GerhardK83

Good evening @PaulJV I have the following questions A] Are the AC outputs of the Ecco inverters and Fivestar inverters separate? B] Why don't you separate the battery bank half for the Ecco inverters and half for the Fivestar inverters? C] Does the inverters communicate with the batteries?

Good afternoon @malcolmp I noticed that it is an Mac Afric pump sold by Adendorff and I am assuming that it is one of these pumps as pictured below, have you raised the problem with the Adendorff branch where the pump was purchased? I doubt that the pump will add a metal taste to the water because the flow through the pump is high. What material is the 44 gallon drum? When was the last time the ceramic filter was cleaned or replaced? Are there any other filters beside the 2 filters mentioned? If Adendorff would not come to the party then I would suggest that a Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) filter and a KDF+GAC filter be added, the 20" big blue housings are the most common type used for the aforementioned filters. Kind Regards GerhardK83

Good afternoon @Marius2001 Have a look at 1 of these https://onlineshop.gcsolar.co.za/product/380w-flexible-panels/?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0eens-3ZigMVM4BQBh1PaR9OEAQYAyABEgJBFPD_BwE or 3 of these https://solarwarehousesa.com/products/sun-solar-lck-150w-18v-mono-150w-solar-panel?variant=49533114220865&country=ZA&currency=ZAR&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0eens-3ZigMVM4BQBh1PaR9OEAQYCCABEgJPivD_BwE Kind Regards GerhardK83

Ha! It turns out there are two water supply points for the house. And only one is backed up. I found this out when we had a water outage: There was no cold water in the guest bathroom, and that loo didn't flush. Everything else we turned on kicked the motor in. This was bearable, but it's a problem that we have two supply points and I can't find one of them. I have traced backwards from the tank, at a certain point the line goes underground and I don't see any connections going into the wall. It is possible that the installer of the tank and pump installed a non return valve to prevent the system to flow back through the meter into the municipal system and that the non return valve is installed between the supply for the house and guest bathroom.

Good afternoon @rinners The scenario that you sketched above has two answers: A] A bigger borehole pump which feeds the sprinklers directly or B] A smaller borehole pump that feeds the tanks and then the irrigation is done from the tanks via the booster pump. A Might be expensive in the short run but if you are going for B then the pressure pump will most likely run the whole time that the irrigation is in progress even if ballast pressure tanks are used. Irrigation sprinklers systems also have two pressures one when the system is not operating and one where the system is operating or irrigating and there is a minimum pressure otherwise the sprinkler would not spray as far as rated for or would not popup if it is a popup type of sprinkler. The pump can only be selected once you know where the water table lies after the hole is drilled, borehole pumps are rated flow vs depth or head. Read this article https://bwa.co.za/the-borehole-water-journal/2017/5/15/selecting-the-right-borehole-pump Yes, most irrigation shops have filters similar to the one pictured with either a mesh filter or a disk filter, for borehole use I prefer to use the disc filter because the pump might pump small rocks and it would damage the mesh of the mesh filter. The better housings can also accommodate pressure gauges to indicate that the filter is blocked and the cap on the bottom of the filter housing can be removed to accommodate a tap for flushing purposes. There is also these filters that can be used inline Yes there are 3" borehole pumps available but the flow rate of the 4" is a bit lower than the 3" borehole pump I do not know why the flow rate of the 4" is lower than the 3" because the area of the 4" pump is almost 44% more. For comparison have a look at these pumps https://borehole-pumps.co.za/product-category/borehole-pumps/ Kind Regards GerhardK83

I doubt that they would do it unless the technician who installed the bridging wire done so under duress or there was an incentive offered.

A structure like that can be build using Lip Channel or Square Tubing and corrugated roof sheets or IBR roof sheets and Shutterply on the inside. At the bottom and top of the frame some expanded metal can be used for ventilation.

Must you weld can't you drill and bolt or screw the railing or pop rivet the railing or use Rivnuts to secure the railing?

Yes the DC rated MCB replaces the fuse holder and it is easy to replace if it is fitted in a DIN rail DB box provided that there are enough space in the DB box. If the strings are separated then I would suggest the following ACDC 2 pole MCB's CSMBS2DC20 For fuse holders and fuses I would suggest the following SRD-30 and 30F20PV SRD-63 and 30F20PV-L SRD-32L and F1085GPV-20 221PV and 30F20PV-L If both strings are in parallel then I would suggest the following ACDC 2 pole MCB's CSMBS2DC40 I do not see any 40A fuses in ACDC's catalogue Personally I would separate each string and provide a fuse holder or MCB for each string and after the fuse holder or MCB parallel the strings which goes to the inverter.

Good afternoon @Jakes Prinsloo and welcome to the forum. The only reason I see why the fuse holders are melting is that there is contact resistance between the fuse contact and the contact in the fuse holder and if there is contact resistance between the fuse contact and the contact in the fuse holder the fuse holder heats up because there is current flowing through the fuse holder and fuse, if it is possible please post photos of the fuse holders and the fuses then a better diagnosis can be given. One solution is to separate the strings and let each string have its own fuse and parallel the strings after the fuse holders another solution is to replace the current fuse holders and fuses with a known good brand fuse holders and fuses or replace the fuse holders with a dual pole DC rated Miniature Circuit Breakers (MCB's). If the fuse holder and fuse has been replaced one can always measure the resistance before the cables are connected to the fuse holder and make sure that the fuse makes proper contact in the holder. Kind Regards GerhardK83

It all depends what the LFP cells look like, if it is a 18650 or similar cells then you muse either be able to put the cells into the charger or have a holder where a single, two, three or four cells can be put in and charged. If the cell is a high capacity cell and has bolt terminals then i would suggest this charger https://optimate-battery-charger.co.za/shop/optimate-lithium-4s-9a-5s-7a/

EVE is the battery brand, the battery brand of link that you posted is REPT. EVE Cells are quite popular in South Africa I do not know REPT cells. Electric vehicles also uses Lithium batteries but a different construction (NMC) which is Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide or similar construction. Yes that calculation is correct, if you have a clamp meter which can measure DC current and DC voltage then you can calculate the power used by the loads and calculate how long the LiFePO4 battery would last. P = I x V I is the current in Amps and V is the Voltage in Volts. It does not need to be a Fluke but make sure that the clamp meter can measure DC current.

According to the manufacturers website [https://anenji.com/nl/products/6200w-48v-hybrid-solar-inverter-on-grid-off-grid-with-wifi] the inverter has an RS232 and RS485 ports and the RS485 port is used for LiFePO4 communications and usually the RS232 is for firmware updates. I had a look at the website where you saw the LiFePO4 battery and I see that they also stock EVE batteries also have a look at them, what I would also suggest is that you make an Excel spreadsheet where you compare a couple of the batteries listed on the website e.g. battery capacity divided by price and see which one is the most economical.

I do not think that is expensive, Obaro charges almost R1k for the same tank level meter, I bought the one that I have at Chamberlains the beginning of the year and the price was similar to the price Builders ask for that one, pensioners receive a 10% off every Wednesday at Builders as well.

Ok wiring would be as follow: The live output of the 32A Smart switch will be connected in parallel to the relay or contactor contacts and the common point of the float switch then the normally open contact of the float switch would be connected to the coil of the relay or contactor and the normally closed contact of the float switch can also be used to light up an indicator in the borehole DB to indicate that the tank is full or that the pump is not running. You also stipulated that you want to be able to manually power on the borehole pump for irrigation purposes then you would need two additional switches or a change over switch, one to interrupt the current which is flowing through the relay or contactor coil and another to bypass the the float switch. The reason why I suggest two additional switches or one change over switch are if the borehole pump is running filling the tank and you want to irrigate then you must be able to switch the pump off before changing any valves and for that you use the switch that interrupts the current flow to the relay or contactor coil, the other switch is used to bypass the current flowing through the float switch and power the borehole pump. Have a look at the attached diagram I created. S1 is the 32A Smart Switch S2 is there to interrupt the current to the coil if you want to irrigate and the pump is running S4 is the Float Switch S3 is to bypass the float switch and to power the relay for irrigation DS1 Indicates that the relay coil has power I used the socket J1 as the output but that is where the borehole pump controller is connected. S2 and S3 can be a 1 lever 2 way switch. Float Switch.pdf

I do not think that it would work, I see that The Power Forum Store list the 3.68kWh Kodak for just under R15k and I think that it is a good price.

Ok, there are a couple of options depending on the scenarios as laid out below. A] The borehole DB stays where it is currently situated and a trench is dug where the cable from the borehole DB goes to and back from the float switch which actuates the coil of a relay or contactor in the borehole DB. The cable must either be an Armoured Cable or Surfix which is insulated and sheathed, if Surfix is chosen and the cable is buried at a depth of less than 500mm then the cable must be enclosed in conduit or otherwise be mechanically protected against damage by eg paving or concrete or be protected by an earth leakage protection device with a rated earth leakage current not exceeding 30mA. If the Surfix cable is buried at a depth of more than 500mm then the backfill must not contain any sharp objects and there must be marker tape which runs above the cable route at a depth of between 300 mm and 400 mm.If a relay or contactor is used then the cable to and from the float switch can be the thinnest Surfix available because the current that the coil uses is small in comparison to the current that the contacts are switching. B] If possible the borehole DB is moved to the side of the house so that the cable required to and from the float switch is much shorter and the same cable burrowing stipulations are adhered to as laid out above. There must be a cable running from the borehole DB to and from the float switch because current cannot flow through air, there are wireless pump controllers available but some of them are about R6k.

Ok, you stated that "it is wired as a sub DB from the main house" is that the same house as the one on the rough sketch or is there another house on the same premises?

Good afternoon @johnna Thanks for the sketch and the feedback. I assume that the borehole switch is in the borehole DB, where does the borehole DB receive the power from? Kind Regards GerhardK83

Good evening @johnna Thanks for the feedback, is it possible that you can draw a rough sketch that indicate the physical location of the borehole the tank and the borehole DB? Then you have not given an answer on the following question: B] Does the borehole pump have a controller and a manual start and stop button? The reason for asking is that if it is a submersible borehole pump then the pump motor has two windings one is a start winding and the other one a run winding and the controller has two capacitors in it to create a phase shift in order to start the motor and the controller cannot be bypassed otherwise the motor would burn out. The on button press a normally open switch momentarily which powers the coil of a contactor and once the contactor closes one of the contacts of the contactor is used to maintain the current flow through the coil which keeps the contactor closed. The off button is a normally closed switch which is wired in series with the coil power and once the button is pressed then the current flow to the coil is interrupted and the contactor open and the motor stop. The contactor supplies power to the borehole pump controller and if that is known then it simplifies the design of the circuit in question. Kind Regards GerhardK83

Good afternoon @johnna and welcome to the forum. I have read through your post and I have the following questions: A] Brand and model of the 32A smart switch? B] Does the borehole pump have a controller and a manual start and stop button? C] The pump rating, voltage and if it is a single phase or three phase pump? Once the above questions has been answered then suggestions can be made. The float switches that I know have 3 wires one is a common wire, one in normally open and the other is normally closed, most of the time only 2 out of the 3 wires are used unless you want to use the normally closed contact of the switch to switch a light on in the borehole DB to show that the tank is full. Kind Regards GerhardK83

Communica has them listed on their website as in stock, https://www.communica.co.za/products/kdk-og-5-48-1

Lower the resolution of the camera then the photo become smaller or hold the camera closer to the object that must be photographed then the photo also becomes smaller.

Yes there are several different brands but most of them come out of the same factory in China and depending of who the importer is there can be a huge difference in price as well especially with VSD pumps. Just be careful not to obstruct the air flow of the motor too much otherwise the motor might burn out. Is it the pump which whine or the VSD controller on the pump which whine? Yes they tend to get worse until it is fixed. Also install a couple of these type of pressure tanks on the output side of the pump so that the pump does not start that often. Also look at the surface where the pump is installed, I once heard of an installer and he installed a pump on an empty paint can and every time the pump would run it empty paint can would amplify the noise that the pump makes.

Good evening @LCBXX and welcome to the forum I would opt for 2 or 3 x Kodak Max 7.2kW units in parallel unless you want to feed power back into the grid then it is either the 2 of 8kW or 1 of 16kW Deye or Sunsynk. The cheaper inverters (e.g. Sun/Fivestar/Ecco/etc) are similar to the Axpert type inverters which cannot feed power back into the grid where the Deye and Sunsynk can feed power back into the grid or use solar power to power non essential loads depending where the current transformer is placed. If you opt for the cheaper inverters which cannot feed power back into the grid and you want the pool pump and heat pump to run off the solar then I would use timers and contactors to switch those loads, with the Deye and Sunsynk there are timers which can be set when the unit is allowed to power non essential loads. The inverter chosen will determine which wattage and how many solar panels can be used with the said inverter e.g. the Kodak Max 7.2kW inverter has two solar power inputs each input is 4kW and a maximum open circuit voltage of 500V so 8 x 500W solar panes are on the power limit, I know that there is a bit of a grace but I would not push that limit power wise, voltage wise or current wise, also remember that there must be enough roof space to accommodate more solar panels. I had a quick look at The Power Forum Store website and the Kodak Max 7.2kW inverter is currently just under R10k and 7 of JA Solar 505W would be just over R10k, the solar panels that are already installed can also be used with the Kodak Max 7.2kW inverter without any re- configuring because the current inverter has a high voltage solar power input where some of the other cheaper brands would be low voltage then there would to be a solar combiner box installed and the solar panels be reconfigured which add additional cost. If I were you I would stick to known good brands like Kodak or Axpert some of these other inverter brands (e.g. Sun/Fivestar/Ecco/etc) are not bad but what happens if something goes wrong or you want to buy another one to be used in parallel at a later stage and the firmware version is different, where do you go for support. If there is enough roof space available after all the solar panels has been installed also consider an evacuated tube solar geyser and use that in line with the current geyser.