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Super_mil

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  1. Just an update to this. I have finally fixed the issue, by getting both inverters replaced with new units and updated firmware (71.70). It would seem (as expected) that the older 71.50 firmware was the issue. The issue did not resolve itself by running the master with the updated firmware and the slave with the old firmware, I tried. Both units need to be running 71.70. It should be noted Mustek were of no help through this process
  2. Hi @Eddie R unfortunately I have yet to find a solution. I've been in contact with both Mustek JHB and DBN and I've yet to get a solution. I was about to take the units in for testing based on responses from both Mustek offices, but I fortunately managed to contact one of the tech guys (Charlie Naidoo) in the DBN office and discussed the issue I'm experiencing. I also needed to discuss with him testing times and if it was possible to send each unit in individually as I'm off grid, so no inverters means no power. It was recommended that I do not bring the units in as since they were operational as standalone units, it would be unlikely that they would pick up the issue on their side. They then said they would contact their Taiwanese supplier (Voltronic) to discuss the issue and get back to me but as of last week they had not had a response from Voltronic. I agree with @Coulomb that the issue is either firmware, parallel board or cables that are the issue. @DaveSA I can confirm 100% that the load sharing cables were connected. I checked and double checked the cables for any sign of damage, made sure the ends that terminate in the small green plug were good and made sure of there orientation in each inverter. Unfortunately the issue persists. At the moment I'm still only running a single inverter and half the number of panels as I do not want to jeopardize the batteries and this has been running fine for the past couple of weeks but is obviously not what I had wanted.
  3. Thanks for the info @Coulomb, I appreciate it. I managed to run each of the inverters this weekend as standalone units one at a time. The units performed fine and did not exceed the bulk and then float charge thresholds during the day and responded immediately if I changed the value of the float charge. I started each time with the batteries close to full charge and then just kept an eye on things for the over an hour each time and the float charge was maintained. I also initially ran the system in the normal parallel setup and once again the units went beyond the 54V max of the batteries (and well beyond the bulk and float charge thresholds set on each inverter). What I have noticed is that when each of the units is run as a standalone they report what I believe is the correct PV power coming in from the panels (6 x 355W panels = MAX 2130W). Yesterday the panels had a max of 1380W which is believable. Whereas when the units are connected in parallel, my MAX PV power is 4260W (12 x 355W), and from the data, it looks like I'm getting figures well into the 6000W range so there is some sort of error there. I'm not sure if this could be the cause of the issue? I'm also not sure how to rectify this? I have asked the Mustek guys to comment but thought I'd post here just in case someone has experienced the issue before and knows how to fix it. Data logs from yesterday posted for completeness. Slave - Event Log-20190804 12h53-00872.xls Master - Event Log-20190804-12h52-00864.xls Slave Data log 20190804-12h51-00872.xls Master data log_20190804-12h50-00864.xls 00864-SOLO-20190804-144h4.xls 20872-SOLO-190804-16h22.xls
  4. @Dikkes I've been in contact with Mustek direct (after eventually getting through to someone that would actually help). After detailing my issue as per my 1st post in the thread I was asked the following (my responses in red Had a chat with our technician regarding your issue with the inverters, there is a few things the tech need from you: 1: Can you connect the (slave)inverter to you pc and give us the data log (via watch power) to determine at what voltage the unit is charging. I've been unable to get watch power to recognise the inverters. The software loads and the inverters give 'live' info but I cannot get the events or data logs to download as the units are recognised. Can you advise on how to get this done? 2: Advice if there is any error code coming from the inverters. There are no regular error codes that come up, however I have got error code 80 (communication error according to the manual) previously when changing the inverters charging source priority from "utility" to "solar first" or "Solar Only" 3: Check the setting value of setting no 2 and setting no 11 of both inverters and send it to us. Both settings are currently set to 30A. (PLEASE NOTE - that this is a completely off-grid installation, so the AC charge current is not relevant). I have changed this value and put it as low as 10A and still have the issue. According to the Pylontech manual this can be set as high as 125A, (N*25A, where N is the number of batteries) 4: Change the master inverter to slave and slave to master and check if it doing the same. I did this this weekend and the units performed fine on Friday, but then over-charged the batteries on Saturday, Sunday, Monday & Tuesday. I have reverted back to the original Master/Slave configuration and only PV power going to the Master and the system has performed as expected with no overcharging recorded today. 5: Connect the unit individual and test I still need to undertake this test. I'll get it done ASAP and get back to you **Can anyone please explain to me how to set the inverters back to solo operation again, so that I can undertake item 5? I have removed all the external parallel cabling and tried to change setting 28 (if I recall correctly), but I have no option other than PAL. So I still don't have a solution to the issue but it does look to me as if one of the inverters is faulty. I'm just waiting on Mustek (breath firmly held) for a response on how to proceed.
  5. It seems I'm just not having any luck with there Axpert Inverters . I have 2 x 5kVa interters in parallel. Running 71.50 firmware on both. Details of the install are here: https://powerforum.co.za/topic/3359-midlands-off-grid-installation/ I've had an ongoing problem with the inverters consistantly over-charging (i.e. <54v) the Pylontech batteries. Fortunately the batteries BMS system kicks in at 54v and stops further charging. Alarm light comes on, on the batteries and the voltage drops off. The inverters do not keep hitting them with the higher voltage once the 54v max is reached once in a cycle. I initially set the inverters to the values specified by Pylontech but had the overcharging issue, then reduced both the bulk and the float charge values (I recall @Coulomb suggested lower values in another post I made reference to the overcharging issue) and before I got to check these out properly I had an incident where my electrician damaged the AC input and AC output connectors by over-tightening them (took 5 weeks to get repaired!). Having reinstalled the inverters I'm still having the batteries hitting their 54v limit. I played with all the relevant settings, I've checked the connection cables, double checked them, but the issue persists. I have since run the inverters in parallel but with PV power supplied independently to one inverter at a time and it would seem one of the two inverters (the one acting as the slave) does not stop the charging process (although it does reduce power going to the batteries). Essentially it hits the bulk charge voltage, then drops to the float charge and holds the float charge for about 50 minutes but then steadily starts the charging process again until the batteries BMS kicks in. I've attached a screen shot of the ICC data output for yesterday (power to Master inverter only) and today (power to Slave only) Anybody had this issue previously and have any idea on how to rectify it?
  6. Sadly the change implemented to get the system compliant in terms of AC and DC conduit separation cost me 5 weeks of time as my 'then' electrician left one of his guys to wrap up the AC side of the install. The AC wires were installed and the screws which fix the wire to the inverter were then so severely over-tightened that 5 of the 12 connectors were sheared off and both inverters needed to go back to Inverter Warehouse (who sent them onto Mustek) to get repaired . The took the turn the screw till it goes soft, then half a turn back to heart. Needless to say that this AC/DC conduit separation has been my best portion of the install.
  7. The Sika 11 FC on the upstream edge of the bracket pretty much eliminates the chance of water getting to bolt.
  8. Hey @Bobster the installation is working well and the battery power I have is sufficient for our needs. We are typically down to 75 - 80% SOC following a night at the house and back at full charge by 10h30 - 11h00. Have a chest freezer running up there full-time. We are not fully moved in as yet but we are up there most weekends finishing off odds and ends, so during the day that means using drills, a vacuum cleaner etc. which comes directly from PV power. Anything that makes heat is on gas - geyser, stove and heater. The angle of the panels is at about 17-20deg which is lower than I would have liked but still okay. My feeling is the setup will probably work better through winter as we have very few cloudy days and the cooler temps should make the system slightly more efficient. I'm keen to see how we go through summer, with the rain and mist we can get in the area...
  9. It would seem that I have solved my particular issue. I tried @Coulombs suggestion and lowered the voltages only for it to have no effect. I then figured I'd just check all the wires again and low and behold one of the red and black coms wires were loose. It was seated properly in the slot but the holding screw wasn't done up very tight so the cable pulled a bit when I added tension. Tightened it all up and all seems well. I can only assume the loose wire was causing some form of miscommunication between the two inverters. The offending wire. Expected output readings finally happening with no voltage spikes The afternoons results.
  10. Thanks so much for the detailed response @Coulomb, I really appreciate it. The output source is set to Utility as I'm completely off-grid with a generator back-up. I made that change after reading a response from @Chris Hobson to another user on the forum (to maximize the power put out by the generator, if I'm not mistaken). The inverters are both Axpert MKS-II 5kVa/5kW units (SOL-I-AX-5NB), which have the higher 450VDC PV input allowance. They are both running 71.50 firmware and each unit is hooked up to 6 x 355W panels (so, 2,130W per inverter, 4,260W total). I'm happy to lose some run-time in favour of battery life, so I'll give your lower settings a go today, as it looks like there are finally clear skies forecast. Thanks again.
  11. I know!! Just posting to make sure I'm not missing something obvious from my side.
  12. Hi All, My issue seems to slot in with this thread title, so I'll just add it to this existing thread. I'm currently am struggling with 2 x 5kVa Axpert/Mercer inverters connected in parallel to 5 x 2000B pylontech batteries. The inverters keep wanting to overcharge the batteries (i.e. >54V) regardless of the bulk and float charge settings I use. Below are settings lower than the reccommended by Pylontech and the resulting battery voltage graph (I know the cut-off voltage is very low but this is to keep the SOC realistic). They seem to slow the charging phase down once the bulk voltage is reached but then steadily keep the voltage creeping up until the batteries go into protection mode and display the red ALRM led light. As soon as the PV input is cut all is well again. Seems like an inverter issue of some sort. I am monitoring the system with ICC software although I'm waiting on the Pylontech cable as they are currently out of stock. Any guidance would be appreciated.
  13. It was not mentioned... Thanks for noting it. It is a relatively quick and easy fix, although it will make the installation look a bit messier in my opinion.
  14. Over the past couple months I've been in the process of getting a small property I bought in the Midlands livable and off-grid. The choice to go solar became a lot easier after seeing what Eskom charges for line rental and the general uncertainty WRT power supply. My initial plan was to install a Goodwe inverter but after posting my plan here a couple months back, @Chris Hobson suggested the Goodwe wasn't ideal for an off-grid set-up. Chris also gave up some of his time by letting me contact him via telephone to give some further info, for which I'm very appreciative. The system consists of 12 x 355w Canadian Solar Panels, mounted as two 6 panel strings. The panels have been mounted using Renusol hardware, which is better suited to IBR sheets (my roof is corrugated).That said I worked hard to ensure each mounting screw went through the very apex of the corrugation and added Sika Flex FC to the attachment point and the front edge of the corrugation that has the screw running through it. We've had some decent rain and no leaks at all so I'm happy. I h. Each string runs through a fuse, surge protector and isolating switch before connecting to a 5kva Axpert/Mercer inverter. The 2 inverters are connected in parallel and supply power to 5 x 2.4kWh Pylontech batteries. The inverters were both manufactured in December 2018, and have version 71.50 firmware (which is what they came with). I have allowed for a generator input for periods of extended cloud/rain etc. I'm in the process of finding better monitoring software as the WatchPower software the inverters came with is very poor. The entire AC side of the house was wired by an electrician who also oversaw the solar installation and has signed off on installation. Below are some pics of the system at various points of the installation. 1. Solar mounting hardware 2. Panels going in. Fortunately the retaining wall helped to make things a bit easier (co-worker grabbing some shade 3. Panels in 4. PV fuse, surge protection and isolator 5. Inverter details and firmware 6. General Layout 7. Battery bank in box 8. Final setup
  15. Hi @Atti2de, thanks for all the great posts. I'l be installing a really similar setup to you in the near future and was also puzzling over 2 strings x 5 panels each OR 1 string x 10 panels (in my scenario). So this post has been really helpful in that regard. Perhaps I missed the post but have you stuck with your 1 x 12 setup or reverted back to the 2 x 6?
  16. Noted Chris, thanks for the info. For now I'm committed to the Goodwe as I've already purchased the item.
  17. Good day All, Been lurking around the site for a bit and thanks to all for the posts. Unfortunately only found the site a bit late into my research but a lot of posts have helped in confirming decisions made etc. Plan is for a new off-grid installation to go into a new dwelling recently purchased in the KZN Midlands. The idea was not to go off-grid immediately but after getting the prices from Eskom just for monthly line rental (it location of the dwelling is considered rural), the decision became a no brainer. The dwelling is a relatively small set-up, 1 bed, 1 bath and I've sized the system from average power figures from the spot where I currently live. The existing wiring in the new place is extremely basic so plan is to replace what is there, lights will all be LED, gas stove/oven and gas water heater. The plan is to allow for generator back-up, to feed back into the system should there be extended periods of crappy weather. The heart of the system going in includes: 10 x 355W Canadian Solar Panels (Plan is to add 2 more ASAP) Goodwe 5048D-ES 5 x 2.4kW/h Pylon Tech US2000B batteries Hoping to start the installation in the next couple of weeks, so a couple questions my follow, if I can't find them searching existing posts.
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