Ian

Received it yesterday, damn heavy Confirm it's just the 10kWh battery. Luckily we have a little electric loader I imported from China - made offloading and moving it easier. Box was in perfect nick, and the unit has 52 % SOC. I'll add it to the house storage until the cabin is done. Ian

Quite possibly - I'm ok with that price for just the battery, but will have a look and return it if I'm not happy. The pictures all refer to the hybrid...

Hi All Just a heads up: I just ordered the 10kW unit for R16999 from Builders, so stock seems to be available again. I'm putting up a 8*4m cabin with a solar roof in our farm where a glamping tent stood - this will be the first purchase on that journey Ian

Thanks for the info - much appreciated. Ian

Hi See some pretty good battery deals on the above site - and they accept Payfast. Anyone used them before? Thanks Ian https://nova-craft.co.za/product/svolt-51-2v-325ah-16-64kwh-lithium-battery-scn512325/

2 days later and the reverse happened - a new instance appeared, with the correct reporting of both mppts. What the heck? Ah, well, all's well that ends well:)

Hi My inverter recently stopped reporting both it's MPPT data, and only shows one. In Energy-Mate (and Watchpower app), the original config went offline, and was replaced by a new instance, with only PV1 being reported. No intervention on my side, just 'poof':) I can't see any way to change this from within the apps, or the PC version of Watchpower. Any ideas? I did try deleting the inverter from the app, but it was rediscovered with the same reduced reporting. Cheers Ian

Thanks BRG! Confirms my suspicion. Cheers

Hi In our off grid setup, I sometimes use the genny to charge the batteries. The inverter always seems to go into bypass mode when the generator is on, which is a pain as some load fluctuations can overload the generator, causing a momentary dips in the house AC, enough to cause pc's etc to reboot. Is there a way to ensure that the inverter only uses the AC in to charge, and not to supply loads? Current settings are : OSP = SBU CSP = S+U I've played around with the Back To Grid and Back To Discharge voltages, but am not getting any joy. I can reduce the Max AC charging current to improve the situation, but then the genny has to run at low load for longer ,which is irritating:) Thanks in advance! Ian

For the record, they replaced the display unit, and all's well Ian

I've looked at my HA logs, and it looks like the unit went down before the thunderstorm, but I only noticed it later and assumed it was the lightning. Which makes sense as there was no other electronics affected. The Kodak is also not connected to any PV, which would be a lightning entry point. Looks like it'll have to go in. Thanks for the feedback Ian

Thanks Coulomb. Is it possible to source a replacement display? I'm an elec eng (retired!), so I could also look at fixing it I suppose... But a replacement seems first choice Ian

Hi Hoping someone can point me in the right direction... After a particularly hectic thunderstorm, I lost comms with the inverter... The display had the 32 fault msg, and I also discovered the rs232 converter in the cable connecting to my ESP32 was fried. So ATM I have no way of knowing what's going on in my system, other than the battery indicator on the batteries themselves. Does this type of fault usually require the inverter to be sent in for service, or is there a comms module I can remove that might be repaired? Thanks in advance. Ian PS. Just realised that the battery-inverter comms is also probably down. Seeing wierd charging behavior:( Or lack thereof...

I've seen it with both the sizes I run (single phase AC). I've just accepted it - had wondered whether the spec referred to the output power, rather that input. It are wot it are:) Ian

Hi DIY, they generally draw a lot more than their rating, so it's probably normal. That's from my experience. Ian

Hi Chris, here's some info on our experience re boreholes on our farm. When we bought we had several remote boreholes powered by expensive DC pumps coupled to a few panels, running all day like you have. Our main issue became theft, as the panels and then pumps became targets. I moved to running 220V from the house to the pumps, and installing cheap 220v pumps at the sites. I was then able to control the pumps via smart switches as a bonus, and the thefts disappeared. 300m is a long run, but you could use a smaller pump to reduce the loading and guage of wire. 10% losses in the cable are acceptable IMO. The fact that you want to time the pump implies it's bigger than abs necessary? We're off grid, and all the pumps are supplies by our home setup. Cheers Ian

Maybe something is salvageable if you can break down the batteries and rebuild using the good pouches? Depends how bad the situation is, and whether you are tech savvy. For a bit of inside info:)

Hi Wesley I recently disposed of Gel batteries at SA Metal Group in CT, but they have branches all over. Decent price/kg, just have ID and get your cash. Cheers Ian

The genny is floating. SA1. Yes, all 0. SA2/3. The battery is set to PYL, and comms seems good. Except, now it occurs to me that there is a 70 fault reported. So perhaps that's what's preventing charging???? The manual states: If battery status must to be charged after the communication between the inverter and battery is successful, it will show code 70 to charge battery. Not sure how to interpret that in English:) At some point I set the battery to user, but charging still didn't happen, so 😐 Thanks again for the response:) Added a data/config snapshot from SmartESS

Hi BRG Thanks for the pointers. I can't recall powering off the inverter - will check out that behavior tomorrow. ATM busy charging via the Victron. Interestingly, connected to the Victron the generator output is very stable, drawing about 1.5KW. However, when I tried it on the Kodak the voltage would run up to 260V! Still maintaining bypass, but household loads were <500W at the time. The Kodak seems to really mess with the output regulation. It's a 5.5KVA diesel unit. I'll put a scope on it as well next time. Cheers

Off grid. Only line in is the generator.

Sure Charge source priority is Solar&Utility Output Source priority is Util Solar Bat That's where it is ATM, have tried various combos. Cheers

Will do. Surely if the inverter syncs and goes into bypass, frequency shouldn't be the problem? As a quick fix before heading overseas, I've hooked up my old Victron Multiplus as a charger, which works perfectly. Sorts out the issue for now, but I need to get to the bottom of it and rely on the Kodak...

Hi All Scratching my head here. I've just installed the above along with 2 Felicity 7.4kWh batteries, with BMS comms. No PV into the inverter, that's still handled by an existing Victron MPPT.(I need to rearrange the panels to up the voltage) When I connect the generator to the system the inverter the charging light doesn't come on, although it does sync. Every now and then the charge light flashes, but that's it. Never had an issue like this with other Voltronic inverters Any suggestions? I've tried all the combos I can think of. Cheers Ian

Hi Roy I've upgraded from my old 120A - 16s2p DIY LBSA pack that has served me very well since 2020. 16 of the cells are going to family, but a full set of 16 and a Daly BT BMS will be available for sale. Ian