Sass

Any ethernet cable will work, therefore if you want custom sizing, you can visit your local matrix (or similiar) and just ask them to make you one to your sizing

Hi Kory
If you haven't had any help yet, I would suggest you email Leon Swart at SSEG East, CoCT. Very helpful fella and he's responsible for all registrations. ([email protected])

If you explain your situation to him, he will guide you through the entire process. Also, he will send you examples of the diagram, etc. It is something that you can do yourself with a little effort.

As far as the CoC is concerned, may I suggest that you dump your "installer" and find a certfied electrician to do this for you?

I am sure there are many here who will gladly assist you
Good luck and regards
 
 

Hi.
One thing to be aware of and that is you will not be able to import batteries via airfreight. This class of item is a fire hazard, so it is seafreight only. I will not touch this unless it's a substantial quantity. Full container loads will be worthwhile. Anything less and the cost of shipping skyrockets.
Then there's the state of customs at our ocean ports to consider. The risks might outweigh the benefits.
 
Anyway, watching this thread with interest.

I have just one question.
Why not drill and use chemical anchors? Those vials with the cement epoxy mixture is waterproof and will not cause structural weakening at all.
Bearing in mind we are talking Cape Town here, I would seriously not risk this in an area where we frequently have gusts exceeding 100kPh in any one season, and those aren't even the maximum.
If there's a problem with the base, (the roof being thin cast) or lacking reinforcing then the addition of all the extra weight is potentially dangerous as well?

Eish! Some fellas complaining about having to use an installer.
I can do this, and have numerous times, yet I'll use an installer, no problem. For two reasons:
1. I'm grateful that Powerforum runs these kind of competitions. So there's no complaining from me.
and
2. maybe I learn something new from a different installer. You never know. Knowledge is valuable.
Anyway, just saying. Enjoy the weekend!

Eish! Some fellas complaining about having to use an installer.
I can do this, and have numerous times, yet I'll use an installer, no problem. For two reasons:
1. I'm grateful that Powerforum runs these kind of competitions. So there's no complaining from me.
and
2. maybe I learn something new from a different installer. You never know. Knowledge is valuable.
Anyway, just saying. Enjoy the weekend!

It's very simple: even LFP batteries degrade less with a lower battery voltage. You do need the bulk voltage to get the battery charged properly, but once it's charged, you don't need to maintain such a high battery voltage. On my system, I find that I lose half a percent of SoC by using a float voltage that is even lower per cell than that, but I expect to extend my battery life by doing this.
Some people say why does an LFP battery even need a float setting? You do need a voltage set-point to aim for when balancing load power and charge power (whether that's utility or solar or other). In effect, the battery voltage falling below the float voltage is the signal to the charging system that the battery can accept more charge; when above this voltage, no more charge is desirable.
Of course, if you have BMS communication, then the inverter ignores these voltage settings, and responds to messages from the BMS to charge more, charge less, or stop charging altogether.

So I will be picking up my cells on Wednesday, I also purchased their Apex BMS, which is just a rebranded seplos. 
I was initially going to buy a steel case and modify it from there, but has since decided to get a 3D printer, draw up some modular designs, and this will now be my project. From the mockups it is going to look good. 
Will post my build log here.

Alright, let us know how it goes and what you decide to get as a replacement.

Thank you very much PsyClown for your honest answer. I will return the TOBO back to the supplier.
Fulljack

@Fulljack Next time rather post directly on the forum instead of uploading a word document.
 
I do not feel or believe one needs to have comms between the battery and inverter for the battery to perform correctly - the BMS is integrated and still active, even without a comms cable. If you use the incorrect current or voltage, the BMS should kick in and make sure nothing funky or dangerous happens.
 
Your battery capacity dropping is a concern and to me that seems like its either a cell which is not happy or the BMS is being a bit wonky. Also the cells are not balanced, cell 7 is practically full while the others are not. There is a big difference between the highest voltage cell and the lowest voltage cell.
This is likely part of the cause to the issues you are experiencing, the BMS is stopping charge when one of the cells (likely #7) is reaching its limit and therefore it does not allow for the other cells to charge fully. I am going to take a guess and assume that the BMS does not have an active balancer, it might have a passive balancer but if so it is likely a very small, low current one so will take a long time to balance.
 
I do not know these ToBo batteries but if getting a different inverter (or just battery) is an option, it may not be a bad one. Alternatively, if you are up for it and feel you are competent enough you could take it apart and change the BMS - warranty would be void though.
Alternatively, perhaps take it back to the supplier - there might be a bug in the firmware and a firmware update could resolve the issue otherwise they might swap it out with a new battery which will hopefully have the cells more balanced and prevent the issues you are experiencing from happening.
 
I do not see your inverter causing these issues. I feel it is 100% the battery.
I see it is a practically brand new battery, if it were me I'd return it if possible and buy a different battery brand.

Ok Guys to answer your questions on how to be eligible for the Solis S6 6KW Advanced Hybrid giveaway Valued at R 22,994.25 Vat Included
You have to be a Power Forum Member obviously. @Energy-Jason will Post a Link to a Random Lucky Draw Application that you register on with your email address and contact details. We will deliver the inverter to you if you are not close to Pretoria or Cape Town however we will require a pictures of you unboxing the inverter. You will automatically become a real world product tester for Solis they will require some feedback from you from time to time they will also monitor your system. We will Require you to have the Product Installed by a qualified Installation Electrician because it comes with a 5 year warranty. We also request that you make a bit of noise about your prize on social media platforms sponsored directly by Solis South Africa and Powerforum Store (PTY) LTD To the Winner Congratulations !!!  The Lucky Draw is Completely Random we do not sit and pick and choose a winner it has to be completely unbiased so that is fair for everyone participating
Good Luck may this Awesome inverter find the right home!!  
 

I would suggest nikkel.

Hello
Does this only apply to PylonTech batteries, or can this be used for other types too?
Regards

Hi Jani
I think this is great and a huge number of users will like this. I am going to test this on my PylonTech soon.
 
However I have one question. Why only PylonTech? My second system use AGM batteries and I would like to know if that can be accommodated by your software?
Thank you
Sass
 

I include below two images. The ist was taken at 22h15 last night and showed that the batteries were on 83%.
The second was taken at 06h15 this morning and the SOC was 78%
You'll notice the efficiency of my household all with low energy devices, etc. Note that this includes running 3 refrigerators one of which is on a timer and shuts down for 4 hours in the middle of the night. That's in my bar, a normal sized upright Kelvinator that keeps my beer cold.

 
Note that at the time of this, all 3 refridgerators were turned on. We seldom exceed more than 700W at any given moment.
Regards

I don't really care too much about the power that still goes to waste, as I also initially attempted to harvest that. I soon enough realised the only way to do that would be through adding more storage, and that does not make economic sense to me. So I have made peace with that fact.
Yet our two approaches are quite similar. In my case all I have done is to limit consumption from batteries and to maximise consumption from the excess PV wattage once the batteries are full. This approach does seem to be advantageous.
At some stage the AGM batteries will have to be replaced, and only then will I bother to add something longer lasting. Hopefully the current trend of renewables getting cheaper will continue but our ever-weakening currency unfortunately does add a curved ball.
One last point. We have become so focused on efficiency that I manage to get our two battery packs full by 10h30 at the moment. This obviously depends on the quality of the daily yield.
Regards

I have buyed the usb adapter, however i have tried several types of wiring and still not managed to comunicate the pylon baterys with the programe. I mean i see that there is some sorth of comunication because the programe shows green for batery but it shows 0 pylon on it. Can someone help me? I hav 1 pylontech us3000 and another one us3000c. My inverter is an aspert ax 5000 and this one is comunicating well with the program.

I don't really care too much about the power that still goes to waste, as I also initially attempted to harvest that. I soon enough realised the only way to do that would be through adding more storage, and that does not make economic sense to me. So I have made peace with that fact.
Yet our two approaches are quite similar. In my case all I have done is to limit consumption from batteries and to maximise consumption from the excess PV wattage once the batteries are full. This approach does seem to be advantageous.
At some stage the AGM batteries will have to be replaced, and only then will I bother to add something longer lasting. Hopefully the current trend of renewables getting cheaper will continue but our ever-weakening currency unfortunately does add a curved ball.
One last point. We have become so focused on efficiency that I manage to get our two battery packs full by 10h30 at the moment. This obviously depends on the quality of the daily yield.
Regards

Hi.
 
This is the exact reason why I designed and built my system with two PV arrays of 12 panels each covering a wider spectrum of daylight hour exposure with two sets of batteries, each with it's own inverter. Once the first set getting morning sun is full, it will swith ocer and charge the second via domestic grid and solar. Though my harvesting is greater I still have extra PV capacity to mine during the day, so I will expand with more batteries.

Even during the worst winter conditions I have not had any outage at all. The trick lies in my own designed "Frankenstein" Arduino controlled changeover system and a decent inverter ensuring no interruption during changeovers. 
SA gets a lot more useable sun than people realise
Regards

Interesting the concept now starting to take shape in SA means that soon I will be allowed to sell to my neighbor and don't have to sell to COCT or buy from my neighbor.

Thus I can sell my excess @ let say R 1.20 and do not have to sell to a munic or Esdom.
Also means I will be able to buy from any generation connected to the grid.
Pretty much how USA & UK ... works.  Ever wonder why Esdom created a third leg called distribution or networking.  For this very reason.

Definitely not boring.
Reading this thread it's definitely something I will look at. Might just invest in a 3rd bank of PylonTech and link into my existing dual generation system with auto switchover driven by Arduino.
Like @Achmat I am in the Helderberg and we have buckets of wind to be harvested for the most part of the year.
Just one question. Why the propeller design? Would an Archimedes type generator not be more compact and quieter?
Interesting thread  this. Will definitely keep an eye on it.
Regards

The marvellous part of my system is at the moment at 12h20 all the PylonTech and also the AGM batteries are full. Then once I get the alert, washing and tumble drying can start. No load on the batteries as demand is now supplied via PV and around 17h45 the Li-Ion batteries will kick back in. This means that effectively the AGM battery system works for around 4 hours a day, supplying the household and once full, adding extra amps to the PylonTechs. They rest for 24 hours. The PylonTechs will work from 17h45 up to 9 tomorrow when the cycle starts over.
This is depending on available PV yield. I have on cloudy days had this change only happen around 14h00 but to me this means the AGM batteries will last a long time, not being overworked.
Something I never even realised is that the change happens depending on PV availability 1st and then state of charge. As this is dynamic it happens witout intervention. 
Truly automated.

Hi.
 
This is the exact reason why I designed and built my system with two PV arrays of 12 panels each covering a wider spectrum of daylight hour exposure with two sets of batteries, each with it's own inverter. Once the first set getting morning sun is full, it will swith ocer and charge the second via domestic grid and solar. Though my harvesting is greater I still have extra PV capacity to mine during the day, so I will expand with more batteries.

Even during the worst winter conditions I have not had any outage at all. The trick lies in my own designed "Frankenstein" Arduino controlled changeover system and a decent inverter ensuring no interruption during changeovers. 
SA gets a lot more useable sun than people realise
Regards

Yes it switches on automatically. On my system if the battery is 99% and I have 400W or more generating from the PV's, the geyser heats up. I need to add that at 95% battery the AUX will switch off power to the geyser. On a hot day the aux switches on two or three times.