Jay-Dee

Sorry, if this confuses things more or not... I have lost track on what is or is not working in this thread. I have just finished setting up my SunSynk 5k Hybrid and manage to get it to talk to my Narada 48npfc100 but with different pin configs to above. Perhaps it is a Sunsynk vs Deye thing or it could be the cause of my 1 remaining issue. My Inverter is seeing only one of my two batteries From my side the wiring is as follows Inverter side is Pin 1 & 2 which goes to Pin 6 & 7 on the battery side respectively... This is the only combination I can get that works. Pin 7 & 8 also work perfectly when using an RS485 to USB adapter when connecting to ICC / ICM or Solar assist. My batteries dip switch are 000000 (Master / Pack 1) and 100000 (Slave / Pack 2). I know the batteries are talking to each other as when I look at them in ICM, I can see full details for both batteries. I have tried plugging the inverted into any and all of the RS485 ports on the two batteries and it still only reads which ever battery it is plugged into. My Inverter is running COMM:e420 - MCU:3370... I know there is newer firmware but not sure if this is this issue. Either way, I am going to request an upgrade tomorrow. Anyone else have it running on a Sunsynk? With multiple batteries? Can you see all the batteries? Thanks in advance

Thank you.... I have one of these - https://www.communica.co.za/products/bmt-usb-rs485-ttl-converter-ftdi?variant=31667841826889 which says it has an FDTI chipset... The 3 pins are A, B and - .... I am trying it with ICM and it does not want to work but now that I know the above works with Solar Assist, I will try with my copy of that too (just need to find the SD card). Wondering if it is my adapter or ICM Thanks again

Did you get this right? I am struggling with the same issue.

Evening all I am about to change from an Axpert King 5kw to a Sunsynk 5.5kw inverter and have a few question while I wait for the new unit to arrive 1 - Has anyone got the comms between the Sunsynk inverter and Narada 48npfc100 batteries working? I have seen a number of threads with people struggling on DEYE systems but also see the documentation saying it should work. 2 - What software do you use to control and setup the inverter besides doing it on the panel. My inverter is installed in the garage and I am used to controlling the inverter from ICC / ICM. I know they work with the Sunsynk inverters but not sure if they have full control over the unit. 3 - Any tips on settings that should be used for a new setup? 4 - Any firmware bugs one should be aware of? Thanks in advance

@P1000... Thank you, I had not thought about the AMP limit... I was primarily focused on voltage and this has not enlightened me to more problems.... So yes, we are looking around 9A. Unfortunately moving the panels around is not an option but reconfiguring the wiring is. I could look at a few different options but dont know if I would get any generation gain from this 1 - Wire 2 sets into 1 string of 8 panels in series... This would give me enough voltage and the amperage would remain at 9. The issue here comes in is the 2nd string would only have a Vmp of around 134V and while the MPPT range is 125 to 425, the startup voltage. is 150V and I am worried the 2nd string / MPPT would struggle on a good day. 2 - Split the one set on the garage roof as this where the inverter is housed, so it makes sense from a cabling perspective. We then run 2 sets of 6 panels in series each... This would provide both with enough voltage and keep the amps at 9A. The issue here comes in is shading and the effect it has on panels in series vs parallel and I am worried that the negative effect here will outway the benefit of having 2x MPPT's To answer both you and @Scorp007... My utilize around 80% of generation in peak season as my geyser is always on the system. They bypass would be used for Aircon units potentially in summer but the main aim is to improve overall generation out of peak season. So they bypass is not the main reason for change but rather the better inverter, dual MPPT, and then bypass & software. Thoughts?

Hi all I am hoping some of the experienced and well "learned" members can provide some advice. I currently have an Axpert King 5k inverter with 12x 355w panels configured in a 2s6p setup. My panels are split into 3 groups for 4 (each 2s2p) due to the layout of my roof (see image below). They are all north facing and working perfectly if I look at peak power in summer at 4.2 / 4.3kw. The two sets that are installed on the garage roofs are at the same angle of elevation and the set installed on the house roof is at a far greater angle. As you can see from the image, I get shading on the 1 set of panels during the day for an hour or so in the morning but this does not seem to effect my "generation curve". I have the opportunity to upgrade my inverter to a Sunsynk 5.5k unit but I am wondering if it is worth the effort or not. The Sunsyk would require me to reconfigure my panels into a 4s3p setup to achieve the required MPPT voltage but the inverter has dual MPPT which would potentially have a benefit on my setup. My thought would be to either combine the two garages to one MPPT and keep the house roof on the other as this is consistently the strong set when testing or combine the two sets that dont suffer from shading leaving the one garage on it's own. The upgrade cost to me would be between R5 000 and R8 000... The Sunsyk has a lot of nice features and benefits but I dont "need" them and dont want them if it is going to be to the detriment of my current setup. What are your thoughts? Would changing the setup improve overall generation though the day? i.e. more generation in the early mornings and late afternoons (this is what I have read can be a positive effect of a higher voltage setup) or am I wasting my time? Thanks in advance Jason

@Coulomb Sorry for the delayed reply and feedback.. We have an 9 week old and needed to focus that way this week but managed to get some testing in-between. The old Pi with ICC went back in the other day and exactly the same issue. I re-checked all settings on the inverter to make sure they were still as they have always been and not just relying on what was showing in ICC. I then returned ICM and the new Pi and forgot about it for most of the following day but when checking, I noticed some decent spikes and a non-solid / perfect curve. Yesterday the weather was all over the place and we maintained over 3000w for a period and peaked at just under 3500w I am going to have to "give in" and agree with @Henry2501 and @GVC sadly as I think it is just different weather and more air potentially pollution then the previous two years. Hopefully the winds in Cape Town today and tomorrow, clear things up a little as it really bothers me to use Eskom on daily basis (even if it is still only a little) Thanks to all, the feedback has been greatly appreciated

Those that is some very interesting food for thought... I changed over in the beginning of March from ICC (v4.8) to ICM (the new product from ICC Software) and never thought there could be an issue in the new software, how ever I have check the actual values on the inverter and they are displaying the same. My old Pi was freezing every other day but I have re-installed it for now... I have gone back to look at the history and I may be worrying about "nothing"... This year's March, I know we had funny weather, so I cant compare but April 2022 is comparing to May 2021, so while it is off... It may be completely seasonal and I could have jumped the gun. Either way, I have put my old Pi back on the system and will see what it does tomorrow as the weather going to be very similar to what it was today. My parents also live down the road and have a similar setup where we always managed to get similar outputs but they have a single battery and lower draw, so are normally fully charged by 11am and then just power the house. I am going to plug some high load items into their system to see what I can push it do in the middle of the day which will also provide a point of comparison. Will keep you posted but thanks again for all the insight so far

Thank you for the insight... I am not sure on the degree of the tilt but I am comparing to the same months last year, so in theory the sun would be as far north as it was previously. Re the failing MPPT, this is exactly my thought of I am keep in the perfect wave with no clipping, just lower than expected. The heating idea was a long shot but was worth the clean as they were dirty. Re the high resistance... I have a clamp on a Multi Meter but have never tried it on DC current? Will it work? Should I be on the positive site or the negative side for best results? What I am currently doing to test each of the 3 strings, is I am cutting them off in my combiner box and running 1 at a time... All 3 are performing similarly and all 3 are around 25% lower than expected... I am getting between 700 and 950w depending on the time of day which at a push will give me 2850w instead of 3500 to 4000w and this is why I keep on coming back to the inverter instead of a panel or wiring issue. My 3 strings are split between 3 different sections of roof but all face the same direction. So the likelihood of something damaging all 3 strings at the same time equally is extremely slim

Still not 100% convinced as every day is the same on system, no matter the weather and it never peaks or averages over the above but sadly, that makes me feel a lot better as I am at the point of trying to get a new inverter to test with.

Hi all Hoping someone can shed some light and point me in the right direction to solve my problem. I have had my current installation in since Mid 2020 and all has been running perfectly until recently. During the Cape Town summer seasons we would peak at just over 4000w of PV with it averaging around 3500 during mid day. We did not have great weather in December and January, so I did not notice exactly when the problem started but I have noticed over the last two months that we peak just over 3000w and average at 2600w. The daily generation is obviously down and batteries are rarely getting fully charged, so it is not a lack of demand issue. I have cleaned the panels with soap and water, I have cleaned the air vent "filters" on the inverter and opened it up to check that fans are spinning and nothing is clogged up inside. Nothing seems to make a difference. My setup is as follows 1x Axpert King 5KW 2x Narada NPFC100 batteries 12x 350w Canadian Solar panels. The panels are setup in 3 strings connected in parallel with each string being made up of 2 parallel sets of 2 in series (i.e 2S6P) When putting a volt meter to each of the 3 strings individually (without load), I am reading around 82 to 85v which is a little higher than rated but I would presume normal, so I know that the strings are semi equal and nothing would seem to have come apart in the wiring. When applying load to each string individually, the inverter / ICM reads between 700 and 900w in mid day which shows there is an issue but it is the same between the strings with leads me back to the inverter. I have a volt meter permanently connected to the inverter on the PV input and the odd thing which concerns me with the inverter, is when the load is disconnected the meter is still showing 40 odd volts which over time drops down (15 to 30 mins) If you look at the below image, the generation curve is normal, it is just 25% / 1kw lower than the last 2 years Any ideas of things to look at? How does one test if my MPPT has gone faulty? Thanks in advance

I am wondering if anyone has tried this before... I have ICM (new version of ICC) connected to my Axpert King 5K via USB. I have also got Solar Assistant which I have previously connected RS232. Both work independently but when trying to have both connected at the same time today, they Solar Assistant via RS232 keeps on dropping the connection. Has anyone tried similar before? If so, did you have to configure anything? I like the features and functionality of ICM with the better detailed information but from my cell phone for a quick via, Solar Assistant is great, so the idea was to have both

Nope but I have installed the 2nd battery and have no issues without it

Very Very Nice installation... Great thinking on the heatsink! Well Done!

Very interested to know too. I have reached out to them now via the contact form to ask if they do a demo or have an online demo to look at it

Looking forward to it 🤞

Thank you in advance... I will definitely be keeping an eye out for that.

@Solar Assistant Are You expecting to include Narada batteries anytime soon? Keen to give your system a go but need it to be able to talk to my batteries

I have an Axpert King 5K with firmware version 71.94.. Is there a patched firmware for this unit that also has the utility charge / no utility charge issue fixed?

That you as always! Reading through the spec's, I can see that the charge voltage quoted is supposed to be 54±0.5V... This is also making me think that my settings are off and perhaps the Narada's need higher voltage like the Pylontechs. I am going to play around and see Re the float bug... How would one tell if my inverter suffers from this? Lastly, how often would you recommend equalising without a float bug vs with a float bug? Thanks in advance!

In addition to the above, I can confirm that the lowest the battery voltage dropped to was 48.7v under a mild load before PV kicked in and started charging... This gives me confidence that I am heading back in the right direction

I cant comment on the Hoselect battery but a good friend has an Averge which is a rebranded Leoch, aimed to differentiate from those sold to the teleco's from what I am lead to believe. Battery seems to perform well / without any issues at all. Their support also is very good (Averge in JHB) as his first battery was damaged in transit to Cape Town. They sent a new battery immediately and only collected the damage battery afterwards. I personally went for Narada (very similar price) in my setup only due to the BMS comms to ICC which is not available for Averge currently. This was a key issue for me and I would strongly suggest ensuring that your battery can talk to your Inverter or what every is controlling your setup (i.e. ICC in my case) as otherwise you are running your system blind

I fully agree these low voltage readings are extremely concerning. I decided to fully charge the batteries from grid for the first time in a while. From the below, you can see that while the SOC hit 100% at around 22:55 it only stopped charging the battery around 01:10 when it hit the bulk charge 52.5v and then returned to the floating 51.4v Since fully charging on Saturday, I have then run off grid again and you can see things are running a lot more "normal". This morning when pulling the below, you can see we are back just under 50% SOC and the voltage is sitting around 49v So while this now returns my system to what was normal behaviour, it got me thinking. The reason my bulk charge (52.5v) and float (51.4v) were set this "low" is that higher caused by PV to cut to 0w every few seconds once it hit 100%. This was solved with tweaking the settings but now I know that this could have been a firmware issue which has been fixed by v71.94 which I updated to recent. A while back, @Coulomb... You suggested that I run my Narada batteries with the same values of Pylontec's (52.5v & 51.8v). Would this still be your recommendation, now that I have 2 connected? Battery Spec - http://narada-ap.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/48NPFC100.pdf In the meanwhile, I am going to raise the float value, to see if the initial PV cutoff problem returns but your input is always greatly appreciated. Bottom line for anyone else having this problem in future... Fully charge your batteries from grid every now and then... Also 100% SOC is not fully charged 🤣

Sadly or fortunately... Which ever way one wishes to look at it.. This was not the problem. While it was loose, it was not enough to cause an issue. In the process, I actually split the batteries and put a meter on each and both had the same low voltage readings while the SOC from the BMS (and SOC lights) were high

So I have already chatted to Manie from ICC when installing the batteries and ICC only reads from 1 on the Narada's... Apparently (I cant personally confirm), the way the Narada's communicate is different to Pylontec in the sense that while they talk to each other the reporting back to ICC is only of the battery which you are plugged into and not the combination of all. In theory this will not make a difference as they should be balanced / equal but I know it is something they are looking further into as they have been pulling logs from my system. As a precaution, I did also change the BMS cable into 2nd battery (with the tighter cable) but the readings are the same at the moment