Oh, about my record number yesterday. Decided to overlay it a bit to see where it comes from, this is compared to a few days ago.

The harvested energy, of course, is the energy under the graph. Due to the appearance of that white cloud in late afternoon, the blue line runs quite a bit higher than usual :-)

23 hours ago, Chris Hobson said:

Using a digital voltmeter see whether during late absorb there is less than 0.3V difference between your batteries. If you can get hold of a load tester do a load test.

 

OK, guys, was up at the farm today,  I rigged a temporary gravity supply from up the hill, and it worked like a charm - all the gas geysers igniting etc.  So it looks like I'll be able to do away with the pressure pump altogether.

The Axpert reading was back at 54.0V when I got there mid-morning, but then the place has been standing idle for the past week with only the fridge-freezer running.  With the multimeter I measured the top 4 batteries which are easily accessible.  Nr 1 and 3 were around 12.5V and 2 and 4 were around 14.5V.

I gather that's not ideal.  What should I do?

Eina. A 2V difference is a big difference.

Go and switch off the load - take the beers out the fridge. Switch off the inverter and dismantle your battery bank and take them to the city. Charge them individually on a 12v system until they have been on float for 12 hours or so. Then compare them - you may have 4 that are OK. Your supplier may have the equipment to charge and test for you.

In the mean time message @Chris-R and order some balancers. If you have damaged some batteries you can look at all the videos on Youtube and try some of the more promising restorative processes.

My batteries are roughly 600 days old and by the end of 2017 I could be nearing the useful life of my batteries. I am hoping that I will get closer to 4 years life out of them but I must be prepared to replace them earlier so that I am not caught by surprise.

10 hours ago, plonkster said:

My Pa het 'n ou Bedford lorrie gehad waar hy altyd 'n sekere bout van onder af moes vashou met 'n Vice Grip om die tralies (vir die vervoer van bees) vas te maak. So raak die Vice Grip toe soek, kan net nêrens gevind word nie, tot hy dink hy moet tog maar gaan kyk daar onder die lorrie... waar hy toe die Vice Grip vind waar dit nog op die bout geklem sit, ten spyte daarvan dat die voertuig intussen 300km afgelê het stad toe en terug met bees agterop.

As ek langpad ry sit ek altyd 'n paar stukkies gereedskap in net ingeval, my "socket set" wat lekker plat is en min spasie vat, 'n Vice grip, en 'n shifting. Sover het ek dit nog nooit nodig gehad nie, maar daai "Vice grip en shifting" ding kom ook van pa se kant af. As dit al is wat jy het is dit beslis beter as niks.

 

Jong, my skoonpa het ook so storie om te vertel. Probleem is, hy het die sleepwa iewers tussen Swartruggens en Rustenburg verloor die een keer. Sleepwa was leeg en lig en toe hy op die plaas kom wat die ding nie agter die trok nie... Needlees to say, van nou af gebruik hy boude en moere om alles vas te maak. 

8 hours ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

En dalk 'n laptop met daai "special" kabel om aan die kar se computer te koppel.

Die dag toe my een neef, passasier met kabel en laptop, my ander neef, die bestuurder, se Audi sit en goed verander so in die ry. Mense dit was dit nou 'n ander ding.

Soek nog die konneksie op my Isuzu ... seker in die uitlaatpyp weggesteek want ek kry hom niks. So ek vat maar die spanners saam tot ek hom kry.

Jy kry deesdae bluetooth dongles en dan kan jy dit van jou selfoon / tablet af doen. Werk soveel makliker as in die ou dae  

Ouer isuzus het nie daai fancy goed nie. Is nie nodig nie. daai ding kani dood.

1 hour ago, Chris Hobson said:

Eina. A 2V difference is a big difference.

Go and switch off the load - take the beers out the fridge. Switch off the inverter and dismantle your battery bank and take them to the city. Charge them individually on a 12v system until they have been on float for 12 hours or so. Then compare them - you may have 4 that are OK. Your supplier may have the equipment to charge and test for you.

In the mean time message @Chris-R and order some balancers. If you have damaged some batteries you can look at all the videos on Youtube and try some of the more promising restorative processes.

My batteries are roughly 600 days old and by the end of 2017 I could be nearing the useful life of my batteries. I am hoping that I will get closer to 4 years life out of them but I must be prepared to replace them earlier so that I am not caught by surprise.

damn, those beers will be hot by the time he gets back. Hope he took a couple with

7 minutes ago, SilverNodashi said:

Ouer isuzus het nie daai fancy goed nie. Is nie nodig nie. daai ding kani dood.

Gewone meganiese Dieselpomp. Beteken wel dat die druk laer is as jou nuwer Common Rail goed met Solenoid/Piezo injectors en 'n ECU, so hulle maak nie so baie krag soos die nuwes nie, maar uiteindelik is hulle ook eenvoudiger om te onderhou. Dit moet mens darem vir Isuzu toegee: Hulle was eerste om die direkte inspuiting enjins te gebruik in die laat 80s, en ook eerste om Turbos te gebruik. Toe daag Toyota op met die 1KZ... 3 liter normally aspirated indirect injection... ek wonder nog steeds wat hulle gedink het :-) Die 1KZTE was beter, maar omdat dit steeds indirekte inspuiting was was hy nooit so lig op brandstof soos die Isuzu nie.

That reminds me: Anyone ever look into the the Pumpe Düse tech used by older Volkswagens, with the unit injectors? That's some crazy complicated stuff.

18 hours ago, Chris Hobson said:

Charge them individually on a 12v system until they have been on float for 12 hours or so.

Thanks, Chris!

I have a Meanwell 3 Stage Switching Mode charger  http://www.bushpower.co.za/products.asp?pid=256

Will that do the job?

That charger is marginally over spec for your batteries but I don't think it can do any harm (0.1V higher at float and 0.3V higher during bulk). Get the batteries to float overnight and then disconnect and connect the next battery. Note the voltage 5 min after disconnecting and check again 12, 24 and 36 hours later to see whether there is serious self discharge. A load test would be ideal if you can borrow the equipment.