Hi Guys,

Sorry if it was answered somewhere before. (Tried searching)

Question is: If I set my Axpert (5kw) to bypass on overload: At what point does it go (bypass) to utility and if on utility, how much kw can then be utilised?

Thanks

Jacques

57 minutes ago, JacquesVDM said:

At what point does it go (bypass) to utility

It's supposed to take 100% overload (10 kW) for a few seconds, and about 50% overload for a bit longer than that. The firmware seems to say it's a little less generous than that, and in real life, it seems to be less again.

Quote

and if on utility, how much kw can then be utilised?

This doesn't seem to be stated anywhere. The relays are rated for 40 A, but all that bypass current goes through PCB traces, so probably not quite 40 A (around 9 kW) continuously. Your AC wiring may not be thick enough to do this (e.g. 4 mm²) for long.

In practice, it seems to be happy handling the occasional overload, but I would not put major loads (stove/oven, geyser, large non-inverter type air conditioner) routinely through the inverter. If you accidentally have a few kitchen appliances on at once, that's fine. I try to avoid bypassing at all costs, because I'm a tight wad, and I would like not to have to pay an electric bill ever again, just for the fun of it. So I time my loads. Others may not have the patience for this.

Thanks.

At the moment I have everything on the inverter except the stove and the solar geyser which are still on Eskom (due to their high load)

Still sorting out how to manage those two.

On 2019/06/05 at 2:35 PM, Coulomb said:

In practice, it seems to be happy handling the occasional overload, but I would not put major loads (stove/oven, geyser, large non-inverter type air conditioner) routinely through the inverter.

Also I saw a post the other day by someone that said their Axpert's relay contacts got welded because he was often running into overload.  It just isn't a good way to operate.

On 2019/06/05 at 2:35 PM, Coulomb said:

geyser

What do you guys call this in Aus?  Boiler?  Water heater?

I'm impressed with your SA lingo 😛

On 2019/06/05 at 7:49 PM, JacquesVDM said:

Thanks.

At the moment I have everything on the inverter except the stove and the solar geyser which are still on Eskom (due to their high load)

Still sorting out how to manage those two.

For your geyser you can look at installing a smaller element 1kw element.  It takes a little longer to heat up but atleast run it on the PV.

I have installed 1kw elements in both my geysers and integrated them into my home assistant automation.  This way I use the geysers and pool pump to maximium my load during the day time in order to get the most out of the PV array.  

Hi Bloubul. I have actually changed the solar geyser element to a 2kw shortly after that post of mine. In the winter I have the geyser wise set to switch the element on at 1pm until 2 pm with a 60 degrees setpoint. And also do a short 15 minute top-up in the mornings. The winter time is mostly cloudless and it works perfect to use the extra PV as the batteries are fully charged at about 11. The summer is a different story as the rainy / cloudy weather is unpredictable. I then do not use the element and then switches over to the gas geyser for the days when the geyser temps are low. The solar geyser heats up much higher in the summer and not much hot water are needed/used. 

12 hours ago, Gnome said:

[ geyser] What do you guys call this in Aus?  Boiler?  Water heater?

"Hot water system". Sometimes, perhaps more formally, "water heater". Never "boiler" or "geyser".

12 hours ago, Gnome said:

I'm impressed with your SA lingo

I try to speak the language of where I am visiting, even if virtually.

5 hours ago, Coulomb said:

 

18 hours ago, Gnome said:

[ geyser] What do you guys call this in Aus?  Boiler?  Water heater?

"Hot water system". Sometimes, perhaps more formally, "water heater". Never "boiler" or "geyser".

 

Couple of years back I wanted to do the “groot trek” to Australia. But their English testing system “EILTS” caught me out and proved that I cannot speak English, My boere English was just not good enough for Australia as I done the test almost a dozen times and all my results came back “FAIL” I since realized English is not  always English.🤣

5 hours ago, Gerrie said:

I since realized English is not  always English.

Too right, mate!  🤠