Good morning Ladies and gentlemen, 

 

   I have yesterday managed to finally get my solar panels and inverter up and running yesterday for a short while.

 

There is a couple of issues that I'm facing...

System is as follows;

2.8kw of PV 

2 X forklift lead acid battery 260ah each running 48v

5.5kw hybrid inverter (don't believe it has a brand name off of eBay)

 

Currently set at SBU and FLT battery.

What other settings should I change as the rest are at default?

When I put the shower on on the second occasion the system went into overload fault. I understand that the shower is far too much load for the system but thought it would revert to grid? 

Is there anything I can do put system into line mode or could the damage the battery over time?

Am I better off just running a separate line and RCD just for the shower?

 

Any help information on above matters would be greatly appreciated.

 

Many thanks 

HI,

I think you need to find out the model of the inverter and maybe someone can then add some constructive comments, without knowing the model I cannot add to your question.

  

You should have a plate somewhere saying the model, some pictures?

Edited September 8, 20232 yr by Mcskippster

Hi think the model is VMII-5.5KW

 

Many thanks 

What are you using to heat your water?
 

Also I would say avoid running big loads on the lead acid batteries as they do not handle high current very well.

I would also say double check the charge & discharge settings and voltages etc.

It's an electric shower so is a big sudden draw, won't be an issue in the long run as I have a some PV water panels to put up but that won't be happening until next year sadly.

 

So for the time being it's best to run a separate line for the shower through its own RCD.

 

Do you have any idea what the charge and discharge voltages should be?

Off the top of my head I think they are currently set at 54v and 46v.

 

 

2 hours ago, Deej said:

2 X forklift lead acid battery 260ah each running 48v

These forlift cells are normaĺy 2v lead acid cells. How many cells in 1 battery? How is the 2 batteries connected in series or parallel if the forklift batteries are 12 cells then they are connected in series to obtain your 48v. If they are 24 cell batteries then they are connected in parralel. How is your 2 batteries connected. You need quite a big charger to charge these forklift batteries and they need 12 hours to be fully charged. Don't think your inverter and solar is going to charge these batteries effectively. 

Hi, they are 2 banks of 12 2v cells wired in parallel.

 

 

I shall be fitting an ista - breeze 2kw 48v wind turbine also in the coming weeks so that should also aid with the battery charging 

41 minutes ago, Deej said:

Hi, they are 2 banks of 12 2v cells wired in parallel.

 

 

12x2V is only 24V. Must be 24x2=48V 

May be they are 2x24V banks. 

Yes sorry mis typed 2x24v 

Ok so 250ah 48v battery bank that is if my maths don't fail me 12.5kwh battery bank.You could charge these cells @ C/5 250/5 =50 Amps and absorption @ C/ 15= 17 amps and by this stage you are at 8hours charging then final stage equalization C/30 = 8 amps and 10hours later. With LS you don’t have that time between stages. I had a client with exactly the same setup with endless battery problems until he saw the light and we installed FW 10/8 and his problems where solved to date. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but these batteries are not designed for solar applications.

EDIT Calculation:

Edited September 8, 20232 yr by TaliaB

Once the wind turbine is installed will this not also aid the charging cycle?

Maybe switch to SUB mode if available. Run daytime loadshedding predominantly off solar, keep heavy loads off, just core essentials during evening loadshedding to minimize battery cycles qnd increase charging time.

15 hours ago, Deej said:

Once the wind turbine is installed will this not also aid the charging cycle?

The inverter has a maximum charge current. It can't charge faster than that, no matter how much solar or wind energy it has available to it.

But surely it would gain as possible to be charging for 24hrs a day rather than just day light hours

34 minutes ago, Deej said:

But surely it would gain as possible to be charging for 24hrs a day rather than just day light hours

Doh! Of course. Might improve things on overcast days as well.

BUT you're still running LA batteries, and they don't do well with the constant discharging that current conditions impose on them.

Edited September 9, 20232 yr by Bobster.