1ougat

It's tolerable if you have a vacuum soldering station. An inexpensive one will do. If not, its certainly not worth doing. The hassle is all the tiny gate drive components that typically get destroyed when the MOSFEs go.

can you not drill through the PC board behind the terminals, and use a bolt and nut to clamp the battery lug to the terminal?

I am sure @TaliaB will provide you some pointers. 

You can still buy them at GeeWiz: https://www.geewiz.co.za/gadgets/62551-efergy-standalone-home-hub-solo-with-power-supply-only-electricity-energy-power-monitor.html

https://www.geewiz.co.za/gadgets/62551-efergy-standalone-home-hub-solo-with-power-supply-only-electricity-energy-power-monitor.html

https://www.geewiz.co.za/smart-home-accessories/187419-efergy-emax-smart-home-wifi-kit-wi-fi-screen-app-electricity-energy-power-wattage-monitor-watt-meter.html

The misunderstandings of safety earthing ,bonding and earthing for lightning is scary. Lightning earthing is also part science and black art 🙂
1.The lightning incused spikes are a high frequency Voltage spike  that travel on the conductors ( Neutral , Live , Earth - it does not care ) towards your precious inverter - and it will also do so on your DC wires . At  a reflection point on the line it will reflect and effectively double up and can spark over at such a point . It is why you see arcing horns sometimes on overhead lines and the good munics will install surge arrestors on the incoming lines at the supply transformer. In the high voltage case you also will then have the 50hz power going to ground at such a breakdown point and effectively creating a short circuit that the upstream breakers must clear . That can cause damage as the time could be long before the breaker operates .(Long is also relative as this would be a few cycles for the breaker to operate vs the lightning induced spike timeline.    Suffice to say you want all your equipment to rise together on this voltage so that the differencial between the equipment don't exceed the equipment rating .  So add as many earths as you can, connect them together and add surge arrestors on your incoming feeds . And buy insurance. Some connections I have seen would not have helped in a lightning strike but at least would satisfy the insurance guy that you had an earth as required . 
2.Bonding is there that you are not the earth conductor that closes the loop in case there is a live wire touching exposed metal .
3. Safety earthing is there to ensure that your earth leakage works properly in case of any current (more than 25mA)returning on the earth wire. 
Earthing is a very interesting subject and can be confusing to people . 
Hope this helps 
 
 
 

The misunderstandings of safety earthing ,bonding and earthing for lightning is scary. Lightning earthing is also part science and black art 🙂
1.The lightning incused spikes are a high frequency Voltage spike  that travel on the conductors ( Neutral , Live , Earth - it does not care ) towards your precious inverter - and it will also do so on your DC wires . At  a reflection point on the line it will reflect and effectively double up and can spark over at such a point . It is why you see arcing horns sometimes on overhead lines and the good munics will install surge arrestors on the incoming lines at the supply transformer. In the high voltage case you also will then have the 50hz power going to ground at such a breakdown point and effectively creating a short circuit that the upstream breakers must clear . That can cause damage as the time could be long before the breaker operates .(Long is also relative as this would be a few cycles for the breaker to operate vs the lightning induced spike timeline.    Suffice to say you want all your equipment to rise together on this voltage so that the differencial between the equipment don't exceed the equipment rating .  So add as many earths as you can, connect them together and add surge arrestors on your incoming feeds . And buy insurance. Some connections I have seen would not have helped in a lightning strike but at least would satisfy the insurance guy that you had an earth as required . 
2.Bonding is there that you are not the earth conductor that closes the loop in case there is a live wire touching exposed metal .
3. Safety earthing is there to ensure that your earth leakage works properly in case of any current (more than 25mA)returning on the earth wire. 
Earthing is a very interesting subject and can be confusing to people . 
Hope this helps 
 
 
 

The misunderstandings of safety earthing ,bonding and earthing for lightning is scary. Lightning earthing is also part science and black art 🙂
1.The lightning incused spikes are a high frequency Voltage spike  that travel on the conductors ( Neutral , Live , Earth - it does not care ) towards your precious inverter - and it will also do so on your DC wires . At  a reflection point on the line it will reflect and effectively double up and can spark over at such a point . It is why you see arcing horns sometimes on overhead lines and the good munics will install surge arrestors on the incoming lines at the supply transformer. In the high voltage case you also will then have the 50hz power going to ground at such a breakdown point and effectively creating a short circuit that the upstream breakers must clear . That can cause damage as the time could be long before the breaker operates .(Long is also relative as this would be a few cycles for the breaker to operate vs the lightning induced spike timeline.    Suffice to say you want all your equipment to rise together on this voltage so that the differencial between the equipment don't exceed the equipment rating .  So add as many earths as you can, connect them together and add surge arrestors on your incoming feeds . And buy insurance. Some connections I have seen would not have helped in a lightning strike but at least would satisfy the insurance guy that you had an earth as required . 
2.Bonding is there that you are not the earth conductor that closes the loop in case there is a live wire touching exposed metal .
3. Safety earthing is there to ensure that your earth leakage works properly in case of any current (more than 25mA)returning on the earth wire. 
Earthing is a very interesting subject and can be confusing to people . 
Hope this helps 
 
 
 

P1000 - I have installed a number of the Mecer branded Axperts and only had one case where I had to take the inverter for testing and it then turned out that the battery was the problem - You have any other experience ?
Must say that the battery supplier said it was the inverter that caused the issue - but in the end that was also false - just a overstated ability of a lead acid to work in a cycled environment . 
Seven years ago a lot of statements was made by people that this is chinese crap and Victron is the only option but 7 years later they are still operating and I am not aware of an enmass failure of that design - yes it is not an Hibrid and a Hibrid is now my choice for a normal house install with a eskom/munic supply because mostly you can still use your solar panels during loadshedding , you can cycle your batteries in a intelegent fasion , you have a good app etc. But I must say that most of the original Axperts is probably still operating if it was installed with adequate protection . Or am I on some other planet?

You are spoilt for choice & there are sizes & scalability options for everyone's budget. The 5.6kW, 7.2kW & 10kW versions. The best brand to buy is the kodak simply for the walk in support should you ever need it. So that's a 2 year warranty & the fact the boys at Segen have a technical department with spares & technicians locally. The other outfits I'm afraid are just not as jacked up. The other suppliers are glorified postboxes from China. So if you need assistance or help they will revert to China again. This all the while takes a lot of time.
The simple truth with anything electronic & especially as complex as an inverter is that things can & do go wrong & it's pretty possible & normal. But all you as an end user or installer want is the piece of mind that you have local support of people who know the product & stock spares. 
The same must be said for FreedomWon & Livoltek Lithium batteries. You want a tangible local presence and support. 

Id recommend it. The main reason is that you can make a long string with the high voltage MPPT charger. This will save you also on DC switch gear. One string requires one set of DC breakers, fuses & Surge protectors. This all adds up with the King. Because the same PV wattage will require a DC combiner with 2 maybe 3 inputs & the same number of switches and fuses. All the major manufacturers have opted for the higher DC voltage. For residential use that is usually <500V. In the commercial levels that goes to 1000v. 
As an installer less hassle for me to install & uses less DC PV cable & connectors. Overall makes for a cheaper cost of installation for the customer. 

P1000 - I have installed a number of the Mecer branded Axperts and only had one case where I had to take the inverter for testing and it then turned out that the battery was the problem - You have any other experience ?
Must say that the battery supplier said it was the inverter that caused the issue - but in the end that was also false - just a overstated ability of a lead acid to work in a cycled environment . 
Seven years ago a lot of statements was made by people that this is chinese crap and Victron is the only option but 7 years later they are still operating and I am not aware of an enmass failure of that design - yes it is not an Hibrid and a Hibrid is now my choice for a normal house install with a eskom/munic supply because mostly you can still use your solar panels during loadshedding , you can cycle your batteries in a intelegent fasion , you have a good app etc. But I must say that most of the original Axperts is probably still operating if it was installed with adequate protection . Or am I on some other planet?

Hi 
I was asked to review quotes for a  friend for an off-grid install . It is a true off-grid - no munic or eskom power . 
Both of the quotes propose a Sunsynk inverter . Now just to state it up front I like the Sunsynk and is my go-to in case of normal installations . But in this case I would propose an Axpert or Clone as an adequate inverter . It will be cheaper , you can still power it from a generator , and you could use the saving to get extra panels or bigger battery . The true hibrid features will be waisted in this case . Am I missing something ? What alternatives could also work ?

Hi all 
 
Thanks for the replies , my take from this : Support ,mounting etc. probably similar . Only real difference is the chemical make up and then we into the NMC vs LFP debate .
I can understand the case for the higher density for the use case of Electric Cars( I have a i3)  and Cell Phones . You will find that in those cases also each cell is monitored  and you have sophisticated BMS management in place . In the case of storage batteries you can reuse NMC as a storage battery as a second life option but for home installations where you are sometime compromised as to where you have to install batteries ( no dedicated battery room etc) I would opt for the inherent safer chemistry of LFP . I was involved in the review of a Battery Fire in Nelspruit - It was installed in a dedicated battery inverter utility room and substantial damage to the room and the garage  was done - if that was in the house it could have been deadly as the wires that burned cut the power to the safety door and the people was locked in( and yes that they only found out with the fire ).
I will provide the feedback to the customer and she can make the call .
Thanks 
 

Hi all 
 
Thanks for the replies , my take from this : Support ,mounting etc. probably similar . Only real difference is the chemical make up and then we into the NMC vs LFP debate .
I can understand the case for the higher density for the use case of Electric Cars( I have a i3)  and Cell Phones . You will find that in those cases also each cell is monitored  and you have sophisticated BMS management in place . In the case of storage batteries you can reuse NMC as a storage battery as a second life option but for home installations where you are sometime compromised as to where you have to install batteries ( no dedicated battery room etc) I would opt for the inherent safer chemistry of LFP . I was involved in the review of a Battery Fire in Nelspruit - It was installed in a dedicated battery inverter utility room and substantial damage to the room and the garage  was done - if that was in the house it could have been deadly as the wires that burned cut the power to the safety door and the people was locked in( and yes that they only found out with the fire ).
I will provide the feedback to the customer and she can make the call .
Thanks 
 

I have 3 Hubble AM-2 and they are great, easy to install and does what is says on the box. Hubble support is also good. Will definitely use them again.

They still use the NMC chemistry in the AM2 which is being phased out internationally due to the usage of cobalt,nickel and safety in regards to fires ,i would stick with  Blue Nova as they use LFP cells .

I have installed a few of these Sunsynks both the 5 and the 8 - I use the BlueNova batteries as their HC series can support the 5 and 8 from one battery and they are locally made - price-wise also competitive. 
The current install I did without batteries with 18 solar panels - I had a  set of old lead acid batteries that I recovered from another site and then installed it so that daytime the pV can still supply the house . Even though the batteries can probably only work for 15 minutes at night time, it allows the time for the generator to be connected and supply the load at night . They will replace the batteries later - the aim was for now to cut their electricity bill first . The Sunsynk is a champ .

I have installed a few of these Sunsynks both the 5 and the 8 - I use the BlueNova batteries as their HC series can support the 5 and 8 from one battery and they are locally made - price-wise also competitive. 
The current install I did without batteries with 18 solar panels - I had a  set of old lead acid batteries that I recovered from another site and then installed it so that daytime the pV can still supply the house . Even though the batteries can probably only work for 15 minutes at night time, it allows the time for the generator to be connected and supply the load at night . They will replace the batteries later - the aim was for now to cut their electricity bill first . The Sunsynk is a champ .

Just put the 3 panels in parallel.
The panel has a Vmpp of 42V and Voc of about 50V . 
 Your 100/50 can handle 1400 W max and can handle 100V MAX and require 5 V above Battery voltage to start the mppt - so that should be about 29-30V . The panels will operate well. Your amp limit is 50A and the three panels will operate at about 33A max . So you are ok . The  two panels in series are vary close to the max limit if open circuit and on cold days you would probably exceed it . 
With the three panels in parallel you also have 1200w  available that is within the spec of the MPPT . You are also limited by the original choice - a better option would have been 4 panels of 340 W probably but this should be still a ok setup .
Dont worry about the 5 W difference between the panel rating - panels derate over time and you will find on new panels that this is within the tolerance anyway you probably have on randomly selected panels . All those panels are assembled on the same line and with the flasing test at the end  the rating is assigned anyway . That is why you have families of panels with the same number with only the rating different. The component combination of the silicon wavers give the difference . In large solar panel installations such as PV grid installations this do become important . Not in this case .
Hope this help and good luck .
 
 
 
 

Your options :
1. Without Batteries : Solis or Kodac 3.6 kW grid tie inverter -  you will get them for under R10 000. - you will get 20 - 25 units per day with your panels . 
2. With Batteries - get the Axpert King  5kW - probably in the R12 - 14 000 range - will give you the option to sun when the grid is off .
or 3kw Axpert 24 V - probably arround R7000 - also only needs 24 V batteries - so 2 x 100Ah lead acid or a 24V LiION such as the Pylonteck or BlueNova Mini .
3. 5k Sunsynk - about R18 000 - R20 000 : Hybrid - you can run offgrid and also feedback - best of both worlds . Stick to the Sunsynk - better support and better software.
 
My setup : Solis 4.6G with 10x455w Ja Solar panels - gives me 15 - 30units per day dependent on how I manage my load .
I have a 3kW 24 V Axpert that I run as a UPS for critical loads when the power is off . 
Works well and is very cost effective . 

Your options :
1. Without Batteries : Solis or Kodac 3.6 kW grid tie inverter -  you will get them for under R10 000. - you will get 20 - 25 units per day with your panels . 
2. With Batteries - get the Axpert King  5kW - probably in the R12 - 14 000 range - will give you the option to sun when the grid is off .
or 3kw Axpert 24 V - probably arround R7000 - also only needs 24 V batteries - so 2 x 100Ah lead acid or a 24V LiION such as the Pylonteck or BlueNova Mini .
3. 5k Sunsynk - about R18 000 - R20 000 : Hybrid - you can run offgrid and also feedback - best of both worlds . Stick to the Sunsynk - better support and better software.
 
My setup : Solis 4.6G with 10x455w Ja Solar panels - gives me 15 - 30units per day dependent on how I manage my load .
I have a 3kW 24 V Axpert that I run as a UPS for critical loads when the power is off . 
Works well and is very cost effective . 

Just put the 3 panels in parallel.
The panel has a Vmpp of 42V and Voc of about 50V . 
 Your 100/50 can handle 1400 W max and can handle 100V MAX and require 5 V above Battery voltage to start the mppt - so that should be about 29-30V . The panels will operate well. Your amp limit is 50A and the three panels will operate at about 33A max . So you are ok . The  two panels in series are vary close to the max limit if open circuit and on cold days you would probably exceed it . 
With the three panels in parallel you also have 1200w  available that is within the spec of the MPPT . You are also limited by the original choice - a better option would have been 4 panels of 340 W probably but this should be still a ok setup .
Dont worry about the 5 W difference between the panel rating - panels derate over time and you will find on new panels that this is within the tolerance anyway you probably have on randomly selected panels . All those panels are assembled on the same line and with the flasing test at the end  the rating is assigned anyway . That is why you have families of panels with the same number with only the rating different. The component combination of the silicon wavers give the difference . In large solar panel installations such as PV grid installations this do become important . Not in this case .
Hope this help and good luck .