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Abnormal

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Everything posted by Abnormal

  1. Maybe the inverters are supposed to be mounted upside down.
  2. Is the Kodak simply a rebranded Axpert? I have an older King and it can blend PV and Grid power just fine when on SUB. When Load is greater than available PV it draws excess from Utility.
  3. I have not tried the PV side, but I assume it will work. I don't have a problem with the PV side and don't think adding a stand alone MPPT will be of benefit, maybe minimal benefit. Its more the utilisation of the PV which I am looking at. The Axpert basically can only supply essential loads meaning you could be left with PV to spare and end up using Eskom for the non essential loads, where a proper hybrid would be able to feed the non essential loads as well. *edit Or reconfigure some wiring to try and maximise "essential loads"
  4. Unfortunately not, we already have the electronic meters. Yes this is the biggest issue, if I leave everything as it is it will work, but all that PV will be wasted if it cannot be used for the non critical loads. Can go adding change over switches to manage it manually, but that seems like too much effort. Its not fun anymore when it becomes are chore unless i can find some happy medium.
  5. Thanks for the feedback. Yeah agree the Victron kit seems like the best option cost aside Plus it has all the configuration options and integration options as well. And yes the integrations options would be worthwhile, thats my kind of thing. But alas going Victron is going to cost maybe R50k + for a 5KW kit. Then will it work with my meter, but I guess there are work arounds as to prevent it backfeeding into the grid. Have checked out the video on the config options. But alas financially Might be better to use what I have. Hence my dilema.
  6. Hi I currently have an Axpert King 5kw with 1x Pylontech US300 running as a backup power for lighting and a fridge. It runs for somewhere between 8 and 20 hours depending. I have another 3 US3000 batteries which i am going to connect, but I have been considering why not expand and get panels. Normal 4 person household, and i doubt we are heavy consumers. (bill is around R1200 per month plus services charges another R600) We have an electronic meter (postpaid) in Randburg JHB. We have 2 DBs connected via 1x 10mm cable (Currently ESKOM supply) and 1 x 4mm cable (supplied by the Axpert) (DBs on different ends of the house) setup so that most of the plugs, the geyser and pool are on one circuit and the lights and fridge alarm etc are on another. Now I have been considering adding PV panels to the system have read about some issues with the Kings and PV freezes. Thing is adding PV makes more sense if I can use it for everything else as well. So potentially I could reconfigure the DB to take out some heavy consumers like the Geyser and put everything else on the 1 King. (Will require some wiring as I may need another 10mm cable run about 50m up walls through roofs etc) having the additional 10mm cable would allow for freedom in configuring different options (currently its a 4mm cable). This option means that people in the house would need to start learning how to manage the load and maybe can't boil a kettle which the dishwasher and the stove and microwave is on etc. Another option would be to get another King and parallel them so that everything runs through the inverters permanently. Means that there would be no need to reconfigure the wiring run geyser, stove etc through the inverters. I assume we will be able to keep the load below 10KW without much effort. Or sell the Axpert and get something like a Goodwe (Victron seems to be getting expensive) and leave the wiring like it is, then the hybrid inverter can supply the loads when there is ESKOM power available. Would be no need to rewire, should work for what i need. Not sure if the electronic meter might have issues with a hybrid inverter. Which option makes most sense?
  7. Updated firmware (both main and display) Plugged in cable and it works. Thanks guys. I noticed the battery has made the following changes to the settings. Max charging (02) current has been reduced to 10A I had it on 30A I assume it will now fluctuate based on the battery's state of charge it is currently full. Float voltage (27) has been set to 53.2v I had it as 50.3v Low cutoff (29) has been set to 47v, I was using 46.5v.
  8. Managed to update both successfully using a laptop with a com port. Was pretty straightforward. U03 version also changed when updating the Panel. Old Versions U01 - 71.50 U02 - 01.21 U03 - 00.21 U04 - 00.00 After updating the Panel it changed to U01 - 71.50 U02 - 02.00 U03 - 88.88 U04 - 00.00 After updating the the Main firmware it changed to U01 - 71.86 U02 - 02.00 U03 - 88.88 U04 - 00.00
  9. Ok cool. Is it necessary to update the display firmware first? not sure on the mcu.hex thats the file which was part of the download. There was no AXPERT.TXT file. There was also and "important.txt" file but there seems to be an error with it.
  10. Seems like I need to update the firmware I am on U1 71.50 and don't have the PYL option. Ran into some difficulties when trying to update the display firmware to 2.00. Put up a post in the firmware section. https://powerforum.co.za/topic/3759-axpert-king-inverter-firmware/page/3/#comments Didn't try to update the main firmware. Have not tried the cable yet.
  11. Tried to update the seem to be running into an error. Downloaded Remote panel reflash 2.00 from https://powerforum.co.za/files/file/49-king-remote-panel-reflash-200/ 1. Formated a 1GB USB stick to Fat32 2. Extracted the MCU.hex file to the USB drive 3. USB menu by holding down top left button for 3 secs. 4. Selected UPG from the list 5 Get Error U03 (Document inside the USB disk with wrong format) Current versions U01 - 71.50 U02 - 01.21 U03 - 00.21 U04 - 00.00 any thoughts?
  12. This is what i know, standard practice to only ground one side. Thanks guys, off to make a cable now.
  13. The attached shows 3 wires on one end and 2 wires on the other end. Does that mean that the rest of wires could be left out?
  14. If I use the long Pylontech cable and connect the end to a fuse wont that mean that the cable itself before the fuse will not be protected. I know in car audio you try to install the fuse as close to the battery as possible for this reason.
  15. Hi Thanks for the feedback all. Yes the system does seem to be functioning correctly. (Other than I was unable to turn it back on with little power left but thats not a concern) @Coulomb I have the low voltage DC cut off at 47.5 are you saying that it might be better to change to 46.5? Yeah my thoughts were the same would be best to ave it fused but didn't want to cut the cable to install the fuse that i have. Any suggestions as to where I could get a battery fuse with M8 connectors and some interconnector cables? I am in Randburg. Is it better to get one for each the positive and negative cables? I do not have solar panels installed as yet. Any suggestions on what to get?
  16. Seems to have started up again when Eskom was back for 30 min.
  17. Hi I have finally bought and installed my setup but I have some questions I have 1 x 5KW Axpert King 1 x 3.5KW Pylontech Setup is as follows Eskom --> 40Amp MCB --> 6mm cable -- > Axpert King 5KW --> 4mm cable --> 20Amp MCB --> RCD --> Lighting loads and fridge. 3.5KW Pylontech --> Axpert I have set up the inverter based on the settings found on the forum. Program 2 – Max charging current 30Amp Program 5 – Battery Type USE Program 12 - Back to utility source 48v Program 13 – Back to Battery Mode 51V Program 26 - Bulk charge 53.2v Program 27 - Float charge 50.5v Program 29 - Low volt DC cut off 47.5v Below are the settings which the supplier recommended. (will check them later and update in case I made a mistake) Program 2 – Max charging current 20Amp Program 5 – Battery Type USE Program 12 - Back to utility source 47v Program 13 – Back to Battery Mode 50V Program 26 - Bulk charge 53v Program 27 - Float charge (can’t remember this one might be 53v) Program 29 - Low volt DC cut off 46.5v Max load is maybe 1Kw and average load between 300W - 400W. Works well, I had previously split the DBs into different load types. I also bought a fuse for the battery (DIN rail mountable quick blow I think it is, might be 100Amp) but have not installed it yet, the Pylontech documentation did not specify for a fuse to be used. The supplied Pylontech cable end cannot fit into the fuse holder as it is meant to accept a bare cable. What’s the easiest way to install the fuse and is it necessary? (I think sounds like a good safety measure, from what I know a fuse should be as close to the battery as possible) Battery seems to charge up fine on Eskom supply but once the mains power goes out the Axpert immediately goes into fault condition 4 (Battery low voltage) but continues running like this. Seems to work fine even in the fault condition. Is there any settings that control this fault code ? seems like its built in and cannot be defined separately? This morning with the load at around 300w I switched off the inverter by pressing the button on the inverter control panel. 1st press output switched off, 2nd press inverter turned off. All went off fine, SOC on the battery reads 2 out 6 LEDs being on (so 33% available I assume) battery voltage was reading around 49v. Thought I would save the remaining battery for later. Then maybe 15 minutes later I tried to turn it on again. Pressed the button on the inverter it turns on but does not supply any power. Stays on for about a minute and then turns itself off again. Why was I not able to turn it on again? I assume there was sufficient capacity left in the battery at this point as it was not close to the 47.5v cut off. When Eskom supply is available and the battery is full I see all the SOC lights go on then they all go off again. Is that normal? I thought it should just stay lit continuously.
  18. I have been considering getting an LFP battery (maybe 1 or 2 Pylontech USB 3000) for back up use (no PV). Now these things cost around R20k each and were starting to look favorable when compared to a bank of 4 x 200ah AGM batteries (usually around R5k each). Other than the cost LFP seems to only have benefits. Then today I stumbled across these two 200ah Batteries https://www.solarpanelenergy.co.za/p/919880/200ah-gel-vrla-allgrand-deep-cycle-battery R3750 This shop has good reviews although its only 3. Allgrand manufactured in China with some German R&D and a warehouse in SA somewhere from the youtube videos. and http://solarpowerrsa.co.za/?product=200ah-deltec-gel-battery R3500 Don't know about this store. I know of the deltec brand though. Anyone have any experience with these?
  19. @plonkster I did wonder about how it would work. All my old cellphones could still charge up to 100% although they may not last as long anymore. I assumed that the BMS would always report 100% SOC and you could use this down to 20% SOC, but capacity of the battery would reduce with each cycle. I see there may be an error depending how pylontech defines the remaining 60%. Will there be 60% of the total initial capacity available for use 2.4kWh * 60% = 1.44kWh or will there only be 1.92kWh * 60% = 1.152kWh remaining. If its only 1.152kWh then the 80% of the BYD is directly comparable to the 60% of the Pylontech.
  20. I have seen that these two batteries stipulate their end of life capacity using a different base of measurement. So I decided to do a comparison. Pylontech USB2000D 2.4kWh usable 80% DOD Usable capacity = 2.4Kwh * 80% = 1.92Kwh Cycles at 80% DOD = 6000 End of life capacity after 6000 cycles at 80% DOD = 60% End of life capacity = 2.4 * 60% = 1.44kWh Pylontech USB3000D 3.5kWh usable 80% DOD Usable capacity = 3.5Kwh * 80% = 2.8Kwh Cycles at 80% DOD = 6000 End of life capacity after 6000 cycles at 80% DOD = 60% End of life capacity = 3.5 * 60% = 2.1kWh BDY 2.56kWh @100% DOD Usable capacity = 2.56Kwh * 100% = 2.56Kwh Cycles at 100% DOD = 6000 End of life capacity after 6000 cycles at 100% DOD = 80% End of life capacity = 2.56 * 80% = 2.048kWh Now BYD are publish the usable capacity which must mean that the total capacity of the battery must be more than their published numbers. Assuming that their 100% DOD rating is actually only using 80% of the total battery capacity. Then this mean that the total capacity is 2.56kWh / 80% = 3.2kWh If after 6000 cycles the final capacity is 2.048kWh then 2.048kWh / 3.2kWh = 64% So this means that their end of life capacity of the BYD is 64% of the total capacity (or similarly the Polytech end of life capacity is 75% of the usable capacity) This makes them look very similar (in terms of cycles and remaining capacity) Or of course I could be completely wrong, as i know just enough to make it dangerous
  21. Hi Thanks for the Quick response Chris There is a fair difference in price. KS 5KVa PWM = R6k and MKS 5Kva MPPT = R11k from what i can find. Don't know if or when I would do the PV array as I wanted to start with just back up power. PWM is just for for solar charging right? Conversion back should be the same? Is MPPT that much better, from what i read it seems to be marginally better. But of course I have no experience at all. So 2x Pylons at 3.840KWh are going to be about the same capacity as the 4 x 170AH 12v batteries. Are there options for standby batteries which may be cheaper? Those Narada's were around R5k each. Will the Axpert be fine with charging the Pylons? If I really go all the way and get 2 x Pylons then I may as well get a PV array and get some savings as well. Was initially looking for the cheapest option to keeps the lights running
  22. Hi I am considering setting up a UPS system to power a few items. The main objective would be to provide lighting during outages and run the fridge, alarm and garage door. I have done a calculation but don’t seem be able to find it now. Possibly around 1200W for lights (max) but less than half of them are usually on Maybe another 300w for the fridge Maybe another 200w for other stuff alarm etc. The DB board is currently separated so that one circuit has lighting loads fridge and garage doors. The plugs are on another circuit. Inverter I am looking at buying an Axpert KS KVa 4000kW PWM model. For now it would simply be connected to Eskom and some batteries for backup. Maybe later I will add a PV array. It seems like a better idea to run this on the lighting loads only to prevent an overload scenario. What would happen if I run this inverter on all loads instead of isolating it and load exceeds the 4000kw limit. Would it switch over to Eskom power should the max load be exceed or would it shutdown? Then Batteries, I have read up info on Lead acid Lead GEL AGM Lead crystal LPF But I am uncertain which may be best. i.e. cheapest with most available Amp hours to be used during an outage but does not necessarily need to have the capability to be cycled as many times. How does 4 x 12v 170AH Narada batteries compare to 1 x Pylon US2000B 2400KW in terms of capacity? Would the Narada batteries be 170Ah x 48v = 8160 at 50% DOD = 4080KWh capacity vs 2400kw capacity on the Pylon What would be a recommended setup for this scenario? Which batteries should i consider?
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