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ebrsa

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  1. Like
    ebrsa got a reaction from Colin in Solar Charging issues & ICC   
    ICC displays what tne battery BMS tells it the state of charge, volts and amps sensed are. The state of charge will drop suddenly when full  charge  voltage is reached as the charge amps drop to near zero but the load is still there. I have a DIY battery with BMS but information to ICC comes from a Victron Smart  Shunt. Even so my ICC displays similar graphs. 
    For a good understanding read Protection and Management of Marine Lithium Battery Banks on Nordkyndesign.com. All articles on lithium batteries on the website are worth reading for better understanding of LiFePO4 batteries. 
  2. Like
    ebrsa got a reaction from Colin in Solar Charging issues & ICC   
    If you post the battery graphs one would be able to see what is happening while batteries are being charged. I have 2x4Kw Axperts with a 240AH diy battery and controlled by ICC on an RPi3. Works perfectly although solar power is down since it is winter with frequent cloudy days. 
  3. Like
    ebrsa got a reaction from wolfandy in ICC alternative   
    @Gnome I have always found Manie Erasmus of ICCSoftware most helpful and cordial. As a long time user of ICC I can say that it controls my 2 x Axpert 5Kva cluster flawlessly. Recently had to replace my BMV700, which failed and opted for the Victron Smartshunt. My FLA batteries I also replaced with a DIY 240AH LFP battery bank. ICC works perfectly on a RPi 3B in controlling all necessary functions and does a sterling job in controlling the sensitive matter of correct battery charging voltages.
    Manie was understandably very upset when his source code was published publicly. The source remains unknown but it seems likely that it might have been a trusted associate of the past. I am one satisfied customer who has paid only once and my licence is valid until 2063.
  4. Like
    ebrsa got a reaction from ibiza in ICC alternative   
    @Gnome I have always found Manie Erasmus of ICCSoftware most helpful and cordial. As a long time user of ICC I can say that it controls my 2 x Axpert 5Kva cluster flawlessly. Recently had to replace my BMV700, which failed and opted for the Victron Smartshunt. My FLA batteries I also replaced with a DIY 240AH LFP battery bank. ICC works perfectly on a RPi 3B in controlling all necessary functions and does a sterling job in controlling the sensitive matter of correct battery charging voltages.
    Manie was understandably very upset when his source code was published publicly. The source remains unknown but it seems likely that it might have been a trusted associate of the past. I am one satisfied customer who has paid only once and my licence is valid until 2063.
  5. Like
    ebrsa got a reaction from GreenMan in ICC alternative   
    @Gnome I have always found Manie Erasmus of ICCSoftware most helpful and cordial. As a long time user of ICC I can say that it controls my 2 x Axpert 5Kva cluster flawlessly. Recently had to replace my BMV700, which failed and opted for the Victron Smartshunt. My FLA batteries I also replaced with a DIY 240AH LFP battery bank. ICC works perfectly on a RPi 3B in controlling all necessary functions and does a sterling job in controlling the sensitive matter of correct battery charging voltages.
    Manie was understandably very upset when his source code was published publicly. The source remains unknown but it seems likely that it might have been a trusted associate of the past. I am one satisfied customer who has paid only once and my licence is valid until 2063.
  6. Thanks
    ebrsa reacted to Acuario in Everything you wanted to know about Heat Pumps   
    I have underfloor heating (and cooling in the summer) running off a heatpump (home made system in my case rather than commercial). I would recommend underfloor heating to anyone, best heating system I've ever installed).
    In my case (North east Spain) I heat the water to typically 32C in winter and chill to 16C in summer, this keeps the house at around 25C in summer and 22C in winter. 
    As there is a time delay on the response I use a weather feed and predictive heating based on forecast temperature, always working 2 hours ahead. I also reduce the temperature a few degrees overnight in the winter.
    My house is approx 250sq meters and electricity use is between 6000kWh and 8000kWh (depends on the winter!) for a heating season from mid October to mid may.
    In my case I have also added (and soon to add more) solar water panels to the system so on sunny days I get free heating from the sun. As the underfloor is effectively a thermal mass the heat is available long after the sun has gone.
    Another future plan is to add an extra small heatpump that operates when I have excess solar power. This will most likely only be for summer cooling use and 'emergency' winter use in case of grid failure.
  7. Like
    ebrsa reacted to Coulomb in What to use to precharge the inverter capacitors?   
    Or indeed a few thousand amps. Inrush current is hard on the contactor or fuse contact that makes the initial connection. If you're making the final connection by hand, there is the danger of flash injury, burns from copper snot, damage to contacts or fuse casings, and the cost of new underpants 🩲🥴
    I use high pulse power rated aluminium clad resistors, and a circuit that automatically shorts it out after a suitable time, so I never get lazy. Around 3.3 Ω and 50 W continuous / 1250 W pulse is good for 50 V systems. That limits the in-rush to some 15-18 A, depending on the battery voltage, and will pre-charge two 5 kVA inverters in less than a second.
    I note that some packaged LFP batteries (e.g. Pylontech) may automatically limit the current to a manageable value for a short period of time (e.g. 1C for the battery), thereby automatically performing a reasonably graceful pre-charge. For a single US2000 Pylontech, that's about 50 A. I have no idea how hard that is on the internal MOSFETs, which have to dissipate half of the energy stored in the capacitors. If you have a lot of Pylontechs in parallel, as you eventually are likely to, the current limit will still be very harsh on contactors, fuse holders, etc.
  8. Like
    ebrsa got a reaction from hoohloc in What to use to precharge the inverter capacitors?   
    @hoohlocCharging the inverter's internal capacitors through a resistor is just a safety measure to prevent possible failure of the capacitors and other components in the DC circuit. Using a 100W 230V incandescent light bulb, as @Chris Louw suggested above, will prevent the capacitors from failing because of extreme inrush current and the subsequent hassle of disconnecting the inverter for a warranty claim. My inverters are out of warranty so won't do me any good. The inrush current of LFE batteries can be a few hundred amps so why take the chance that something may fail. 
  9. Like
    ebrsa got a reaction from ibiza in ICC alternative   
    It seems there is a lot of confusion about the ICC-Pi Software suppliers. Since I have been using it since it was a Windows only app and had contact with the two developers, Jaco and Manie, I hope some background will clarify the issue. The original Windows app was donationware. After some time the RPi app became the standard only app available. At some point Jaco and Manie parted  company and since then Manie continued to supply and develop the ICC-PI app. At a later date Centurion Solar became a reseller of the ICC-PI app.
    Some time ago Manie and Centurion Solar also severed their relationship and Centurion now supply their own app, whatever the origin or code base may be. So the two current suppliers are ICCSoftware which is Manie's enterprise and Centurion Solar which supplies a similar app. The two websites are named after the suppliers and relevant information about their products and prices are available on each. 
    I hope this clarifies matters. 
  10. Thanks
    ebrsa got a reaction from Clovie in ICC alternative   
    It seems there is a lot of confusion about the ICC-Pi Software suppliers. Since I have been using it since it was a Windows only app and had contact with the two developers, Jaco and Manie, I hope some background will clarify the issue. The original Windows app was donationware. After some time the RPi app became the standard only app available. At some point Jaco and Manie parted  company and since then Manie continued to supply and develop the ICC-PI app. At a later date Centurion Solar became a reseller of the ICC-PI app.
    Some time ago Manie and Centurion Solar also severed their relationship and Centurion now supply their own app, whatever the origin or code base may be. So the two current suppliers are ICCSoftware which is Manie's enterprise and Centurion Solar which supplies a similar app. The two websites are named after the suppliers and relevant information about their products and prices are available on each. 
    I hope this clarifies matters. 
  11. Like
    ebrsa got a reaction from ibiza in ICC alternative   
    @Clivevan just go to the link above posted by @isetech. That will take you the website of Manie who maintains, upgrades and sells the ICC-PI that I and many others worldwide have been using for many years. I have never had to pay for upgrades or a monthly fee. How Centurion fits into the picture I do not know or care about. 
  12. Like
    ebrsa got a reaction from Clovie in ICC-Solar   
    @Manie may not participate on the forum but is always available on his website. Besides ICC will tell you when a new version is available, at least my ICC-Pi does and also describes the changes. Then it is a simple matter of clicking the Upgrade button. For the last few days I have had no problems in monitoring my system from a cruise ship using the VPN connection available on the Gargoyle firmware on my router. During the past month I have tried this from an Emirates airliner, on the ground in Dubai and for the past week from the ship. The Gargoyle free firmware is really outstanding and complements ICC nicely in monitoring and controlling your system from afar, either via wifi, cellular data connections, or whatever Internet connection available at the time.
  13. Like
    ebrsa got a reaction from Clovie in ICC software ends inadvertently   
    @PeterGutti  I have updated and upgraded my ICC RPi 3 Linux during the weekend by following the instructions on Manie's website Help page. Some googling found recommendations not to run rpi-update, the last command on Manie's upgrade command string. So I would suggest leaving that out as it may upgrade the bootloader to an unreliable beta version. At least the underlying operating system is now up to date. My ICC and that of a friend in our village for whom I installed ICC from Manie, still runs without problems. Our systems freeze maybe once or twice times a year if ever which is unlikely to be due to software bugs. I hope that keeping the Linux current will also add to reliability. Perhaps you should see if it helps in your case. 
    Manie states that ICC versions below 2.90 still contains bugs which may account for problems experienced by folks with version 2.85. So comparing that version with version 3.1 is not of any value. 
     
  14. Like
    ebrsa got a reaction from Clovie in ICC software ends inadvertently   
    @JohanDbn I have a Victron BMV700 connected to the RPi and Manie's (ICCSoftware) has a software switch for that as well as for Pylontech batteries. Just Google his website and have a look if it suits you. I don't even want to think about running my system without Manie's ICC which I have been using since it became avaliable. 
  15. Like
    ebrsa got a reaction from Clovie in ICC software ends inadvertently   
    @PeterGutti You and I must count amongst those who have used ICC from the first version from Manie and even the Windows version before that. My system is the same as yours except for the battery type. I am glad to say that my ICC hangs maybe once or twice a year which is way less than my Windows and Ubuntu computers. If software or firmware in this case hangs frequently because of a bug, everyone will have the problem. That is not the case so I would suggest looking elsewhere. Power supply spikes comes to mind so I would suggest a spike suppressor plug on the RPi AC supply side of the power supply for starters and let the forum know if it helps. I am also running ICC 3.1 on a RPi 3.
    The seems to be another version of ICC available to the one from Manie who originally programmed the RPi version to add to the confusion. So any comments need to relate to the specific supplier version. 
  16. Like
    ebrsa got a reaction from PeterGutti in Apple file protocol with Debian on pi   
    @PeterGutti Have a look at the ICCSoftware website Help page for commands to upgrade Linux on RPi to latest, particularly if you have the RPi3. Perhaps that will get your communication to the computer going again. 
  17. Thanks
    ebrsa got a reaction from JohanDbn in ICC software ends inadvertently   
    @JohanDbn  I noticed on the website Help page that trial versions are no longer available. However there is a great deal of information that may be relevant, particularly if you have an RPi 3. I was not aware of some so will be updating the RPi Linux for sure today. Manie has posted the commands on the Help page. 
    The current version is 3.1 not 2.999 as stated on the website. 
  18. Thanks
    ebrsa got a reaction from JohanDbn in ICC software ends inadvertently   
    @JohanDbn  Manie's ICC has catered for parallel inverters for quite some time as well as several brands of LiFePO4 batteries. Google ICCSoftware or try iccsoftware.co.za perhaps. I am not sure if the website owner Jason will regard posting supplier's websites contrary to forum rules hence the suggestion to Google for ICCSoftware. Perhaps add South Africa to the query. I looked at Manie's website Help section last night and it has been significantly added to since my previous visit so taken a look. 
  19. Thanks
    ebrsa got a reaction from JohanDbn in ICC software ends inadvertently   
    @JohanDbn I have a Victron BMV700 connected to the RPi and Manie's (ICCSoftware) has a software switch for that as well as for Pylontech batteries. Just Google his website and have a look if it suits you. I don't even want to think about running my system without Manie's ICC which I have been using since it became avaliable. 
  20. Like
    ebrsa got a reaction from Mark in ICC software ends inadvertently   
    @PeterGutti You and I must count amongst those who have used ICC from the first version from Manie and even the Windows version before that. My system is the same as yours except for the battery type. I am glad to say that my ICC hangs maybe once or twice a year which is way less than my Windows and Ubuntu computers. If software or firmware in this case hangs frequently because of a bug, everyone will have the problem. That is not the case so I would suggest looking elsewhere. Power supply spikes comes to mind so I would suggest a spike suppressor plug on the RPi AC supply side of the power supply for starters and let the forum know if it helps. I am also running ICC 3.1 on a RPi 3.
    The seems to be another version of ICC available to the one from Manie who originally programmed the RPi version to add to the confusion. So any comments need to relate to the specific supplier version. 
  21. Like
    ebrsa got a reaction from ibiza in DIY LIFePO4 Battery bank   
    @Gelo  I do not believe the DIY route requires a great deal of technical skills. Have a look at Will Prowse's YouTube videos as there is much to show you how he did it. He even has a video of building a 24V battery bank with an ANT BMS and connecting it to Axpert rebranded inverters.
    Regarding costs, just take a look at Lithiumbatteriessa website and decide on the cells you want to use. I connected my 32 120AH cells in pairs of parallel cells giving me 16 120AH cell blocks. As a result I need only one BMS and I liked the features of the ANT at R2500 from Lithiumbatteriessa. For busbars I flattened 12mm copper pipe and drilled holes to connect 4 terminals together.
    There is a very nice control program for Android called VBMS on Google Playstore to set up and read information down to cell charge level for the ANT BMS for about R80.00. Or you can just use the one supplied which is free.
    As @smurfdbn shows in his post above, you will save around 40% or more compared to commercial batteries. I also purchased a adjustable bench power supply which can deliver 10A at 30V which is fine as I will use it to balance the cells with all connected in parallel when voltage should not exceed 3.65V prior to connecting the cells in pairs and then the 16 pairs in series. This I purchased from DIY Electronics on the Internet for R1449.95.
    @smurfdbn Perhaps you would be so kind and post some photos of your final DIY battery.
     
  22. Like
    ebrsa got a reaction from Fuenkli in DIY LifePo4 - Multiple banks without comms?   
    @smurfdbn I am building a LiFePO4 battery with 16 of 2 cells from @Bain Viljoenin parallel. Got them from @Mike who resides in our village.
    @Ian said In an earlier post that he did that and also put blocks of 3 cells in parallel for a neighbour. Perhaps he would be so kind and post his experience thus far for us to learn. As I understand it, parallel cells will self balance over time and the ANT BMS which I have should balance the pairs of cells. Multiple batteries, each with their own BMS have the problem of keeping the batteries in balance. If they are not, one or more with lower voltage may cause the ones with higher voltage to overcharge and then self-protect by disconnecting. There is after all no electronics keeping the banks in balance so no real difference to parallel cells. If a block of parallel cells have too low a voltage, it will cause some others to reach overcharge voltage and the ANT will detect that and also stop charging. 
    Seems to me the parallel cell option may be preferable on balance. Will Prowse also has a video about it on YouTube. 
     
  23. Like
    ebrsa got a reaction from Jo_Davidson in Does anyone know any trustworthy solar provider in Nevada?   
    @Jo_Davidson You may want to take a look at Will Prowse YouTube videos about solar power. Since he lives in Las Vegas, maybe a post there will result in useful information. 
  24. Like
    ebrsa got a reaction from Fuenkli in Is my solar geyser potentially underperforming   
    @SvenA  I am surprised that an installer would cover part of the evacuated tubes with a photovoltaic solar panel. That reduces the heat collection capability of the system. Just to clarify, water does not flow through the evacuated tubes but only through the metal manifold at the top into which they plug. Also UV light does not heat anything, infrared light does. You may want to Google evacuated tube water heaters for relevant information.
    A simple test to determine if water flows through the heater would be to shut of the input feed from the municipal supply at the geyser. Then disconnect the connecting pipe from the heater at the top of the geyser and start the pump. If water flows all is fine, otherwise you have an air lock or other blockage.
    On my own similar system I added a Geyserwise to control the pump and added a 15AH 12V sealed lead acid battery. This was done to make the system totally independent of mains power except for the heating element. More importantly, if your pump is powered by the solar panel directly, it will start pumping as soon as the solar panel produces enough power. At that time the sun does not yet supply enough heat for the evacuated tubes to heat the water. So you end up pumping colder water from the bottom of the geyser to the top and thus cooling down the water at the top from where hot water is fed to your house. That was my experience prior to installing the Geyserwise and it was confirmed by my first home made controller which measured temperatures at the top and bottom of the geyser. The Geyserwise has automated heating with electricity and can be set to do that at convenient times to suit your lifestyle. Mine goes on at 04:00 and 17:00 in winter and not at all in summer. It will only use mains power if the water is not above the minimum programmed temperature. It also incorporates a battery charger to charge the battery from the solar panel. There may well be other suitable controllers available. 
    If and when your installer turns up, insist that they mount the solar panel at a location where it does not cover the evacuated tubes and demonstrate proper water flow by using my suggested simple test. There appears to be no insulation on the pipe running around your collector. If that is a feed pipe to or from the collector, you are losing a great deal of heat and you should demand that insulation is added. 
     
     
  25. Like
    I suppose what you have to take into account is that 16 LiFePO4 cells from the same source will cost R14,400 and an ANT BMS will add R2500 for a total of R16,900. At least that is what I would consider if I wanted to buy such equipment. The breaker and meter are nice to have but would already be present in an existing installation. Besides the ANT BMS provides much more useful information than the Daly BMS in your system. Hope this helps you. 

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