Moffat

I have an electric gate with an AGM battery that has reached 'end-of-life', if I were to get a Blue Nova 104wh lithium battery, what would be the best charge controller for this? The idea is to have a 150w solar panel feed solar power to the battery through a decent 12v charge controller and then this would charge also the gate centurion 7.2ah battery. When grid power is available the Blue Nova would also be charged through the gate charger which is 12v and "hopefully" the battery BMS would ensure the battery is not overcharged and over-discharged. So what would be the recommended or best solar charger/controller to handle the pv side? I don't intend to use an inverter in this whole setup.

A whole cow can be fried in that "3mm gap" 🥲 I guess disconnecting items would be recommended but then it also defeats the purpose of having a system which brings you into the dark ages during every storm and one has to resort to candles of lamps... but it is what it is.

Great suggestion. Also ensure the extra geyser is also well insulated in order to maintain that ambient temperature and if it's in the roof, the trapped heat during the hot days should help to maintain the heat.

To be truthful @jaques ester is very right, nothing is truly 100% lightning proof, best we can do is either, switch off switches or ensure with the help of the installer that adequate protection systems exist in your system including: * Lightning rods/arrestors for the panels * Surge Protection devices with either fuses or sacrificial SPDs All these should be on both the AC and DC side going to the inverter. See also my other recommendation: https://www.amazon.com/MidNite-Solar-Protection-Device-MNSPD-300-AC/dp/B00A6XHOS2

If you haven't had this already done, I would also advise getting an alternative quote from another 1 or 2 installers... it's really disappointing that we develop a relationship with the first installer and still we are taken for a ride.😡

Yes this can be done, but the real risk is of a Trojan being uploaded and it then embeds itself within the firmware of the Inverter and starts executing codes and changing parameters of the inverter...

Two Factor Authentication security by default on access Inverters and batteries before one can be able to change any parameters... there's always a lot of hackers about. Also interested in having multiple softwares being able to work either with IOS, Google, Android, MacOS as we all have various devices that use different APKs.

It goes without saying, that having the ability to monitor usage, compilation of data and being able to change parameters of an inverter wirelessly gives significant levels of convenience. However, off-late, the increase of hackers targeting remote systems is off concern. I don't seem to hear a lot about various Inverter system providers talking about how secure their portals are or sites when it comes to ensuring these remain secure. Imagine, God forbid, someone hacking Sunsynk or Victron portals and tampering with systems globally... that would be catastrophic! Would also be comfortable having inverter systems having on-board drives to store data, in case someone doesn't want to use the online portals and the on-board drives then compile various data that can be accessed with physical access by the user and password protected and even additional 2FA (Two Factor Authentication) being incorporated into online systems by default... food for thought forumites.

Congrats! Happy configurations and synergies with your current system.

Though I fully appreciate the Forum store also testing this battery for issues of: * Reliability * Safety * Confirmation of specs etc... Wouldn't it be good to have some of us forumites being given test kits to see how they also perform in different environments and circumstances such as: * Over-abuse (through over discharging and undercharging; * Various installation sites which, some may have adequate and others even inadequate SPDs; * Different PV size installations; * Differing inverters; and * Various tinkering by some of us "solar users"? Food for thought as eventually, the collation of such data across different areas and use-cases, gives a more representative and truer picture of how the battery will actually perform out in the "wild".

Looks good on paper, would be interesting to see how reliable it is versus: 1. Unreliable grid; 2. Changeover times, when grid goes down; 3. Ability for End-user to tinker settings for "individual preferred settings" 4. How it performs under continuous or intermittent heavy loads say of 3000-4000w or powertools; 5. Effectiveness to reduce energy costs when paired with Pv; 6. Can it be set up to send power to non-essential loads when battery is at "certain soc" or if "battery full"?

I totally agree on the need for end-user to tinker as some installers totally disappear once initial installation is done. Also with time, demand up or down may change & it helps to have such functionality available. I’m also noting there’s only an on/off switch but no breaker on the battery. Just a preference I normally like but with a suitable SPD it may not be a deal breaker. Hopefully expansion into regional countries will also happen with the necessary support and backup.

Pity the Australia battery testing facility has closed down, it would’ve been interesting to see how this battery fares in those “stress tests”, they used to do & also of interest would be it’s compatibility with various low-to-high value inverters (Goodwe, Sunsynk, Victron, BYD etc. Generally a battery with a disconnect breaker switch, for me is great and even if I have to double-up with a secondary one. Let’s see how this goes, and if it can also go regional, given Southern African power challenges and it’s support both by installers and online.

Hopefully the opportunity will include some of us forumites in the region (Zimbabwe), who also contribute in time & discussions on the Powerforum.

Here in Zimbabwe, I would safely say the winter is past us now, but the next challenge is how do we protect our solar panels from: 1. Excess heat - which is coming this summer; and 2. It's likely we may have have hail at some point (touch-wood, we don't) Heat and panels are not friends, nor hailstorms.

I've unfortunately gone through similar installation with headaches and my 2-cents for all of us on the forum would be that whatever cost the installer charges he/she gets 80% and balance upon an independent certification by another installer or certified guy. The risk and loses are just to high to pay someone full cost and be saddled with such issues as: * Use of electrical cable instead of dc cables * Use of wrong size cables * Inadequate system protection (on PV, DC & Battery disconnects)... If they do not show up on the day of an appointment with an independent installer, they forfeit the balance. That said, get the quote first before bringing this condition, otherwise you will be saddled with add-on's that make sure that the 80% is still good enough for them to do a shoddy job and not come back anyway.

That's unimpressive, even an automated response isn't difficult to set up. Have been thinking of getting a Sunsynk 5kw inverter... this doesn't inspire confidence.

That response time is a bit worrying... did they at least acknowledge receipt of your request?

What would happen if the different panels were to go through a combiner box and the output to the one MPPT, would that not sort out the problem?

Also talk to your Deye supplier and ensure that you have the latest firmware. This issue occurred similarly with an install in Nigeria and Deye sorted it out with a firmware update, not sure if this firmware is now universally available. Good thing you also spotted the earth bonding issue.

Sorry to hear this. My disappointment is that once they knew (Deye) this was happening in the wild and they had the solution, they should have "pushed" all retailers, sellers and end-users with a "firmware update" which would have meant those not having yet experienced this would not have to. I'm still wondering if anyone knows if this affects the Sunsynk inverter too, more so the 5Kw... anybody??

On the Deye, the Pv would come on and then the Mppt would switch off meaning the battery would not get to be recharged, that was the issue.

After the firmware update, the Deye was now working fine, so the update did work, it's just the issue of having to get in touch with installer and installer get's in touch with Deye to send an update, instead of getting regular updates when such things are picked up in the wild.

Kindly advise on an issue discovered on a Deye 5Kw inverter in the wild (Nigeria) - offgrid. I believe on the hardware side the Deye & Sunsynk are the same, differences being on the software - user & installer interfaces. The issue that has been discovered on the Deye is that once the Low Battery Cutoff (LBC) kicks in & the SoC then goes below the LBC, the Deye will not come on via the Pv and one has to then contact Deye who will then log into the Deye system and do a firmware update. Has this ever been found to be true or symptomatic, in the wild on any Sunsynk and if so, would the solution be similar (a firmware update direct from Sunsynk)?

I would strongly recommend that one does put in an earth rod/spike to earth the panels and also make sure all other protection devices (Surge Protection Devices & Breakers) are done correctly, including correct cabling. It takes just one freak accident either lightning or a short for one to then be left high and dry and without recourse to insurance companies who always love, never to pay out.