Moffat

@TaliaB am loving the install, brilliant, well done. Now what happens to regulatory safety eg.: Smoke detector Fire hydrants / retardants - yes am mindful that once thermal runaway begins, really not much can be done, to be honest A maintenance contract by yourself and your team to ensure cables are still intact - heating and cooling of connections can result in some becoming loose over time or if they have a problem with rodents seeking warmth chewing on cables...🤣 Cameras with external recording to ensure any vandalism is recorded Signage on to ensure access is restricted to AUTHORISED PERSONS ONLY - BEYOND THIS POINT There's an install in Nigeria where a staff member became quite unhappy with a new install such as this, having been done, because it meant his days of pilfering fuel for the generator and his revenue from theft were taken away and he began sabotaging the install (hence my idea of cameras).

hey @HedgeSlammer any chance of having 2 LEDs on the grid (Red & Green) Red when there's a grid failure?

Food for thought on the original.

I have a 200litre solar geyser since 2014. Absolutely have to boost the temperature in winter to the minimum 50degrees which is good enough for hot water. Of the top of my rocker, am thinking it may be a better idea/option to have a shower installed, instead of a bath tub, this would mean the shower head would have to be one which allows a fair level of throttling of the amount of water even if the lever was a maximum to enable the saving of water and also the walls and ceiling from discolouration, if the bathroom doesn't have an extractor fan, which I have seen in many a hotel in my travels. I'm worried with the current heat waves being experienced in my part of the world that the rubbers on the solar geyser may not last too long. Now in the bath I put 1 part hot water to about 20parts cold lately. It may be a good idea to have your solar geyser be connected to Eskom/Grid via a switch such as mine is for winter times rather than the non-essential side of the inverter and also to reduce the size of the water heater so as to make a saving. Off my rocker, have also seen the use of gas water heaters being quite effective but this is more so in UK and USA, not sure if in Africa anyone has had these and how reliable and robust they are over the course of time. No the Brand is not on or of PowerForum... just my humorous thought😀, but something of this sort with a 5-9kg Gas tank just outside the bathroom may work... for autonomy from the grid/Eskom, me thinks. This would work both in summer and winter or combined with a solar geyser. @This_isKat...explore gas as well.

If you have a manual with your UPS just check if you can change the charging parameters of the "new lithium batteries", if not you may end up being stuck with having to continue using AGM batteries as the lithiums will continuously be undercharged. They may last longer than the AGM for a little while but because they are in an enclosure you'll not notice that they have swollen. I've had a bad experience with Bluenova batteries and the warranty was voided because they were continuously undercharged and ended up swelling and retailer refused to honour warranty even though it was touted as a direct drop-in replacement for my 12v 7.2Ah battery. Ensure your inverter can charge up to 13v as in the Bluenova or whatever brand you choose otherwise you may go through the same bad experience I went through. Over-voltage side is not too much of a concern as the BMS will ensure this protects the battery, but there's no under-voltage protection as this is limited by your UPS.

I think that's the best option, enabling the best of both worlds at different times as each set of panels would be on a different MPPT if you are going to be using an inverter with two MPPTs e.g. a Sunsynk Inverter or you're looking at getting two external MPPTs when going for the Victron for instance.

@Scorp007 what was your experience on super cap batteries... kindly share.

Sounds sweet. How many panels and batteries do you have?

@Steve87 so on top of all the other issues with transformerless designs, the next question would be to see how many of these units actually make, in longevity to or past the warranty stage. Off the top of my rocker, am just imagining switching on an Induction Cooktop to make a cup of tea, the fridge motor then kicks in and also maybe a 0.5hp water pump. If one has LED lights, they're likely to possibly flicker but long term what then happens to sensitive equipment like laptops or desktops. Makes sense now why on the warranty form they say: "The product is not suitable for supplying or running life-sustaining medical devices..."

I would advise you get a quote from reputable installers who will ensure that all components are considered, including safety breakers/fuses, installation costs, any DB work that may be required so it's sorted to future proof yourself. With inflation, prices will always be going up. A discussion with installers will also include what the other components you will want to add so the system then costs you less when you are adding up those things. Panels obviously at some point will be a consideration and all the pros and cons will be given so you can compare like for like or almost anyway. If you ever decide to add power tools or induction cooktop, these can be discussed. The reason Victron is said to be expensive is additional components that are outside/not part of the inverter. I've also found that once you begin going bigger it's also tempting to add items to a system so the return on investment is worthwhile, maybe you'll add a microwave or a washing machine etc...

Please share this screenshot, it may come in handy am sure, given this sad state of affairs.

@FrankcF thanks for the feedback. I think a lot of the end users who are not "technical" tend to then have issues because: When manufacturers (battery or inverter) say, "all is well", they tend to be people who are just passing on the message; Sometimes if it's "over the phone", there's no documented evidence that the person ever said such a thing; Finally the sad part, which is the greater, is the amount of time spent, trying to get someone knowledgeable on the manufacturers side, to look into the issues that may be raised, which is frustrating to both the installer, reseller and end-user. Now talking of inductive loads, a 50kW system is quite large, relative to the average domestic household, but how then would this issue be addressed in the domestic scenario where a household has 5kW Inverter and likely a FW small battery but having an induction cooktop running of the system?

My experience with Bluenova BN13V-8-104WH was awful, despite it being touted as a "direct drop-in" for electrical gates with 12v AGM/Gel batteries. You need to ensure that your inverter or charge controller is able to correctly "FULLY CHARGE" the battery. My battery lasted just shy of 6-months and it became swollen and refused to honour the warranty citing the battery being "undercharged" by my UPS. So take caution on under-charging. As for overcharging and cutoff voltage, I am sure the BMS will work but also leave some head-room above the recommended values so BMS doesn't always need to kick in. It's better to be safe than sorry and also lose out on your warranty.

Definitely could do with 48v battery.... me please😃

Am seeing potential for you to reduce your reliance on the grid, in the long-term here, just my view. So a Deye/Sunsynk would work with your panels and later you get a battery which means you then split your DB with some circuits being totally off-grid and as you add batteries you add more stuff to go offgrid... that's my 2-cents. With my recommended grid-tied inverters it means priority during the day when you have the sun, you use solar (Pv) and when Pv is not sufficient the inverter then blends with the grid. Also you then, with a CT coil, you do ZERO export to grid.

Now and into the next week there's likely to be quite a lot of thunderstorms and a cyclone into Southern Africa so there'll be a lot of equipment to be replaced and audits for SPDs on a lot of installations or exposure where inadequate protection systems where put in. Sadly for some it will result in them having no fall-back plans to Eskom blackouts in the immediate aftermath. In truth, protections work to some level, but as already been said, a direct strike will do as it likes and cause havoc. Is there anyone with experience using midnight solar SPDs?

True, proper crimping is required and if it's done then my idea is so ferrules as I have said, ensure that cables remain firm and secure and heat remains minimal/normal.

Most solar installs, not all, tend to have stranded cables either from the Battery to the Inverter just screwed in. Apart from perhaps space considerations or maybe increasing resistance is there any particular reason why cable ferrules are not used to crimp cable strands together then this may ensure that they hold a lot firmer around the place they are being tightened. With expansion and contraction obviously over time one needs to keep checking that the cables are still firm, without them, so sure (thinking out loud), ferrules would make sense to become a standard in electrical installations? Am not an electrician, may someone kindly give me wisdom, thanks.

I do understand the issue of it being sent it, but I guess since you've been experiencing "silence" from Sunsynk at this stage you'd be unaware if it needs repairs or replacement. Sad.

Just out of interest @Chad.Robin did you or your installer opt for a "repair"?

@Scorp007Meanwhile SolaX is reputed to be more reliable by way of replacement, not fixing (https://youtu.be/Gw72Vr9EiCE?si=UF9SKbeXv1-0yfAa)

...or when you have sun-up, Mppt may not power up because the voltage is too low as well, which is, I guess better than having "something blow up".😁

That said, end-users sometimes are the greatest losers as they may also just rely on installers to "fix & supply". A lot of installers refuse to install products they do not buy which leaves end-users in a quandary, so they just end up never knowing. I was a victim on my first Pv install & am still heavily paying for it (damaged reputation, costs).

@vanwyk.za I like the fact that Jay also mentioned water has to be recycled every "2 weeks or so". Just to add on to this, if you can get your water tank cleaned every 3-6months regularly, that'll ensure it remains clean from deposits that sit just below the outflow valve meaning you may not necessarily then need to invest in a water filter for your system and you can drink directly from the water. I've had a 5000litre water tank since 2015 and run off a DAB 0.5hp pump to the whole house and it's been dream without issues, well save for the regular cleaning. All the best.

@TaliaB this is extremely worrying. I've just pulled finger on buying a Sunsynk and now wondering if I should maybe just cancel my order. Because it was over the Christmas holidays, they deservedly went on a break (can't fault them) and then my bank has been giving me stupid issues that they'll only check if money did not go into Powerforum Store account, if I get a confirmation that they didn't receive it and then it'll be another 30days for them to reverse or try to get my money back, with no guarantees. Now we're back to warranty issues and this inverter is meant to be installed in Zimbabwe. Now if I have an issue it means my installer will simply wash his hands as he did not supply the unit and then I begin the back and form, meanwhile am in the dark with loadshedding. I've had an PIP 2424MSX since 2015 with no issues at all, save changing AGM batteries in 2018 and now thought of increasing capacity to 5kVa. With this old inverter, I've never had to do any firmware updates at all. Only thing I've occasionally done is to open it and blow dust out of it once every year or two. Victron for me has not been an option because of cost and too many components to buy (it's expensive). Am "sweating" and wondering what to do now... @Keith Goughto be honest, your supply chain guys clearly from this very long thread are absolutely not helping the brand, I had recommended the brand to a lot of people since 2018/19 and am now nervous to do so.