Hi Guys

I'm tired of load shedding and would like to 'keep the lights on'. I know very little about this so I am looking for advice. I'm looking at the Mecer axperts but I am confused despite reading many of the posts on this topic. I feel like I have the following options in my price range:

1. Axpert mks ii 5k

2. Axpert mks 5k

3. Axpert King 5k

I want to start of with a 4.4 LIPO4 battery and then expand in the future with solar panels. Please can someone advise me on the above options.

Thanks

Axpert King IMO with 2 x 3.5 Pylontechs to start with 

I've used them all and King works the best IMO

Edited March 18, 20205 yr by Quat Allah As Shams

Thanks appreciate the quick response. 

What are the advantages of the King over the MKS?

Blending of Solar,Batteries and Grid

Where are you based ?

Edited March 19, 20205 yr by Quat Allah As Shams

Cape Town

Than you might want to look at NRS approved inverter 

http://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/Forms, notices, tariffs and lists/Approved Photovoltaic (PV) Inverter List.pdf

Disadvantage of King is you can't run multiple units in parallel, so if you buy 5kW then that is your max with no option to upgrade.  If you run the MKS II then you can parallel lots of them, but you don't have solar and grid blending as mentioned.  What does that mean exactly?  When solar + battery isn't enough to power your loads then the grid will fully power the load while the solar charges the battery. Another scenario is let's say you run geysers in the middle of the day and during that time you want to augment solar with grid instead of battery to put less strain on battery: can't do that with MKS II.

@Quat Allah As Shams Thanks. I'm not keen on grid tie at the moment. The cost is just too high and not viable.

@pierre. Interesting point. 5kw will be my max but the benefit of the blending seems more attractive as long as I am satisfied with 5kw.

Appreciate the advice guys. Do any of you have experience with any of the following online stores?

• sustainable-energy-solutions.co.za, 
• solaradvice.co.za, 
• thepowerstore.co.za, 
• enway.co.za, 
• bonanzatech.co.za, 
• mhn.co.za, 
• gwstore.co.za

8 hours ago, pierre. said:

King is you can't run multiple units in parallel

Not true see manual below of kodak king as an example

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1776/7837/files/OG_Plus_Installation_Manual.pdf?1075

@pierre.Please check facts before posting or advising

Edited March 20, 20205 yr by Quat Allah As Shams

Any difference between the Kodak and Mecer kings?

Same machine from same factory only different as far I as know

Edited March 20, 20205 yr by Quat Allah As Shams

Dealt with Bonanzatech, owner Alberto quite pleasant to deal with. I bought a VM iii, it also has the SUB function, which is supposed to blend, have not hooked mine up yet, so cannot confirm, but a lot of discussion on the forum

Thanks. I ordered from mhn.co.za. Will give feedback when I receive it.

On 2020/03/20 at 5:33 AM, Quat Allah As Shams said:

Not true see manual below of kodak king as an example

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1776/7837/files/OG_Plus_Installation_Manual.pdf?1075

@pierre.Please check facts before posting or advising

Just checked and saw it's the VMIII that doesn't have parallel operation. My bad.

Looking at the King manual I guess one disadvantage of King is a solar voltage is 60VDC~115VDC while MKS II is 120VDC~430VDC.  So with the king you will wire more panels in parallel.

I just installed my system with MKS 5K, 9 330 W Canadian panels and 9.6 kWh battery. It works well so far and is very versatile. It's advantage is that it can operate with a remote control panel. I'm still in the tuning phase but I think I got it. It can be used with solar panels or just as a powerful UPS. Just a matter of programming it but very easy.

The advantage of the higher solar panel voltage is to keep the current low. I arranged 3 banks of 3 panels in series each. That makes a max voltage of 112 V and a max total current of 26.6 A. That can be handled with 6 mm² wire.

For those still following this and new comers... The above statement of the Kings not being able to run in parallel is incorrect and they definitely can (not only the Kodak units version). The newer builds also come with the parallel cards pre fitted.

The main advantage of the King is a zero millisecond transfer time which is great for sensitive equipment (CCTV, Servers, Networking equipment, etc)

As mentioned above, the dis-advantage over the MKS is the PV voltage which results in running fewer panels in series but more in parallel 

 

On 2020/03/19 at 10:54 AM, Quwatush Shams (Suly) said:

Blending of Solar,Batteries and Grid

Many say the axperts can't as they are not real hybrid inverters. I couldn't find any specs or infos in the manual nor manufacturer contact information to ask.

Where can I confirm that information for the Axpert King inverters? I am using it for load shedding and want to expand with solar.

18 minutes ago, capkasa said:

Where can I confirm that information for the Axpert King inverters? I am using it for load shedding and want to expand with solar.

The Kings certainly can - I run 3 of them.  It is a double-conversion device, which means all incoming power (PV and grid) get converted to DC, and all loads are powered from that DC (and the battery) via the inverter.  Some people get confused about the difference between grid-tied and hybrid - the King is hybrid but not grid tied.

On 2020/03/21 at 11:20 PM, pierre. said:

Looking at the King manual I guess one disadvantage of King is a solar voltage is 60VDC~115VDC while MKS II is 120VDC~430VDC.  So with the king you will wire more panels in parallel.

So it needs more strings in a combiner I guess?

5 hours ago, capkasa said:

So it needs more strings in a combiner I guess?

Yes and I run one as well

Axpert King 5k For the WIN!

The Axpert VM III can blend solar and utility and has a solar array max voltage of 450 v