I am not saying it is right or wrong just pointing out an observation. 

At the end of the day it boils done to one thing ...  air movement. 

 

 

@JoeSlowwhere did you source your components from?

On 2021/12/03 at 4:25 PM, Gnome said:

Looks great.  One comment would be the wire coming from that "light switch" looks like 2.5mm.  Hopefully not what you are planning to feed the inverter (and feed back to the install).

If I say yes will you come do it for me. Hehe just joking, that's just the light and fan wires. Using 10mm2 for the feed and returns. Calculated 16mm2 was overkill. 

On 2021/12/03 at 7:49 PM, YellowTapemeasure said:

100% with you there. If you aim for a positive pressure environment then you can control what goes in and filter it first. Far easier to maintain than negative pressure where it sucks dirt and dust in from every crack and crevice.

Thanks for the input, gonna see what I can manage and learn about the two methods of moving air. Never thought about the two differences so thanks. 

On 2021/12/04 at 5:01 PM, isetech said:

Why do people mount the batteries below the inverter? 

I would imagine with lead batteries it might have had something to do with the weight and the discharge of explosive gasses while charging being heavier the air, however with batteries like these new boxed lithium batteries you could mount them up against the ceiling out the way and the cabling can run with the PV cables. 

All seen in these pictures was done by myself except when a friend came to help hold inverter up so I could mark the eye level of the screen. Batteries are 50kg each so like @YellowTapemeasure@YellowTapemeasure said, it's about the weight. Built a stand with the Styrofoam packaging and some timber to get it on correct level to screw down cause I used a tad bigger couch screws than what the battery mounting wars can accommodate if one wants to fit them over the bolts. 

12 hours ago, Quintrix said:

@JoeSlowwhere did you source your components from?

All over the place really. Herholdts electrical Bfn, Next Level Bfn, Solar-Shop.co.za, Live Sustainable.co.za, Powerforum-shop and then some here and there. By really shopping around for the best prices the savings mount up to almost 20k already. 

The same system here excluding the AC cabling, cbs etc as a all in one I can't see for less than 140k online. Then you still need trunking, ac cabling etc.

Edited December 6, 20214 yr by JoeSlow

So much raining the past few days could not get anything done and year end at work. You know how it goes. 

Finally some sunshine and got busy today. Not a lot done but sure helps to get the little things done. 

Hired scaffolding for the roof access. Ladders just aint gonna cut it. Waiting on my contractor buddy to come help finish it and ensure its anchored safely and all that jazz. 

 

Battery trunking done but I'm not 100% happy with the 40x40mm. Its a bit tight so might switch that up to 50x50mm and also lower it by a few cm. The room is already elevated but if there's ever a flood I'd like it to not get wet. 

 

Added a dual plug to the room. My backyard lawn is just out the door so it can serve multiple purposes. Better to have it than not. 

Installed this isolator which has a 21mm hole drilled right through the wall behind it which goes to my carport. Installed a weather proof plug for pressure washer. 

Isolator is to switch off and not give someone access to power when they have ill intent. 

No pic of the outside plug. Still need to seal the outside casing with the wall for extra protection. 

All plugs and switches I only use Crabtree. They are not pretty or soft touch but the quality and longevity is just amazing. Bought the house with those cheap but good looking switches and wall sockets. One melted so bad from just the hair dryer I replaced almost all now with Crabtree plugs and switches. 

I'm on leave now so hopefully there will be more updates and a completed install soon. 

2 hours ago, JoeSlow said:

If I say yes will you come do it for me. Hehe just joking, that's just the light and fan wires. Using 10mm2 for the feed and returns. Calculated 16mm2 was overkill.

Hell no, just going to say probably best to go up on mm².  Are you running 2 inverters? 10mm² is overkill for the AC side with 1 inverter. 6mm² is more than good enough.  Either way sounds like you have bought already so no problems going overkill I guess.

2 hours ago, JoeSlow said:

All plugs and switches I only use Crabtree. They are not pretty or soft touch but the quality and longevity is just amazing.

I tried CBI, Crabtree and one other brand I forget.  CBI worked fine but it is plastic and doesn't look nice.  Crabtree was hard to turn/on off and also plugs got stuck in them while also simultaneously the Euro socket had very bad fit (plug basically falls out).

My thoughts on this: I don't buy using brand as a guide with these.  Settled on these specific Lesco ones from Builders. I'm super happy with these specific Lesco sockets.  But I don't like anything else they make.  For my light switches I'm using these LeGrand switches (Again I don't like anything else they make), these have a nice feel, look ok (for plastic) and they've worked excellent.  For disconnectors (AC/Geyser) I used Crabtree.  They are harder to turn on and off but that is ok for a fixed appliance.  Very happy with them for that purpose.  Lastly everything on inverter power I used dedicated sockets (not because of lack of RCD but to prevent people from plugging all sorts in there, every room has both inverter and non-inverter plugs).  For those I bought white dedicated CBI metal sockets a long time ago, again super happy with those, but looks like they don't sell them anymore.  May sound like it looks weird, but they all look perfectly fine as long as you don't have different sockets of the same type (ie. dedicated vs not dedicated) or different light switches for example or different disconnectors.

2 hours ago, JoeSlow said:

Thanks for the input, gonna see what I can manage and learn about the two methods of moving air. Never thought about the two differences so thanks. 

My GF is an engineer for this sort of thing (mechanical eng. specialising in industrial applications for large HVAC/mechanical ventilation/etc), what he said is solid advise (we talk about this kind of stuff all the time 😛).  If you buy a decent quality fan and slap a filter in front of it you basically have no dust assuming you do maintenance.

The same principles are used for fire escapes, they are positively pressurized to prevent smoke entering the staircases. (in fact it is a delicate balance, so they use a luggage scale to check that the door can still be opened even by someone frail.  Too much pressure and even someone strong will not be able to open the door, there are regulations for how many kg of force is the max to open doors to public buildings and fire escapes 😂).

Edited December 7, 20214 yr by Gnome

Hilti service sucks and their service department cant even fix a simple oil issue they created on my TE7A ... but besides that and their ridiculous pricing structure ... limited to 10 year ... life time warranty ... they have a product which I use often ... this HUS has massive load strength  ... a  large head (no washer required)  ... and no wall plug required ... it is a simple drill a 6 mm hole and use a torx with an impact driver ... a tip if you drilling into soft brick or ash block use an M5 bit that doesnt wobble around.  

 

https://www.hilti.co.za/c/CLS_FASTENER_7135/CLS_SCREW_ANCHORS_7135/r6260

1 hour ago, isetech said:

Hilti service sucks and their service department cant even fix a simple oil issue they created on my TE7A ... but besides that and their ridiculous pricing structure ... limited to 10 year ... life time warranty ... they have a product which I use often ... this HUS has massive load strength  ... a  large head (no washer required)  ... and no wall plug required ... it is a simple drill a 6 mm hole and use a torx with an impact driver ... a tip if you drilling into soft brick or ash block use an M5 bit that doesnt wobble around.  

 

https://www.hilti.co.za/c/CLS_FASTENER_7135/CLS_SCREW_ANCHORS_7135/r6260

I really for a moment thought you were a bot 😂 then only after a few reads I realised it's related.

On 2021/12/07 at 10:00 AM, JoeSlow said:

I really for a moment thought you were a bot 😂 then only after a few reads I realised it's related.

The HUS is ideal for mounting inverter and batteries   

 

Some updates. Been really frustrating not to be able to do more but I'm working alone and for some things just need an extra hand. Solar panels mount on roof is scheduled for next week Friday. 

Got 35mm2 cables made and crimped with the sprag. Disconnector to inverter cables came out about 5cm too long but still fine. 

Edited December 10, 20214 yr by JoeSlow

11 minutes ago, JoeSlow said:

Some updates. Been really frustrating not to be able to do more but I'm working alone and for some things just need an extra hand. Solar panels mount on roof is scheduled for next week Friday. 

Got 35mm2 cables made and crimped with the sprag. Disconnector to inverter cables came out about 5cm too long but still fine. 

Better too long than too short. Perhaps you can hire/borrow a crimper from the panel installer next week and redo?

Powered on the inverter today from battery source alone. 

Power Room's plugs and lights will run from Aux on the Sunsynk. 

The power room DB wired for plugs and lights. Got the wrong busbar so made little bridges till I get the right one. Input is 2x2.5mm since I don't have 6mm. Max load one this board will be around 20amp so all in spec. Just need to get a 50amp breaker and then also add a Earth Leakage breaker. 

On 2021/12/10 at 7:12 AM, JoeSlow said:

Been really frustrating not to be able to do more but I'm working alone and for some things just need an extra hand.

I did an install for my parents recently.  Their business can't run without power and their area is unstable.  I took off a day and spent 3 days working every day 9am -> 10pm, no lunches or nothing, just straight working whole day.  People underestimate how long it takes when you do it solo.

Updates. Yay... 

Main trunking added from power room up to the house. Core drilled two 50mm holes. One will be AC and the other DC. 

90 from the power room to meet main trunking. 

Inside to outside. 

 

Geyser wiring for AC and DC. 

North side rails installed for 6 panels bottom and two top. 

The Internet dish will be removed and the vent pipe redirected to front of gutter. Other pipes staying as is. 

Not enough space to add all ten panels so the geyser panels will go onto the west side which gets a ton of sun up to 6h30pm in the afternoon. 

Each PV wire gets it's own 25mm conduit hole to feed plug and wire into roof. Connections will be done inside the roof. Also easier to then test panels if something seems wrong. 

Edited December 19, 20214 yr by JoeSlow

10mm feed and output cables routed through roof to inverter room. 

Switch overs wired for both inverter Load and Aux/Smart Load. 

Panels installed. 

Plumbing vents made it a tad difficult and doesn't look amazing but they are up there and been through a storm already. No leaks. 

North for the 8 and west for the 2(geyser only) 

No just need to connect the PV cables inside roof and then that's it for PV. After that connect the 10mm AC cables on Eskom and wire new DB for essentials loads. 

Almost there, and then you can enjoy the fruit of your labour. 😆👍

Essentials DB wired. 

Power room buttoned up. 

 

Earth spike in and all systems and surge arrestors connected. 

 

Getting COC today. Electrician was here yesterday and just found one issue which was rectified. Tested the Earth leakage on all plugs with tester and tripped on 25mAh if I understand it correctly.