SilverNodashi

It's a unit designed / built by Microcare specifically for Geyserwise. AFAIK you can't order it from Microcare but only from Geyserwise.

Replacing the CAPS and mosfet's isn't a big issue for me. And at some stage inverter will be out of warranty period so that doesn't bother me either.

ok well that's far higher than I need to work with I would just like to adjust the float and bulk charge rates to accommodate my battery bank.

Yup. This is a basic electrical rule Watt = Volt & Amp. Lower Volt means higher Amp, to deliver the same Watt (Joules?)

Please elaborate?

Could be? Perhaps that's why the case looks so damn ugly, but also a bit different from the genuine Axpert inverters

Doesn't mean it's Voltronics. The first batch of Axperts needed a parallel card, not originally installed, in order to be paralleled. Well spotted though! That could probably be why it's so much cheaper. Although that doesn't say why the 3KVa units are R2K cheaper than the Mecer ones.

I spoke to one of the Victron guys earlier this year about it and he said they didn't have immediate plans to accommodate the South African regulations. So I'm not sure, but that's directly from them. Yes you're right it doesn't make it a bad inverter, it's just our regulation that doesn't accommodate it. And, perhaps, the regulation is like that to accommodate the "less knowledgeable people" in the industry? What I'm hinting at, is that Solar / renewable energy is still a fairly new concept, on this scale, in South Africa. The knowledge is still limited. So to protect everyone (linesman, industries, importers, etc) they are probably a bit more strict, at this stage, till everyone is comfortable with these products?

The problem with Victron, and feeding back to the grid in South Africa, is that South Africa wants these devices to have two cutt-off, a software, and a physical one. That's why the Victron's don't qualify, alone, but with an added breaker like the Ziehl UFR1001e @ R7500! In Europe it's acceptable to have only one breaker to the grid. South Africa isn't Victron's main market so they couldn't be bothered to fix this. When they decide to, it would add more cost to these units.

As matter of interest, what did this whole setup cost you, in order to heat up your geyser?

I take it you open the firmware in a hex editor and look a the the code, without trying to decode it? This raises the question, would it be possible to change the battery float and charge voltage a bit, safely?

Yes it sure looks like it but Pinnacle's retail price is much less than Mustek's wholesale price. So it does make one think, is it a cheap knockoff? To clarify price, I wanted to import a 1000 Axpers last year and the price that Mustek sell them at, wholesale, isn't much more than what I would have paid at the factory. These units are too cheap, unless the factory dropped their prices?

Something interesting about LED lights. Most manufacturers (cheap or expensive) manufacture / sell LED lights according to Lumens, not watts. So, a 10W LED could have 820lm or 940lm. Or even 600lm. The LED lamps themselves are generally more or less the same. Ironically, I have some cheap 10W LED flood lights at home on a day/night switch, been working fine for almost 5 years now. We moved here in July 2011 and I think I put these up about 2 months after we moved in. They are bright enough and I never really compared them to expensive brands. Current draw is 0.7A per light. Interestingly, Renesola LED's are some of the brightest I've seen. Their 3W downlight is brighter than a 5W Ellies (I think?) downlight. So, more lumens for the same LED. Will it last as long as the Ellies one, considering that Light = Energy = heat dissipation? I don't know. But I have to replace a 3W Phillips brand "golf ball" in the dining room that died recently. Lasted about 8 months, I think?

This is where most people under estimate DC power. Don't skimp on the cables. Go one size bigger as far as possible. To the OP: 1. Fuse either at the panel, or in below - wherever is easiest / convenient for you to replace fuses. Simple rule of thumb: 2. Use a fuse at least 25% bigger than your expect current rating. For a 250W-300W panel, I have found that 10A fuses tend to blow often in summer. 12A seems fine. Fuses protect the cable, not the equipment. "10x38" barrel fuses are common for Solar and they cost about R35 each. A fuse hold cost about R60 3. Yes! See what the manufacturer suggest and go up by 25%. The Axpert 5Kva (common inverter) for example suggest a 100A fuse. Their typical Amperage is 87A, according to the manul. Do the math: 4Kw / 48V = 83A. 5Kw / 48V = 104A. You don't get a 83A or 104A so use a 120A fuse. Blade fuses, as used in sound installations work well and are quite cheap - about R300 for a holder + 2 fuses. Or the most expensive fuse isolators are preferred but are expensive - about R800-1200 for a 160A fuse + holder. 4. DC isolators are SUPER expensive and quite scarce. The fuse isolator will work fine, but over time will develop welding on the contacts. You could easily pay R2K for a 160A DC isolator. It is definitely better but expensive.

It's not blue. It's not grey. And it's cheap. http://www.proline.co.za/#!/product/9640

I would definitely go for a transformerless inverter again, and do like the Hybrid option - less cabling and less units (holes / rawl bolts) to mount on the wall. And it's far lighter than the 50KG stuff I have to mount on a regular basis. Old lady "tuned" me one day, "Yiss boet, you probably don't need to go to the gym, hey!". I like something that gives instant feedback, hence not too fond of the victrons. They are good, and good enough for a "set-and-forget" person but not me. P.S. Having worked with Axpert, InfiniSolar, Victron, MicroCare, SMA, Outback, PowerStar, Imeon and many unbranded chinese / Indian stuff, I would probably use whatever is available at a good price. IF my Axpert dies in the next 8 years time. If not, oh well.

ok, well I guess you win. Victron is simply the best.

This ca This can get technical, as you need to conduct lightning tests. But, basically, put a ground spike in the ground and run an earth cable on the mounting structure and make sure it touches every panel as well. Lighting will take the shortest path possible. It gets technical when you need todo an earth continuity test to make sure that the earth spike is earthed properly. sometimes you need to go deep, 2m+ and sometimes you need to put a couple spikes in the ground. Every building is different, and areas have different conductivity as well. For the Lightning arrestor, you can either go cheap and install a Class 2 "surge arrestor, they're about R900. Or you can do the right thing and install a "Class 1 & 2" lighting + surge protector. They're rather expensive though - R4.5k+ http://za.rs-online.com/web/p/surge-suppressor-units/7838736/ Here's some more info on the topic: https://www.dehn-international.com/pdbRes/DE_EN_Web/671/404725/Artikelnummer-pdf/404734/900065.pdf http://www.ee.co.za/article/lightning-surge-protection-rooftop-pv-systems.html http://www.surgetek.co.za/files/saltek_full_pv_catalogue.pdf http://www.sinetech.co.za/select-surge-protection.shtml

hahaha. I wouldn't want a 2nd hand wife! Took me 10 years to train this one, and she's still moaning and groaning sometimes

Odd. We installed some Victron multiplus 5Kw inverters in March and they still had jumpers. Supplier probably had old stock? Yes, there's a difference between a Chinese and Taiwanese product, but did you know that many Taiwanees companies / products have factories in China, even though they quality is the same? What you're missing though, is that I didn't compare the Victron to the Axpert - alone ,but rather brought up the fact that the Victron is falling behind (even though they're expensive and sales reps like selling them to you cause they make nice profit). Many other inverters have much better interfaces for the end user to quickly see what's going on. Microcare, as example, have LED and LCD MPPT charge controllers. The MPPT version is more expensive, but can log data for 30 days. The LED ones are perfect for small standalone setups, but the LCD gives more control and a better understanding of the system. but, let's keep these discussions in the forums and not in the classifieds?

I'm not going to quote inbetween the lines since the forum software doesn't do it properly! So, here' my 2c. You're right about the LED's - there's cheap stuff, and there's decent stuff. And then you have suppliers who rip you off cause they can. I get anything between 40 * 80% discount on some stuff, at some of my suppliers! Do the math. 80% is a LOT. I've also, recently seen many well known suppliers who started stocking the same cheap LED's - why? Did it get better? Or are they just riding the cheap-ass bandwagon and pocketing nicely from it? I think it's the latter. Having replaced both good brand LED lights and cheap LED lights, I can say this. Old / inadequate wiring, old switches and rusty light fittings will fail any LED light prematurely. Flaky day/night switches as well. LED's are not as tough as incandescent light bulbs. Taking this further, many of the biggest brands, of just about anything technology driven has a factory (or 5) in China! And Japan. And sometimes in Taiwan. And many of these companies (factories?) produce both the expensive / trusted equipment, and cheaper "brands". Does it necessarily make the cheaper ones worse? Two car brands, Hyundai and Kia seems to have proven this theory wrong. Axpert is too new on the market to prove the same. On the support issue from Voltronic, many factories / companies don't offer support for rebranded products. It's generally the OEM partner's responsibility to carry support. For the same reason why your supplier doesn't support your clients (normal occurrence in most industries). Intel doesn't support your faulty HP laptop, HP does. Sure, the Axpers are cheap, but they offer features which the Victron's don't. So it's not just a matter of price, heck there are many other brands cheaper than Victron. And some more expensive brands as well. But Victrons have limited "feedback" - users need to figure out what the LED's mean, and how the jumpers work to properly configure their inverters. Many other brands don't have this limitation and do sell easier for that very reason. Imagine driving a Beem / Merc / Maserati but having to figure out how fast you drive, or how the indicators work based on a technical manual which doesn't always make sens? ^joke^ That's probably why there are so many toyota's on the roads ^/joke^

Wait, what?

Where are you? I can send you MC4's and fuses. 12A work very nicely in this case.

It's always best to get get as close to the MPPT's max Volt rating as possible. i.e. in your case, connect 2 panels in series since your panels are 35Voc - although it might be a bit too close to the MPPT Voc, so test it out first. i.e. in your case

Askies oom, nie geweet jy ken OS/2 nie! HAHA, been there, got the T-shirt for all of them too. Luckily thing got easier after Windows 3.1 and Slackware.