Sc00bs

The RS485 breakout boards in my experience were always a bit hit or miss. I think that most of them work on 5V and a lot of the communications is at 3.3V. There is also the soldering which seems to be problematic. Better to either order a ESP32 with built in RS485 from Lilygo or get one of the RS485 shields from either Electrodragon or you can get locally from https://smarthomeintegrations.co.za/product/smartdeyedonglev4/ I like the LilyGo board.

According to Gemini: PACE protocol → This is the native protocol Pace uses for its own tools (PBMS Tools, factory diagnostics, and OEM integrations). It’s a proprietary frame structure, not standard Modbus RTU. PACE_MODBUS → This is the Modbus RTU mapping of the same data, designed for third-party systems (inverters, PLCs, Home Assistant, etc.). It translates BMS registers into a Modbus register map. I would speak to Hubble and see if they have a Firmware version available for the AM5 that supports the PACE_MODBUS protocol.

Hi @-cK- You connect using the PACE_Modbus connection, not sure if that is the same protocol. If you aren't getting any data using the Yaml code then I would try getting a dump of all the Modbus registers using the YAML code at What RS485 adapter are you using? I know that some of the PACE BMS firmware's don't seem to have the Pace_Modbus protocol.

Just speak to Nial at GetoffGrid, he will help you out and will remote in and update your battery for you with the latest firmware version. You will need a console cable to connect to the battery and a laptop with internet access for him to connect to. They have been super helpful in the past with my BSL Batteries

Hi @georgelza Old thread I know, did you ever come right with connecting to your batteries over the RS485? I just posted my video on connecting to the PACE BMS's over the RS485 but you need to enable the PACE_Modbus protocol in the BMS for it to work. As Pylon protocol seems to be the standard on most batteries and it would be nice to just have a plug and play solution. I was wondering if you ever managed to communicate with your Pylon batteries over the RS485. :-)

Sample Dashboard

Hi Guys Just want to share the video I put together on how I connected my Home Assistant to my BSL Batteries. Took a while to get it to work but I think I have worked out most of the kinks, let me know what you guys think. https://youtu.be/HlKNxRJbX3Y

Hi @FrancoisW In the PACE BMS Modbus register at address 5 I am still trying to work out how the error reporting works so I can get an alert in HA if there is a problem with any of the batteries.

Hi @FrancoisW Yes, they are doing much better now. I am busy with a video on setting it all up with Home Assistant as there are quite a few things you need to get right to make it work and took me a bit of time to figure everything out. GetOffGrid updated all the firmware on the batteries when I was trying to figure out what is going on. I think that they are all on 1.51 now, but it seems to depend on what BMS they have as I think the older ones were using a different BMS. Make an appointment and the Niall from GetOffGrid will remote in and check your batteries out for you if you are concerned. He was super helpful in figuring out what the problem was. Performing very nicely now.

Sorry, just went back through the posts and I see it is a Mecer :-( , no grid-tie option there unfortunately

Hi @TimG What 5kw inverter do you have? If you have a DEYE or Sunsynk you could add up to a 2.5kw grid tie inverter onto the AUX port with your 330W panels for some extra power. They control production from the grid tie and you will be able to use the power from your panels for things other than just heating water. You won't have to change your geyser elements as they will still be on AC power.

According to the Centurion FAQ the motors can pull up to 35A, which is why they still recommend SLA batteries. Lithium batteries can also have issues with temperature range that do not affect the SLA batteries as much. https://support.centsys.co.za/portal/en/kb/articles/understanding-battery-choices-in-gate-motors

Hi Everyone I have just uploaded a new video using persistent entities and packages in Home Assistant, it works a lot better and doesn't loose it's settings between reboots. It also creates a pretty good Prepaid Meter Dashboard that you can use as well. Let me know what you guys think please, appreciate the comments.

Hi Guys I have a friend looking for new homes for around 20 x retired 42U server racks of various makes & ages. These racks are ideal for mounting batteries in a safe enclosure, if you are interested please message him for details Item: 42U server racks including side panels and doors, can supply shelves as well Age: Not 100% sure Price: R2-R3K each Payment Method Accepted: CASH/EFT Warranty: as is Packaging: No packaging Condition: Good Location: Currently Meyerton Reason: Refurb of server room Shipping: Can Deliver at a fee Collection: Bryanston Call or Whatsapp Ywain on +27824116373 for more info

Is difficult to know whether what you are seeing on your inverter is correct or not without knowing what you are seeing. Perhaps post the display screen from the BMS info part of the menu It shouldn't look like this: It should look like this:

I have had great service from the GetOffGrid guys with my BSL Batteries. Niall in their support is always happy to assist checking out the batteries and making sure everything is up to date and operating properly. They recently swopped two of my 6.4kwh batteries out as there was a lot of misbalance between the cells and gave me two brand new 7kwh batteries as replacements. I would have a chat to Niall and get him to check your batteries out. I currently have 2 x 6.4kwh and 2 x 7kwh batteries and am going to get another 2 x 7kwh batteries as a result of the good service I have received from them.

Dismantle the box with the plugs on it on your generator. Run a 4mm cable to the breaker switch in the box and run that cable to the inverter. A 4mm cable should handle up to 32A @ 230V = 7360W 6mm cable will handle up to 50A

Hi @Sidewinder I have actually been setting battery monitoring up with an ESP32 & RJ485 shield (the same one used by the SmartDeyeDongle), that was one of the reasons I became aware of my low battery capacity. I stand under correct but think that the delta was around 350mv between the cells. Are you using the RS485 ports for monitoring or the RJ11? I tried the RJ11 ports quite a long time ago but could not get them to work. I asked GOG to enable the RS485 on the master for me in PACE_MODBUS mode (it is disabled out of the box) and have been successfully reading the data from the master battery but was unable to read the data from my other three batteries. I suspect that it needs to be enabled on the other 3 BMS's to work using the RS485 port. Other alternative is to revisit the RJ11 port. Using https://github.com/syssi/esphome-pace-bms

The two older batteries I dropped off for testing on Tuesday were tested and deemed to be out of spec. They swopped them out yesterday for new 7kwh batteries. Great service from GetOffGrid I must say.

200A @ 50V = 10,000W , your 5kw inverter however can only generate 5kw of AC power, it does not matter how much DC power you give it. With no grid connected the inverter will trip out if you try to pull more than 5kw from it for an extended period of time. It can take going slightly over 5kw limit for a short period of time Even when the inverter is connected to the grid there is a limit to the amount of power that can flow through the inverter i.e. your essential loads - Sunsynk or Backup Loads-Deye The max pass thru current on a 5kw Deye/Sunsynk is limited to 35A (this is at 230V, not 50V) so a max power of 35A * 230V = 8050W So even if your 5kw if grid connected, if you pull more than 8kw of power on the essential load side it will also trip the inverter out. For this reason it is often better to have your heavy loads on the Sunsynk - non-essential, Deye On-Grid Loads side as that power does not pass thru the inverter but can still be powered by the inverter. It is however important to understand that the On-Grid Loads cannot be powered if their is no grid present i.e. loadshedding.

So I spoke to GOG (Get Off Grid) on Monday to see what they would have to say about my battery issues and if there was anything I could do to get them resolved. I must say, I have been very impressed with their response so far. The GOG tech guy, Niall, was super busy at the time I phoned in so we made an appointment for this morning for him to remote in to the batteries to check them out. He updated the firmware on all the batteries and pointed out that the two older batteries in the bank has unbalanced cells in them and asked if I would be able to get them dropped of with him to be cycled and checked out. Will see what they have to say and let you guys know

@Scorp007 & @tsf The inverter is a 3960W inverter, it doesn't matter how many panels you have on it it is not capable of generating more than 3960W of AC power. The only time it would be able to generate/utilise more than 3960W of power would be if it is charging a battery with the extra DC power. As I said, the reason for allowing more panels is so that you can still make decent power on low solar radiation days. Keith from Sunsynk has a pretty good video explaining the reasons for over watting your inverter

Hi @tsf The Max AC power your inverter can produce is 3960W The Max solar input power the MPPT can handle is 7000w (you have 5.7kw so well below that) MAX MPPT voltage is 500Vdc - this number is very important, more so than the max wattage. The only place is can use the 3000W above the 3960w max AC power is into the battery as that is DC power and that is only if you have space available in your battery. The main reason for over watting your system is to make up for poor solar conditions so you still make good power even when the weather is bad. Panels are so cheap now adays that it makes sense to add more panels than you need/can use on good solar days. I don't see anything wrong with the number of panels that you have, the main thing that has to be within limits is the string voltage which maxes at 500Vdc, check your string voltage and just make sure that it is not close to 500V and you are good. The inverter will throttle the production from the panels it cannot use. It is like plugging an appliance into a 15A socket, it doesn't mean that the appliance has to use 15A, just that it has 15A available.

Hi Everyone, I am looking for some advice on how to check if my battery bank is performing to spec and what the best way is to check what the energy storage capacity of the batteries is. I am assuming that the daily inverter report for "Discharging Energy" is not the so much the capacity of the battery but more the amount of energy discharged from the battery that day and as such could include multiple charge/discharge cycles. I also assume that the number resets at 00:00 every night which is in the middle of the discharge cycles for that night. I think however that it should give me a general indication of the state of the battery. I currently have a 16kw Deye and a bank of 4 x BSL 6.4kwh 125Ah batteries = 25,6kwh capacity I do have a connector to connect to the batteries with my laptop if required. Batteries are 4 years old and I have not discharged them to excessively low levels. In my work mode settings I have the batteries set to discharge to 10%, I have however noticed for the last week that the batteries are consistently drop off a cliff when they hit 13% SOC, they drop straight down to 0% soc. I thought it might be some BMS Drift at first but it happens every night now Prior to 24th of May 2025 it would discharge to 10% SOC and stay there till the morning According to SolarmanPV the batteries also appear to be giving me on average 13.5-14kwh of capacity, so at 10% soc and 100% capacity I would expect that to have around 23kwh usable energy storage capacity. If anyone knows how to calculate this differently please let me know. My understanding is that the warranty guarantees 70% of the purchased capacity. So 70% of 25,6kwh is 17.92kwh with 10% SOC it should give me around 16.1kwh of storage at a minimum. I appear to be consistently getting 13.5-14kwh if I am calculating it the correct way. Interestingly if I look at my charts from 2023 the discharge capacity was averaging around 21-22kwh. Thoughts anyone?