Unity

Hi all,  I'm a bit frustrated with my Luxpower SNA5000 that keeps popping the fuses on my radios. It does everything else fine, but I have a heap of fuses that I have replaced and now worry that it may have also degraded the longevity of my AV system.  I have come across this Growatt SPF6000 that is said to have dual MPPT and was wondering if anyone has experience with it. I like that it's rated higher at 6kw which is good as I also run my geyser on my existing system. But are there are issues with it or is it as good or better than luxpower in blending power? And most importantly......doesn't pop fuses like the Luxpower. 

My inverter is installed in my garage and during summer it gets quite hot in Bloemfontein. When you park a hot car in there it gets even hotter. I realized the Inverter DC side reached temperatures of near 90 degrees during midday. I installed 3 x 120mm computer fans on top with a temperature controller switching the fans on and off. The thermistor is attached to the heatsink. The heatsink temperature is about 20 degrees below the internal temperature indicating by the app. With the fans the temperature stays below 60 degrees.
I 3D printed the bracket and bought the temperature controller from an online store for under R200 with a 12V powersupply. Is anybody is interested visit Thingiverse:Thing6468217 to get the STL files for the bracket. (Search Sunsynk 5kW)
 

@Jgjg that inverter is a nightmare. I also have it and it did the same. A not so elegant work around if you haven't come up with one, would be to install a switch between feed and inveter to manually turn your AC charge off when the sun is at its best. That way your PV will kick in and charge batteries and even run your loads. I did that for sometime as a workaround and it worked. It's not the best but will help you charge batteries using PV and save some cash when the sun is available. 🙈 Just don't forget to switch back to AC when sun is low or you start using batteries and might end up in the dark if power went off.

If you already have Solar PV, much cheaper to just install a timer on the geyser feed to "load shift" to daytime heating.
 

I have excess PV, so I use a timer to heat the geyser from midday to 16:00pm.
I have a Evacuated Tube Thermosiphon Solar Geyser that was installed 10 years prior.
I have a 2nd normal geyser in the guest house that is on a timer (sonoff). On 11:30, off 16:30pm

Hi
If the different batteries have different c rating's, would that make any difference?
Cheers
Sean

Split it between the two MPPTs.
Your single MPPT usage is the limiting factor. 

One Mppt is rated for 3200w so split the panels between the 2 mppt's as @zsdesuggested. Start up voltage of each Mppt is 110v so you should be ok. Yes it will clip anything above 3.2kw

@RegularDad I'm excited to report that heating your geyser using PV is life changing. I have now turned into a self annointed preacher on this topic. I have a 5kw Luxpower SNA and around 4kw panels. A timer is installed at the geyser, a change over switch at inverter with a 2nd timer to toggle the geyser in and out of the inverter/PV. Geyser element has been changed to 3kw so it doesn't strain the inverter with the odd 0,5kw base loads. Geyser is heated from 11h00 to 15h00 or 16h00 depending on weather. Some battery is drawn as I get about 3,3kw from the panels (not sure why but I guess it's due to losses in the system). The geyser can be switched on on early morning or on demand to use Eskom which is seldom needed. I now average between 5 and 9kw electricity usage per day from 25kw. That's huge in my books. I do intent to invest the saving to buy another inverter so I don't strain the current one, and maybe later a 2nd battery could be bought from the electricity savings. You just need to manage loads when the geyser is on because if microwave is turned on, then the inverter won't be too happy. Your electrician should be able to pull this off as mine did. You have 2 geysers so your configuration may be different to mine, but once resolved, you will be happy. I know I am.

Hi Guys, 
I've finally completed the moving of the panels and I am glad to report that facing them North has made a HUGE difference. 
Just to Reiterate... 
I have 8 x 560w Seraphim Panels. 
I've moved 4 to a North Facing roof about 35m away from the inverter. (PV2) I do loose a little bit of production here... I guess this is because of the cable length. 
I've moved 4 onto a North Facing frame just above the inverter. (PV1)
 
Pics for stats attached. These were taken now... 09:58. 

I did this change over the weekend. Changed the 4kw element to 3kw. Installed a timer and change over switch to toggle the geyser in and out of eskom. My 5kva Luxpower doesnt have the Aux so I had to improvise. A 2nd CBI astute timer is at the geyser to allow for morning eskom water temp topping up. Nice thing about the smart timer is that it allows you to set rules for days when there is cloud cover and not draw from batteries. Will probably also change the other timer to a smart for more remote control. Laundry days are Monday, Wednesday and Friday until 3pm. I'm not home at those times so to void tripping the inverter for those days I switch the geyser on from 15h00 to 16h00 to allow battery to be topped up before sunset. On the no Laundry days, switch on is programmed from 11h00 as battery is fully charged by 10h30 from 34%.  Still early days and I will tweak the eskom usage after making sure that there is enough hot water in the morning. Three people on a 200L should be okay in the warm months ahead. This allows me to make better use of the panels that just decorate the roof during the day as the base load from the fridges is very low when no one is home or battery is fully charged. Will buy a 2nd inverter with the saving and be less restricted on the other days.
See the difference in solar usage before the geyser change, almost double solar and will get better as I gain confidence. 

The one in parallel is pulling the other 4 down. Disconnect it and it should work. You need at least 120V for PV to operate meaning 4 in series. Try as close as possible to use the same direction but never south. 

@JayMardern the CBItastute has a count down function that will turn the geyser off if turned on for a specific need outside of the programed times. This will avoid forgetting to turn it back off. Works great.

Off the top of my head, your PS4 power supply cannot "ride through" the 20ms transfer time of your SNA 5K inverter.
Not sure but try changing the AC input voltage range setting from APL to UPS to reduce the transfer time from 20ms to <15ms. 

 

Hi I don't think the inverter has any settings for what you are asking( you have to go with deye/sunsynk). 06h00 to 18h00 are ok expectations in summer but the 'solar window' is much narrower in winter. I would say 08h00 to 16h00 at best. To achieve what you want you would have to calculate how long your batteries will take to charge with the amount of panels you have. And then time any other heavy loads(TV's, fridges and computers are so efficient that they are just part of the base load) to run from solar after the batteries are charged.
 
Basically what I'm saying is load management. Reduce AC start and end times to a few hours in the evening when you will be using microwaves and kettles. Disable AC charge for the battery if you have enough panels to fully charge the batteries everyday. You can always use quick charge if you need it. Great inverter I'm enjoying mine.

Apologies to anyone waiting on me for the software.
I've shared it via Google Drive you can download it with the following link.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cnqzpXq4m2gC6LMKKvU9qAjEyEIuCm71/view?usp=sharing
You will need the following
https://www.robotics.org.za/RS485-MINI?search=basic usb to rs485 converter%2C 2 wire
I can't recall exactly but you connect the usb to rs485 to the battery via the RS485 port pins 4 and 5. Open the software and select the com port that the converter was assigned and connect. If it doesn't work swap the wire polarity on the converter. Once connected go to the item on the side where the protocol can be changed (can't recall what this is called as well it's been a while). Change the protocol to WOW RS485. Connect the battery to the Luxpower on the CANBUS port with pins 1 and 2 straight and choose battery brand 21. Make sure all dip switches are off.
Note that I have since swapped the battery type to lead acid and set a float voltage of 50 and charge voltage of 53. The way these BMSs talk to the inverter causes micro charging / discharging which isn't good for the battery (subjective).

I wish that was possible.
Unfortunately the high fixed monthly costs to feedback and get paid by the CoCT does not make it worth it for the average solar system.
Even if I were to add a few more solar panels it still will not be worth sending/selling back to the grid.
In summer I will rather just use more aircons and shower more often during the day to use up the excess solar.
Or maybe get started doing some baking cakes and selling that 🤣 way more profitable and enjoyable than selling to the CoCT.
 

My scenario was exactly same as yours. Also have the clearline with no effect.

Check your earth neutral bond + set setting 13 to UPS. It resolved my issues of AV equipment fuses blowing.

Update, covered my geyser. Box is big but everything is inside 

yes and yes

Definitely did the math on this... If you look at it from that angle then the odd R50 is way cheaper to do the occasional battery charge up.
BUT, for me it is more about convenience and not having to worry about ESKOM.
That occasional R50 now is a grudge purchase and annoys the hell out of me now that I have gotten used to not needing to pay eskom 🤣

Probably in the same ball park.
Have a similar setup in terms of Inverter and Battery capacity.
From the outset the plan was to be able to live off grid. Can I do it? Yes, but not without some disruptions in the routine. So I budget for a R100 pre paid per month. Some months I use nothing but I have to use something as the prepaid system requires a recharge at least once in three months else we get cut off completely.
Had my Flat panel geyser conversion long before PV solar and that already brought the usage down at the time.
Also have been using a gas stove for nearly ten years already. This I know changed back to a gas/electric hob to use electric stove element during the day.
My usage before solar was around 200-250kWh per month on average.
Now that I have solar it's gone up to 300-400kWh per month and last Winter in Jun and Jul it was above 500kWh.
The 90% saving sounds about right.
There is however the philosophical question, am I really saving or is this more about the ability to be independent and have uninterrupted service? And for me it is the latter.

In effect, the cost of PV means we pre purchase our electricity for the next 5 to 10 years. In 10 years time we pre purchase it again when the new battery is due. So I don't see it as much of a saving, but rather as planning to not be dependent on a government that doesn't fulfill their mandate outside the empty promises they make.

I doubt this will ever happen. After all, this is why we have loadshedding. Other countries like Nigeria and Tanzania have been having loadshedding long before SA and till today, they are still managing. We will be ok, 😀

I like this set up. My geyser is also on the roof and the blanket was also destroyed in no time. Was planning to built a timber housing structure like a small wendy then wrap the geyser in Aerolite as you did.  I think timber is less conductive to cold and should work better. But I like how yours fit snug and looks neat 👌🏽 

So this is just an idea for people who are looking at reducing your geyser's power usage.
 
My geyser was replaced by insurance and they refused to place it inside the house again (flat roof), and so it was installed on top. Now I haven't seen geysers specifically for outside use, and so the first thing I did was to put a geyser blanket on. Well that lasted about 2 months (The blanket was not made for "outside use", and crumbled). I did however install a geyserwise timer, and set it to only run between 04:00 - 07:00, and 16:00 - 19:00 daily. (geyser set to 55 degrees)
 
As winter dragged on, I monitored the temperature and noticed that overnight, just prior to the element kicking in, the temperature would be at 23 - 25 degrees. This meant a delta of 30 - 32 Degrees.
As builders / leroy merlin did not have an "external" blanket, I decided to DIY something myself. I bought some aerolite (the thickest one I could get), and bought a strip of the galvanized sheet from the pet store (They use is for bird cages).
I have noticed that my geyser is now running between 35 - 37 degrees prior to "switch on", which to me is MUCH better (delta now 18 - 20 degrees). I still have to see how much it saves though.
 

Had a flat panel solar conversion done with Geyserwise controller on my 150lt geyser nearly 5 years ago.  
It works well enough. It included the small solar panel to charge the battery for the 12V circulation pump.
Disadvantage is the lifespan of the circulation pumps and they aren't cheap. Mine had to be replaced last week. Only 1 year guarantee and now they tell me I was lucky, expect 3 years lifespan.
Hindsight is 20/20 vision. If I had known then, I would have opted for a thermosyphon full solar geyser installation with evacuated tubes. No moving parts or pumps but rather more expensive.
Then I got my PV solar system and I sized it so I could run the 3kW geyser element too. Geyserwise timer is set to start at 10:00. When solar conditions are good my geyser is at it's max 65C by 11 to 11:30, depending on the starting base temp. After the element is disconnected at 65C, the flat panel on a sunny day will take the geyser to 70 - 80C.
Once again, had I known what I know now I would have probably just gotten a PV system with more solar panels and another Inverter as the efficiency of heating via the element is so much better than the flat panel, especially on cloudy days.