Just now, plonkster said:

95% of the options aren't meant for Newbies.

Let me expand on that: The CCGX isn't meant for newbies. It's a control panel, not a dashboard. For newbies, it's "watch das blinkenlights und hands im pockets". Yes, it can be made simpler, and some of that is already on its way in 2.20, some double-negatives were removed for example, such as "Run without grid meter" (which you would turn on in order to not use a grid meter) is now simply "Grid meter installed" and the sense has been reversed. It's coming.

5 minutes ago, plonkster said:

How can you call yourself a techie and not like github?

I am techie's worst nightmare as I make techie things work for newbies. :-)

5 minutes ago, plonkster said:

95% of the options aren't meant for Newbies.
The CCGX isn't meant for newbies.
It's coming.

That has to change.
That has to change!
Victron is going to open new doors and new markets. Time is up for the techies claiming the only ones in the know. You are to be assimilated.

Plonkster, trust me when I say, after reading manuals, scanning them actually, they lack in detail
Manuals lack pictures.
Refer to Annexure A - where is Annexure A, when B and C is there?

We can give sound ideas, trash them out, learn more, and the product line wins. And the more we teach others here ... 

You cannot with a sound mind with DIY guys here, tell them Victron is too complicated. It is today, but it does not have to be. 

 

5 minutes ago, plonkster said:

The Dutch has a very efficient way of telling you what station you can get off at if you're wrong.

Then you get South African's, whom have Dutch / German / French / Russian ... you name it ... genes all under one skin. 

Either I'm gonna cause havoc ... or new doors open. That call is not mine to make. (cwl)

43 minutes ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

You cannot with a sound mind with DIY guys here, tell them Victron is too complicated. It is today, but it does not have to be. 

As I said before, the policy is already in place: Make it as simple as possible, because it is already complex enough :-)

Doesn't help when you have people asking for BMV relay switching and scheduled discharge modes and stuff... :-P Those again make it more complex.

Now that I think about it though, there is already such a place for community involvement: The Venus development mailing list :-)

10 hours ago, plonkster said:

The Venus development mailing list :-)

Chicken. 

the sun shines and i get say 1.5kw.

batteries are 100%soc and will give at least 2kw.

scenario:

a normal kettle will draw about 2.1kw for 5-7 minutes to boil 1.5l of water [at the coast]. with my setup the axpert reverts to grid in about 30 seconds and stays that way for about 5 min AFTER the kettle stops. if i fill up the kettle with 200ml it boils before the axpert reverts to grid - saving a lot of power as none is tapped from the grid and the prolonged load was absorbed by pv and batteries.

two questions:

1. i am looking for a low watt kettle [600-800w] to prevent the jump to grid
2. as i have solar geyser and the washing machine draws heavy power - which also cause grid switching - and as said washing machine is about to be decommissioned, i would like your opinion on a twin tub

 1000 watt Omega kettel from Chinese shop works fine on small battery banks only takes more time to cook .

Gas cooker and kettle or maybe an induction stove top. Our top Loader Samsung washing machine doesn't use much power but uses a lot of water. Is it the element in the washing machine or the peak draw of the motor that swings it back to Eskom ? Can't help the motor side but maybe you could disconnect the element or supply a hot water feed to the washing machine.

3 minutes ago, seant said:

Is it the element in the washing machine or the peak draw of the motor that swings it back to Eskom ?

HI @seant, it is the element, the peak draw of the motor is ok. hence my idea of going twin tub - there i will have more or less full control and the water is heated from the sun. will also be able to do multiple washes in same water etc

 

9 hours ago, Chris Louw said:

only takes more time to cook

time is not the essence, i mean is this not africa , thanks for the name @Chris Louwi will start looking for one!

Our solution to washing . Toploader with no element . 100 Lt geyser connected to 2.2 flatpanel solar  and 1000 watt element . With a bit of planning no eskom power .

Top loader and twintub uses too much water. They are not even an option in the Western Cape at the moment (unless you use the twintub only for larger loads and re-use the water between loads).

So let me just get this straight... you saved money on the inverter, and now you have to spend money on other appliances? :-) A good toploader is a cool 4k... and then there is the water use on top. That's probably another argument for buying a hybrid inverter.

1 minute ago, plonkster said:

So let me just get this straight... you saved money on the inverter, and now you have to spend money on other appliances? :-)

first off 

let me try again... the present front loader is about to pack up after 8 years, choice of replacement??? with twin tub i can control water totally [temp and quantity], re-use wash water and thus save. re the solar geyser i can install 1kw element [for top-up heating] and connect it to inverter [at present it has 3kw element and is on grid].

re kettle , i don't mind waiting for it to boil and a low watt kettle will force us not to fill it with more water than needed.

re oven/stove; we have a big microwave and gas, no need for stove as it's only two of us.

 

9 minutes ago, gabriel said:

choice of replacement???

Last month I looked at front loaders. A++ ratings. R8k range. A few Brands available. 700-800 wh  per 60min cycle.  

 

10 minutes ago, gabriel said:

re the solar geyser i can install 1kw element [for top-up heating] and connect it to inverter

I have done this roughly 2 years ago, never had any problems. Works like a charm. 

11 minutes ago, gabriel said:

present front loader is about to pack up after 8 years, choice of replacement???

Our situation was the reverse. The Top-loader was packing up. Our household actually needs two machines, a small one for the day to day loads, and a larger one for that time when you need to wash a large blanket. My LG 9kg top-loader is finished, the drum dampers are completely warn (so it becomes unbalanced if you look at it funny). It's 15 years old though, so I'm okay with that. Now if you asked me this question a few years ago, I would have sworn by the top-loader. It uses so much less electricity, you can add additional dropped/forgotten items after starting it, etc etc. But all that changed in the last year with our big drought. The day-to-day one has to be a front-loader. My opinion :-)

Bosch makes a 6kg entry-level one for around 4k, I got mine for 3.5k (a guy bought it on a special and then it would not fit in his bathroom, so I took it over). Even that entry-level unit is worth it imho. But yes, the heating cycle is a thing, around 2.3kw.

17 minutes ago, Jaco de Jongh said:

Last month I looked at front loaders. A++ ratings. R8k range. A few Brands available. 700-800 wh  per 60min cycle.  

 

so what would the max watt load be for the element during that cycle?

14 minutes ago, plonkster said:

But yes, the heating cycle is a thing, around 2.3kw.

therein the problem, i can [not ;-)] fork out another 28k for two pylontechs [plus a washing mashine] hence an option using the sun's energy

3 minutes ago, gabriel said:

26 minutes ago, Jaco de Jongh said:

 

so what would the max watt load be for the element during that cycle?

Sorry Gabriel, I cant remember now, Ill stop at the shop on my way home and just take a picture of the label again. its got all the specs. Will post it early evening. 

Don't the bosch machines have a no heat cycle. If you have a hot water supply near by fit a mixed valve and set it to what temp you choose and run the washing on a no heat cycle but supply it with warm water.  if you are happy with using the microwave then heat the mug of water up in there instead of boiling a kettle

We have always used top loaders, cold water only. We don't use the rinse cycle anymore, changed the soap.

With the water issue we now use rainwater only for washing, that then goes to the toilets. Machine water usage matches toilet water for 4 people.
Can have a small load or a full load. Wash less frequently, wash more at a time maybe?

 

Front loaders, tidbit I did not know: Friend of mine lost his last week. Something went wrong on the spinning cycle (1400rpm) with the drum touching the side.
Result: Machine was set alight.

Insurers says: Mmmm, 2nd one I have seen in my career.

 

 

22 minutes ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

Result: Machine was set alight.

didn't know ford also made washing machines 

3 minutes ago, gabriel said:

didn't know ford also made washing machines 

Great catch!!! 

Seriously, I did not know a washing machine can set itself alight in a spinning cycle. Luckily they where at home at the time.

Not saying it is the norm at all, just a  tidbit I though to share.

56 minutes ago, seant said:

Don't the bosch machines have a no heat cycle.

Indeed, you can set the temperature to cold. But I remember the day I bought this, the wife was so happy: Finally she could use hot water to wash things.

I still turn it down to 30 °C when she is not looking. There is an argument to be made for lukewarm water, it activates the enzymes in the soap. But you really don't have to wash in 40°C, which is the default.

43 minutes ago, plonkster said:

There is an argument to be made for lukewarm water, it activates the enzymes in the soap.

It struck me the other day, we have a 50l geyser for the kitchen and 1 bathroom. Seeing as our dishwasher uses +-5l of water, to wait for a tap to become hot, can take a liter or two.

So I sat there watching, each time we pack the dishwasher, we tend to use the hot tap for the basin. So the water is hot in the pipes. Why not connect the dishwasher onto the hot tap, using the T&C's are noted i.e. only if the tap water is hot.

Now I'm thinking, same logic could apply to the washing machine, if we don't use rainwater.

Then I realise, hold on, the pipes feeding the washing machine are those cheap black ones from the Co-Op, lying in the sun all day, quite a few meters of them, coming from a black tank. Summer we may have "hot" rainwater for the washing machine.

2 minutes ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

to wait for a tap to become hot, can take a liter or two.

Lucky you. 5 to 7 liters in the kitchen. 10 liters in the back bathroom. In the past this went down the drain. Now it goes in a bucket and is used elsewhere.

8 minutes ago, plonkster said:

Lucky you.

It used to be MUCH worse, saw it in the solar geyser's drop in temp from all the water going into the pipes waiting for the hot water. Kitchen and 1 bathroom THE worst!

That was till we built on and I could change the hot water pipes. Geysers (3) and bathrooms (6) are now in close proximity to each other.

1-3 liters (caught) are now wasted per bathroom waiting for hot water (tap or shower). Kitchen being the winner, liter or two.

Nearly bought gas water heaters for the hot water taps ... altering the pipes and moving the geysers turned out to be cheaper.

2 of the 3 geysers are outside, had enough of floods when the Kwikot's bursts every 5 years and 1 week, inside. 
Bought solar geysers, 10 year warranties. In middle of a icy cold winters day, they are ice-cold to the touch. I checked. :-) 

With the MG, with timers on the way, the 2 geysers not on EV tubes, are sorted too now. :-) 

 

1 hour ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

just a  tidbit I though to share.

exploding batteries, burning inverters... now washing machines... what next 

3 minutes ago, gabriel said:

exploding batteries, burning inverters... now washing machines... what next 

You forgot melted solar panel connection boxes and burnt out MPPT's.

Let me tell you, the experience gained, carries a lot of weight. 

That washing machine, I did NOT see that one coming, ever.