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Jackal

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Jackal last won the day on March 12 2016

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  1. Thank you to you all for your contributions to this thread - although there isn't all good news there is some valuable insight.
  2. So basically only buy an Axpert if you live in the bush!
  3. @The Terrible Triplett Thanks again for more insight! So what I'm hearing is there is no legal way of using an Axpert on a premises where there is an Eskom connection and PV because a) it is not an approved inverter and b) because it is not a UPS but rather an MPPT device. Would you say its considered legal (assuming there is a CoC) for an Axpert to be installed as a 'UPS' on a premise with no PV?
  4. @The Terrible Triplett Thanks for the more detailed clarification, makes a lot more sense now. What approach are the approved installers taking with Axperts? From you explanation and the City of CT documents the only patterns that are legal would be installing an Axpert as a UPS with no PV source or installing it in a pure off-grid model with no Eskom source? @Chris Hobson He's at the point where he has been fighting for weeks and they just won't accept anything other than being totally off-grid or grid supplied. You right, now they losing because my fried has bought a genset and would rather buy diesel than go back to Eskom. How about removing the PV from the Axpert and deploy the Axpert as a UPS. Apply for an SSEG self-consumption license. Buy a small (<3.5kva) grid tie inverter for self consumption and connect to all the PV. The Axpert would charge its batteries from the grid (and grid tied inverter). Schedule a contactor to switch to the UPS and cycle the batteries after hours on a timer. Are there any other suggestions of how he could adjust his design to comply with the City of CT's regulations but still enjoy the benefits of his investment in PV?
  5. Thanks for the feedback so far guys. I share all your sentiments and in my mind all these SSEG regulations applied to grid tie installations. But apparently this is not so and the regulations have been amended to include off-grid (solar charged UPS) installations as well. He has CoC for all his wiring and has sought advice from a PrEng who has provided some support with appeasing the City of Cape Town but was unable to get them to allow the Axpert to stay connected to the AC incoming line. He is an engineer himself so is also pedantic with wiring standards! As I understand the City of Cape Town has sent officials and inspectors to the house on numerous occasions and he is in touch with senior personnel. For now he has bought a 7.5kva diesel generator with an ATS to buy himself some time but this cannot be the solution and plight for everyone who has an Axpert with PV.
  6. Hi All, I'd really appreciate your advice to help one of our own. A friend of mine who is a recently retired engineer has invested a lot of money in his off-grid system, doing his bit for saving mother earth and reducing his monthly expenses as he eases into retirement. Next thing the City of Cape Town knocks on his door because his monthly bill is so low. His system is comprised of 2x 5kva Axperts, 12x 200AH batteries, small wind turbine and 4KW PV. The City of Cape Town has come to the following conclusions: Axpert inverters are not on the City’s approved inverter list. An Off-Grid solution may not in any way be connected to Eskom supply. Even for an on-grid (grid-tied) solution (with approved inverters) 2x Axperts are over the limit (because its greater than 3.5kva) of what may be deployed in a residence. It would appear that the laws state as per page 18 of the 'CCT Requirements' document attached you are only allowed to have 3.5kva of generation capacity for a 60A municipal feed. Also attached is a 'SSEG Configurations' document he was provided by the City of CT. With PV generation limitations so small its literally impossible to produce enough even for self-consumption, never mind back-feeding for a rebate. And the Axpert is more of an online UPS with a solar charger so not sure why it would need to be certified by the City of CT because it does not (and can not) operate in any kind of grid interactive fashion. His only option to avoid being disconnected is to install a break-before-make rotary change over switch which physically disconnects his renewable systems from his DB boards i.e. when the switch is in the 'Inverter' position the essential loads run totally off-grid with no Eskom AC charging/pass-through support; the Axpert is only allowed to have PV as an input source. When the batteries are depleted all loads turn off. He must then manually rotate the switch to put the essential loads back onto Eskom. When the switch is in the 'Eskom' position his renewable systems are totally disconnected and sitting idle. Can this be right? If so, every Axpert in Cape Town connected to PV needs to have its Eskom AC incoming line disconnected to be SANS compliant and avoid risk of the City of Cape Town disconnecting your power. Please share any and all ideas and opinions and if anyone is able to help sort this out please send me a private message so that I can connect you with my friend. Thanks! SSEG configurations (2017 04 06).pdf CCTRequiremenstforEmbeddedGeneration_V47 20161103.pdf
  7. Thanks SilverN, just to clarify that the council earth is connected, I just disconnected temporarily to ensure that the house earth spike was within spec on its own without the help of the council.
  8. When I tested the ohms I first physically disconnected the earth wire of the council from the earth bar in the board on the street and only tested resistance of earth spike which was 12ohms. Then I reconnected council earth wire and got a reading of 1ohm.
  9. I've been working with C1N3 to try and resolve and we've had no luck and getting to the point of returning the unit to Mustek because we can't get it working. Inverter works perfectly and carries load when Eskom breaker is down and only running off PV and battery supplying UPS loads. As soon as the AC input breaker on the mains side of inverter is flipped inverter throws fault 19 and goes offline. We have tried: - 2x different Infini units and get same error (we got another unit from Mustek) - 2x different electricians to review the installation on the AC side - Tested earth resistance which is 1ohm when council is connected and 12ohm when council earth is removed and only using house earth spike - Phase frequency and voltage all good on all phases - Zero voltage between all phases and neutral and earth - Firmware from Creovision (which they got from Mustek) as well as the default firmware the unit ships with - Tried changing standards standards from VDE4105, VDE0126 and NRS097 - none work - Panels are earthed and neutral and earth are bonded on both AC input side (grid tie) and AC output (UPS) sides All other ideas welcome!
  10. Thanks guys, I guess that's a good acid test if its a proper hybrid or not.
  11. Thanks for the replies guys. Sorry, another 'silly question'... Would either the Imeon or Infini range of inverters be able to work in a PV mode (blending solar with grid or in a grid only mode) if there was no battery bank connected at all? Or do they all need the battery bank as a capacitor of sorts to carry the load between switching modes etc?
  12. Just been reviewing the manual, please can I have your thoughts on the following scenarios with this machine? Am I correct in understanding that the Infini can't blend PV with grid together (like the Imeon can) to carry the load; its in either one mode or the other (more similar to the Axpert) and its a matter of how its configured in terms of priority as to which source delivers the load. e.g. lets assume the load demand is 1000W, there is only 900W of PV available and PV is the number 1 priority to deliver the load; can the 900W of PV be blended with 100W of Eskom to be able to service the load? Am I correct that it can only back feed to the grid when in PV mode and there is surplus PV available; meaning that the only opportunity to back feed is when PV is carrying the load entirely on its own and there is surplus. e.g. lets assume the load demand is 1000W, there is only 900W of PV available but the inverter is currently in grid mode; can the 900W of PV be back fed?
  13. Thanks for the feedback guys. This machine really fills a gap in the single phase grid tie space and the fact that it's stackable really sets it apart from the other options at the price point. Mike please keep us posted on whether it works with AICC software or if you pickup any issues.
  14. Looks great Mike. Any news of these getting SANS approval on the SSEG inverter list yet?
  15. Something like these will change your life! 35mm cable will fit perfectly into every lug, every time.
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