Valken

Pricing?

Cool, I just picked up mine from Current Automation for R508 inc VAT

So what is the going rate for this cable? I had so many different quotes today varying from almost cheap to the north of #%$%$ Crazy!!

Tnx TTT, No worries, found one here in JHB. Picking it up tomorrow.

Uhmmm...Should i perhaps rename this thread?

Hi TTT, Any news yet on the VE.Direct to USB cables?

Ok..Sooo.. Although i know my battery bank is not ideal (at all) This should not affect my available power to my house from PV during the day(Sun permitting of coarse) So my problem is most likely the voltage that is too low which causes the MPPT controller to disconnect itself when dropping below 60V? Which i can fix by adding two more panels and changing the string set-up.

Just when i think i got this down Jaco comes and throw a spanner in the works...lol (thats why you got rain today on the beach ;-p ) Ok, on another note, on the settings side Jaco, when using the software (AICC) to switch between Grid and Solar.. Does switching to Solar put the inverter in SBU mode and switching to Grid into Grid only?

So adding two more panels (Total PV will then be 3600W) should not be an issue. I must say i have actualy seen more than 3000W on my panels a few times. So i know they are very capable ;-)

Hi Jaco..Lol. Can you really have too many pannels. Because i had 10 X 300W (Not 12 X 250W) panels i could only wire them up in 5 X 2 The charging is fine now and the Solar balance now seem to work corectly. I suspect the issue to be firstly the fact that the MPPT drops out the moment the voltage drop below 60V - This should be fixed when i add two more panels which will alow me to wire them in a 4 X 3 setup which will give it a higher voltage. I was just not sure if you could actually go over the rated max of 3000W for the 5KVA.

Thank you Viper... That makes sense i suppose. So would it be better if i add two more pannels (12 in total then) and do a 4 X 3 rather? this will then push up my voltage to 109.8V instead of the current 73.2V (But also the PV would now be 3600W) which should handle voltage drops better during those little clouds pasing by every now and then? And yes @TTT I agree and i will change my batteries soon. These were also just during my testing phase. (I am also limiting the charge to 10amps) The thing is that these same batteries with the same panels worked perfectly with my 3KVA Axpert MKS Plus? Now one last question TTT- You say i have too many pannels for the battery bank? Is this not the idea to use as much as possible power from the sun during the day?(Not from batteries) Or is there some kind of relationship between the PV power and ammount of needed battery power? Thanks for all the advise so far guys!

Hi Thys, Yes they are wired up 2 Together 2X5 (ReneSola Virtus II 300W) so i get a VoC of 44.8V X2 I know if it drops below 60V the MPPT disconnects but this is the problem...There is perfect weather and the MPPT voltage does not drop below 60V??

Ok..I really need some advice here now as i think i am going crazy with this. So i enabled the Solar Balance to make use of the full 3000W PV power (Sun permitting of course) But now i find my solar just cutting out and some strange behavior? Just before i started typing this my batteries were on 100% and my house was on a load of 1300W. Now, however my settings are on Solar first (I have tried it on SBU also) There is not a single cloud in the sky but my solar only outputs about 250W (It does this for about 30 seconds the cuts out and seem to cut in again at around 250W for about 30 seconds again. NOW - when i switch of the power from eskom to the inverter, it happily gives out about 1500W and stays there??? So now the house is pulling the 1300W from the solar plus a bit for keeping the batteries on float. But the moment i switch the grid back on and the load increase slightly the solar cuts out and switches back to grid (Note that batteries still on 100%) and the same process repeats again. If i switch of eskom feed it works fine again? Now im not sure if i understand this wrong but should it not pull some power from the batteries should the load exceed the PV output i.e The House draws a 1500W when a small cloud comes along....Now the PV drops to 1000W. Should the batteries not provide the other 500W? And up to what point will it keep providing that 500W as i understand in "Solar First" mode it does not take into account the voltage settings? Then one last thing. I connected my BMV 702 - But the readings on voltages and capacity are in line what AICC tells me. The only thing that is way off is the SOC? And the fact that my battery voltage would be down to 47.2 V but the BMV states my SOC is still over 95% This cant be right??

Hmmm... 256min to 55C That is perfect for me! Thanks viper, that was my next question...with weather like today there would be no way i would get the geyser warmed up ;-) So, now just to build some inteligence into the system to automatically switch on that switch when there was no power from the PV ;-) Should be able to do that whith my Fibaro system and a heavy duty relay....

Ah ok...Tnx Viper_za! So, has anyone tested those 1500W Titanium elements? How long would it take to get a standard geyser up to say 55C? I would also like to use my excess PV during the day to heat up my geyser ;-) Viper_za - In your diagram, if i understand it corectly (Again not a electrician) The Geyserwise controlls the thermostat and element like normal (Set the geyserwise to only switch on say between 10am and 3pm) and then you connect a relay (To switch on/off element as needed) that is controled by the BMV to switch on/off depending on SOC or whatever?

Thank you Camel! Got my BMV 702 this morning! Just wish i got the VE.Direct USB cable! Why do all the good stuff always have to have propriety connectors??

Thank you. Will you PM me with all the details when you get them? Tnx.

Hi TTT! Do you still have the VE.Direct to USB cables? I want one please!

Hi Guys, I am no electrician, but... What exactly is the function of the GeyserWise? Does the geysers existing thermostat not control the temp? And can we not use a timer to ensure it only gets power between certain times? Or am i sitting the pot miss here?

Hi Camel, I will take one please! How much and how do we get it to me? Please PM me all details. Thank You,

Ah, so I need to enable the Solar Power Balance? Was wondering what exactly that does. (Tnx viper_za) Thanks all. And yes I agree I need better batteries. If only I knew what I know now I would have spent a lot more on batteries and less on panels.... I have very small loads during the day.. (Except for these hot days when my Air conditioners run all day) Ps: Any good suggestions on batteries and where best to source them? Any experience on the Narada / SonX RA 260AH batteries? Thanks again for all the feedback.

Hi Camel. Is the 702 still available?

Hi All, I hope someone can shed some light for me on this? First my setup: Axpert 5KVA inverter with 4X Energizer 105Ah batteries and 10 X Renesola Vii 300W panels. Now i would like to know if someone has a similar setup? Because i would like to know how you get your full potential (3000W give or take) from your solar panels when you should not be charging your batteries (4 X 105Ah) at more than 10 amps?? See, when you set your total charging on the Axpert to 10 amps, it seems that the maximum output from your PV is also limited to this figure? I could not understand why i couldn't get more that about a 1000W from my 3000W panels. Then i noticed that when i change the maximum charging to say 60 amps, my PV output also jumped and i could get the full 3000W?? The problem now is that my poor old 105Ah batteries are being charged during the day at a way too high current and looks like they are not really charged fully. Is there something wrong with my inverter or am i missing something? Thanks.

Download the Trial version that Jaco created. Awesome software and a 1000 times better than watchpower! Download here: http://aicc.org.za

Hi All, I had the same issues until i changed the "Solar Balance" Setting to disabled. Not sure if this will work for everyone but it worked for me!