Aren't you using an Axpert as well? Is it set to 42V cutoff?

No, infini and cut-off set to 48V.

Having chatted to an Aussie PIP user (Aussie version of Axpert) on one of their forums. I have found another idiosyncrasy. PV voltage is measured before the MPPT. PV current is measured after the MPPT so it has been modified already. So production is roughly PV current multiplied by battery voltage not PV voltage. This gives an answer within 50W of what is displayed on the LCD display.

Interesting...

 

As I complete a section I will photograph it. This the main DB behind the front door. The kotch green/blue paint was a darker colour left over from a rainbow painted in my son's bedroom. I added some white and visually the renewable section of the wiring is easily to distinguish from the generator 220V.

 

Originally the top board was 220V and the bottom board was 32V DC with its ceramic fuse holders. We now power the old 32 V DC lights with solar and all the plugs barring the one on the DB which allows me to repair anything (use in an emergency) should the inverter fail.

 

So top to bottom old 220V split light and plugs with a new neutral bar for plugs. Next  down is the old 32V DC board that has been stripped out and now has a 2P 20A circuit breaker as a main switch (there is another next to the inverter for safety) and a 2P 6A circuit breaker for the solar powered LED lights. The switch on the left was supplied by as a DC switch and now has a new life as a main switch for the plugs above it. My wife is about 1.5m so she cannot reach them so I thought that if she needed to switch off the plugs for any reason she can just use the switch now within her reach.

 

The box at the bottom is the remote start/stop for the generator. The labelling of the remote as Simphiwe is an old joke as a friend of mine had a faithful tracker whose quarters were next to the generator room and since the installation had no remote one of Simphiwe's tasks was to start and stop the gennie. Simphiwe survived on very little sleep and as soon as he noticed any activity he would start the gennie without even needing to be asked.  

 

Prior to my solar installation 1 phase from the generator use to come into the house on overhead cables. Now we have buried an armoured cable and brought 2 phases to the house. One phase supplies the lights (those not supplied by solar) and the second phase goes to the inverter.

 

This all had to be done as a new installation and we laid about 80m of conduit. Whilst we were in the loft we found a boomslang hibernating up there. She hissed at one of my staff as he put his foot down next to her near a recess in the chimney where I think she spent a lot of time, since it is warm. He took off and ran across the ceiling. I had visions of him falling through the ceiling and having additional repairs and a chap to take to hospital. Fortunately he is light and he floated across the ceiling boards. Two days later we were again in the loft and my helper volunteered to drive a flock of sheep 12km over the mountain to avoid being summons to work in the loft again. We saw the snake again and she calmly sailed between two staff whilst they were connecting conduit. There was no hysterics and she curled up in the recess in the brickwork and watched proceedings by torchlight. 

 

Anyway back to the enclosure - power comes in bottom right and red and blue (phase1 goes to a breaker and the out to the house. Phase 2 goes to a transfer switch and then to a timer and a contactor. Timer waits 9 secs before closing the contactor which ensures the generator is running evenly before power is supplied to the inverter. The "busbar" is a stove component since the right thing was not available. The neutrals are common in the generator room but I kept them separate here (what do I do with the spare wire?)

 

Transfer switch is for a backup generator (yet to be connected) and after Silver's experiences maybe it will not work.

Two days later we were again in the loft and my helper volunteered to drive a flock of sheep 12km over the mountain to avoid being summons to work in the loft again. 

 

I would have done the same. 

I am due to receive a Victron battery monitor and I will use its relay to control a contactor to control load and so prevent a DOD greater than 30%.

 

Hi Chris

 

If I may ask, from whom did you buy your bmv-702 and what did you pay for it. I've been going through the manual and it looks very feature rich. I don't really need it for my set-up since my batteries aren't cycled daily or worked hard (yet), but the monitor looks like a "nice to have". 

Hi SuperDIY. 

 

I bought it from the Victron agent in Port Elizabeth, Telecom Techniques. I paid R2300 plus vat. I think that with the Axpert a good battery monitor is essential. On the Mybroadband forum several posters said the BMV is too expensive. My feeling is that without an accurate SOC you are going to damage your batteries. If a battery fails often one of the batteries next to it fails too. If you take that into account I think the Victron + Zener regulators are cheap insurance.

Hi SuperDIY. 

 

I bought it from the Victron agent in Port Elizabeth, Telecom Techniques. I paid R2300 plus vat. I think that with the Axpert a good battery monitor is essential. On the Mybroadband forum several posters said the BMV is too expensive. My feeling is that without an accurate SOC you are going to damage your batteries. If a battery fails often one of the batteries next to it fails too. If you take that into account I think the Victron + Zener regulators are cheap insurance.

 

Thanks Chris

 

Thanks for the dealer info.

 

I fully agree with you. Compared to the price of batteries, the BM is a small investment.

 

As I've mentioned, my batteries aren't cycled daily, like in your case, and during loadshedding they don't really work hard, but the BM will just give me all those additional information. I can even mount remotely, far away from the inverter and battery bank - since with the infini you don't have the option to add a remote display like with the Axpert, I think the BM will come in handy here.

Hi SuperDIY. 

 

I bought it from the Victron agent in Port Elizabeth, Telecom Techniques. I paid R2300 plus vat. I think that with the Axpert a good battery monitor is essential. On the Mybroadband forum several posters said the BMV is too expensive. My feeling is that without an accurate SOC you are going to damage your batteries. If a battery fails often one of the batteries next to it fails too. If you take that into account I think the Victron + Zener regulators are cheap insurance.

 

Just to confirm - is it the BMV-700 or BMV-702?

702

702

 

Thanks Chris.