SheldonB

Hi Sidewinder thanks for the input, ive asked the electrician to double check whether the Aux port is set as Gen input (I believe it mustve been as he said he'd fix it), i have no idea how the inverter knows batt temp im assuming its a default value? I have asked Electrician is he installed a temp sensor and if not if he can add. We do check the batteries all the time and top up as required! the last set lasted 12 years believe it or not they where also 2 volt batteries (Willards). With regards to the wire gauge all wires are the same gauge (Picture angle makes the gauge look smaller). for the past 3 days the system has been working well and the batteries Voltage and SOC % seems to line up with the chart on the website that Kalahari Meerkat sent (Thanks again). Unfortunately the inverter is in the same room (No other option), the room is well ventilated and although not ideal its all we have to work with. Thanks for the input guys has been really helpful ,

Sorry another question the house is completely off grid as i mentioned earlier, and my mother does not have a generator so why does the one screen indicate that Generator use has been 12.7 hours?

Thanks Kalahari Meerkat for the feedback, really appreciate it. Too be honest batteries could be flooded cells ?? We fill them with battery water, so im assuming they would then be flooded cells? The number on the batteries is ST MIL25 FG, (They are 2 Volt 900ah apparently)and they are 2 years old. The previous installer that we got them from unfortunately passed away so i cant ask him, ive searched everywhere on the net and can't find any details on this battery. Thank you for that link you sent much appreciated and of great help. If i assume they are indeed normal flooded cells then fully charged as you say should be 2.11Vx 24 = 50.64Volts, ive attached a picture from earlier today where at 99% SOC its sitting at 50.79V, which is close to the 50.64V according to that website you sent , further more earlier this morning at 74%SOC it was sitting at 49.73V, once again pretty close to what the website sais (2.05Vx 24 = 49.2V for 70% charge). I called someone at First National battery and hopefully they can provide the specs of the batteries or point me in the right direction as too who made them? Will update spec sheet if i manage to get it. Just want to ensure the charging voltage etc and maximum discharge voltage (Low Battery Cutoff ) etc is setup correctly on the inverter.

Hi All Hoping someone can assist, at my mothers house, which is off grid (No Eskom power allowed) had to install a new inverter as the old one burnt out (Gecko in inverter fan caused it to burn out). The electrician installed a new Sunsynk 5kw hybrid inverter a few days ago. With the new inverter she installed 8 x 535 (Haitai HTM 535 ~ 555 M115 - 72 Panel) solar panels as her old panels where out of spec for the new inverter apparently. She is using the same AGM battery bank that was originally in place, however the electrician had to change the wiring so that the batteries where 48V. She has 24 x 2 volt 900ah batteries in place in series i believe giving 48 Volts. What should the charge/discharge settings be on the Sunsynk inverter to ensure full charge is achieved , what other settings can i check to ensure the system is operating optimally? Reason i ask is that the system was re-commissioned 3 days ago and each night she runs out of power? The settings are most probably correct and i have nothing bad to say about the electrician however for peace of mind id thought i would ask on the forum to ensure all is ok with her setup as she cant afford to replace batteries at this stage so want to ensure all settings are correct and cause no damage and are working optimally. Ive attached some readings off the inverter from yesterday 5pm. as well as pic of the battery bank. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Items and Age: Solar MD 3.7kwh Lithium Battery Wall mounted Solar MD Smart Logger with Wifi Paid R31800 excl vat for both Price: R20 000 Payment Method Accepted: EFT prior to shipping Warranty: Remainder of warranty if applicable Packaging: Can package in a box Age: Just over 2yrs old , Purchased new Dec 2019 Condition: Very good Location: Tokai, Western Cape Reason: Getting a bigger battery Shipping: Can arrange with Courier Guy but for buyers account Collection: Yes preferred Currently connected to a Victron Multiplus 11 5Kw inverter , working 100%.

Thanks for the responses guys.

Hi Everyone My Mom has a 3.7kw MD Solar lithium battery installed and we would like to add more battery capacity. My question is the following can we add any other battery ie Pylontech or would we need to stick to another MD solar battery? On a side note there is nothing wrong with the current MD solar battery i just want to know if we have the option should we find better pricing with another battery manufactorer?? Thanks in advance for the replies. (Her system is a Victron Multiplus 2 5kw, with 12x 405w Canadian solar panels, Venus GX and Victron 250/100 MPPT, Solar MD Smart logger, Venus GX)

thanks IIznh have thought of that , good suggestion.

PSYWulf i hear you!

Greenfields majority of power is consumed at at night with underfloor heating etc, also battery does not make the night especially with loadshedding. LOL i'll tell her to start baking. Will look at another battery when funds allow, any reviews on the Solar MD batteries??

As a mater of interest how are the Solar MD batteries, ive checked the site and the web and have not found many reviews? Should i go for the same battery of can or would i be able to add a pylontech as an example to the existing Solar MD battery?

Thanks for the feedback guys much appreciated. See below on the 29th May peak solar W was 3869W, so if i take the panels size 405w x 12 x 75% (Line loss etc etc)= 3645W Peak production? So i would assume they are performing as they should?

Scorp, Greenfields thanks for the feedback will ask het to conduct the test.

Hi NigelL thanks for the feedback, sorry i am a bit of a noob when it comes to solar. So does this mean the battery itself is limiting production? If so should we look at replacing the battery with another make / model etc? If so firstly dammit, secondly what would you suggest and why?

Thanks for the response, i checked for yesterday her between 8am in the morning till 4pm , her consumption was 15KWh, Production was 12KWh. 0.1KWh to Grid and 3.8KWh from Grid. Also just remembered COCT installed a compulsory prepaid meter in a number of months ago, she used to have the old wheel type meter if i remember correctly, the new meter i dont believe allows feedback to the grid could this be the reason why the overall KWh produced is so much less than prior? Lastly does COCT have meters that allow feedback to the grid? If so how does one go about getting one and what do they pay back if feeding back?

Thanks for the feedback Scorp007, why is her average Kwh produced per day so much less than mine? In addition on PV Yield if one checks on VRM my PV yield at height will reach around 4000Watts however hers never goes above 2200W give or take?

Thanks for the feedback, however i dont believe that isthe case checking for today between 11am and 12pm today consumption was 1.84kw, solar production was only 1.64kw

Can someone please recommend a good Solar company in Cape Town, i can send to my Moms house to check the installation etc that won't break the bank?

Hi Everyone, have not logged in for sometime so hello. Hope someone can provide some advice. I had a crowd install a solar system for my Mom at her house in Tokai, the system is almost identical to mine (I Live in Pretoria) however her solar production appears to be quite a bit less. She has the following installed: 12x Canadian Solar 405W Super High Power Poly PERC HiKU Victron MultiPlus II 48/5000/70-50 4000W Inverter Victron SmartSolar MPPT 250/100 Solar MD 3.7kWh Lithium-Ion Solar MD Smart logger Victron Venus GX Communication The system PV yield or Solar Charger PV Yield when checking on Victron VRM reports never goes above 2200W, daily KWh production on average is between 8-14KWh per day. I have the same setup except for the batteries and my System - PV Yield according to VRM often gets to just under 4000watts, my daily solar production is on average around 28kwh per day. I have had the solar guys come out who did the installation and they indicate everything is working fine however i fail to understand how my Moms installation is getting almost 2/3rd less than mine. Her panels have no shade are on a tiled pitched roof and face North? Please can anybody advice what we can check? We have spent an incredible amount of the system and logic indicates something is not correct with my Moms installation? Please see below System - PV Yield from mine and my Moms systems. Not sure if any other VRM reports would be better suited to compare? Thanks in advance.

Apologies for the late feedback. Rengro i eventually settled on the 400w panels, the price i indicated above i believe was from Mustek at the time. My final solar install consists of the following: Victron MultiPlus II Inverter 48/5000 /70-50 MK3-USB Victron BlueSolar MPPT 250/100TR VE.Direct cable for MPPT VenusGX Carlo Gavazzi with RS485 to USB - 5m 3x 3.5kw Pylontech batteries Canadian solar panel 400w x 12 (3 banks of 4 in array) System i believe is performing well, i am not feeding back to the grid so production is limited to usage during the day.. on average i am generating around 18 - 20kwh / day (Once again dependant on what electrics are on and drawing power as i don't feedback into grid) highest Kw produced in a day over the past 6 months is 25.4 kw on the 24th July. Does the above kw's produced seem in alignment with my setup?

Thanks for the feedback South Easter, no one else?

Hi guys, quick question please can you recommend professional well priced solar installers in Cape Town area?

Hi PLonkster thanks for the feedback.For a non electrically inclined individual a lot of the graphs etc make very little sense hence my query? Will check those graphs out.

Hi Guys, well i eventually had my system installed, thank you for the advice received on the forum. I went with the following. Multiplus 2 5kw inverter , Venus GX, 12 x 400W Canadian solar panels, MPPT smartsolar 250/100, 3 x pylontech 3.5kw. Due to having a prepaid meter i do not feedback into the grid currently, will look at a Bidirectional prepaid meter once Tshwane get their act together.Currently my highest KW production in a single day was 16.65Kwh (As currently my solar panels are only using what i consume as i am not feeding into the grid), so theoretically i am wasting around 10Kwh in solar production so want to push this through to the batteries. So i plan to use my batteries to reduce Eskom use and utilise the 10Kwh of lost solar production. The plan is too use 30% of battery power once solar production stops which is 10.5kwr - 30% = 3.15kwh , leaving me with 70% SOC (7.35kwh). If load shedding occurs i then have battery power from 70% -30% as i will set the lowest state of discharge to 30% which is approximately 4.2kwh of battery power for loadshedding? (If i undestand it correctly) What are your thoughts on the above in terms of using battery power to supplement Eskom? Is my logic above correct, is the above efficient or should i use 40% to supplement Eskom and keep 30% for loadshedding? Lastly what Victron reports do you guys mainly use, and what are you looking at in the reports? I have looked at the dashboard and advanced on VRM , and login to the MPPT to see History etc however to be honest on a lot of the reports i have no idea what i am actually looking at? For a newbie what reports should i be looking at to ensure my system is running optimally, reports to ensure my batteries are healthy, reports to check consumption etc etc

Hi Plonkster thanks for the feedback.