LCBXX

A complaint has been registered with
1 - National Consumer Union
2 - Sunday Times (Wendy Knowler)
3 - SARS fraud division
4 - My attorney has written to Axxess to request a take-down of the website

Details of Infinity Group

Infinity Group Companies
Registered number                        K2023952280         
Physical address                              INTERSECTION SPINE ROAD AND THE BOULEVARD
WESTWAY OFFICE PARK
WESTVILLE
KWA-ZULU NATAL
3610
Director details                                Michael Maritz 851008XXXX08X
SARS tax number                            9242793264
Telephone                                         072775 6825           (WhatsApp only)
Email                                                  [email protected]
Website                                             https://infinitygroupcompanies.co.za/
SAPS case number                         
 
 

Good evening @LCBXX and welcome to the forum
I would opt for 2 or 3 x Kodak Max 7.2kW units in parallel unless you want to feed power back into the grid then it is either the 2 of 8kW or 1 of 16kW Deye or Sunsynk.
 
The cheaper inverters (e.g. Sun/Fivestar/Ecco/etc) are similar to the Axpert type inverters which cannot feed power back into the grid where the Deye and Sunsynk can feed power back into the grid or use solar power to power non essential loads depending where the current transformer is placed. 
 
If you opt for the cheaper inverters which cannot feed power back into the grid and you want the pool pump and heat pump to run off the solar then I would use timers and contactors to switch those loads, with the Deye and Sunsynk there are timers which can be set when the unit is allowed to power non essential loads.
 
The inverter chosen will determine which wattage and how many solar panels can be used with the said inverter e.g. the Kodak Max 7.2kW inverter has two solar power inputs each input is 4kW and a maximum open circuit voltage of 500V so 8 x 500W solar panes are on the power limit, I know that there is a bit of a grace but I would not push that limit power wise, voltage wise or current wise, also remember that there must be enough roof space to accommodate more solar panels.
I had a quick look at The Power Forum Store website and the Kodak Max 7.2kW inverter is currently just under R10k and 7 of JA Solar 505W would be just over R10k, the solar panels that are already installed can also be used with the Kodak Max 7.2kW inverter without any re- configuring because the current inverter has a high voltage solar power input where some of the other cheaper brands would be low voltage then there would to be a solar combiner box installed and the solar panels be reconfigured which add additional cost.
If I were you I would stick to known good brands like Kodak or Axpert some of these other inverter brands (e.g. Sun/Fivestar/Ecco/etc) are not bad but what happens if something goes wrong or you want to buy another one to be used in parallel at a later stage and the firmware version is different, where do you go for support.
 
If there is enough roof space available after all the solar panels has been installed also consider an evacuated tube solar geyser and use that in line with the current geyser.

Both.
Yes.
I've also discovered that the fscking crimper I bought wasn't piercing the wire for pin-3, meaning I made and remade faulty BMS cables, in different configs....
I'm getting it swapped and will then try and remake one with the pinouts I got from the respective Kodak and Narada installation manuals I have.  I do fear you may be right, in that the Kodak cannot communicate with anything but Pylontechs anyway.  That would be disappointing.

I'm running my inverter on 230v.  What I'm noticing is that the City Power voltage is around 220v when loadshedding is over, sometimes as low as 200v, gradually ramping up to 230v after about 2 hours, where it remains until the next cut.
I've played around with setting the inverter to 220v and 240v to see if I can squeeze out a bit more from the battery but I cannot say that there is any measurable difference, hence I'm just leaving it on 230v.