SolarFrans

UPDATE: brackets have found a new home.
Hi all,
 
I have two Pylontech brackets (for stacking batteries with space in between) that I no longer need since I have a wall-mounted case now. 
 
Free to pick up in Parkhurst. 
 

UPDATE: brackets have found a new home.
Hi all,
 
I have two Pylontech brackets (for stacking batteries with space in between) that I no longer need since I have a wall-mounted case now. 
 
Free to pick up in Parkhurst. 
 

EDIT - Added reply name
@SolarFrans I posted here of what I use with my Axpert inverter. It works a treat and with Node-Red integration with Telegram I receive live stats on my cell where ever.
 

Thanks for the input, everyone! So I guess it's SunSynks all around 😆
 
I'm going to try the SolPipLog software as mentioned by @abeetude and see if that can replace what ICC was doing before it broke down...
If that fails it's going to be a SunSynk.
 
Thanks!

Oh great, this is worth checking out!
Their GitHub page does mention Pylontech integration so fingers crossed...
And the fact that it's open source means I can actual debug it myself and fix issues if it doesn't work, a great plus over ICC which is closed source.
 
OK, let's try this before spending 30K rands on a new inverter! 😃
Thanks!

True that. What changed my Victron mindset at the time was that Sunsynk did everything that a Victron ESS did, at about 1/3 of the cost.

And to think a year ago when I was looking into what inverter to go with there were only a few threads here and elsewhere online with very little information available on the sunsynk. I ended up watching the US sol-ark inverter videos as I think somewhere there is a connection between the two, even though neither company wants to comment on who copied from who. 
Very glad that I went with the 8kw sunsynk. 

Sunsynk FTW.

I contacted ICC a few weeks ago, apparently you must buy the full package from them (pi and software). I had a PI around so it made no sense to buy more hardware. That made my decision easy...didnt buy ICC. Got an alternative going Solpiplog. Not sure of the Pylon integration yet

Cheapest option would be to keep your current setup and add a control software like ICC or Solar Assistant and the Pylon comms cable to your system. I ran my system (2x Apert and a couple of Pylons) like that for 2 years and could do everything you are looking for (my pool pump would switch on if SOC was above certain value and if I had more than X watts of spare PV)
If you're willing to spend the cash, then the Sunsynk will be the better long-term solution. I recently did the upgrade (also because I wanted to add more panels) and am happy with it. However, out of the box the Sunsynk currently also only provides time-delayed metrics for remote viewing. Supposedly an upgrade for this is in the works, but I had to get Solar Assistant to remotely access real-time data. And remotely changing parameters currently is not supported on the Sunsynk (which you can do on the Axpert with either of the control software mentioned above)
My 2 cents: If your current inverter size and PV amount is sufficient for you, I would probably go the ICC / Solar Assistant route to add the features you are looking for. Investment for that will be around R3k (depending if you go ICC or Solar Assistant. You can save a couple of R if you buy the Raspberry Pi separately elsewhere and just get the software and comms cable from them). If you are planning to further add to your system in the near future, then the upgrade to Sunsynk will be the better option - but obviously also much more expensive

I have a Goodwe, BUT if i had a do over I'd go Sunsync...

I have a Goodwe but now wish I had a Sunsynk 8kW
Goodwe is easy to install and works as it should but it has many negatives in my opinion.
First I struggle to get support from Goodwe. 
The settings are a bit limited. Example you can set max discharge to say 10% and grid available discharge to 30% so you have 20% left for load shedding but that is about it.  I understand the Sunsynk has more options.
The interface or nice graphs is via the internet.  So somewhere in China the data is kept and my only connection to it.  I can't connect directly to the inverter to download data.  Currently my graph values do not correspond to what I am using in reality (it jumps to say 6kW while I am actually using only 4kW) and nothing I can do about it.
 

Sunsynk 8kw inverter user here for the last 11 months and I really can't fault it. It just works and there are constant upgrades and improvements. My inverter mppt was only 18A but they confirmed that it does support 22A and they upgraded my firmware overnight. 
Very happy with this inverter. The user interface is also very easy to understand but the settings does have a bit of a learning curve to it. There are many users here that can assist with the settings though. I don't think there's an inverter with a better user interface than the sunsynk with its touch screen display. 
There is a new logger that's currently in beta testing that allows for real time remote monitoring and changing of inverter settings. I'm not sure when it's going to be released. 

I have been trying to make sense of this post.  Please help.
I assume that the 5M you refer to is 5MW (megawatt).
I assume that 40M is in fact 40m (metres), and 8M is 8m.  I further assume that the 605W you refer to is a 605W panel.  The only one I can find is a Jinko RS600M-120HC - they measure 2172mm x 1303mm.  You could fit a theoretical maximum of 113 into an area 40m x 8m if you packed them without gaps to avoid shading, more like 40% of that in practice.  "Easily 120" would be a stretch - perhaps I have misunderstood you?
By 7.2 KWhr I assume that you mean 7.2kWh.  I do not understand that - 120 x 605W would be about 72kW.   (Expressing power output in kWh makes no sense unless you attach a time dimension to it.)  Did you mean to say 7.2kW?  If so it should have been 72kW.
So, (making many assumptions) is this what you were trying to say?
"I have a space of 40m x 8m where I could fit in 72kW of PV using 120 x 605W panels".  It would not be quite true, but OK.
Forgive me if I am being too pedantic, but there are many people who read these forums who are not technically educated - the conversation will be more easily understood by all if we so not each invent our own abbreviations.

In summer have my 12000btu inverter aircon in my bedroom running whole night. 
Also have a garden cottage with tenants running from the system as well. 
The BMS talks to the sunsynk and manages the inverter. It sets the max and min charging and discharging rates depending on the SOC. 
My sunsynk is set to never charge from grid but once the the battery went to 9% SOC. The BMS sent a force charge instruction inverter which overrode the inverter settings and it charged to 15% SOC from the grid. The inverter also looks up the state of health of the battery bank.