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Dirkie Crous

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On 2020/09/10 at 12:01 PM, Dirkie Crous said:

Switch of inverter and batteries as a test.  Everything is working as if no solar was installed and meter is still counting.  Is it a wiring problem etc??

Please advise.

No offence and I probably will not have your answer.. but I suggest make your posts/info a bit clearer (less telegram style writing). The quoted underlined sentence for instance to my mind is exactly what could be expected to happen but may not be what you meant (if you switch off the inverter then eskom is powering everything so the meter should be counting). Also make it clearer what "got solar geyser" means (PV/solar panels providing electrcity to geyser element...or tubes heated by the sun?). What type of geyserwise (there are at least 3 three diffferent variants at my last count) and what are the actual settings (is it IMPOSSIBLE that the geyser gets powered by eskom 3-o-clock in the morning?).

Are you 100% sure the inverter does not switch to line mode during the night - and how do you know this without monitoring software? (the 60% SOC lights on the battery do not guarantee the battery was not charged by utility during the night...).

Looking at @Coulomb's info here (FAQ no 2) it seems possible that with everything connected you could have a bit of voltage sag if many things switch on at once (and depending if for instance the geyser would draw power while a pool pump comes on) which it seems will put the inverter back to line mode. Maybe the pool pump causes a temporary overload of the inverter when starting up (also seems like such an event might trigger "back to utility")?

You will systematically have to start with 100% certainty eliminating options. If you can obseve your meter while it is consuming units when you think it should not, have someone else start switching of circuits in the DB one by one until you see the meter stop (communicate via whatsapp/walkie talkie or something so you KNOW what circuit stopped the meter counting/spinning.  Two more exoctic options are that something in your house wiring is not connected to the inverter as you think... or weirdest option is that something in your house is in some way wired from before you electricity meter and when the inverter/solar is powering stuff you are feeding some electricty into your own meter - think it is unlikely with the Axpert types that they will feedback on the AC input side). Last option I can think of is that the meter is caput and you have been overcharged for some time...

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12 minutes ago, Dirkie Crous said:

The change over switch was on ESCOM/ utility position and not on inverter position. This was done when the second battery was added to the system and not chanced back to inverter after installation. Working fine as it should.  Sorry for creating a big issue for a simple switch position.

Definitely and absolutely no apology needed. 🙂 (hope my post/s did not imply any nuisance value of your questions). Thanks for reporting back - I will guarantee you that you are not the first and definitely not the last person to go through this but at least your posts will help someone else to track down their problem 

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  • 4 months later...
On 2020/07/17 at 2:38 PM, Dirkie Crous said:

Afternoon,

Current installation:  5KVA 48V inverter.  2 x 2.4KWH Pylontech batteries connected to 4 x 330W panels and 4 x 340W panels.  Works very well.  Want to get the maximum of the solar power available.  After sunset it stays on battery power for while and switch to utility.  The SOC lights shows four still on (66%). According to Pylontech the batteries can be discharge to 20%.  Which inverter settings need to be change to achieve this?

Regards,

Dirkie Crous

Good Afternoon,

Want to add a third 2.4 Kw/h battery to my current system.  Do we need to change any settings on the inverter?

Please advise

Regards,

Dirkie Crous

 

 

 

 

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On 2021/02/02 at 8:18 PM, Dirkie Crous said:

Which inverter settings need to be change to achieve this?

Time to trot out my criss cross diagram again, I think. Maybe I could do a neat version one day?

1381630251_PylonTechsettings.png.ac8708c84159a049bc412b67c06d6880.png

Quote

Want to add a third 2.4 Kw/h battery to my current system.  Do we need to change any settings on the inverter?

Just the maximum charge current (setting 02), to 70 or perhaps 80 A.

 

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  • 1 year later...

Morning.

Current system, 8- 340W panels, 3 - 2.4Kwh Pilontech batteries.  Inverter settings:  01- SBU.  02- 70A.  03 - UPS.  04 - SDS.  05 - USE.  06 - LRD.  07. - TRD.  09 - 50Hz.  11- -20A.  12. - 47V.  13 - 50V.  16 - OSO.  18. - BOF.  19. - ESP.  20. - LON.  22. - AOF.  23 - BYE.  25. - FEN.  26. - 53.2V.  27. - 51.2V  29. - 45.7V.  31. - SBE.

Add four 340W panels and one 2.4Kwh battery to the system.  What settings need to be Change to accommodate this upgrade?

Please advise.

Regards

Dirkie Crous

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5 hours ago, Dirkie Crous said:

Morning.

Current system, 8- 340W panels, 3 - 2.4Kwh Pilontech batteries.  Inverter settings:  01- SBU.  02- 70A.  03 - UPS.  04 - SDS.  05 - USE.  06 - LRD.  07. - TRD.  09 - 50Hz.  11- -20A.  12. - 47V.  13 - 50V.  16 - OSO.  18. - BOF.  19. - ESP.  20. - LON.  22. - AOF.  23 - BYE.  25. - FEN.  26. - 53.2V.  27. - 51.2V  29. - 45.7V.  31. - SBE.

Add four 340W panels and one 2.4Kwh battery to the system.  What settings need to be Change to accommodate this upgrade?

Please advise.

Regards

Dirkie Crous

 

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  • 4 months later...

Afternoon,

Current system: 8-330W panels, 4-340W panels. four 2.4Kwh Pilontech batteries. 5Kva inverter.  Inverter settings: 01- SBU  02- 80A  03- UPS  04- SDS  05-USE  06-LRD  07- TRD  09- 50Hz  11- 30A  12- 47V  13- 49V  16- OSO  18- BOF  19- ESP  20- LON  22- AOF  23- BYE  25- FEN  26- 52.5V  27- 51.8V  29- 45V  31- SBE 

The system work very well.  The last couple of days the Pv panels disconnect in the afternoon with still full son.  The next morning the connect again.

Please advise the possible cause of this.

Many thanks

Dirkie Crous

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