KLEVA

Hi Jeeva & Scorp007
* PS: This can be used for other municipalities, but at own risk and research
The doc above is not clear enough. I understand that your MCB is 63A, but the rest of the diagram is not clear from an electrical standpoint. Understand that I am coming from this advise as if you do not have a complete CoC for your system. Ignore if you have a complete CoC for your system that Cape Town municipal has accepted.
From the little I am following from your diagram and description is:
* The first thing I have to say from a CoC & general standpoint is that you either need to keep your Cape Town power, far separate from any other power source (they are very strict, so don't push them), or get a signoff (tricky/time consuming) to use in single distribution. Try avoid taking anything pushed back to the first distribution point from their mains (not illegal, but avoid the stress).
* As above, set up a Cape Town input power in a completely separate MCB, and any solar/other/backup/generator/etc in a separate MCB
* Dont make "jippo" wiring, it will make your life harder later. Make sure all your wiring is up to specification (don't use 1mm connections for a 10A draw without a CB in place). Even if you can't get an expensive electrician in, make sure you are still doing things as close to legit as possible until a later CoC.
* Definately have a Switch over switch as close as possible to your Municipal input... Be able to isolate and switch over to municipal power without you backup using a change over. This will also help you isolate your solar system for checking of various faults/issues without killing your home of power.
* If you want to do things 100%, the SANS10142 & SANS10142A are available online with a search, if you follow those you should have no problem getting a CoC from a qualified electrician later.
* DONT feed back into the grid unless you have done the relevant paperwork with your municipality. It is such an easy cheat with the old meters, but if you get caught there are HUGE fines involved. Make sure you can prove that you either have the documents, or that your Invertor is set not to do that.
* Even though it might mean multiple MCB's, make sure you distribute your backup/solar power to the relevant essentials. You can power everything in the home, but some stuff should be left out (anything with an element is usually first, no geyser/kettle/oven)

This is about all I can come up with at the moment. Good Luck and the expense in doing the electrical right is worth it in the long run. If you can offer power back to Municipality, then examine the costs/reward first as it might not be worth it... I have preferred buying more batteries for storage rather than accepting their pricing, but that is a cost call you have to decide on.

I use an old EEEPC micro laptop permanently connected via USB and running the Imeon software. It's very slow but does the job. I access it via AnyDesk. I don't think mine has a comms link, but never checked, I was in such a hurry to install after a failed Axpert and bad batteries nearly burning my house down that was the last of my concerns. Thanks to someone else on the forum I also managed to get admin access to the software to tweak a few minor settings.
I also use the EEEPC to run 4 USB relays (connected to other high power relays further down the line) that I use to control power to certain devices at certain times of the day, and with AnyDesk I am able to remotely turn these on/off via Tablet/PC wherever I might be.
Almost off-grid, but still need grid for my wife's baking business - My solar can't handle that yet.

I keep getting shot down about new solar installations not thinking about water heating first, but even if you trash your water heating system later it is the most economical start (IMO). Even if you only solar heat one of them and pay a plumber to change some pipes, the geyser heating should be the first to go. And despite many arguing against due to other methods, it is far cheaper than installing an Electrical conversion system (heat pumps etc) to cover that from day 1. Once you get a large solar installation, then by all means change your approach, but solar heating tubes work with almost minimal maintenance and breakdown,
Like every installation each is different and unique. In my case Gas wasn't an option for ovens and stoves due to my wife's business. It would take a very expensive Gas stove to maintain exact temperatures she needed. But gas is a valid alternative if you consider the Gas litres and cost vs your electricity cost. In my personal case the costs were too close to justify the capital expense, so we run the baking oven with Solar Electricity (just can only run the Stove/Oven with no other heating element at the same time due to Invertor limitations, but that is family education).
Government electricity bill, with Solar (Electricity & Water) dropped from R3000/mth in 2015, to current of R600/mth. Despite increases in charges and doing a lot to reduce consumption in lights, education, a few heaters using gas instead +++. It is just learning.

@Warrenpfo - Contact me on 0835579832 on weekend. I am Durban based and can discuss the cheapest to best options and let you choose. I am not going to try sell you on anything, I am a software developer not a salesperson. I just like meeting people locally with the same passion. Reach out.

@Warrenpfo - Contact me on 0835579832 on weekend. I am Durban based and can discuss the cheapest to best options and let you choose. I am not going to try sell you on anything, I am a software developer not a salesperson. I just like meeting people locally with the same passion. Reach out.

@WannabeSolarSparky - Nice job of showing the pros and cons and of course your experiences. We have a Backup Server setup that needs 700W continuous, and that has been my biggest challenge for complete offline - My house is also tiny, so no more space to setup panels - he he. But like you, we have reduced our Municipal demand to 6-10kW/day. Have just replaced my LeadCrystalGel batteries with a LiFePo of 1/2 the Ah size, but it works about the same. I am in a Catch 22 - I can't expand my solar array until there are some bigger improvements in Tech due to space, and expanding the battery bank would mean they could almost never get to 100% SOC in a day.
 
My wife is a professional baker, so an electric stove is critical, but she managed to find a specialised baking convection oven (standalone) that halved the power consumption of a normal stove, and has 1.5 times the capacity (space). That alone reduced nearly 10kW/day of power. We also now use induction plates when we can't or are not willing to damage pots on gas (we use a cheap 2 plate store bought gas stove). Since we camp a lot, we just throw the same gas stove and bottle in the car for our trips - he he. Our solar geyser is off-grid almost all year, think we have used electrical power to heat about 3 times this year due to additional guests. Since we do camping, our kettle is already gas (although we do have an electrical one as well in the kitchen for when wife is impatient). Just wish we could find something better for the vacuum and iron. We have also setup a 12VDC bus bar that runs the length of the house, that we keep on a separate basic 12VDC solar charger connected to a bog standard car battery (90Ah), charged by 2 x 100W panels that go with us when camping (if going for a while then have 2 separate 100W panels and 12VDC charger that can take on the road that we use to keep car batteries alive while we use those for power). Anyway, that 12VDC bus bar charges and runs almost anything I find in the house that can or is running on 12VDC - DSTV Decoder, OpenView Decoder, Alarm System (did have to tell security company to ignore power failure signals), Gate Motor, 12VDC lights in almost every room in the house - Unless reading never have to turn a light on in my house (3-6W LED's in almost every room, just enough to walk around).
My fault but I destroyed my batteries this year during the July Floods - We were without Solar and Electricity for days and I pushed them way to hard. Lost 3 out of 8 200Ah permanently and the others were heated badly due to load. I will keep the best for use with our camping setup, but this is the second time in my solar years that Lead/Acid (gel or standard) have let me down even with decent balancers and controllers in place. The first time nearly set fire to my house and completely melted down, this time some of them got so heated and swelled that when I finally got them removed, the label printing from some of them was etched in reverse on another - Eish.

Good luck with your progress and I will continue to follow and witness the challenges you overcome
Regards KLEVA

PS: And thank you for the link to Off-Grid Garage (Andy) - I will watch tonight +++

It's in the ceiling and I don't often get up there much anymore at my age. They are just long strips of the copper connections you find in an electrical box, but with the holes spaced further apart and very slightly bigger. House is small so have 4 x 6m lengths, 2 for each +ve/-ve, connected to another 2 with a short 5mm thick copper wire in-between. Only need the 12m. They are run about 20cm apart and strapped near the top of the roofing beams.
Wires from ceiling to devices are almost always twinflex and use that 10x10 white plastic square stuff (forgot what it is called) or bigger if needed to cover other things like in Lounge where speaker wires, aerial cables +++ go through.

It's in the ceiling and I don't often get up there much anymore at my age. They are just long strips of the copper connections you find in an electrical box, but with the holes spaced further apart and very slightly bigger. House is small so have 4 x 6m lengths, 2 for each +ve/-ve, connected to another 2 with a short 5mm thick copper wire in-between. Only need the 12m. They are run about 20cm apart and strapped near the top of the roofing beams.
Wires from ceiling to devices are almost always twinflex and use that 10x10 white plastic square stuff (forgot what it is called) or bigger if needed to cover other things like in Lounge where speaker wires, aerial cables +++ go through.

@WannabeSolarSparky - Nice job of showing the pros and cons and of course your experiences. We have a Backup Server setup that needs 700W continuous, and that has been my biggest challenge for complete offline - My house is also tiny, so no more space to setup panels - he he. But like you, we have reduced our Municipal demand to 6-10kW/day. Have just replaced my LeadCrystalGel batteries with a LiFePo of 1/2 the Ah size, but it works about the same. I am in a Catch 22 - I can't expand my solar array until there are some bigger improvements in Tech due to space, and expanding the battery bank would mean they could almost never get to 100% SOC in a day.
 
My wife is a professional baker, so an electric stove is critical, but she managed to find a specialised baking convection oven (standalone) that halved the power consumption of a normal stove, and has 1.5 times the capacity (space). That alone reduced nearly 10kW/day of power. We also now use induction plates when we can't or are not willing to damage pots on gas (we use a cheap 2 plate store bought gas stove). Since we camp a lot, we just throw the same gas stove and bottle in the car for our trips - he he. Our solar geyser is off-grid almost all year, think we have used electrical power to heat about 3 times this year due to additional guests. Since we do camping, our kettle is already gas (although we do have an electrical one as well in the kitchen for when wife is impatient). Just wish we could find something better for the vacuum and iron. We have also setup a 12VDC bus bar that runs the length of the house, that we keep on a separate basic 12VDC solar charger connected to a bog standard car battery (90Ah), charged by 2 x 100W panels that go with us when camping (if going for a while then have 2 separate 100W panels and 12VDC charger that can take on the road that we use to keep car batteries alive while we use those for power). Anyway, that 12VDC bus bar charges and runs almost anything I find in the house that can or is running on 12VDC - DSTV Decoder, OpenView Decoder, Alarm System (did have to tell security company to ignore power failure signals), Gate Motor, 12VDC lights in almost every room in the house - Unless reading never have to turn a light on in my house (3-6W LED's in almost every room, just enough to walk around).
My fault but I destroyed my batteries this year during the July Floods - We were without Solar and Electricity for days and I pushed them way to hard. Lost 3 out of 8 200Ah permanently and the others were heated badly due to load. I will keep the best for use with our camping setup, but this is the second time in my solar years that Lead/Acid (gel or standard) have let me down even with decent balancers and controllers in place. The first time nearly set fire to my house and completely melted down, this time some of them got so heated and swelled that when I finally got them removed, the label printing from some of them was etched in reverse on another - Eish.

Good luck with your progress and I will continue to follow and witness the challenges you overcome
Regards KLEVA

PS: And thank you for the link to Off-Grid Garage (Andy) - I will watch tonight +++

@GreenMan - Sorry, just got confirmation of Payment - SOLD

As mentioned elsewhere on the forum, don't use a permanent bond. You only want that bond when no valid E/N bond exists and you are "islanding" /isolated from external. Even then you want to protect the current from being driven to Earth instead of Neutral. A good inverter will either do this for you or provide you with some form of dry contacts to install a relay.

Whilst on another post answering this question, I thought of a new idea to achieve this if your kit doesn't provide - An AC/DC convertor on the Municipal side only power (not fed by the invertor) that powers a cheap 12VDC normal closed car relay - Place a small (5A or under) fuse or breaker in between the bond and you can bond the E & N voltages together. You are not running current through this and the fuse/breaker will prevent that situation. That's a cheap and easily replaceable component situation. Alternately ask the Sparky to find you a 220VAC Normal Closed relay, with a 5A or less circuit breaker that can do the job in a more CoC friendly way, and this will bond the E & N when needed. Depending on your invertor switchover time, there is still a split second or more when power is returned from external, that your Neutral will float (110VAC) for a bit. On my old Axpert I never experience any issues with this temporary float.
As mentioned - Please don't do this bond without some protection (like a breaker/fuse) between E/N bond - You don't want either your power or your neighbours power to be travelling though your Earth circuit.

My thoughts, and without seeing the rest of your setup might not be appropriate, so take/leave as you wish:

* The nice thing about lowering your Geyser element to 1.5-2kW is that you would not put high Amperage load on your batteries/invertor - I highly recommend, even if it takes double the time to heat your geyser up, it will save some extra life of your systems with little inconvenience.
* I know I am going to get more flak for suggesting this, but I still suggest switching to a solar geyser and using heat tubes. Many on this forum don't like that approach as using electrical power with heat pumps and other alternatives make more sense to them. However I still prefer a seperate setup, so read and consider the options before powering a geyser with solar electricity. Whether I have power or not, my geyser is 45-70 degrees every morning, even during winter and with no sun for days... UV rays get through cloud cover and still heat my geyser when my solar can't even generate 300W.

Wow - With everything you have you can already power a carefully managed Mansion... *ShockedFace*
If you can afford Victron then definately should be your choice, many of us go for cheaper kit because of budget constraints, but we almost all know that Victron is best option. But if you have that kind of available budget, then rather try find ways to reduce your load. Unless you really live in a Mansion, there should be no reason for an average home to need 35kW/day +++
* Find ways to push it down to 10kW/day or similar and you might be able to go multiple days with your battery supply
* While I envy your existing setup, there must be ways to push your load down - LED lights, Solar Geyser setup (Electric or Other), Heat pumps, "beating your wife when she uses hair dryer when kettle is on😆", there just must be ways to reduce
* If not willing, and affordable - Then stay with Victron. The Victron Quattro 15Kva is awesome kit, but check with your electrician/solar installer about phase connections. It sounds like your house (due to load) might have a 3 phase connection to municipality, you may need 3 of them or rearrange your wiring to suit a single phase.
Good Luck, and again I am envious of your battery and solar capacity already.

I call BS. You only need a generator the size of your load/draw - A good 4.2kVA generator is fine if you are only trying to charge batteries and keep a 2kVA load running on your Axpert output (ie: home)
When I had my Axpert, I sometimes powered it from my 4.2kVA generator - but the output sine wave needs to be decent. So a cheap clicks/makro/game generator is not sufficient, their AVR's are not normally clean enough. If you can get a proper Sine wave generator without breaking all budgets then go with that. My generator was designed for Server room backups, and although not pure sine wave, it has a decent AVR to provide something decent - cheap generators AVR's give a very bad signal, even many UPS's can't deal.
You can put a cheap generator of 12-15kVA on an Axpert and it will spit at you because it wont recognise the AC signal.
So, my opinion, take your max usage while needing to run on Generator, add 1 to 1.5kVA and use that as baseline. Then approach decent generator suppliers who can prove their sine wave or avr output. Will definately be more expensive, but probably a lot cheaper than the bad 12-15kVA above.
 
PS: AVR/Sine wave is what they mention as a "frequency stabiliser" above - it has to be within range of 48-52Hz, sometimes better, for a good UPS or Axpert to stay stable

@WannabeSolarSparky - Nice job of showing the pros and cons and of course your experiences. We have a Backup Server setup that needs 700W continuous, and that has been my biggest challenge for complete offline - My house is also tiny, so no more space to setup panels - he he. But like you, we have reduced our Municipal demand to 6-10kW/day. Have just replaced my LeadCrystalGel batteries with a LiFePo of 1/2 the Ah size, but it works about the same. I am in a Catch 22 - I can't expand my solar array until there are some bigger improvements in Tech due to space, and expanding the battery bank would mean they could almost never get to 100% SOC in a day.
 
My wife is a professional baker, so an electric stove is critical, but she managed to find a specialised baking convection oven (standalone) that halved the power consumption of a normal stove, and has 1.5 times the capacity (space). That alone reduced nearly 10kW/day of power. We also now use induction plates when we can't or are not willing to damage pots on gas (we use a cheap 2 plate store bought gas stove). Since we camp a lot, we just throw the same gas stove and bottle in the car for our trips - he he. Our solar geyser is off-grid almost all year, think we have used electrical power to heat about 3 times this year due to additional guests. Since we do camping, our kettle is already gas (although we do have an electrical one as well in the kitchen for when wife is impatient). Just wish we could find something better for the vacuum and iron. We have also setup a 12VDC bus bar that runs the length of the house, that we keep on a separate basic 12VDC solar charger connected to a bog standard car battery (90Ah), charged by 2 x 100W panels that go with us when camping (if going for a while then have 2 separate 100W panels and 12VDC charger that can take on the road that we use to keep car batteries alive while we use those for power). Anyway, that 12VDC bus bar charges and runs almost anything I find in the house that can or is running on 12VDC - DSTV Decoder, OpenView Decoder, Alarm System (did have to tell security company to ignore power failure signals), Gate Motor, 12VDC lights in almost every room in the house - Unless reading never have to turn a light on in my house (3-6W LED's in almost every room, just enough to walk around).
My fault but I destroyed my batteries this year during the July Floods - We were without Solar and Electricity for days and I pushed them way to hard. Lost 3 out of 8 200Ah permanently and the others were heated badly due to load. I will keep the best for use with our camping setup, but this is the second time in my solar years that Lead/Acid (gel or standard) have let me down even with decent balancers and controllers in place. The first time nearly set fire to my house and completely melted down, this time some of them got so heated and swelled that when I finally got them removed, the label printing from some of them was etched in reverse on another - Eish.

Good luck with your progress and I will continue to follow and witness the challenges you overcome
Regards KLEVA

PS: And thank you for the link to Off-Grid Garage (Andy) - I will watch tonight +++

This was in the Classified section, but decided that it would be better served here....
Item: Mecer Axpert Remote Panel, unused with cables and manual
Age: 5 years in box, never used
Warranty: NIL
Packaging: Packaging dusty, but still original
Condition: Excellent I suppose except for dust - Never used
Location: Pinetown, KZN
Reason: No longer have Axpert, it was donated, so no use for it
Shipping: Maybe, but will be for your account (it is fairly small & light so shouldn't cost too much)
Collection: Pinetown, KZN
Contact: 083 5579832 or [email protected]

Other: Item has never been used, bought it with my Axpert many years ago. Other than dusty in storage, it has never been opened or plugged in (we never needed it). When we donated our Axpert to a school, we had forgotten it existed - The school has no need for it and have said no thanks (even free).
 
Regards
KLEVA

Did my own many years ago with a small plant. Ran in a Nissan Sani...
Making your own is a lot of work and a bit tricky, so eventually started using a cheap provider to get rid of the workload and the waste product that wasn't as easy to get rid of as expected... There is only so much soap you can make and sell at markets!
The good was that is worked out quite cheap to run a hungry Nissan 4x4 with 80l tanks, but the bad was that if it wasn't perfect, then it would fail in low temperature environments (Winter in the Drakensberg). Even running a mix was not a match for freezing temperatures. Note this was only because it wasn't 100% correct and almost handmade, it also performed great in Durban where temps almost NEVER get below 4 degrees.
It was good fun, and saved a few bucks, but eventually realised that would save more money making my own beer - he he.
Also investigated Butanol for Petrol replacement - Absolutely perfect replacement, but in SA the cost exceeds Petrol price since all made by Sasol from petroleum sources instead of Bio sources. A 1988 VW Passat was an awesome test vehicle and could not only keep up, but beat many modern cars (admittedly the hardcore conversions were made before switching to Butanol). But being able to race a 2009 BMW 325 and beat them in a 1988 Passat, was definitely awesome. There is no power advantage with Butanol, it almost behaves the same (depending on the vehicle and timing it may have a slightly lower bottom end torque or a slightly higher top end speed, the same as adjusting timing/mix on any other car).
Now that I have ranted, my suggestion for BioDiesel is to find a reputable supplier rather than buying the expensive equipment. You will get the fuel cheaper but without the headaches. Quality BioDiesel definitely works and is economical, but your l/100km will be about the same.

Did my own many years ago with a small plant. Ran in a Nissan Sani...
Making your own is a lot of work and a bit tricky, so eventually started using a cheap provider to get rid of the workload and the waste product that wasn't as easy to get rid of as expected... There is only so much soap you can make and sell at markets!
The good was that is worked out quite cheap to run a hungry Nissan 4x4 with 80l tanks, but the bad was that if it wasn't perfect, then it would fail in low temperature environments (Winter in the Drakensberg). Even running a mix was not a match for freezing temperatures. Note this was only because it wasn't 100% correct and almost handmade, it also performed great in Durban where temps almost NEVER get below 4 degrees.
It was good fun, and saved a few bucks, but eventually realised that would save more money making my own beer - he he.
Also investigated Butanol for Petrol replacement - Absolutely perfect replacement, but in SA the cost exceeds Petrol price since all made by Sasol from petroleum sources instead of Bio sources. A 1988 VW Passat was an awesome test vehicle and could not only keep up, but beat many modern cars (admittedly the hardcore conversions were made before switching to Butanol). But being able to race a 2009 BMW 325 and beat them in a 1988 Passat, was definitely awesome. There is no power advantage with Butanol, it almost behaves the same (depending on the vehicle and timing it may have a slightly lower bottom end torque or a slightly higher top end speed, the same as adjusting timing/mix on any other car).
Now that I have ranted, my suggestion for BioDiesel is to find a reputable supplier rather than buying the expensive equipment. You will get the fuel cheaper but without the headaches. Quality BioDiesel definitely works and is economical, but your l/100km will be about the same.

@Richard Mackay - Most Gensets only have a 12VDC output, so not going to help on a 24VDC or 48VDC that Axpert uses.
@Sandro - Gensets are all different, so difficult to say if the output will be accepted by the Axpert. You can most often safely try putting the output of the Genset to the Input of the Axpert, if the Axpert doesn't like the supply then it will stay "offline". Be aware of something I like to call "hunting" - This is when the Axpert will switch from one mode to another on/off - This could damage the Axpert if done over long periods and will NOT actually charge the batteries. So , the simple answer is to try. Unless your genset is majorly faulty, you can't damage the Axperts inputs while testing for short periods (10 min, unless "hunting"). Think of an Axpert like a large PC UPS, it might or might not like the stepped 220VAC that the genset provides. I have 3 UPS's that are happy with my genset stepped output and 1 that doesn't - As they say: "Milage may vary".😄
Addendum - If the Axpert "hunts" you wont have damaged it if it is for a short period (like 10 min) and then you just disconnect and know it wont work

Hi @Z100  & @CJE
Apologise for coming to this conversation late, I only get to check the forum when I get a gap...
1. @Z100 - The after hours draw of 2000W/hr is excessive for a small place. If you are running your place like a small holding and needing equipment to provide for animals, then I understand, but a small household can easily get away with under 500W/hr when off-grid. You might have some large power items that need investigating, or you haven't converted some of your basics to be "off-grid" friendly.
2. I have a different estimate based on the consumption you presented - and it will end up being far more expensive than you anticipate if you can't cut down elsewhere:
2.a. You need an Inverter capable of 8kVA or better under load
2.b. If you need to supply at least 3kVA when desired or sometimes constantly for about an hour, then you HAVE to go top of the range that can charge as quickly. Standard Lead Acid/Lead Crystal and many others would get destroyed under such constant high loads, no matter how many you acquire.
2.c. You will need (based on Lead Crystal - LiPO would be more expensive, but a better option) at least 72,000kW available for just 24 hours (your figures). That is either 9 x high end 9kW Pylontechs (LiPo), 32 200Ah batteries, Lead Crystal or equivilent 200Ah - This is a MASSIVE outlay for a small place, and we haven't even discussed panels yet.
2.d. Your invertor and panels would need to be able to charge this system, so this would require an invertor capable of providing at least 9000W/h to the batteries on good sunny days, and as many solar panels to provide that... At 400W/Panel that is at least 23+ panels (not too huge, but this is only optimal on sunny days - look at closer to 30)
3. Your expense is not on Panels or Invertor - It is how to store the power for later use. You can get cheap invertors to supply 8kW/hr, you can get 30+ panels for R2400 a pop, but your storage is going to kill your budget, and that is only for 24hrs.
3.a. Batteries are your deadliest cost. They have to store and provide power so they have to be big. At nearly R5k per decent Lead Acid/Lead Crystal - this is about R160k that might need replacement every 5 years. LiPo will run you closer to R200k.
3.b. You will need to double your battery cost if you need to go closer to 48hrs without sunlight.
Unless you are willing to spend close to a Million rand just to get off grid, this is not viable. Solar electricity is still very expensive compared to Municipal/Eskom costs.
My suggestions are:
1. Reduce EVERY other power draw, no matter how small. LED globes EVERYWHERE; Stop the kids using the Kettle every 20 minutes; Make sure that unness items are definately turned off when not needed; Use a generator for Power Tools if only intermittently used (even look at a gas powered or gas conversion to existing); There are so many things you can change before going the solar route.
2. If you can reduce your overnight power usage to under 1000W/hr then you might find solar economically viable (slightly), but from what you have presented so far a solar installation is not economically viable.
3. Economics aside, as you are still prepared to spend this kind of money to get off grid properly, then you have to do things properly and not on the cheap. Definately go the Victron route with a recommended Victron installer. They can not only give you the best product, but will also (usually) provide the best advice.

Hi
I hope none of my suggestions contradict @Coulomb - He is the expert with the Axpert  However I would like to share my expertise with a very similar setup and propose some slight modifications.
1. Setting 02 - With your batteries, I would say 20A is sufficient if just dealing with SA Load shedding. Gel is slightly/similar in characteristics to the older Lead/Crystal (battery motors, alarm batteries, etc), but it need a lot more current before trying to boil the battery insides. This is based on the fact that you have 2 banks of 48V 200Ah. This is close to Coulomb settings, but might prevent premature expiry of the batteries by charging them slower.
2.  Setting 26 - 100% agree with temp issue raised above, however due to way most invertors work they generally don't use this kind of setting often (although the Axpert does get a bit more aggressive - too often).  Batteries need occasionally  to be charged at slightly higher rates/voltages than normal - My thoughts that once a month is sufficient, but this is my opinion. The reason is to remove certain buildup within the battery and improve performance. I would leave this setting close to 57.4VDC for standard Lead batteries, but can go up to 58.8.
3. Setting 27 - That is far too high for an Axpert with ANY batteries - Float should always be between 12.5 and 14.4 per battery, no matter what type used. 12.5 is far too low and will eventually allow "crud" to form inside batteries, needing the 26 setting above. But setting too high (near 15V) will just keep boiling the battery and possibly start a fire if you get a slightly compromised cell... Keep this closer to a reasonable voltage like 13.5VDC per batt (or 52-54 VDC on the Axpert)
4. Setting 29 - 48 to 49VDC is reasonable if you want to keep your batteries safe. Mine were set to 50, but a sudden draw would trip the Axpert, so eventually set to 48.
5. Setting 13 - Nobody can advise you on this one - It is just experience in your environment. Just make sure this setting is not lower than setting 27 (1/2 a volt below) or you will get unexpected hops between power/non-power modes.
I prefer charging slower and not pressurising my batteries, they are very expensive to replace. I had a similar setup to yours, but used cheap batteries and nearly burn't my house down. Batteries are almost the most important part of your system, they have to be able to store the power you need, but also need to last. No matter the tech, if you abuse the batteries, you will have an expensive trip into solar. I have made one or 2 of my solar battery setups last 15years and still working with same Lead Acid, but it needs care.
So, take care of the batteries and get decent or maintain the ones you have. All settings on the Axpert, or any other invertor, need to take care of this... Invertors and Panels are relatively cheap, batteries aren't.
 

Have been doing a lot of electrical vehicle tests, and we don't care if we get beaten by human athletes. But it is extremely important that a vehicle can behave like a small diesel turbo. That's our benchmark - do 80km up Fields hill, and maintain 110kms on a freeway - very small requirements for an electric car, but nothing has achieved in the SA environs/availability.
We are still working when we have time away from our employment, but hopefully can eventually present something from our side project.

Slightly late to this topic.
I have tried cheap ICE scooters (175cc), ebikes, and a loaned chinese electric "bakkie" (practically a slightly more powerful golf cart) to try do my daily work run, but I have a fairly steep hill, where I need to be able to do 70-80km/hr (maybe 100km/hr for overtaking) and none of these have been able to do more than about 55km up this hill. This has made them impractical and dangerous on this 2km stretch.
Any practical electric vehicle in SA should be able to do 100-120km/h on flat and 75+km/h on steep uphills. The pricing also comes into play as import costs and extended maintenance plans/parts is still killing local commercial use.
A slightly more powerful version of this chinese vehicle would be the most effective in SA (it's already outselling Tesla's due to price):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuling_Hongguang_Mini_EV

Looked at it all, and not just the paperwork and stuff which is an overload for just a household consumer... At the end of the day I am not going to pay any new premium to the Municipality or Eskom. I have operated almost off-grid for almost 3 years without an issue, so my choice is to disconnect my Grid power.
I am going to have to get some additional equipment (since my wifes business involves baking), but we have not used Grid power for 3 years even with her business, and so far no major issues as long as we keep our power draw within spec.
I have applied to eThekwini to disconnect our power (this seems to confuse the few callers I have had), and had stupid people tell me about a R15k charge to disconnect - I just read the municipal bylaws straight back at them and they stop talking. After 4 weeks, I still can't get disconnected, even though I have switched off their mains. Tried to charge me for estimated usage of 11Kw last month which I refused.
It is a fight to go off-grid, but if you are sure your system and backups can do it, then keep fighting and don't let a municipality or Eskom force you into a position,
With eThekwini connection, my monthly cost is approx R1800. Without it should drop to R1200.
I am also busy with Water costs as I have 2 Jojo's for seperate use and use less than 1kL from eThekwini. If I manage this right I may be able to cut this off too (especially since our usage is less than 200l/person/day)
Some municipal bills I still have to pay (with "long teeth" in afrikaans)... Sewerage disposal, Garbage Disposal, and Rates. But everything other than Rates, can be reduced to almost nothing, and they aren't that expensive anyway.
My end game here is just to tell you all that you can get out of Eskom/Municipal costs, but you have to do it when your house is ready... Don't blindly say "f*cuk Eskom". You need to work it all out like you would a business decision to get the best outcome for your own environment. You might be a small consumer, but it can't hut to ask your municipality for a better price... After all they offer that to many businesses, and if you get the right operator, they may do the same for you.
 

Looked at it all, and not just the paperwork and stuff which is an overload for just a household consumer... At the end of the day I am not going to pay any new premium to the Municipality or Eskom. I have operated almost off-grid for almost 3 years without an issue, so my choice is to disconnect my Grid power.
I am going to have to get some additional equipment (since my wifes business involves baking), but we have not used Grid power for 3 years even with her business, and so far no major issues as long as we keep our power draw within spec.
I have applied to eThekwini to disconnect our power (this seems to confuse the few callers I have had), and had stupid people tell me about a R15k charge to disconnect - I just read the municipal bylaws straight back at them and they stop talking. After 4 weeks, I still can't get disconnected, even though I have switched off their mains. Tried to charge me for estimated usage of 11Kw last month which I refused.
It is a fight to go off-grid, but if you are sure your system and backups can do it, then keep fighting and don't let a municipality or Eskom force you into a position,
With eThekwini connection, my monthly cost is approx R1800. Without it should drop to R1200.
I am also busy with Water costs as I have 2 Jojo's for seperate use and use less than 1kL from eThekwini. If I manage this right I may be able to cut this off too (especially since our usage is less than 200l/person/day)
Some municipal bills I still have to pay (with "long teeth" in afrikaans)... Sewerage disposal, Garbage Disposal, and Rates. But everything other than Rates, can be reduced to almost nothing, and they aren't that expensive anyway.
My end game here is just to tell you all that you can get out of Eskom/Municipal costs, but you have to do it when your house is ready... Don't blindly say "f*cuk Eskom". You need to work it all out like you would a business decision to get the best outcome for your own environment. You might be a small consumer, but it can't hut to ask your municipality for a better price... After all they offer that to many businesses, and if you get the right operator, they may do the same for you.