Marc FH

Maybe GW store have changed their ways, but they had a terrible reputation previously. Even on this forum. I would not use them.
Rather use @TaliaB or ask Powerforum store to recommend you someone.
https://gwstoreripoff.wordpress.com/

Thanks everyone.

I have recently had dealings with a company named GW Store (Jason Sole), based in Noordhoek, and cannot recommend them enough !
I had an upgrade to my exisitng Sunsynk 5Kw installation. Additional panels were added. I had also asked about an additional battery, but they talked me out of it (more of a nice-to-have than an essential).
They also "tidied up" issues left by the original installer.
Jason Sole - 071 148 7206

I have recently had dealings with a company named GW Store (Jason Sole), based in Noordhoek, and cannot recommend them enough !
I had an upgrade to my exisitng Sunsynk 5Kw installation. Additional panels were added. I had also asked about an additional battery, but they talked me out of it (more of a nice-to-have than an essential).
They also "tidied up" issues left by the original installer.
Jason Sole - 071 148 7206

I have recently had dealings with a company named GW Store (Jason Sole), based in Noordhoek, and cannot recommend them enough !
I had an upgrade to my exisitng Sunsynk 5Kw installation. Additional panels were added. I had also asked about an additional battery, but they talked me out of it (more of a nice-to-have than an essential).
They also "tidied up" issues left by the original installer.
Jason Sole - 071 148 7206

@TaliaB

I would really like to thank everyone for taking the time and making the effort replying and giving their input by posting on this thread as I genuinely have not felt so helpless in my entire life before.
I have never really paid attention to anything that has anything remotely to do with electricity and hence I do not understand much about electricity related topics let alone complicated electricity issues such as solar systems.
I am however now eager to learn and have now started to research everything about solar and electricity and hence all the input on this thread has been very rewarding and comforting for me to say the least.
I would however like to take this opportunity to wholeheartedly thank one specific person on this forum who unselfishly contacted me and offered to assist and stand by me until my system was fully commissioned no matter what problems lay ahead.
That Special Person needs no introduction on this forum and is none other than my friend Talia B who in my eyes is a genius and a remarkably Special Man with a Heart of Gold and a Wealth of invaluable experience and knowledge.
I do not say these things lightly as he was able to commission my solar system , identify serious issues and avoid potential pitfalls, fix them, test them, change them, tweak them, trouble shoot them and eliminate them completely and then also continuously follow up on them to see that my solar system was commissioned properly, all this when this man was thousands of miles away outside of our country without even having the opportunity to personally touch or see anything with his own eyes and hands as he would normally have done if he was doing the work himself.
He took it upon himself to help me through all of this although he was not at all able to be present to solve my issues personally, but he was determined to help me resolve these issues despite any challenges he may have come across remotely.
With his guidance and expert tutoring skills he successfully commissioned my solar system remotely by coaching me to make the necessary changes required in order to achieve complete success and for this I have the greatest eternal respect for this Humble Giant of a Man.👏
To TaliaB I thank you for not only your exceptional skills but also for your kind and gentle demeanour, your patience and respect for a human being in dire and desperate need of help,
You made the world of difference to my life and for that I will always remember this and never forget what you did for me.🙏
Thank You so much
God Bless You🙏

I spend good money buying products. Once bought it is mine and exclusively mine out of warranty.
I should have the right of choice for maintenance and repairs out of warranty.
In the US the right to repair has come a long way with many lawsuites helping that right along.
Still an uphill battle though in SA, car maintenance has been through a similar court action which actually found in favour of the consumer over the manufacturers.
No a perfect result but definitely a move in the right direction.
As for phones locked for repairs, many countries have started banning devices that consumers cannot maintain themselves.
Not happened in SA yet but then again we usually behind he curve with these sorts of issues.
 

This is exactly why I refuse to buy Apple and Samsung products. El Cheapo phones and TVs from China, where everything is made, have served me well. 

Achieved a good milestone with my system, of completing my panel installation with the wiring. All finally connected and generating.
Being later in the afternoon and overcast, the graph on the Solar assistant was all over the place with me testing the system putting on the kettle etc
Happy so far with this progress.

We could have a few people put up big systems and reduce energy cost for everyone. Or we could have energy poverty...
Looks like a communist drew up these rules. I don't think we should compensate the municipality or Eskom in cash either.

OK. So the rules are changing. 
https://mybroadband.co.za/news/energy/582448-bad-news-for-people-with-solar-panels-who-want-to-sell-power-to-the-grid.html
This just reinforces my belief that the best approach to reselling is to not do it. 

Hi everyone 
Please check out our Black Friday Specials on our online store there are some really crazy prices on inverters batteries and panels!
https://powerforum-store.co.za/

Ive had this exact same issue and for me the issue lay in the settings of the revenue info settings in the Sunsynk portal,  I set up live pricing which apparently is a UK only feature.  This made the timer not function as it should, the timer kept updating  every hour with the time of the last hour that has just passed adding itself in the first timer slot and so on and both grid and gen were select on the first 2 slots.  Any changes i made which followed recommended formats did not stick for more than one minute and timer reverted back.As soon as I disabled the live pricing and changed back to constant pricing, the issue wnet away.  Hopefully this helps

I think I have found the issue/solution.
Have read on other threads about Octopus Agile messing with the first 2 timeslots, which appears to be my issue.
Accessed my "revenue" screen and found that currency was 'R', Octopus Agile was checked, Region was set as 'C-London', and flexible rate was checked.
Amended these settings to currency = 'R', Octopus Flux checked and set Basic/Flat Rate to 1 (1R/Kw ?)
Saved this then adjusted my timer settings, and 24 hrs later, all settings still in place just as I had entered them
 
Dongle is connected and all seems to be working 100%
Thanks for all the suggestions - fingers crossed this is the solution
 
@Nexuss  @YellowTapemeasure @PowerUser @system32
@DST @Mark E @JanLuus

Yes, keep us updated. Very strange issue. 

That is ONLY the meter reading fee ( AMI Fee ) that is being reduced.
There are other fixed monthly fees as well. I have a previous post somewhere with those costs, If I remember correctly it is over R500pm
They use fancy clever words to bamboozle clients to entice more people to apply to feed-in.
"This is a massive, 94% reduction from the current R96.20 “AMI Access Charge” fee (see clarifying note at the end of the article)."
Also look at all the articles they are pushing out in the media to make it sound like it's a good ( profitable ) thing to feed-in to their grid.
It's just a way for them to get cheap power from solar clients to then on-sell at good profits to everyone else.
I am not against feeding in to the grid, but with the average size of solar installs and the crazy fixed costs, it simply is not worth the effort going the feed-in route for most residential sites, especially if these sites are 1st using power and then left with a tiny bit of excess to sell back.
As I have previously said, in my opinion it is better to find more creative ways to self consume the excess power you produce.
If you have massive spare roof-space and some extra cash then go for it, sell back and do your bit to save the politicians 🤣
 

Out of a ROI point I will not do it. This might be a once in a few years event. Having excess in the normal years for ME would be a nice to have. 
I cannot imagine how bad it is out there so it is your call. 
Partly in a semi same boat when we have 4hrs LS and grid tie output drops but I am not allergic to buying more from the grid at a cost of a few hundred and within 2 months it drops to a much lower amount. 
No matter how expensive power gets in future it will not give me the ROI that I would like. 
I would like to see the calculation how you recoup R66 000 in a few months selling power to CoCT. 

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.
 

@PowerUserIt's the dongle!! You called it. 
We obviously didn't test for long enough. As our installer was AWOL, we manged to get another company to take a look. Heinrich Visagie from @RVSolar came to take a look (thanks @Powerforum Store for the recommendation) and mentioned he had a similar issue on another installation. Unplugged the dongle, waited 20 mins, set new settings and all good. 24 hrs later, settings still in place (I even tested by changing one of the percentages). Everything still is as set. 3 months of stress, pain and headaches sorted in 45mins
So no stats or remote access for now. Will need to organize a new dongle in due course. 
Thanks everyone for all the advice and suggestions. Really appreciated your input
@Our Power SA fyi

@PowerUserIt's the dongle!! You called it. 
We obviously didn't test for long enough. As our installer was AWOL, we manged to get another company to take a look. Heinrich Visagie from @RVSolar came to take a look (thanks @Powerforum Store for the recommendation) and mentioned he had a similar issue on another installation. Unplugged the dongle, waited 20 mins, set new settings and all good. 24 hrs later, settings still in place (I even tested by changing one of the percentages). Everything still is as set. 3 months of stress, pain and headaches sorted in 45mins
So no stats or remote access for now. Will need to organize a new dongle in due course. 
Thanks everyone for all the advice and suggestions. Really appreciated your input
@Our Power SA fyi

@PowerUserIt's the dongle!! You called it. 
We obviously didn't test for long enough. As our installer was AWOL, we manged to get another company to take a look. Heinrich Visagie from @RVSolar came to take a look (thanks @Powerforum Store for the recommendation) and mentioned he had a similar issue on another installation. Unplugged the dongle, waited 20 mins, set new settings and all good. 24 hrs later, settings still in place (I even tested by changing one of the percentages). Everything still is as set. 3 months of stress, pain and headaches sorted in 45mins
So no stats or remote access for now. Will need to organize a new dongle in due course. 
Thanks everyone for all the advice and suggestions. Really appreciated your input
@Our Power SA fyi

@PowerUserIt's the dongle!! You called it. 
We obviously didn't test for long enough. As our installer was AWOL, we manged to get another company to take a look. Heinrich Visagie from @RVSolar came to take a look (thanks @Powerforum Store for the recommendation) and mentioned he had a similar issue on another installation. Unplugged the dongle, waited 20 mins, set new settings and all good. 24 hrs later, settings still in place (I even tested by changing one of the percentages). Everything still is as set. 3 months of stress, pain and headaches sorted in 45mins
So no stats or remote access for now. Will need to organize a new dongle in due course. 
Thanks everyone for all the advice and suggestions. Really appreciated your input
@Our Power SA fyi

It sounds to me like the logger could be being accessed and settings are being changed by someone else. Is it a Sunsynk or Solarman logger?
Get your installer to make sure that the logger is associated with the correct plant, he can do this by requesting that the logger --> inverter bond be undone, then adopt it again.
If a Sunsynk logger, make sure that the org structure for individuals accessing the logger is secured, and change passwords.

From the SunSynk user manual: