Vetplant

I would say that is good service from Pylontech

Currently concluding the sale with the buyer, but I will reply with info that might help other users.
My original set lasted 5 years.
The Warranty of the replacement batteries is coupled to the original invoice date of the first set of batteries. However, I registered the set when I bought them, thus giving me 10 years of Warranty. As a result the warranty is still valid for a further 5 years. Pylontech gave me the option to extend the warranty another 5 years if I pay R2000 for the extension.

Well my joy was short-lived.
Timeline:
17h40: "Yay, wiring redone, let's check"... System restart as normal, all things running fine, no errors. Change settings to previous as system was DEFAULT (Values as suggested by Coulomb a while back). Switch the house supply over to inverter. "HAPPINESS", just before 18h00 load shedding.
19h40: Power goes out in the house. "WHAT NOW?!" Get to inverter. Fault 58. "But, why?" Nothing dramatically happened in the house at 19h40?! Restart attempt, Sorry Fault 53.
"Fine, will wait to restart after grid is back."
20h15: Restart again, grid available. Large "POP". FAULT 09.
BACK to SQUARE ONE.
Might be time to consider replacing the inverter altogether, not looking forward to faultfinding this if the system failed so quickly after a Repair.

Well my joy was short-lived.
Timeline:
17h40: "Yay, wiring redone, let's check"... System restart as normal, all things running fine, no errors. Change settings to previous as system was DEFAULT (Values as suggested by Coulomb a while back). Switch the house supply over to inverter. "HAPPINESS", just before 18h00 load shedding.
19h40: Power goes out in the house. "WHAT NOW?!" Get to inverter. Fault 58. "But, why?" Nothing dramatically happened in the house at 19h40?! Restart attempt, Sorry Fault 53.
"Fine, will wait to restart after grid is back."
20h15: Restart again, grid available. Large "POP". FAULT 09.
BACK to SQUARE ONE.
Might be time to consider replacing the inverter altogether, not looking forward to faultfinding this if the system failed so quickly after a Repair.

UPDATE:
During faultfinding, while starting up, there was a loud "POP" and an ember coming from the inverter...
I have now made contact with our local inverter repair guy. Let's see if it is repairable.
 
Back to Loadshedding with the plebs in the meantime.

GeeWiz has been good to me in the past:

https://www.geewiz.co.za/solar-panels/197347-canadian-solar-455w-mono-solar-panel-super-high-power-mono-perc-hiku-with-mc4-evo2.html?sfdr_ptcid=2961_617_697237921&sfdr_hash=fca9581cdec18472100f9e21fea44f77&gclid=EAIaIQobChMInMzA2u7O_wIVxOLtCh2rcwJ-EAQYASABEgIpDPD_BwE

Finally got around to testing an inverter-generator on the KODAK and VOILA: All is happy and the Kodak accepts and draws power from this Inverter-Generator.
Now, I need to find someone to buy my old 5kW Generator to then enable the purchase of an inverter generator, hopefully I get enough for it to invest in a near-silent generator.

The Sun Pays has 480W panels on Sale at R2795 currently
Maybe save yourself a couple of Rand
https://shop.thesunpays.co.za/collections/solar-panels/products/the-sun-pays-480w-a-grade-mono-6bb-half-cell-solar-panel

So I do not know the Kodak in detail but looking at the specs it would seem that you can only do 9S to keep below the 450V. You need to take the open circuit voltage Voc of the panel to do your calculations.
It will allow 40A DC input so you could parallel strings. The max DC input is 4500W so adding too many panels will not yield much more power, at a certain point you will hit a ceiling and the only benefit would be during overcast weather
 

Morning
 
We have load shedding at the moment and wanted to try using the generator again using a load on the generator before allowing the inverter to use the generator as a supply
I had to re-adjust the frequency (speed) with the "pre-load" and it worked.
I now have peace of mind as the generator is my last resort to at least re-charge the batteries
 
Thanks @Coulomb for the suggestion.

I would of course choose 51.8 V for the float voltage, to prolong the life of the battery.
Interesting that at least someone from Pylontech is moderating their usual recommendation of 53.2 V for the bulk/absorb setting.

Yes, I believe so.

The ORA Cat. Prices starting to look a little more sensible, not enough though, but heading in the right direction.
I like it, and may even consider it if had a boot and was more attractively priced.
 
 
 

10% of 7 kWh is 700 Wh (watt·hours), over 10 hours (~2100 to 0700) is an average of 70 watts. Self consumption is generally around 50 W for a 5 kVA model, so yes that's roughly right.
I don't know the VM III well, but it can operate in a batteryless configuration, so that implies that it can power itself from other sources, either AC-in or PV. I would imagine both, although if you are running batteryless, there isn't much you can do at night, other than operate in bypass mode. But to hold the necessary relays in, you need power, so there must be a power supply that can run off AC-in. So it's surprising to see them self-consume from the battery when running in bypass mode.
As for how to counter the self consumption, setting 02 (maximum utility charging current) can be set to 2 A. This is about 100 W, which should counter the self consumption without wasting too much utility power. I suspect that this is what that low setting is all about. Of course, you need to enable utility charging.

@Vetplant very nice detailed post. Easy to read and hopefully find answers.
so 10% of 7kw is about 700watts over 9-10 hours 21h00 till 06h00. 700/9 =77 watts which I'm guessing is how much power the inverter uses to power itself from the batteries. 
I have seen @Coulomb explain how axperts power themselves from the battery.

Quick question, don't know if this is an underlying issue on the Inverter or the Batteries, or if this normal:
Inverter: KODAK VMIII (OG5.48)

 
Batteries: 2x pylontech us3000c.
Panels: 8x CANADIAN SOLAR 435W SOLAR PANEL (CS-435W)
Scenario: System runs on SBU(Solar->Batteries->Utility), but when I anticipate bad solar incidence or if I suspect Load-Shedding is a risk I change to UTILITY ONLY during the night. I would expect the batteries to hold their charge as my load is then directly linked to the GRID.
However, the batteries seem to drain at a noticeable rate through the night. See picture below.
Question:
-What is causing this drain on the batteries?
-Is there a setting that can be changed to prevent the batteries from running down through the night? 

Getting cheap EV options into the market is the thing that will start to sway the momentum in favour of EVs.
I can see myself selling one of our ICE vehicles and reinvesting in a small EV for school runs, basic groceries, going to family that lives in the same suburb.
https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/eleksa-to-launch-r200000-citybug-electric-car-in-south-africa-2021-08-24
I see these guys are very close to me, might just pop into their shop to see this thing for myself.