KLEVA

@DeepBass9, @Jaco de Jongh, @Fritz - Please confirm. My budget is tight, so if there is still interest I can spare 3 later, but if the above values are all good, then we can contact them to make arrangement. Just need someone to give us the contact info (Jaco/Fritz?).

While wellpoints are being discussed, does anyone know if they are an option outside the Western Cape?

Hi, Fritz has the contact, but will see when we get closer to the mark (and if they still have stock by then).

Is a 12/24V pump not an option? Dunno if you can get for a pool? My solar pump and pressure pump for geyser run off a 12V 105Ah (other stuff also runs but very low draw from them) and I use a cheapie 10A Ellies solar charger for them, admittedly they don't draw as much power and for much shorter periods of time.

Ok, so @krugeran58, myself and @DeepBass9 are still in market. Going for second pallet: KLEVA - 3 or 6 krugeran58 - 10 DeepBass9 - 3 So we up to 16/19, 10/7 more to go...

Sorry, re-reading my post does make it sound like I am talking about "equalisation" for Gel. Read the same with the term "conditioning" and "restoration" being the same thing, and it will make sense. It is for when the calcification in Gel gets to the point of shorting plates, reduced "power" (the term used by Lifeline). Hope that clarifies.

Oh my word... Just saw all these posts from earlier this year, and I am slightly shocked and disappointed. I very clearly state (in the first words of the original post), that this is not a replacement software and designed for a specific purpose... Cmon, I am not trying to re-write perfectly good alternatives, this specifically takes the various device data and shoves it into a database... That is its only real purpose, and possibly a bit of admin scheduling rules, but that is it! I haven't marketed it otherwise, nor am I trying to improve on other peoples good programs... This is a niche tool and I am happy to provide it to others that may benefit should the need arise. THIS IS NOT COMPARABLE TO AN END USER APPLICATION!

Just to add a Dream Toy... http://www.blessthisstuff.com/stuff/vehicles/cycles/scrambler-e-bike/ Just not happy about the price tag of $3800, excluding the min 35% import duty!

Not sure if we need an EV section when our "almost sister" site in Aus is basically an EV forum that added solar as a topic... Serious EV is still out almost everyones budget in SA, I love the concept, and have fiddled there a few times myself, but even I had to concede the financial issues locally that make it near impossible. Even an EV Bicycle, home made, will set you back R40k+ doing it properly. I did the whole "destroy the environment" thing with a bicycle, and have a 66cc 2-stroke engine on my bicycle (http://www.ecotrax.biz)... Smokes like hell, but probably (hopefully) not as bad as driving the 2.3l Merc to work every day...

Thanks guys, I am in (for 3 or 6 whichever works). I will make a plan with collection from where-ever. Been battling to get that voltage and wattage to match my existing, so just let me know via PM about money and where to collect. @Fritz - Will PM you email and contact info.

Agreed, if you want to be "safe" and be sure, then only go to 44V. I have a similar setup (although not with the nice batteries you have), and the Victron battery monitor (BMV702) always tells me it is 85+ percent when the Axpert/Voltronics unit hits the 46V mark (usually only 92%). You do have 2 settings though, so rather set the "normal" change over (when utility available) at 46V and the "cut-off" at 42V (when utility not available). Even under load, no normal battery should be submitted to under 10.5V (12V battery) for longer than about 2 minutes, you will kill it. Only exceptions at the moment are the Edison Iron batteries which no-one can afford

My plumbing "mechanic" recently had to replace my element in the 150l Kwikhot (a 2kW originally) due to an earth short... normal for a 10 year old geyser, so no issue there... But, he got a "good" deal on a 4kW element which "was great for solar installations"... Ummmm, my geyser is connected to a single Axpert!!! So although geyser element only used in exceptionally bad weather days, turn it on and the Axpert shits itself! I like the new element, because the water heats up faster than hell, but the rewiring exercise (to connect to municipal power only) and cost was huge... could've bought more water heating panels/tubes for that and negated the electrical connection completely!

Late, but my 2c... It took me a while to realise that the batteries are almost the key component in a Solar setup, and usually the most expensive. A good flooded Lead/Acid or similar combo seems to work well when they are at Float/small charge for about a month, but can die quite fast after that if not "whacked" (my term, definately not technical). I have quite a few "solar" setups, besides the obvious household, including electric fence, alarm and gate. I keep them all seperate and have realised that the normal lead/acid battery needs to be taken "offline", with no charge, at least once a month or so. I am not talking about a complete drain, but just so that it gets to about 60% (determine that how you will or with whatever you can, even a multimeter can give you a very basic idea). Then charge it properly with a decent battery charger that can deliver the right charging current, or if your solar setup can deliver the right Amps, then let it do the job... I haven't replaced any Lead/Acid batteries in 4 years, including the cheapie gate and alarm ones. And the Deep Cycle that operates all my internal motors (heavy draw low charge), I just disconnect from the charge for 2-3 days (if the weather hasn't already done that for me), and charge with a 10A cheap car charger for a day (which gets its power from my house solar panels)... So not losing anything, just some attention. As I have said before, anyone who thinks solar is a "install and forget" setup, is going to lose a lot of money and be very frustrated. Now, the Gel battery setup is quite different, although they don't need that kind of attention while on Float, they can still develop the "calcification" that tries to kill Lead/Acids. Think about a Gel battery as if the liquid inside a normal Lead/Acid has been replaced with Jelly/Jello/etc. It doesn't move around as much, if any. So this is great for charging and keeping the calcification and stuff to a minimum, it can't completely stop it. And worst of all, that calcification can't fall to the bottom of the container. This sounds bad, but still makes a Gel battery a much better option (if it's not all in one place it is more difficult to join together and short/damage the plates), but it makes charging and restoration much more difficult. You now will have to try "boil" a jelly rather than a liquid when charging, so Gel batteries need a much higher charging current and voltage when trying to "boost". A Lead/Acid can get away with a 14-14.5V boost ("decalcification") charging voltage to "shake" things up, however a Gel battery will need 15V+, some as high as 16.7V. Hope that helps explain some of my thoughts and experience, and that it it useful.

From the response, maybe 2 pallets needed

Am I too late to get in on this? I am looking for 3 or 6 if still available - Will still have to figure out how I get to Durban, but that's a different fight...

KLEVA started off a hot topic I see - Was my intention (Insert Joker laugh) Just to clarify my comments - I was referring to being as off-grid as possible, with an Axpert (which is not the best off-grid system, but doable). I hate wasting the solar energy that goes to my panels, there is just nowhere to store it... When my cheap battery bank is full, it is full... Would rather have enough to have 24 hours of stored power than 4 hours... This is the same reason why I have 1 solar geyser for shower/bath (150l) and 1 with with a power feed backup feeding kitchen and washing machine (15l). This has the dual advantage for me that if one breaks, there was an alternate source of heat (as happened recently when a pipe burst - we could still use kitchen hot water to bath). I want to be completely off grid, but due to battery storage I am still stuck with using nearly half my power from the municipality. And it is the battery capacity that keeps letting me down. As a Marvel or DC super hero would say: "I HAVE THE POWER - Just not long enough!"

Ok, just reminds me that there are multiple approaches to systems, similar to investments. There is money to be spent, and if you think you are going to get your investment back soon, then you are in the wrong game, for the wrong reasons. I understand the alternate approach, but I feel it is from users who have a lot of time to hunt down the batteries, have a bit of cash on hand, aren't on Utility, or this is a dedicated pursuit. However, my approach is rather towards the Joe Blogs, or the new, or those with jobs outside the industry who are just feeling their way.... My experience so far has taught me that unless you are absolutely dedicated to the "cause" you will be sadly disappointed in the results (the cost pricing is way too high still), and to mitigate you need to invest in storage capacity (AKA batteries) first. If you have the time to fiddle, and turn this into a permanent hobby, then by sure, take the approach mentioned above, and use your gained knowledge to get the maximum out of your system... The average Joe/Home User does not have the patience or time to "fiddle", they are looking to mitigate power failures or stop paying their municipality... So batteries first is the better approach for them (they have other jobs and hobbies, solar should not be a huge chore). As a "do over" on my small system, I would have definitely spent the small fortune on batteries (R40k on batteries only) rather than go through the headaches and nearly R75k have had to spend already and still am sitting with under-capacity on a 4/5K Axpert... I will stick in my corner for now and mumble "batteries, batteries, batteries"...

Yes, we headed off topic, but the principles were kept... When you know how to drive you can afford to drive a Merc/BMW... But when you start out you are most likely driving a second hand beat-up claptrap where your feet act as better brakes through the floorboard rust than the actual brakes on the car! The Axpert has it's many annoyances, but as a starter solar system it seemed (In my Opinion) to have a much smaller starting perspective cost wise, and a simpler installation. They also seemed pretty decent at handling the wife's abuse, and can still be parallel connected later to expand, at a much smaller cost than the "better" kit. You do have to remember though, that you are buying a Tata/Lada equivilent, rather than a Merc/BMW. Decent enough to do the job, but requires a bit more attention and hands-on. I have been quite Ok with mine, even with its faults, but those faults would have been unacceptable if I had spent 3 or 4 times the money. All that aside, the original point of this post was about how to access the input (solar) kW vs Batteries... Go back to one of my Blogs, and you will see that no matter the system (within reason), no matter the panels (within reason), the BATTERIES are the key... Solar power needs to store, and it needs to store for the longest time at the best possible power output... Spend your dosh on Batteries first (and it is expensive to do it right first time, even more expensive if you have to do it right the second or third time after a mistake). A high capacity storage system can enable you to go off grid, even if you have a TATA, but if you skimp there, then you may only have 1 or 2 hours off-grid when the Sun disappears, no matter how much you feed back to Eksdom/Eishtekwini... If they dead, you will be too. One of my most reliable systems (even better than my entire house supply) is a 10W solar panel (yes, you read that value right), feeding a massive 102Ah Deep Cycle through a cheap Ellies charger... The draw on the battery per day is incredibly low (admittedly), but I once tried to replace it with a basic 40Ah deep cycle of the same brand and the whole setup collapsed in a few days of no sun... Despite the recommended values for charging currents and the negatives, this is the system that has been feeding my alarm/gates/electric fence/intercom/solar pump for nearly 2 years without amendment (should get a slightly bigger solar panel - like 50-100W according to EVERYONE, but the battery stays fully charged, so haven't messed with it yet in 2 years). So, my rule (after lessons learned) is batteries, batteries, batteries - The best, the most powerful, and as many as you can afford. Again, this is my personal experience and there will be other perceptions and answers, from even more experienced members. But I am a firm believer in the idea that something even as basic (and reasonably reliable) as an Axpert with a Bentley/Ferrari battery bank, will give a better system than a Victron/Blue/etc system with a crap battery bank. So if your budget is limited, point your money at batteries first, and get the best you can. My 2c over.

As a sideline. There used to be a chap here in Pinetown who made "donkeys" like this with an option for any fuel source and limited loss. He had designed them for the rural areas, an originally to run with a parafin heat (low heat) and with some thermocouples on the outlet for a small bit of electrical power (enough to charge a cellphone/small battery)... I was very interested, but then was out of touch for a while and his business disappeared/no longer around, but the concept was brilliant and when I tested back in 2009 it seemed like an awesome idea... I think he was trying to promote them to government, but the solar geyser option might have had a few extra "advantages" to the powers that be...

Hi Mark Apologise, I din't get a notification of response, so only saw this now when getting back to the forum after a month or two away. The TSE is still available

It's the same story as when wife turns on hairdryer while invertor on, nobody other than me checks or gives a damn. But a smaller element running for a longer time has less of a damaging effect on the batteries (remember the difference in your C5 C10 C20 rates?). Still need decent batteries though, but budget is now completely shot - bought a microlight to continue my flying (so all money going there for the moment).

Guys & any Gals here This is not scientific response, just a small experience that might be worthwhile testing... It seemed to work for me, but that might just have been the specific environment/equipment... Have an OLD Kelvinator fridge, that was playing up and kept cycling for at least 50% of the day, even when set to low... Since my budget doesn't allow me to replace, i had a friend in the industry come and look when the thermostat broke... We regassed the fridge/freezer with 50% more than the manufacturer setting, at my recommendation because I thought there might still be a leak (hoping I would get a few weeks before calling out a ragasser again)... There was no leak, but have noticed that the fridge only turns on 3/4 times a day compared to the 20+ it used to. It's worth a shot, especially if you think your fridge is poked. No promises or guarentees, this is just my experience (and you will see from my blog I have had a lot of bad ones too)

Hi Chris Lets be truthful here, If it is a choice between cost vs environmently friendly, most of us are interested in cost first (but also want to do a little bit to be nice to environment without killing our pocket)... On that note, if you have access to wood on a large scale, then it is most definately cheaper in the long run (no funny mods, no complicated and expensive valves/switches). Despite the perceived negative impact of using wood for fuel burning, it is only marginally worse than the "environmental" alternatives at the moment. The impact currently (but they are getting better and will eventually be worth it) of choosing wood over another alternative is only for your personal good feeling... Keep your eyes open for changes, but cost wise (overall), taking available wood and using it for heating/fuel is still economical if you don't want to use commercial fuels (still lower impact overall). But look at ways you can use the extra heat to do other things, then you might be able to feel great and save bucks at the same time. You would be better off optimising the way you burn the fuel, looking at where the heat goes and how it is distributed... As simple duct changed the entire heating/cooling situation at my place, and that had nothing to do with a fuel/source change...

Late response - But I wanted to make sure I was accurate: I bought a Sunbeam 1.35Kw Kettle from Binuns for around R360, including delivery. It is a Stainless Steel, with a basic thermal "semi-vacuum" outer. It keeps water at decent heat for at least an hour after boiling and the lower wattage has had no difference to the people using it (4min vs 8min). It takes longer to boil because it is not a 2+ Kw kettle that you find on all shelves at most stores... My Batteries would have a heart attack every time kettle used to be turned on, just because of high draw, so this saved me. As an aside: Simple rule (applies to geysers as well) +- 2seconds/KiloWatt/Degree... Best thing I ever learned - Applies to almost every heating element.

TV has always had decent security, it is the users that have had bad security... Think about it, if you just download basic Tv for your machine, you get a fairly random password (anything from 4 random characters on older versions to 8 random characters on recent)... The issue is not about TV security, but about how end users treat security. The problem here is that TV users have the ability to save their sessions/usersnames/passwords for machines they have accessed. This is the part of the system that got broken... I use this regulary to assist clients remotely, and the story is about the fact that if they hack my account then they will have instant access to all my clients... 100% correct and a risk... You can safely keep teamviewer, by just not setting it up as a default user has overriding control (this you have to do by the advanced settings in TV anyway). For the normal user, who gets a new password value every time, and hasn't set a user/password override, you cannot be affected. TV is a valuable tool and can save you money with regards to call out costs etc, but like everything you have to be vigilant of dodgy people accessing your computer... Try picture the remote user sitting at your computer desk, there are some things you don't want them to touch... On another last note: Now that I have your panicked attention? The story about TV being hacked is absolute bogus, it was fake and and a hype story trying to get your panic level up. The reason I wanted you to keep reading about a fake story is that it is possible, so although this story isn't real, another might be soon... Be careful with your usernames, passwords and personal information on the Internet. I am experienced and I have even been caught... Common sense and asking questions of friends and trusted forum members or people you know in real life are worth a thousand times more than the "internet story" or "proof" you got from the internet.