Hannah Barnes

Thank you so much Steve for the input. I had not thought of such an upgrade and I suspect it would be one I would need to work towards over a long term in terms of cost. Just a question with relation to this. I have nothing in my house that draws alot of power. As I was off-grid from the start all my appliances are geared for solar. The largest power drawer is my electric borehole pump (1.5kw) which I only pump when there is full sun. All my heating runs off gas and the rest is mainly the television and dvd player we use for the ministry as well as charing phones, laptops etc. and lights. That is why I have never gone for a big system. I already feel like mine is big enough, even for our weekend courses with 10 people, unless we hit 3 or 4 days of rain, which is very rare in Hoedspruit. It even handles my mom's oxygen machine running through the night and a fan when necessary. I also run a twin tub washing machine often with no issues. My biggest challenge is probably when there are 3 overcast days in winter but perhaps one more pylon tech and a few more solar panels (6 maybe) can sort that? I have in 7 years only been without power once (after we had 10 people there for the weekend and had to use the pressure pump for showering). Now I have a tank stand so the water is gravity fed and I have not ever again been without power. I have not had an alarm go off or changed a setting since Jaco did his magic and I don't have a battery monitor so I fly a bit blind feeling my way through on the voltage reading (which I know has its shortcomings but so far its been okay). So my question is, what would the benefit be to enlarging my system at a large cost in comparison to just installing another smaller system (3KW) at the ministry camp area to cope with a fridge, perhaps a freezer and some charging of phones, lights and other such equipment? I have an IBR roof at the ministry camp to mount solar panels on the outside kitchen and that could also be the central charging station for phones etc. as we pitch tents for the ministry. If I did then need to enlarge my home system at a later stage, could I not just put another 5Kva inverter in there that would allow me to run a series so higher watt solar panels? I am thinking that distributing the equipment also means not everything goes down if there is an issue with the main system. And it means that the cost is distributed in smaller doable amounts. Is there a scientific solar advantage to having it all in one? I am just curious. For now I will go with the generator but is there someone who could assist me then with the settings I will need to change on my inverter to charge the pylontechs via the generator if need be? I used to have good old golf cart batteries for 5 years and then I knew what settings to change but with the pylontechs I have not touched anything since Jaco installed them and did the settings in 2020 so I am nervous to mess with it all working so well.

Thank you for your input. It will probably become more than two weeks a year as even though I live there we run the ministry there. We have a run some weekend courses and the power has coped but this is the first time there will be this many people. The generator is an option and I have now news from friends that they will lend me one for the duration of the conference. But it is a 6.5 Kva one and I don't know how to set my system up so that it can feed into the system. I would also prefer long term to avoid a generator if at all possible and then rather found out if enlarging my system and perhaps having a cut off switch and feeding a cable to the camp section might be better.

Hi. My current system is a 48v with 4.8KW pylon tech lithium ion batteries, 6 x 270w solar panels and 1 x Mecer Axpert inverter (5KVA which is still going strong almost 8 years later). This set up runs my house with no problem (I am totally off-grid with no Eskom and no generator) and Jaco de Jongh did an excellent job helping me getting it in order. Jaco is unavailable at the moment due to personal circumstance to assist or advise me so I am looking for someone in the Hoedspruit/Phalaborwa that can perhaps help? We are running a ministry conference at my farm for 13 days in September and I concerned the system will not cope with 20 people. I have two options: Either add on additional solar panels to the existing set-up (but they would need to be 270w ones hey?) as I have space for 6 more and try to add another pylon tech battery and then run an underground cable about 25 - 30m to the campsite ministry area to provide power there too. Or Give the campsite area its own setup and take advantage of the larger solar panels (4 x 600w) being not that more expensive than the 270 w ones, invest in a new 3000kva axpert and one 2000 pylon tech for now. This is a lot more expensive I think but in the long run may be the more practical solution because then the camp usage of power does not drain my home power system which I have obviously looked after very meticulously. Can anyone please advise if either of these options are better? And if there is anyone in the area that can assist with a quote? Or a better option is welcome. Another question, can I get higher watt solar panels (like 540w) to add to the existing setup with the 270 w panels?

Hi. I have 8 6V T105 Trojan golf cart batteries available that were used from September 2015 until around February 2020. At that stage they were still running at around 50% but I am not sure of their current state as they have been standing for almost a year now. They were used on my totally off grid home and did really well. Before I scrap them I am just checking if anyone is interested in buying them for use to fill up existing settings who may still be using these?

We don't have access to the pi, only the installer does. But thank you for this question to ask him.

Hi. I am visiting friends in Bonnievale who recently had a R160 000 solar system installed to use as backup for loadshedding. They have 15 panels (approximately 2KW) of input and 2 x 2000 pylon tech batteries with a Mecer hybrid plus 5KVA inverter. The installation was done by an installer and in the day the appliances connected to solar all work when the panels are active. But at night or during load shedding the batteries only last about half an hour. The appliances connected do not draw more than about 500w so the batteries should last longer. There are fuses between the battery and inverter but no DC breaker. I have heard these fuses sparking and crackling a few times already concerns me.....should there not also be a DC breaker? And what might be causing that problem of sparking? Is it possible that the batteries are perhaps faulty or is it more likely a communication or settings issue between the inverter and the batteries? The installer sent an electrician to check all the cables and voltages but all are fine. The pi goody is also working. Is it not now the responsibility of the installer to follow up? I have never had any issues on my side with an installer or my meter/pylontech system but my friends have no solar experience so I am just looking to try help them as it sounds to me like the installer has left them in a bad position. Is there a way to test if the batteries are faulty and should the installer not take responsibility for this too?

Thank you

Is anyone perhaps selling an existing Victron battery monitor? It can be the 700, 702 or 712. Please message or contact me with the price if you have one....I will be most grateful.

I wish I knew. They were really doing well lately until I shut down the system for 6 weeks while I was away as there was not anyone to top up the water and they are at that stage where they need water about every 3 weeks. When I started the system up again it was cloudy for about a week so I had to do some charing of batteries with a generator I lent from someone. I am concerned I may have done something when changing the settings that caused this. But I have gone through the setup so many times and cannot see what i might have changed that I did not change back. It may well be my ignorance that is the problem : ) but that is why I went with these batteries 5 years ago.

Thank you for the help. I had the multimeter on the wrong setting (the joys of not really knowing what you doing but trying to follow internet instructions on testing batteries). I put it on the correct setting and put the borehole pump on which draws 1.5KW. I had 1.1 KW coming in though. Within a few minutes the other 7 batteries were all reading between 6.22 and 6.24 but the first one was reading 5.23 so it is definitely not holding charge. It is really a pity as they others don't seem too bad. This is probably the main reason I will not go with a lead acid battery bank again.....if this happens you basically have to replace the whole set if I understand correctly?

I have a bank of 8 Trojan T105's (the golf cart ones) each of 6v so making up a 48v system. They are almost 5 years old and have worked very hard the last five years as an off-grid power supply to my home. I have no other power source and they have served me well. Currently one of them - the first one in the connection from the panels - seems to not be holding power anymore. The multimeter reading on the others show 13.0 and this one shows 7.0 once the batteries are in use, so that is not good. Some questions: Can I do something to help improve it/save it/salvage it to still last me a while? Will it help to move this battery elsewhere in the setup? Anyone have a second hand T105 they are wanting to sell, otherwise? How negatively will this battery affect the other 7 batteries? I am heading in the direction of hopefully replacing them with pylontech's but just want them to last me another month or two.

Chris are these batteries still available?

Today is definitely warmer than yesterday and at the same time of day my collective panels are producing 200 watts less then yesterday. The borehole pump is drawing so it is not due to the batteries getting less supply, exact same conditions as yesterday. Seems to me this heat thing is a big component to factor in. I wish I had know that from the beginning. Thanks to the people who helped educate me in this. Racks it shall be.

Good questions Jason. Hopefully some experts can help us.

Thanks Jason. This looks interesting. Wonder if it would replace the brackets then? Summer or winter I never seem to get my panels to operate above 66% of their peak so perhaps they are damaged from the heat of the roof. I will be able to do some comparisons once I get another six and hopefully do a proper install then. Our temperatures here often in summer are between 35 and 40 degrees so that roof must be baking.