Peter Topp

I started by purchasing Chromecast devices all 3 tv's in my home. This was followed by adding 4 google home devices to the house. 1 in the living room, 2 in the bedrooms and 1 in the kitchen. This allowed me to listen any music I liked in the rooms and various other functions. Just before December 2019 I purchased 2wifi RGB smart bulbs for Xmas effects in my living room. I liked the effects and was also chuffed that all of this was voice controlled as the devices were Google Home compatible. I also have a Paradox wireless security alarm, a DVR with 8x outside and 4x inside security cameras all which can be controlled or seen from an app's on my phone. 3 x inside camera's can remotely be adjusted horizontally and vertically with voice control to and from the camera's. My next step was look into other home automation devices. I also did not want to use a lot of different apps on my phone to control the devices.I chose to go with Sonoff and Eachen devices wich use the same phone app and are compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Home.These devices are relatively inexpensive and easy to install. I installed 4 x single gang and 2 x double gang WI-Fi touch wall light switches from Eachen as these light switches do not need a neutral, however a capacitor which is supplied needs to be connected at the light. I also installed single Sonoff Wi-Fi switches to my garage door, gate motor, electric fence, irrigation, lounge light, side light and xbox one. I still need to connect 2 x 4 gang light switches my lounge and dinning room lights however I cannot find 4 gang switches that do not use a neutral so I will have to wait for them to become available. These switches are all compatible with Google Home so they all can be voice activated and from the Google Home and eWeLink app. These devices can also be controlled from anywhere in the world where there is a Wi-Fi connection available. I no longer have get up or get out of bed to switch the lights on or off. There are however some drawbacks. If there is no Wi-Fi (load shedding) for the switches you will have to switch them on manually if they are connected in series.This can be overcome buy purchasing remote control devices that work from a hub, that still work even when Wi-fi is not available. I am sure it also affects the Wi-Fi as the devices are permanently connected to Wi-Fi. I also see a difference when downloading Xbox which is also connected to Wi-Fi (downloading is erratic). I will change this to a lan cable. If you are purchasing smart Wi-Fi lights be sure to check if they are bright enough and the colour (warm or cool white) . Some can do both. Switches need to be in Wi-Fi range and I had to install some externally (electric fence and garage door) as the housings blocked the Wi-Fi signal. At least I now have something that listens to me and does what I want when I want. It is just unfortunate I can't automate my wife to do what I want when I want without any backchat. HAHA

After adding a 100L pressure tank to my system I still found that my booster pump was switching on far too often. The system had a 24L pressure tank originally. To check the problem I checked how much water was stored in the pressure tanks after filling at my meter reading of 4bar (400kpa). Air pressure was charged at 2.4bar in both pressure tanks. I found it stored only about 20L till the water pressure reached 2bar. I should have been about 50L as I have 100L+ 24L pressure tank capacity. I concluded that there had to be something wrong with the pressure reading. I replaced the pressure sensor on the pump and found that I had about a 1bar fault on the old pressure sensor. After setting up with the new pressure sensor the system now works correctly. The sensor is a mechanical dial which is tied to coil which expands with pressure. To conclude it would be a good idea to replace the pressure sensor on a pump every 2 years as it seems as the calibration goes out after time.

No you do not need another inverter to make use of the battery power with the infinisolar plus 5k unit for power failures. It is grid tied unit with solar and battery backup with a 5Kw output. That diagram shown to me is confusing. Why would you not use the infinisolar for load.

You can also utilize your pv power when you load exceeds your inverter capacity when mains is used with a grid tied inverter. You need to switch off or isolate the inverter output and allow the inverter to feed back to mains power while using mains power by bypassing the inverter output if you are wired appropriately and if you are allowed to feed back to mains.

I have a Infinisolar Plus 5K hybrid grid tied inverter which also allows up to 10Kw of pv panels.

Hi from reading all the responses to the topic and topic heading I personally would not add more panels in this setup for the following reason. If you are using the panels only for load shedding it does not make sense only to utilize the extra panels just to charge batteries. The power generated is waisted if not used when mains power is utilized if a change over switch is used. If you use mains power through the Axpert 5K there will be continual switching between pv and mains power which is certainly not ideal. I had a similar setup and changed to a grid tied inverter to seamlessly integrate the pv panels power. This only works if the max household consumption at any one time is less than the inverter capacity. To get the most out of pv panels they need to be utilized otherwise it is just a waist of generated power and not much return on a good investment. 2.url

Hi At the end of 2016 I invested in an Axpert 5k system with 4x 180ahr 12v batteries and a manual changeover switch which was extremely reliable. I added a second Axpert later so that I could increase my max load to 8Kw and run power through the inverters. I use a gas geyser and stove. I then added 12x 255w solar panels to the mix. I found that I had not done enough research to get the most out of my pv panels. As the video shows the pv panel power does not blend in with the main power and switching occurs between mains power and pv power in the axpert hybrid setup. I eventually replaced my 2x axpert units to a grid tied unit and increased my pv panels to 24x 255w (6.12Kw). This was to get the most out of my investment on pv panels. A grid tie unit integrates the pv power with mains seamlessly without switching. You do not have to put power back into the grid. I also now have replaced my batteries with 4 x 48v 100ahr Li batteries. I get about 15Kwh - 40Kwh a day from my pv panels. I cannot give you any advice on a grid tied inverters as I have had many problems which you read from my other posts. I now run with a single 5Kw grid tied unit and make sure I do not use two heating devices at once. ( kettle and oven or iron etc.). If you are considering adding pv panels I would suggest you look into the switching problems with a axpert hybrid before deciding on a inverter.

I wont be able to move the fill valve because of backwash in the 3 frp vessels.

I am also going change the position on the 24vac irrigation fill valve to the JoJo tank from just before the JoJo tank to before the 3 frp vessels. This will relieve the pressure in all the filters going to the JoJo tank as the line will be open to the JoJo tank when the JoJo tank is not filling. This will also help in opening big blue filters to change filters.

Fuenkli I see you are from Cape Town where their has been severe water restrictions. The reason my water use is high is because I have more than one family on my property and we are not as disciplined as far as water usage goes as those from the Cape. I also irrigate other parts of my property which are not directly connected to the borehole which my sprayers do not reach. My total water usesage is split about 50/50 which means my total usage would be about 60Kl as month.

Upgrading Again I have found that with my parallel municipal and borehole setup I still use too much municipal water of about 31kl a month. I will now reduce my municipal water by restricting the input by closing the valve slightly from the municipal supply and checking the flow without the JoJo booster supply. I know this will add to more use from the booster pump attached to the JoJo tank. To minimise the stress on the booster pump I will add a varem 100l pressure tank to the outgoing line to minimise the booster pump on/off time. At present I only have a 24l booster tank which I do not think is good enough. I also have already added a smart wi-fi switch to the irrigation section which allows me to control my irrigation remotely from my cell phone and google home(voice activated). This will be handy when on leave.

To my knowledge when I used this type of inverter. There is one drawback when switching from pv to mains and vice versa that is not seamless (there are small delays when switching) with this mercer (axpert) 5kva.

Hi Sleeeper747 The error code 05 is an inverter overcurrent (surge). This will happen when you draw too much current , excess of 5KW (>20amps). You should check what is drawing current at the same time especially heating devices as they tend to use the most power. eg A kettle can draw 10amps and a iron can also draw 10amps together they have used up the capacity. A 3kw geyser will draw 12,5 amps. As far as the battery charging goes. The parameters need to be adjusted. I do not know exactly what the pylontech batteries specifications are, however I believe they should be close to other 48volt lithium iron batteries. The settings below are used for narada 48v 100ahr batteries. Please check and confirm with supplier if these settings are correct before implementing. Floating charge voltage: 52.3 volts. Max charging current: 20amp per 48volt battery in parallel. Setting voltage back to utility : 47volts. Setting voltage back to battery: 51volts. Bulk charging voltage (C.V. voltage): 54 volts. Low cut off dc voltage: 44volts.Insert other media.url I hope this will be of some help.

Thanks Peregrine. I do not know why you were told you would burn out your pump. I can only think of a few things that would do this. If the pump ran dry if you pumped too long and the protection failed. Blockages in the line and protection failed. No pump protection fitted. No non return valve fitted.The most common cause I think would be if the pump had to switch on and off frequently and this would not be the case for irrigation. This will happen if you use the pump directly for a household and do not have a holding tank and do not use a pressure tank to minimise the amount of times the pump switches. I have run irrigation directly from the pump from 2017 and have had no problems. I do run 3 large sprinklers and 12 risers simultaneously for irrigation which is good enough to irrigate most of my front and side garden. In summer I irrigate 3 times a week for 45min at a time and in winter I irrigate 2 times a week for 30 min at a time. I also have a backwash cycle for 25 min a week for each of my 5 frp vessels. The pump also switches on at least once a day to fill my jojo tank for about 15min. There is a caution I suggest that you should filter at least with a 130 micron or smaller mesh screen or plate filter that would stop larger particles from blocking your irrigation system. I am sure that a gravity tank would work well however it would not look good in a urban setting and would need to be quite high if you need for good irrigation pressure and flow. If you fill a jojo tank without gravity feed you will still need a booster pump and jojo tank with the capacity required for irrigation. The jojo tank would have to be at least 2500l and you would have to pay for 2 pumps electricity. I measure about 2400 litres an hr when irrigating, so I pump about 1775 litres in 45 min for irrigation. I hope this will help you. I am no expert on boreholes or irrigation so the information given is only from the knowledge I have gained from my own experiences and knowledge gained from research.

Here are lab test report for my borehole water. Also the companies where you can get a iron test kit https://www.aquaafrica.co.za/ https://www.lapieusaqua.co.za MR. PETER TOPP81318_03181539.pdf

Hi Johandup To answer you. I will give you the steps I follow. I suspect you do not oxidize the dissolved iron before the clinobrite filter. Clinobrite captures particles down to 2 -3 microns which to me should be good enough. 1. I filter first with a 120 micron mesh to filter clay and other large particles with pressure backwash. 2. Secondly I oxidize the dissolved iron by adding air into the system by means of a venturie. Injecting ozone would work better. If you do not oxidize the dissolved iron the clinobrite cannot remove dissolved iron. (that is why I suspect your backwash water is clear and the iron gets to the 1micron filter). 3.Then I use a 2 stage clinobrite frp vessels with automatic backwash. I also have a 120 micro disc filter after this to stop clinobrite particles getting into the system if the sives are damaged in frp vessels. This alone was not good enough after testing for my household water, only good enough for irrigation. 4. I put in a two more clinobrite frp vessels with automatic backwash and another vunturie. I also put in a frp vessel with calcite to bring up my ph. 5. To complete the filtration to my jojo tank I have big blue filter with granulated carbon, 5 micron pleated filter and uv light. Carbon also can filter out small amounts of iron. 6. From my jojo tank I have a triple big blue with solid carbon, granulated carbon and 5 micron filter. This is for taste. You can follow all this from my drawings. I do not think there is any other media that can do a better job unless you go the injected chlorine route with other media if the ph of the water is high enough which I explain in other posts. I also have a gas geyser and have no problem with it using filtered borehole water. My water has been tested in a lab and all tests conform to all the standards for drinking water. I will post the place where I buy my iron test kit. There are not many places that sell iron test kits. I hope this will help you.

Impala Park Boksburg Can be seen on some of my drawings.

The depth is 50 meters with soft ground . I have casing all the way down.

I have made a few more changes to the system which are not to drastic. Firstly I do not inject ozone any more because the air injected by the venturies is good enough to oxidise all the dissolved iron in the system. If you have a look I have two venturies. The injection of air into the system from the venturies left me with another problem. When the valves closed after filling the jojo or after irrigation it left the sytem under pressure because there was now air in the system between the valves and pressure vessels. Water alone is unable to be compressed This is a problem if you have plastic sediment filters (disc or mesh) as they expand under this pressure and are difficult to open for cleaning purposes and it can also be dangerous. To overcome this I added a third irrigation valve which is connected under the pvc mesh filter (the incoming side from the borehole pump) and to the waist pipe. This valve has been wired N/O and it will only close when the irrigation or jojo fill is on. The great benefit for this is that is cleans my mesh filter every time after use by releasing the pressure and the clean water and air flowing backwards through the filter clears the trapped sediment. I do not think it will work as well with a disc filter. I have a lot of clay which blocks the filter. This has reduced my cleaning from once a week to once a month.

In the beginning when I first had problems I was questioned on the installation. Fortunately I had wiring diagrams of my installation and no more questions were asked. My neutrals were always separate (in and out). I did do one change, I disconnected the neutrals from the circuit breakers and made sure the are always connected to both inverters without going through the breakers. This however made no difference to the failures. FCS has also said it has some clients without any problems however these clients are not connected in parallel.

Hi After installing two InfiniSolar Super 4KW units in parallel in May 2017, I have nothing but trouble right from the start and I have posted this. 5 failures in 2yrs. This year in July I had both of the units fail with different faults after one had failed in May 2019 and I had paid R5000 for a repair, I decided that I had had enough of these units. I took the units into the supplier (Full Circle Solar) and spoke to Hein who is my contact. I told him that I was very disappointed and even had lost my drive and enthusiasm in solar. I have put in a large investment of 24 X 255W solar panels and 3 X 100Ahr 48v Li batteries with 2 X infini inverters. After a discussion on the units he told me that FCS would no longer sell these particular units because of their history of failure after promises from the supplier that all problems had been sorted out. Hein and FCS graciously did agree and did give me a replacement 1x InfiniSolar Plus 5KW for the two damaged units. I am thankful to Hein and FCS and wish to thank them for honouring all warranty claims. I am also pleased that I originally purchased these units from a reputable and honest open company. I am planning to install the new unit tomorrow and hope my premature failure troubles are over. I hope to save up and buy a second unit if I do not any premature failures. Any comments on the reliability of the InfiniSolar Plus 5KW would be appreciated. Peter Topp

Hi To clarify the sediment filters in the big blue. There are carbon filters in the big blue and they give a large amount of carbon dust when you first use the carbon. The sediment filters eliminate this getting into the drinking water. I did take out 1 solid carbon filter in the feed to the jojo tank as it restricted the flow too much.

After upgrading my bore hole fltering system I have removed the Birm flter media from my FRP 1354 vessel. The Birm has been used to filter iron for about 1Yr. I also have Maddox filter media which was in use for 2mths in a FRP 1354 vessel. (both filter media was school fees in my leaniing process). I am willing to gve this media away for free (mahala) if anyone has use for it keeping in mind that Maddox needs to be regenerated and Birm needs a PH >6.9. Both need iron to be oxidized before fitering and need to be backwashed regularly. I stay in Boksburg. Please email me at [email protected] if you are interested. Peter

Sorry the previous post was meant for DeepBass9 under "borehole-and-filtering-system" on irrigating every 3rd or more days to prevent fungus.

Thanks for the tip if only my wife would believe this.