Mars67

Hi. Did you ever get an answer or solution to this? Thanks

The chip nr is 1959143.VFD so I take it that it is a Series 19?

Thank you for the responses guys. I believe the kit is about 8 years old. Why would one use both the Victron and Sunnyboy in your system?

Any model arduino should work. It would be interesting to see the sketch. Also which sensors you are using to measure voltage and current.

Hi Guys. I have the opprtunity to buy a Victron Multiplus 5kva and Sunny boy sb3000 sma from a system that is being upgraded? It also includes a Sunny boy single phase smart meter, display and home manager included. What would a reasonable price be? Thank you for your assistance in advance.

Great Thanks

Hi Everyone I intend retro-fitting the existing 150 lt Kwikot geyser on my servants quarters with an EV tube system. Where can one get the best prices in and around Gauteng? Thanks

Hi Stoic Yes indeed. The three lines go into the DB and are split there to different parts of the house/Property. I do not have any 3 phase equipment and do not have a need for it. It would probably be very easy to convert to single phase in the DB. There are two DBs directly adjacent to each other. Here is a pic of the main one. The other db which the red phase feeds gives single phase to the main house.

Probably this!!!

Well at least I have taken the first positive step and am now the proud owner of a 3 phase Effergy monitor. So that will go in this evening so that I can start measuring and knowing.

Yanka is much less. I am not sure exactly what they charge now. Probably still less than half of that.

It is a very good idea to have your borehole water tested. There can be heavy metals in there and other nasty things that you will not necessarily taste although taste is often a good indication. I have my water tested at Yanka laboratories in Witbank. Cell: +27-83-232-3230 / Fax: +27-86-551-1071 They have a regular service picking up samples in Pretoria. Not that I am able to tell if this is going to be of assistance to you as I am struggling to find Adrift on the map.

Hi SN Thank you for the reply and the info. I will get back with the info you requested but things are a little hectic at the moment.

All good points to consider. Thanks

Hi TTT Thanks for the info. I'm not really inclined to go Grid-tied. The compliance issues and future tax/penalty issues and I am not interested being disrupted anyway when the Eskom grid goes off.

Hi Guys I have also only recently discovered this forum and have been looking around. This looks like the place where I will feel at home. Lots of very knowledgeable people who are more than willing to help. I have been "kicking the tyres" with solar for a long time now and have to say that with the current situation at Eskom and what electricity will need to cost in future to fix the problem (working with the somewhat shaky assumption that the Government and management that allowed Eskom to be mismanaged into the state that it is currently in will be willing and able to fix it) solar is becoming more and more of a proposition each day. I have been playing with solar on a small scale and experimenting with building my own solar charge controllers etc on small 10 and 25 panels to charge gate and alarm batteries etc. and have attended a course on designing and building solar systems. The emphasis was on the design so I am still lacking on the actual building of the system. Due to budget I am thinking of adopting a phased approach. My thinking is to get the geysers onto solar and to start using those savings to contribute to a system that would ultimately allow me to go off-grid. As an example when I finished a second part of the house as an office/granny flat (with the one kitchen directly adjacent to the other) I installed a gas stove there so cooking is already not an issue in the event of load shedding. I am fortunate in that I have large roof surfaces facing almost perfectly for PV panels although the pitch of the roof is a bit high. I also have a large garage with perfect positions to place a solar installation. I have a number of challenges which are more of a practical nature and I still need to research further and gain knowledge on to find solutions. Some of the challenges/issues I face are: The first is a simple one. What is the best way and how does one mount the panels to a corrugated roof. I gather aluminium rails are the best. I would appreciate some advice here but admit that I still need to search this forum more for the information that is undoubtedly there. Clearly one should drill holes in the sheet but it it an issue to get and keep the holes waterproof? What about the additional weigh loading on the structure? The second is that the idiot who designed my house has placed the DB in a position that is not reachable from any outside wall and would almost certainly require major construction of routes unless someone with more experience can spot a practical and neat way to get to the DB. There is also no more room to expand the DB or add to it without lots of grinding, chasing and refinishing. i.e. expenses that could have been spent on buying solar equipment. The third is that I have three phases coming straight to the only DB in the house which is then split there so I need to understand what the implications are wrt 3 phase system or separate systems for each phase etc? There are a whole bunch of questions I actually have about this. One benefit that I can see is that one phase feeds most of the house, one phase the garage and one the outbuildings such as the staff quarters and lapa. So one can probably do the house as a start as it is the most critical. Another challenge is that I run an irrigation system with a borehole and pressure pump for the house and garden which would mean additional demand on the system over and above the household requirements and ideally would like to irrigate the garden very early in the morning which means speccing the system for that draw etc. I am very grateful for this forum and for the excellent knowledge available here and intend to learn a lot and hopefully also contribute a little more as time goes by. Thanks Marnus