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Newbie Dave

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Posts posted by Newbie Dave

  1. Hi Modina

    I found the   video by David Poz in the USA very useful and was inspired to use solar panels. He included a link to a spreadsheet to help calculate how many panels required to match your ac element.  To heat up my geyser  without changing the original  ac element, I have 4x 330w panels connected to my 150liter   geyser.  it has been running very well for several years.  

    https://youtu.be/kVaxAfXQPDU

     

  2. I have a brand new unused  5kw Growatt inverter model SPF 500es still in the box supplied by ITnerfrica shop

    with wifi dongle etc.  I am in Mcgregor can deliver to Cape Town.... any other area for buyers account.

    contact Dave  via whatsap 0823208239 for more info

  3. Hi Vanromic,

    Yes it will work perfectly., my system has been operating just fine for a few years with no problems.  I have a manual change over if we need Eskom in the winter. so far very rare. I hard wired an industrial plug to the geyser element  (32 amp rating )and am able to  manually plug the geyser into the solar or the grid.  My electronic thermostat keeps the temp at 65 to 70 degrees Celsius. 

  4. Thank you all for the above discussion. I have found it very informative. I plan to have a 7.5 generator  for those dark and cloudy days. I have been concerned with the following which  I copied and pasted from  Bundu Power's website............

    "The Datakom DKG-116 and Smartgen MCG100 controller do not filter out these harmonics. When the harmonics enter the main power cable it causes a ripple effect pushing the voltage and frequency readings up on both the inverter and generator. The inverter then disconnects the AC input and the generator shuts down on overspeed/overvoltage.  "

  5. 11 minutes ago, Sarel said:

    Lastly on the generator capacity you should consider that in an off-grid situation, you generator should have enough power to carry at least some loads and be able to charge you battery bank. Sizing for this is a bit involved. Firstly how much current can you use to charge the battery with, ie. how much can the battery accept safely? Then how much on top of that do you need to carry loads? Can you adjust the battery charger to limit charging current o a lesser value? Or are the charger max amperage less than what the battery can take?

    Next point to consider for generator sizing is the bigger the battery, the longer it will take to charge. How long do you have to get the battery charged? All these point will need consideration and compromises as the budget will not be infinite.

    Many thanks. Certainly a lot of food for thought and yes "what will be the compromises."  The make and reliability of the inverter will be my next port of call. I have decided to go with local battery manufacturer Hubble as I am in the Western Cape  in the Klein Karroo approx 200kms from Cape Town   in picturesque Mcgregor.  Knowing they are  local is reassuring.

  6. Thank you Sarel,  you have certainly helped me to narrow my options. I have taken note of your observations with regard to the old style AVR type. I also appreciate your advice as to over-sizing the generator. I certainly wasn't aware that charging a battery with a generator was the hardest workload. since that is the primary reason i require a genrator i will much rather look at a 50% higher rating as i wish to get at least 10 years of usage from the generator. I am sure this info will assist many others like me.

    I am equally impressed with your the speed of your reply.     mucho gracias

  7. Hi Newbie Dave here,

    Thank you Sarel and others for sharing this invaluable knowledge.  Currently I have  off grid solar heating for my 150 liter geyser ( 4 x 330w panels in series coupled directly to the geyser via electronic thermostat and 30amp solid state relay  with 10 amp fuse protection for the panels.) We are planning to install   a 5kw inverter with 7 x 490w panels to power all our other needs with 11 kw lithium battery bank. We consume 8.5 kw per day. We wish to make provision for a standby generator for the cloudy dark days.  Question:  what kw output generator should I be making provision for?    Question: should I increase my battery bank to 15kw as our intention is to be off grid .  We can be comfortable using only 6 kw per day for 4/ 5 days . we  have gas hob and oven, led lighting  etc .Happy to leave the geyser as is with its separate solar generator, has been paying for itself for 4 years already. Budget is in place for the next phase. 

    Any feedback will be very much appreciated.

  8. Hi Justin MM 

    I installed 4x 330w panels in series and this is wired directly to the  3kw element  on my 150l geyser. it is controlled by a electronic thermostat that switches a  30amp solid state relay.  it works well for me   in the Western Cape. it is my diy  off grid geyser. I have installed a double pole isloator and a 10amp 10x38 fuse for overload protection.  There will be the odd day that you wont get hot water but so far my wife and daughter are quite happy with the set up. 

    This is my first attempt at solar and looking forward to installing  a 5kw inverter  with 6 x 550  panels to go off grid with  10kw  hubble batteries  before year end. This is a great forum and a big thank you to all who share their wisdom and knowledge so freely.

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