Crazi098 Posted April 19, 2023 Share Posted April 19, 2023 Hi All, I am new to the forum and have been trying to get a UPS type setup, up and running at my home for a while now. I recently was scammed while trying to buy a system and lost the funds I was hoping to use. So I am starting again and I'm naturally now very much more nervous and the pressure to make the right decision is great. I am in Cape Town and am hoping to find some other options. I initially wanted to go for a new lithium battery but will need to try and find a used battery. Does anyone have any combos they're upgrading from, or know of any tips or tricks. I'm looking for a 5kva Inverter with high voltage MPPT controller (to add solar later) and a 5Kwh lithium battery, either 15s or 16s. Any leads or feedback would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abd7 Posted April 19, 2023 Share Posted April 19, 2023 https://thorne.co.za/contact/ https://m.facebook.com/groups/670147713111206/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modina Posted April 19, 2023 Share Posted April 19, 2023 1. I hope you at least tried to contact your bank's fraud centre and reported the scam. 2. It might be a good idea to name and shame the person or company on this forum to warn other people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazi098 Posted April 23, 2023 Author Share Posted April 23, 2023 On 2023/04/19 at 5:59 PM, Modina said: 1. I hope you at least tried to contact your bank's fraud centre and reported the scam. 2. It might be a good idea to name and shame the person or company on this forum to warn other people. Thanks Modina, 1. Yes, I reported it to my bank as well as the SAPS. Sadly money is long gone, but they will still be continuing with the investigation. 2. Most of the "sellers" details have changed. It is likely that they used someone else's identity, but considering they are still being investigated, I'd rather not say just yet. Modina 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazi098 Posted April 23, 2023 Author Share Posted April 23, 2023 On 2023/04/19 at 6:11 PM, Superfly said: I can't agree more... @Crazi098 before purchasing anything please enquire here first - I'm in CT and been ordering from trusted suppliers - sometimes at a premium - but that's just the way it is... Regarding your requirements you need to provide a budget. all the best bud Thanks I did manage to avoid the fake Solar website scams, but got caught with a private seller on Facebook. He/She was so detailed and had planned this scam out to perfection including, all company details, Vat no, tax invoice from the Farm, courier quotes along with a "courier guy" account and address. QR codes offered to check warranty of said units. Even advised I could arrange the courier myself....... Spoke to them on the phone and still hasn't blocked me. Turns out the number has not been RICA'd. Budget is R40000 including installation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter V Posted April 23, 2023 Share Posted April 23, 2023 8 minutes ago, Crazi098 said: Budget is R40000 including installation. For that money you need to look at an Apert or clone and a battery with second life cells. I think you may still be shy to get it installed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazi098 Posted April 23, 2023 Author Share Posted April 23, 2023 (edited) On 2023/04/23 at 4:52 PM, Peter V said: For that money you need to look at an Apert or clone and a battery with second life cells. I think you may still be shy to get it installed. Thanks Peter, that is probably the route I will have to take. Maybe some DIY mounting and trunking to save on labor costs and electrical hardware shopping P.s. I posted in the Inverter section for any advice on a specific inverter I found, see link below. Thanks a stack https://powerforum.co.za/topic/18566-the-sun-pays-55kva-vmii-axpert-type-inverter-any-good/?do=findComment&comment=163365/ Edited April 24, 2023 by Crazi098 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannabeSolarSparky Posted April 23, 2023 Share Posted April 23, 2023 Subtotal R41,940.00 Shipping The Courier Guy: R454.77 Total R42,394.77 Pylon UP5000 4.8kWh Li-Ion Solar Battery 48V × 1 R28,790.00 Growatt SPF5000ES 5kva 48V Hybrid Inverter × 1 R13,150.00 Nexuss, hoohloc and Antonio de Sa 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannabeSolarSparky Posted April 23, 2023 Share Posted April 23, 2023 (edited) Rather try save up a tiny bit more and get the growatt as above The changeover switch and breakers and a bit of cabling should be about another R2k and then diy it This install was R45k including the CoC Edited April 23, 2023 by WannabeSolarSparky DigitalChi, Antonio de Sa and hoohloc 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazi098 Posted April 23, 2023 Author Share Posted April 23, 2023 (edited) Thanks WannabeSolarsparky That setup is neat, out of interest what website are those items from? Thanks Edited April 23, 2023 by Crazi098 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannabeSolarSparky Posted April 24, 2023 Share Posted April 24, 2023 (edited) 13 hours ago, Crazi098 said: Thanks WannabeSolarsparky That setup is neat, out of interest what website are those items from? Thanks That is my own photos not from the internet. Those prices are my prices I charge. Edited April 24, 2023 by WannabeSolarSparky Crazi098 and Antonio de Sa 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dani Posted April 24, 2023 Share Posted April 24, 2023 16 hours ago, WannabeSolarSparky said: Rather try save up a tiny bit more and get the growatt as above Looks good. Does the growatt talk nicely to the Pylontech. Can I get a quote for delivery to JHB? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnome Posted April 24, 2023 Share Posted April 24, 2023 (edited) So to be clear, the OP wants a UPS, not a solar setup. Axpert works perfectly fine for that. I've been using an Axpert in that configuration since 2015. I've also installed Axpert in a couple of family/friend situations for that. And they are sold as power trolleys for a reason. DO NOT use their solar, it sucks, but as a UPS they are really solid https://www.fullcirclesolar.co.za/product/5kva-vp-5000w-unit-vat-incl-copy/ Then battery options: https://www.fullcirclesolar.co.za/product/pylon-tech-li-ion-up5000-battery-pack-vat-incl/ https://www.fullcirclesolar.co.za/product/pylontech-li-ion-battery-pack-3-5kwh-vat-incl/ Goes without saying I trust that fullcirclesolar. I've bought from them a number of times. Edited April 24, 2023 by Gnome Plaasjapie and Crazi098 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannabeSolarSparky Posted April 24, 2023 Share Posted April 24, 2023 34 minutes ago, Dani said: Looks good. Does the growatt talk nicely to the Pylontech. Can I get a quote for delivery to JHB? Yip they talk nicely to each other Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
system32 Posted April 24, 2023 Share Posted April 24, 2023 18 hours ago, Crazi098 said: Thanks Modina, 1. Yes, I reported it to my bank as well as the SAPS. Sadly money is long gone, but they will still be continuing with the investigation. 2. Most of the "sellers" details have changed. It is likely that they used someone else's identity, but considering they are still being investigated, I'd rather not say just yet. Also got scammed in 2020, the scammer is now operating as different company (sunsmart), See these public service warning sites: solar-bay.co.za hello-solar.co.za Crazi098 and WannabeSolarSparky 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazi098 Posted April 24, 2023 Author Share Posted April 24, 2023 5 hours ago, Gnome said: So to be clear, the OP wants a UPS, not a solar setup. Axpert works perfectly fine for that. I've been using an Axpert in that configuration since 2015. I've also installed Axpert in a couple of family/friend situations for that. And they are sold as power trolleys for a reason. DO NOT use their solar, it sucks, but as a UPS they are really solid https://www.fullcirclesolar.co.za/product/5kva-vp-5000w-unit-vat-incl-copy/ Then battery options: https://www.fullcirclesolar.co.za/product/pylon-tech-li-ion-up5000-battery-pack-vat-incl/ https://www.fullcirclesolar.co.za/product/pylontech-li-ion-battery-pack-3-5kwh-vat-incl/ Goes without saying I trust that fullcirclesolar. I've bought from them a number of times. Thanks Gnome I will look at Fullcirclesolar also. Yes I am currently looking to install as a UPS setup but would like to get an inverter that I can use in the future for adding some solar panels that can blend between utility and solar to cover my some of my loads during the day. I don't plan to sell back to CPT municipality or plan to go completely off grid unless the future takes us there..... My only preferences currently are 5kva with MPPT ability. Thanks for the advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnome Posted April 24, 2023 Share Posted April 24, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, Crazi098 said: Thanks Gnome I will look at Fullcirclesolar also. Yes I am currently looking to install as a UPS setup but would like to get an inverter that I can use in the future for adding some solar panels that can blend between utility and solar to cover my some of my loads during the day. I don't plan to sell back to CPT municipality or plan to go completely off grid unless the future takes us there..... My only preferences currently are 5kva with MPPT ability. Thanks for the advice I wouldn't use an Axpert in a solar configuration. Their UPS are great and arguable better than many other brands even. It is where they came from, they made UPS. ie. if you compare to a Sunsynk, the Axpert accepts a wider input voltage. They offer more options in terms of change-over time (ie. Axpert King can run in double conversion mode). UPS is their strength. I would be hesitant to go so far as say Sunsynk or Growatt is better in UPS capability. I haven't owned a Growatt but Sunsynk for example would be a downgrade for me from the UPS point of view (which is how I'm using my Axpert). In my opinion, the Axpert MPPT is not worth it (or PWM, or any of their "solar" offerings) for use in Solar. Great as UPS, bad as a Solar. I mean it work(ish). But people who have had their Axpert inverters blow up were all running in Solar. Their engineering margins for the MPPT/PWM components seem to be really tight causing them to run at the limit and not last. Just to be clear, I wouldn't buy another Voltronic UPS, I would still buy a Voltronic Axpert but treat it as a UPS. (Voltronic is the manufacturer, full circle solar and whomever else just make a big order and then get to put a name and logo on it) Lastly the financial outlay for a UPS system vs a Solar system is pretty much an order of magnitude larger. You can get a UPS system as seen here for a good price. A solar system starts at 100k (and I could go into some detail as to why that would be a bottom of the barrel kind of system). It also has a much more significant installation burden. I would just go Sunsynk or Victron if I were to go solar. I don't really trust these other brands for that sort of thing. Edited April 24, 2023 by Gnome Crazi098 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazi098 Posted April 24, 2023 Author Share Posted April 24, 2023 (edited) Thanks for your input Gnome Edited April 24, 2023 by Crazi098 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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