13 minutes ago, Ingo said:

Do the Multi and Quattro share some HW?

Yup. They share a lot of hardware. Pretty much the only difference is in the transfer switch (two inputs vs just one).

10 minutes ago, Ingo said:

Now that is interesting. Every now and then I notice my PC UPS go to battery and then back to Grid for a split second. I never thought anything of it and thought it might just do it's self-test or our Grid supply have a few Nicks & Pops every now and then. Do the Multi and Quattro share some HW? Would be nice to know the outcome of this.

This is most likely caused by the grid voltage dropping below the normal working threshold for the UPS. 

The voltage on one of my phases often drops below 200V in the early evening.  If it drops below 195V, my Multigrid-II disconnects from the grid and runs off the battery. This usually only lasts for a few minutes and then goes back to normal. It does make a noticable clicking noise when it recovers!

Getting back to TTT's problem, it would be useful to know if the grid voltage was outside a normal range when his fault occurred,

23 minutes ago, Ingo said:

PC UPS go to battery and then back to Grid for a split second.

NOW that you mention that ... the online APC that used to be part of the mix, did that also. Can hear it infrequently clickity clack at odd times, day and night.

47 minutes ago, NigelL said:

Getting back to TTT's problem, it would be useful to know if the grid voltage was outside a normal range when his fault occurred,

I don't really see it on VRM. I mean, I can see the load-shedding events in the last week... and this one event on the 11th of Feb... but not much more (Oh, I added VE.Bus state to your graphs in case you're wondering 🙂 ).

55 minutes ago, NigelL said:

Getting back to TTT's problem, it would be useful to know if the grid voltage was outside a normal range when his fault occurred,

Here is the data I have, it happened around 10ish last night. From what I can see, all looks perfect for my untrained eye.

That APC that did the same ... being a real UPS it has more features. Wish Victron was a online UPS too. 🙂 

 

TTT_VenusGX_20190218-1000_to_20190219-1000.xls

6 minutes ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

Here is the data I have, it happened around 10ish last night. From what I can see, all looks perfect for my untrained eye.

Can't see a thing. You sure you don't have a loose wire again? 😛

 

11 minutes ago, plonkster said:

Can't see a thing. You sure you don't have a loose wire again? 😛

 

Nope, since the Sparky was here, I have not touched nothing, "more saner" I have not been. 😋

 

22 minutes ago, plonkster said:

Oh, I added VE.Bus state to your graphs in case you're wondering 🙂 ).

I just love it how you guys can get into the systems you sell.

See you have even been onto the VenusGX?

Freaking awesome, like me and my customers, get a email, login to the client server, fix issue, reply vie email ... done.

@plonkster - this has happened 3 times since I remove the APC, as said, the APC also made an effort now and then to keep things going.

Using last nights as a marker, no 3, it also happened on 1 and 2, with probably no data caught on 2, being 14 Feb between 6 and 7pm.

13 minutes ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

Using last nights as a marker, no 3, it also happened on 1 and 2, with probably no data caught on 2, being 14 Feb between 6 and 7pm.

Trouble is that most things (like voltage, frequency, etc) are only logged on the interval (60 seconds in your case), while other items might be logged when they change (such as the vebus state). So a dip in the voltage or a shift in the frequency... you might very easily miss that.

Now when a log-event is triggered by an "event" (those items that warrant immediate logging to VRM), it sends the entire state including the voltage, but again those items generally update only once a second or so, so you might still miss it.

Short answer: I don't know...

27 minutes ago, plonkster said:

Short answer: I don't know...

I know that from SolWEB data days yes.

Let me be clear: This is not a Victron issue. APC did the same.

Same as when the Multi tripped, cause being an age old external bonding problem. So like before, if we can identify the cause, I can fix it.

Am pretty sure it is an Eskom issue, confusing the shiite out of the Multi to not go into UPS mode or some such. If it was not for PC's, internet going off, no-one would have known.

... will buy a Victron "Online" inverter one day. 🙂 

It all else fails I'll get a bunch of small low wattage line interactive UPS'es on all the items which will in any event add more protection to all the devices.

So I'm not fussed at all. Being the "electricity provider", comes with quirks and bumps. 

Edited February 19, 20197 yr by Guest

Will the Victron SmartSolar adequately charge a Pylon US3000B? 

I notice in the Pylon brochure it states Charge Current 37A (Recommended), see pic below.

Would I be better off going with a bigger Victron MPPT unit seeing also as I intend adding another US3000b and more panels in the future?

Plonkster??

@plonkster is how we summon the master. 🙂

VisN, what size MPPT are we talking about?

Man... the battery wants you to charge it at no more than C/2, roughly speaking. You can go a little over that for short periods, and you can go less than that too, it will just take more than two hours to charge the battery from empty to full if you do that... which is probably okay as I doubt that's the kind of thing you need to do every day...

So if you're going with two of these, and you cycle them to 80% DoD (around 2600Wh out of the 3200Wh), so that's a total of 5200Wh. And you have around 5 hours a day to recharge them (in South Africa daily generation is roughly 5 times the peak rating of your array), so you need 1kwp PV for that, but let's say you also have 5kwh of daytime loads load, so you need roughly 2kwp of PV. Then you need 2000/50 = 40A. So you're looking at a 150/45, that ought to do it.

Now I made a whole lot of assumptions and sucked a lot of thumb. For me, I'd start with a single 150/35 and add another one later, but I haven't looked at a price list, I leave that as an exercise for the reader 🙂

Edited April 5, 20197 yr by plonkster

1 hour ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

@plonkster is how we summon the master. 🙂

VisN, what size MPPT are we talking about?

Where's the facepalm emoji when you need it...

I'm referring to the Victron 150/35 which does a little shy of the 37A recommended.

Also, what does one set as the minimum temperature when using the Victron MPPT Calculator, VE-MPPT-Calc, if one lives in the Johannesburg area?

@plonkster You know you suck thumb better than most... thank you.

 

 

Edited April 5, 20197 yr by VisN

49 minutes ago, VisN said:

Also, what does one set as the minimum temperature when using the Victron MPPT Calculator, VE-MPPT-Calc, if one lives in the Johannesburg area?

For Cpt I use 0.
Jhb I would use -2.

Anyone else?

10 hours ago, VisN said:

37A recommended

I think the important part here is that with LFP there isn't really as much of a minimum current  as you have with lead acid. Charge is incredibly efficient and you could charge the battery from empty to full with just 2 amps... it will just take a long time. The recommended charge current is more of a recommended maximum, and for pylontechs it's always C/2, but LFPs can usually handle as much as 2C (full to empty in half an hour), but then things get hot and you shorten the battery life. Hence the recommendation.

In residential use you will almost always recharge it over a slightly longer period, so what that means is you don't have to aim for 37A, you should aim below it. So a single 150/35 is perfect for a single 3200Wh Pylontech battery.

12 hours ago, VisN said:

Will the Victron SmartSolar adequately charge a Pylon US3000B? 

I notice in the Pylon brochure it states Charge Current 37A (Recommended), see pic below.

 

Question, whats the difference between the US2000 and the Phantom, from the spec sheet I'm not seeing any ?

G

... I'll state it... working in IT for 25yrs...

Hope everyone realises how "good" we got it to have someone like Plonkster here... from the the vendor... (Victron).

G

1 hour ago, georgelza said:

... I'll state it... working in IT for 25yrs...

Hope everyone realises how "good" we got it to have someone like Plonkster here... from the the vendor... (Victron).

G

I certainly do. There are more than a few people here that deserve appreciation.

Anyone else has any thoughts on the minimum temperature setting when using the Victron MPPT Calculator, VE-MPPT-Calc, if one lives in the Johannesburg area?

Could someone please explain how one would connect a Victron MPPT together with a Pylon battery and an inverter. A picture would paint a thousand words as well. Is there a small piece of hardware that ties it all up missing in the 3 pieces I've mentioned?

See if this helps.

Got it from Johannes Boonstra from VictronEnergy

https://www.victronenergy.com/live/battery_compatibility:pylontech_phantom

1 hour ago, georgelza said:

See if this helps.

Got it from Johannes Boonstra from VictronEnergy

https://www.victronenergy.com/live/battery_compatibility:pylontech_phantom

George, 

Thanks. That 'DC Distribution' piece is what is missing.

Regards

 

 

 

... some people make that combining point the terminal lugs on the Inverter... basically a bus bar box.

G

 

Just now, georgelza said:

 

... some people make that combining point the terminal lugs on the Inverter... basically a bus bar box.

G

 

Got it. So not 100% necessary.

3 minutes ago, georgelza said:

... some people make that combining point the terminal lugs on the Inverter... basically a bus bar box. 

 

2 minutes ago, VisN said:

Got it. So not 100% necessary.

I'd say it is generally a good idea to have separate busbars. Also makes it easier to individually fuse cables, eg I have a large fuse between the batteries and the busbar, and then individual smaller fuses and breakers from the busbar to the various solar chargers and the Multi. It also means I can take the Multi out of circuit while the solar chargers continue to charge the batteries. Not something I do a lot, but I have done it.

Those Victron DC-distribution boxes are really really nice, but they are costly. So most of us make our own from copper bar.