Jesse

Thanks everyone - great suggestions! WannabeSolarSparky - any reasons to go with your recommendation vs this one from the same supplier: https://electromannsa.co.za/product/5-72v-lcd-lithiumlead-acid-battery-indicator/

I have a Kodak OGX 5.48 inverter and three Pylontech 3000 batteries in the garage. How/where do I hook up a voltage meter so that I can see the battery voltage in the house?

I want to hook up a Sunsun JDP-10000 variable speed 24V pump directly to a solar panel, understanding that it will only work when the sun shines. I would hook up a direct feed from the panel to the controller, bypassing the transformer. Will this work? Will the controller accept the variable DC wattage and only be on when the watts from the panel match or exceed the setting on the controller [20, 40, 60, 80 or 100W]? If so, what size solar panel would be recommended?

Ever since I got the Kodak OG 5.48 it occasionally has a ringing sound. The attached audio file below was recorded on an iPhone about 15cm from the unit, but it is quite noticeable several meters away. Luckily it's in my workshop and I only notice it a few times a day, and then only for about 20 seconds at a time for a few cycles, with only the occasional fan noise about 99% of the time. I have not found any correlation with fan, load, input or anything else. My supplier/installer says its normal, but it would not be acceptable if it was anywhere closer to where I spend more time. Any thoughts? Inverter ringing sound.m4a

Members 59 Posted Thursday at 10:37 Ever since I got the Kodak OG 5.48 it occasionally has a ringing sound. The attached audio file below was recorded on an iPhone about 15cm from the unit, but it is quite noticeable several meters away. Luckily it's in my workshop and I only notice it a few times a day, and then only for about 20 seconds at a time for a few cycles, with only the occasional fan noise about 99% of the time. I have not found any correlation with fan, load, input or anything else. My supplier/installer says its normal, but it would not be acceptable if it was anywhere closer to where I spend more time. Any thoughts? Inverter ringing sound.m4a

Thanks Jacques - I appreciate the input

My Current Off-The-Grid system, located in Swellendam, South Africa 6740, as of March 2022: • Kodak OG 5.48 located 22 meters from panels [installed March 2022] • 8-300W 72 cell Enersol[3] &/or Renewsys[5] panels [hooked up 8S, oriented to the NE and roof mounted at 45 degrees] • 2-US3000B Pylontech Batteries [installed Feb 2020] • Yamaha EF5500FW Generator Currently this system works for me without using the generator, unless there's more than one totally cloudy day, in which case I turn off the 100W pond aerator [which is designed to only be needed when the sun shines] and/or use the gas burner rather than the electric kettle. I would like to add a bit more power to the system and am asking this forum for your recommendations - R15,000 for 4 more 300W panels and mounts, OR R25,000 for a Pylontech US3000C? If I add more panels, the specs say that the PV Array MPPT Voltage Range for a Kodak OG 5.48 is 120-450Vdc [with an 80A Max Charging Current], and I have read in topics here and elsewhere that it would be best to stay at least 20% away from the voltage extremes, which changes the preferred range to 144-375Vdc. Currently 8X45.65VOC=365.2VOC from the panels. If I add 4 more panels it seems best to change to a 6S2P configuration, giving me 273.9VOC. In the design of my current or proposed panel configuration, does the above seem correct and/or is there something else I should consider? Also, sometimes when I use the generator and there's still a small amount of solar, the led screen flips back and forth from bypass to PV as a source. With a little more solar it stays on both. The default and current setting for the Charger Source Priority is Solar and Utility in order for both to charge the batteries at the same time, but should I be concerned? And lastly, ever since I got the new inverter it occasionally has a ringing sound. The attached audio file below was recorded on an iPhone about 15cm from the unit, but it is quite noticeable several meters away. Luckily it's in my workshop and I only notice it a few times a day, and then only for about 20 seconds at a time for a few cycles, with only the occasional fan noise about 99% of the time. I have not found any correlation with fan, load, input or anything else. My supplier/installer says its normal, but it would not be acceptable if it was anywhere closer to where I spend more time. Any thoughts? Inverter ringing sound.m4a

Apologies for the late appreciation NK, but thankyou - that was my problem, as my iPhone only accepted a different WatchPower program than what works for my OG 5.48

Regarding my monitoring software, I can't get past Watchtower's registration process, so I started a post - Where do I find the WiFi Module PN on a Kodak OG 5.48 for WatchPower registration?

Thanks Coulomb 🙂

I want to register with WatchPower in order to remotely monitor my Kodak OG 5.48, but don't know where to find the WiFi Module PN?

Once it warns me I don't want to hear the constant beeping until the batteries recharge, so is there a way to temporarily turn off the Low Battery Warning on Kodak OG-5.48?

Thanks Coulomb Regarding my question about how significant the high startup voltages are on the high-voltage units, the only thing I found was from a mybroadband thread [see below] from someone who says he has a Kodak VMIII and the minimum operating voltage is 150 [not 120 as the specs say]. He then compares the power produced on a cloudy day as only 1Kwh vs 3.6Kwh with a low-voltage Victron model that he also has. Does anyone have input on this issue, including whether the different VMIIIs have different minimum operating voltages? jvniekerk_it Member Joined Jan 18, 2021 Messages 10 Jul 7, 2021 #4 vanidasen said: Kodak VMiii Specs for Solar Charger & AC Charger Solar Charger Type: MPPT. Maximum PV Array Power: 5000 W. MPP Range @ Operating Voltage: 120 VDC ~ 430 VDC. Maximum PV Array Open Circuit Voltage: 500 VDC. Maximum Solar Charge Current: 80 A. Maximum AC Charge Current: 60 A. Maximum Charge Current: 80 A. Click to expand... If this is the inverter you are looking at. I currently have one installed myself it has a start up voltage of 150v. As per my manual INVERTER MODEL 5KW Max. PV Array Power 5000W Nominal PV Voltage 320Vdc Start-up Voltage - 150Vdc +/- 10Vdc PV Array MPPT Voltage Range - 120~450Vdc Max. PV Array Open Circuit Voltage - 500Vdc If this is your panels spec CanadianSolar HiKu 395-420 CS3W-415 Under Standard Test Conditions (STC) of irradiance of 1000 W/m2, spectrum AM 1.5 and cell temperature of 25° (the number they sell the panels under) Nominal Max. Power (Pmax): 415w Opt. Operating Voltage (Vmp) : 39.3 V Opt. Operating Current (Imp): 10.56 A Open Circuit Voltage (Voc): 47.8 V It means your the rated wattage of your panels are achieved at 39.3V and 10.56 A If string/ Series couple your 4 panels you will get an Open Circuit Voltage of 192v (47.8 x 4) and an operating voltage of 157v to note this is at optimal conditions real world differs by about 20%. Under Nominal Module Operating Temperature (NMOT), irradiance of 800 W/m2, spectrum AM 1.5, ambient temperature 20°C, wind speed 1 m/s. Nominal Max. Power (Pmax): 309w Opt. Operating Voltage (Vmp): 36.6 V Opt. Operating Current (Imp): 8.45 A Open Circuit Voltage (Voc): 44.9 V This will bring down your operating voltage to 146v and open circuit, this means when no current is be drawn your voltage would be 179.6, so it will startup on an average day My personal setup: Victron SmartSolar MPPT 150/35: 6 360W panels connected in series pairs of 2 and then the 3 pairs are parallel connected -> max 2160 Open Circuit: 47.0 V -> 94 V Opt. Operating Voltage: 39.6 V -> 79.2 Opt. Operating Current (Imp): 9.10 A - 3x9.10 = 27.3A KODAK Solar Off-Grid Inverter VMIII 5KVA/5KW 80A MPPT 48V - Set to SBU Solar Battery Utility 8: 320W panels connected in series -> max is 2560 Open Circuit: 45.7 -> 91.4 Opt. Operating Voltage: 37.1 V -> 37.1 V x 8 = 296.8 Opt. Operating Current (Imp): 8.63 A -> 8.63 A x 1 (number in parallel) = 8.63 My findings are that when you have a cloudy day the Kodak will be off most of the day produced about 1kwh. The victron operating at a lower voltage will at least be charging the whole day yesterday it was cloudy and it produced 3.46kwh I aggree with @TheChamp just wanted to clarify some of the information, as I also first thought high voltage is the way to go since its less complicated wiring it and you can use thinner cables than when you use parallel and branches but there are some cons I was not aware of like shading impacts volts more than amps

PS - I don't expect to need the batteryless option, but in these uncertain times I would like to have the capability, but not at the expense of a significant power loss 🙂 And if I do go with a higher voltage option - which one of the above?

I was ready to buy a VMIII but when sourcing it came across the issue of high startup voltages on the high-voltage units seems to mean that it may not even start-up if the day is too cloudy. My main reason to go to a higher voltage unit would be to have the batteryless option, but I'm use to my SOL-I-AX-3MPlus48 starting up even before the sun comes up, and even on the cloudiest day. I know that it may not be producing a lot of power at low voltages, but wondering how much this will impact my overall power? And I understand that the Axpert VMIII is the same as the Kodak OG 5.48, but is the RCT Axpert VM3 also the same, and if so, why are they all priced differently even if from the same supplier?

Thanks guys - I enjoy learning more about this stuff, and it's so helpful to dialogue with those who are/have been there :-)

Thanks Coulomb So it's not a really serious issue with my Pylontechs, but you still suggest staying away from the 64V models if I can? And if so, to do that I still need to know how to identify a 64V model? The only 64V spec that I can find is the Floating Charge Voltage on the SOL-I-AX-5P64, and the MKS III and VM III Floating Charge Voltage are both 54V? And thanks Buyeye, although the specs don't specify a Floating Charge Voltage?

Thanks for the additional info Coloumb And I apologize for so many questions - I have spent many days educating myself, but still feel like a newbie. With my setup It's easy enough to rewire panels - why best not to? And to be clear - by preferring it to not be a 64V model, you are talking about the Floating Charge Voltage? And could I arrange my 8-300watt 45.65V panels in series to get the needed high voltage for one of the high voltage inverters? And depending on favorable answers to the questions above [fat chance Jesse :-], would the MKSIII and/or VMIII allow my offgrid system to go batteryless, or what would I need?

Bummer! So if I wanted the greatest flexibility, would I get a Sunsynk with a small spare battery, and if so, how big a battery would serve? And/or, could I use my generator to start up the inverter and then let the panels provide the power [either the Sunsynk or the SOL-I-AX-5P]?

Thanks again Coulomb Based on the past days of research and your most helpful suggestions, and noting that I'm happy to change to a 2S4P panel arrangement, would you agree that the Axpert rather than the Sunsynk is the way to go, especially since although I can connect to Eskom, I don't want to, and in these uncertain times I may need to run just on solar panels if my Pylontechs fail [and I either can't get or can't afford replacements, and since Sunsynks need at least a small battery if there is no grid tie]? And if so, what you say makes sense regarding the 64 model, and even though I don't know your reasons I trust your suggestion that the MKS II or VM are not optimal. Does that narrow my options to the the SOL-I-AX-5P or the ones with detachable displays [especially since my inverter will be in an outbuilding]? So of those, which would work well, and which would you recommend?

SOL-I-AX-5PThanks Coulomb - three questions answered, but two more emerged 🙂 I see that back in January you answered my question regarding a 64V Axpert and Pylontechs: which seems to say that it is ok with the right settings? The reason I ask is that I have not been able to find any stock at a good price in SA of the SOL-I-AX-5P, only the SOL-I-AX-5P64 😞 And regarding my existing panel setup, I plan to set them up as 2S4P when I get the new inverter, based on a previous recommendation you made to me when I said I was going to add two panels, but right now I only have 6 panels hooked up 3S2P. Does that change any of your recommendations?

Thanks Buyeye

By n Are you suggesting a SOL-I-AX-5P64? And the firmware isn't usually listed in the specs, so how do I discover this before I buy? PS - Some are suggesting the Sunsynk inverters, since they can communicate with the Pylontech batteries and have Wifi so I can monitor it from inside my home - I believe neither of which the Axpert can do? Quite expensive, but what do you think of them?

My favorite kettle is rated at 1.8-2.2, and on the meter shows up mostly as 1.8 - great to note the international differences 🙂

Two houses/households sharing the system 🙂 Thanks Coulomb