On 28/02/2017 at 8:33 PM, plonkster said:

If I look at the local lineup, many of them GTI (ABB, Fronius, SolarEdge), but also Hybrids (Microcare, Imeon), it really should be said that outside of the Voltronic, everyone else is three times more expensive.

To me the hybrid ability is important especially with the piss-willy battery bank I have. Plonky is Victron going to enter the hybrid fray?

To me the hybrid ability is important especially with the piss-willy battery bank I have. Plonky is Victron going to enter the hybrid fray?

The multi has always been a hybrid. It's had PowerAssist since the beginning and GridAssist since 2013. It's usually listed under off-grid though, probably because on it's own it can't do much, it needs the extra ccgx and other goodies to unlock the full potential.

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11 minutes ago, Chris Hobson said:

To me the hybrid ability is important ...

How will that work Chris, with no Eskom on the farm? 

1 minute ago, plonkster said:

... it needs the extra ccgx ...

Can the Venus GX or Pi version do the same as the CCGX?

For jinne, the data coming in from the Venus GX ... I like it a LOT!!!

And if the Pi version can give the same data the same way, Nirvana.

Yup, pi, BBB, Venus GX can all do the job. Only caveat is that the pi has no canbus so can't be used with vecan kit.

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44 minutes ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

How will that work Chris, with no Eskom on the farm? 

Perhaps I am not using the correct term but the SCC ability to supply both load and charge the battery bank.  Axpert, Imeon and Infini are all capable of doing it.

 

57 minutes ago, Chris Hobson said:

SCC ability to supply both load and charge the battery bank.

If I understand you correctly, my controller supplies the load as well as charge the batteries.

At times I am powering say 550w, and the controller says the batts are on float at SOC of 100%.

All controllers do that, even your current one. What am I missing?

54 minutes ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

And if the Pi version can give the same data the same way, Nirvana.

Back to full keyboard. Yeah, the thing is that few manufacturers make all their own stuff. You can often blow someone's mind by explaining how you have a one in three chance of correctly guessing the manufacturer of their car's braking system, often even better: It's either Ferrodo or ATE on most makes.

Same here. The manufacturer is into one or maybe two items in his line-up. The rest is gravy. The item is either sold at cost or the markup pays mostly for support. This is why they opened up the firmware to BBB and Rpi boards... that is not the core business. You don't want the cost of those items to impede sales of the stuff you do care about.

(Even the batteries... made by others, and it is a good thing! The high-end Lithiums are made by MG Energy Systems for example).

3 hours ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

 

All controllers do that, even your current one. What am I missing?

My controller is not limited to battery charging watts. Can deliver 30 A to charge batteries (maximum) plus another 1000W if there is a load. Independent SCC limited to maximum battery charging rate.

Hey all,

Just to clarify - I recently discovered that the Victron kit SCC's actually automatically scales up beyond just max charging amps all on their own accord (i.e. nothing connected) if the demand exists. So it is not limited to max charging amps as such and no fancy bells and whistles required (although freagin magic to have...)

Hi Ed so it behaves exactly like an Axpert SCC  with Solar Power Balance enabled (barring the overshoots)?

And I learned I can use a 1600VA Multiplus with panels to match inverter, to power the entire house. Just like a hybrid inverter.

Only part that I would need to watch for, if Eskom goes off and someone switches on say the stove on the 1600VA, is that the inverter will switch off.

I'm fine with that. Alternative is I put the kitchen on a separate circuit ... naaa, not today.

58 minutes ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

And I learned I can use a 1600VA Multiplus with panels to match inverter, to power the entire house. Just like a hybrid inverter.

Only part that I would need to watch for, if Eskom goes off and someone switches on say the stove on the 1600VA, is that the inverter will switch off.

I'm fine with that. Alternative is I put the kitchen on a separate circuit ... naaa, not today.

http://new.abb.com/products/2CSM112500R1311/lss1-2-load-management-device

Maybe have a look at this. If I understand the consultant correctly it's got 2 circuits that switches off when the load goes above an adjustable amperage (different values for the two circuits) and then with an adjustable time delay it switches back on.

http://www.abb.com/product/seitp329/d7d2d9e86fc64a06c125790c002ea497.aspx?tabKey=2&gid=ABB1SFA896103R7000&cid=9AAC100162

And this. I know one of the forum members enquired about soft starting an electrical motor.

http://www.elkoep.com/products/relay-modular-electronic-devices/time-switch-clock/digital-time-switch-with-an-astronomical-program-sht-4-423/

And this one. Maybe connecting some loads to the inverter only when the sun is shining (or maybe just use a day & night switch with a contactor);

http://www.elkoep.com/products/relay-modular-electronic-devices/monitoring-current-relays/1-phase-ac/current-monitoring-relay-pri-32-330/

Or this one especially caught my attention. Its load sensing and switches between 2 circuits above and below a certain load. (also adjustable it seems)

I've had penny pinchers order one of each so I can do a few experiments. Don't we all love experimenting up to a point when you see smoke. Don't we all hate smoking stuff

43 minutes ago, Czauto said:

Don't we all hate smoking stuff.

I must say, looking back, letting the smoke out has a certain aroma and gives one a lot of "street" creds ... once you have stopped kicking yourself.

"Street" creds in the sense you have done what few others will dare, not forgetting the boatload of laughs over beers. 

 

Will look at the relays but I tend to lean towards the simplest most straight forward solution ... at least, I try.

Simplest would be to split the DB or option B, get a bigger inverter. But bigger inverter just irks me in all the wrong places. I have +-800w of constant load daytime I want to get rid of, ok, let me treat myself, "Wants", 1.5kw when the kids are home daytime and playing games, that is it.

Bigger inverter price tag just goes way past the point where solar interest me - I will be tempted to go bigger array, controller and then the fun part gets lost versus you push the panels to their limits each and every day. THAT for me is much more fun and satisfying, running a well balanced system with CPT weather in winter and long clear summer days the rest of the time. The sums for oversize array in CPT in winter is a tough one. Summer, it is a no brainer.

And then THE biggest issue ... evenings. Kids and their computer games after work on high end machines. For that their is no solution yet.

1 hour ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

And then THE biggest issue ... evenings. Kids and their computer games after work on high end machines. For that their is no solution yet.

... you could always put them up for adoption.

Just now, Chris Hobson said:

... you could always put them up for adoption.

You want them ... courier fees are for my account?

Courier? Taxi's run through graaf reinett to eastern cape twice a week[emoji23]

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1 minute ago, Czauto said:

Taxi's ...

And then they can get off and walk back ... no thanks. :-)

(Wasn't me ... I did not go off-topic first.)

15 hours ago, edmundp said:

Victron kit SCC's actually automatically scales up beyond just max charging amps all on their own accord (i.e. nothing connected) if the demand exists.

Can you explain that?  Normally I'd set the charge controller to a safe value for standalone operation, and let the CCGX override that setting (there is a setting to limit charge power on the CCGX that makes sure that the combined power over all your MPPTs stay within the limits).

The MPPTs will reset to standalone mode if there is no comms for 60 seconds.

If I have a bad battery that refuses to charge up to the set voltage, the last thing I want is for the SCC to put too much current into it.

18 hours ago, plonkster said:

If I have a bad battery that refuses to charge up to the set voltage, the last thing I want is for the SCC to put too much current into it.

Sort the battery then. 

18 hours ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

Sort the battery then. 

Well yes, but it is a matter of safety. If you're away for two days, you don't want things to blow up. Eg, lets assume these fictitious order of events. A battery goes bad with a shorted cell, and as you know, with low voltage the inverter compensates with more current. In our story, we assume that the increase in current ends up blowing a fuse so that the inverter is disconnected. Now you have your MPPT trying to charge the battery while there is no loads on it. The battery is now a 10V battery (for all practical purposes) because one cell is shorted, but the MPPT still wants to take it to 14.5V with all the amperage it is capable of. Putting a cap on that (20% of Ah capacity usually) is a safety thing.

You do however want to lift that restriction to accommodate loads, ie if you have a 100Ah AGM that should ideally charge at no more than 20A, but you have also have loads of 10A, you want to instruct the MPPT to limit to 30A until told otherwise.

The BlueSolar MPPTs can be overridden like this, and they return to their default programming if they hear nothing from you in 60 seconds. I would prefer that my MPPT does not go above that without being instructed to do so... because you cannot rely on voltage to stop you :-)

On 26/04/2017 at 8:48 AM, Chris Hobson said:

Hi Ed so it behaves exactly like an Axpert SCC  with Solar Power Balance enabled (barring the overshoots)?

I have been looking at Victron MPPTs and am now lost. Am I suppose to be looking at Victron Connect to see what their settings are?

43 minutes ago, Chris Hobson said:

Victron Connect

Jip, with Victron connect, you can see the data, view the settings, change the settings AND it also updates the firmware when there is a new version.

Software is free.

Just need a VE.Direct to USB cable to connect the Pc / Victron Connect to the controller ... and to be able to record the data.

Please guys, I am still battling to get the Axpert firmware upgrade. I havent been successfull in downloading any workable copy. Please help.

6 hours ago, Deonsr said:

Please guys, I am still battling to get the Axpert firmware upgrade. I havent been successfull in downloading any workable copy. Please help.

Hi Deonsr

I find I have the recollection of a newt. Perhaps it is forum overload. Please tell us what you have tried and we will hopefully point you in the right direction.