size a system for the following? Size of the inverter and the batteries, recommended brands for both A potable water supply system on a farm, to several residential dwellings. Needs to be convertible for adding solar in the future purpose for now is to be loadshedding bulletproof. One of 1kW jockey pump runs continually to keep the system pressurized. When someone opens a tap, the jockey pump may supply sufficient pressure. When another tap opens the pressure drops and a 3kW pump starts up to feed the system. When more taps open, a next 3kW pump starts up. Two pumps will not start up simultaneously, but all can end up running si…

My first post on this forum. I have a 3 phase DB, and a few years back I had an installer put my essential loads on a single phase 5k Mecer inverter with a 5k battery backup , and a few PVs. I have now decided to upgrade the system myself (I'll get a sparky to do the AC work) and I'll do the battery and PV connections. I'm putting in a 12k 3phase sunsynk with 20k of batteries, and 5000w worth of panels. My concern is that 20Kva / 400A of batteries is not going to be enough to get me through 4 hours of load shedding between 6-10pm, if the 2 geysers are on, and my teenagers are using all the hot water. Is there a way to switch off my geysers durin…

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I'm trying to reduce my Eskom usage. Using solar for the geyser is an obvious starting place. I done a bit of research and my options seem to be between PV solar heating and a Vacuum Tube system. The vacuum tube system seems a bit antiquated with all the new tech on the market. A couple of my friends used this system and they had some bad experiences with the water overheating. I see that there are a couple of players in the PV market, Geyserwise and Power Optimal. Both look good on spec and the only real difference I can see is that Power Optimals Elon system doesn't require any changes to made to the geyser element. Anyone have any advice to point m…

I have a Geyserwise TSE with 3 PV panels and an AC/DC element system to drive my 200 litre geyser. This is separate from the Main PV/Inverter/Batteries system for the house. The Geyserwise system was installed 2 and a half years ago but has recently begun to give problems. The situation is that sometimes even on bright days the system will simply not heat up the water from the panels, then it will run OK for a few days and then again for no apparent reason just stop functioning again, Any suggestions as to the root cause of such erratic behaviour ?

Kwikot HP-007 Heat Pump installed in a new built home and they can't use it because it loses it's mind after one or two LS events. The plumber says the battery for the memory fails during long outages and it's on/off schedules get later and later with each LS until is shuts down and needs to be set up again. They have been using heater elements instead in the two series 150L cylinders. The plumber wants me to move the Heat Pump onto the essentials to fix this problem but I'd prefer it to stay on the non essentials as due to all that is already on the essentials side. Victron Multi and a ET113 for feeding non essentials. Has anyone else had a similar problem?

Hi all! I lost the geyser that feeds the kitchen and two kids bathrooms two years ago and installed a 300L EVT geyser to replace it. In an effort to make the solar heated water go further, it pre-feeds the 200L conventional geyser that serves the rest of my rather large family. This one is the higher usage of the two, and the one that just decided to burst at midnight on a Saturday night ... Why can it never be lunchtime on a Tuesday? Any case I need to decide what to do. My first thinking is to ask for a cash settlement and get a new 200L EVT for the kitchen and kids, and move the existing 300L closer to where the high consumption is. Any thoughts on alternatives or wha…

I have a geyser installed in a store room which has no plug points. Can I branch off the geyser wire to fit two new plug points into the store room to run a grinder and drill press? Effectively the geyser trip switch on the DB board would then isolate these plugs as well?? Will this work

Hi ; I'm currently looking at installing a heat pump on a 200l geyser. I also want to put this on my essentials side of my solar installation. Which brands would you recommend and also maybe a recommendation on a reputable installer in the Randburg area? Thanks

What’s the thoughts on this? Do I use eskom or my generator (extra cost on petrol) I supply turn my 7.5Kw generator on during emergencies. Do I need site protection there taking consideration it’s like 5 mins before I turn the gennie on

It seems to be quite common place in various other countries for "water heaters" to contain two elements (each with own thermostat) instead of a single element. (It also seems more common for them to be vertical which may be related...) e.g. as pictured here: I have been trying to find similar in a za context, and either I'm searching for the wrong keywords, or they just don't exist here. I was wondering if anyone knows. 1) Are there products that can be bought locally that can take two elements? 2) If so which? Or what do we call it here so that I can search for it? 3) Why is it not common here if its common in other countries? The best I could fin…

Good day bI am looking for a REPLACEMENT PC Board for Hea Pump Model ITS-4.7HDP

Hi all, I had no option than to add water buffer supply to support during water outages. This is run by a 1.1 kw booster pump with auto control to the house that is 220VAC , i now need the cheapest option to supply power to pump during loadshedding outages. I will add full solar to house in due time , but for now need a separate solution with either inverter + batt or with additional Solar panel supported by Eskom when available, the Pump spec only gives 7A current and does not spec peak startup Current. What options do I have?

I need to convert a standard 220v borehole submersible pump to solar, no utility supply is available but can be available later. I need the pump to run on solar with a battery backup available for cloudy days. Any ideas please

Hi I have a small pool (5m x 3m) and the AC pump is on its last legs. I am thinking of replacing with a DC Solar Pool pump system like this: https://tripplehydro-energy.co.za/store/500W-Spitfire-Solar-Pool-Pump-p486390423/?utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=shp&utm_network=x&utm_mobile=0&utm_creative=&utm_position=&utm_random=9500005138093320644&gclid=CjwKCAiAzp6eBhByEiwA_gGq5IddvU_2X7SrERwosRFxBYbBUV3L47WCvCTrK8FXB9xvCNwWNMT19xoCJ0gQAvD_BwE&utm_campaign=smart shopping - za (1)&utm_ad_group_id=962217&utm_campaign_id=1002462&utm_prod_id=486390423 Anyone installed something like this? Any advice or shared ex…

Hi folks, hope this is the right area to ask. So I want to buy a 3phase generator (not sure if petrol or diesel is best?) to run my 3 phase borehole pump in the event that I don't have ESKOM power. Currently solar is not a realistic option for me because the pump is too far away from my home and I am concerned that the panels etc. will be stolen (add to that the fact that the borehole is not on my property, I would have to get permission to install the solar setup and I just don't think it's worth it if it's going to become a target) The pump itself is ~250m away from my house, ~80m deep, and the tank is ~8m high. The power requirement numbers below were m…

After much deliberation, I finally decided to get a heat pump installed for my hot water needs. The other alternative was a gas geyser, however i decided i did not want to be reliant on gas for hot water. Having a 5.4kw unit put in. I want to gauge its performance with winter on its way, and if it is inline with expectation, i plan on moving it onto essential loads. My pv system should have enough power to run it during the day. After discussing with the supplier, the representative suggested that the smaller 3.6kw unit would be a better fit for my current reality and expectation, i opted for the bigger size though for the incase factor.. ie.. in case i decide i wan…

I'm in the process of building an ice bath (don't ask). Essentially a 300L water tank, which I need to chill to between 4 and 10 degrees C. I've looked around SA but cant seem to find anything which sufficiently chill the water, and at the same time pump water from/into the bath at the same time (closed loop system). Not sure if anybody has any ideas or solutions around this?

So I am thinking of connecting my JoJo tanks pressure pump on to my inverter so that in the event of a power failure I won't have to go outside and turn the bypass valve on. I know, its me being lazy The pump is a 230V 850watt DAB pump, it pulls 3,8 amps running current. My concern is that the pumps start up current will trip the inverter output supply. The research I have done says that the startup current on a motor is between 3 and 5 times the running current (between 11,4amps and 19amps) The inverters surge power is 6000VA - 4800watts (3k 24v plus Mecer) @ 230 volts, this would equate to 20amps. So if I have done my calculations correctly the inverter will…

Hi all I have a Stuhmr 5kw heatpump connected to my home geyser. Bought the house with this setup 4 years ago. I do still use the geyser element for heating while the heatpump remains off. There’s something wrong with this heatpump setup - everything seemingly runs fine but to me, the pump seems confused about water temperatures and runs itself itself flatout into exhaustion and a protection error code. I had various electricians, plumbers and “heatpump” specialists out but no one can fix it. Here’s my take on it: - Following all the pipes around the geyser and pump, municipal supply and feed pipes to the bathrooms, it looks to me as if the h…

Hi all, hope everyone is well. My solar journey starts here… potentially converting my existing geyser to a standalone solar setup. I’m currently looking at the Geyserwise solar conversion kits (where solar is converted to electricity and heats the specialised element). First trick: how do I know what size geyser I have? Most probably 200L or maybe 150L. I’m failing to google this and the kits are apparently VERY specific to your size geyser. Thanks! Christoff

I'm at the Sally Ann in Emmarentia. I got dragged into this. I'm no expert, but they need some advice. There's a back story here which we needn't go in to, save that late last year they were out of water for days due to municipal outages. Enter Mission of Mercy who gave them borehole water. As far as I can see, the borehole feeds a jojo tank (5000l). There is then a pump which takes the water out of the bottom of the jojo and runs into the inlet to the property. (there is a system of valves on the property boundary so that you can fill the jojo from mains, borehole or both). The output of that pump services the whole building (multiple bathrooms, multiple geys…

Hi all, im abit lost and need some advice. I'm a Newbie when it comes to this topics. my system consist of: 5kva hybrid RCT inverter, 10x 550w pv, separated 5 north, 5 west, 2 X Hubble 5.5kw am2 batteries. I also have the Elon system which has 2 X 545w pv panels, however I have changed my element to a 2kw element and I added a CBI astute smart switch. im playing around with the CBI switch and Elon timer to get the best possible times I require the water to be heated. early morning and mid/late afternoon. I'm getting hot water some days and then not on the other. I called kwikhot, spoke to their Elon guy. He said that I am confusing the …

Yesterday on SKY news I saw an article about a business that claims to save people good money by converting their water heating (usually done by gas in the UK) to heat pumps. This surprised me because ... let's be polite... the UK is not reporting very high temperatures at the moment, even down on the South coast. So how, right now, is a heat pump, that relies on whatever heat is present in the air, going to save anybody in the UK money? Well... that said, I have a heat pump that manages to heat water on a winter's morning in Gauteng, when temperatures can get close to freezing.

Hi. I have an Alliance heat pump 5.5kW (Model ALLHT55R134) installed. Where does the two wires of the temp probe from the geyser connect to the unit? The probe goes inside the element pocket. I have a photo of the heat pump connection panel available. Any help would be much appreciated.