Vin

Due to all the load shedding my gate motor batteries are taking a beating. I put in a Forbatt gel battery a few months ago and its already on its way out. I am considering replacing the battery with something like this :https://www.bidorbuy.co.za/item/559987360/Hoselect_LifePo4_LA127_Lithium_7_2ah_12_8v_Rechargeable_Battery.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwquWVBhBrEiwAt1KmwtN88odwCkn8ORAUQlxg8c1W_3Ty-9WzCaf0qnp3uShalDSbxBECohoCYi8QAvD_BwE is this even possible? Has anyone has done this before. Can the standard built in charger charge the lithium battery?

I have one of these magneto rechargeable led lanterns. https://www.tevo.co.za/shop/outdoor/torches/magneto-rechargeable-led-lantern/?gclid=CjwKCAjwp7eUBhBeEiwAZbHwke7yNbRFiGNaq5BUzGS9jnMSBP0bbjqjeD-zhd72zubxwMrOc9OA-xoCHQgQAvD_BwE It was really good at first but after a few months of usage with load shedding I can see it gets dim very quickly and does not last as long as it used to. Inside is a normal lead acid 6v 4ah battery. This battery is obviously not meant for repeated charging and discharging and I am looking for somethng to replace it with. I think a lithium battery may be the best option. Has anyone replaced the battery on these with a lithium battery and what has been your experience? Is the built in charger able to charge a lithium battery? Would an 18650 battery work here?

Alarmtec has a battery Kit just for this purpose. https://www.alarmtec.co.za/batteries/forbatt-battery-kit-p-1882.html I have been using the setup above for more than 2 years through the worst of loadshedding with not issues. I do have a wireless setup though so the only things draining the battery are the panel, keypad, radio pad .

I am considering a retrofit system to my existing 150l kwikot geyser. My geyser was replaced about 18 months ago with Kwikot superline geyser. I noticed before it was installed the superline range as a built in water inlet to be fed by solar. I see them advertised around R11000. This is for vacuum tubes with some kind of controller to circulate water beteen panel and geyser. Is such a system worth fitting? Anyone out there had any experience with one of these retrofit systems and can advise on actual savings? I get a lot of sun on my roof and even in winter I am sure this can warm up my geyser sufficiently during the day. I use about 14kwh per day on average and I suspect a big part of this is the geyser. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks. Do you get those stats from your Sunsynk inverter?

Thanks a lot for the suggestion Nexuss. Sounds like a perfect setup for my needs. I was going to do a retrofit solar collector to my existing geyser as it is quite new so the cost will only be around 12k instead of 25k for a complete geyser. Just out of curiosity how much of your electricity needs does your current setup cover?

Hi guys came across this forum and found it really interesting and informative. I am looking forward to learning as much as possible. I have bought an old house in 2016 and while it was not falling apart needed a lot of upgrading. Spent the last few years renovating bathrooms kitchens etc. as I saved money. I changed the stove to gas with elec oven and now want to start my journey to reduce my reliance on eskom. I would like to install a retrofit vacuum tube panel to my existing geyser as my next step and then start with a solar system that can be built on in steps as funds allow. My average consumption is about 14Kwh a day. I think this could be reduced with the solar geyser. I would be happy to reduce my electricity bill initially but move to a total off grid setup removing the need for eskom . Any suggestions on a basic setup that can help with load shedding for now but I can add panels n batteries as time goes by would be appreciated.

Hi guys I have a ripple relay installed at my place that went bonkers this weekend after all the load shedding. My geyser just stopped working so I checked for power at the thermostat there was nothing so assumed it was the relay. I had a plumber out to check the geyser anyways and cofirmed that it was the relay. Many people in the area had the same issue. He simply opened it up and flipped a switch the opposite way and the geyser came back on. The plumber left and someone from city power came to check the relay. He assured me that the plumber switched the thing off and that there was no power going to the geyser at that moment. He showed me with a multimeter in the current position there was only power coming in and nothing going to the geyser. When he switched it the opposite way there was power both in and out. A long time after he went away I realised that the plumber was right and the city power guy switched it off. I checked for a diagram below and this is the exact thing that I have. The only difference is that the one in the picture actually tells you which way is on or off. Mine does not have the markers. I switched back to the on position(the way the plumber originally moved it) and geyser started heating up again. I tested the wires myself with a multimeter and with the switch in the on position there is only power on one side. The side where wires appear to be going into the ceiling which I can only assume is going to the geyser has no power yet the geyser is working fine. Anybody out there know how this thing works and what the explanation of the above could be. My knowledge of electricity is very poor but I'm very curious to know how this thing would work with no power coming out out.