I have a Geyserwise TSE on my electric geyser.  It is about 8 months old. It has lately started showing some funny times. After I had it on holiday mode the other day, the time showed 46:27 when I turned it back on. And this morning at 08:12 its time was showing as 05:23, even though it was not turned off or on holiday mode through the night.

 

Before this it was keeping time quite well, even during power outages.

 

Does anyone know whether the Geyserwise has a replacable battery to enable it to keep time when the power is off? Or should I just return it as it is still under warranty?

Mine actually loses time like a few minutes a month, so after every 2-3 months I have to set the time again...Maybe the internal battery needs replacing (I hope!)

I have opened it up and it takes a CR1225 3V button cell.

Thank you, was it difficult to open, mine is stuck to the wall..

1 hour ago, FixAMess said:

Thank you, was it difficult to open, mine is stuck to the wall..

It was quite easy. You don't need to remove it from the wall. There are 2 screws on the front, hidden behind plastic plugs. I removed the plugs with sticky tape, and opened up the front part of the enclosure. Then the circuit board is attached to the rear part of the enclosure with 4 screws. The cable can be unplugged from the circuit board. The battery was a very tight fit to get out and in. I suspect that the battery holder that is attached to the circuit board might have been designed for a CR1220 instead of a CR1225. The only difference is that the CR1220 is 2mm thick while the CR1225 is 2.5mm thick. I got a CR1225 from Builders Warehouse for R30. Makro and Chamberlain only had CR1220's.

Hi. Thanks for advice of replacing internal battery.  I replaced my panel battery with a 3v cr1220 yesterday but afer another spell of loadshed the panel once again displays weird times on clock i.e. 51:20.

Any further suggestions as to what can be done

Maybe replacing it with a CR1220 instead of a CR1225 caused a loose fit with poor contact?

Does replacing the battery resolve the issue of the time going off sync?
The time on the Geyserwise Panel is now off/behind by about 40 mins.

A little off-topic, although I have been wondering about the relationaship bewtween the TSE1 display and the controller. I understand that for PV heating of the geyser one needs the Solar Eco MPPT. This MPPT gets its input from either the secondary (P2) or primary (P1) PCB ports (3 cables, Display+Thermo+Signal to MPPT) of the controller. I assume, the signal is the same used for the pump, being triggered with the Thermo signal and the programming open the circuit. The TSE1 controller takes 220V AC converting some of this via a transformer to 5V (first stage approx. 9V), I seem to recall. But, there is no backup power for the TSE1 controller, afaik. Is this correct? Any solutions for backup pwr to the TSE1?

The Gyserwise Max, I understand, has a backup power solution for the controller and pump system. But, I recall being informed that it does not control PV power like the ECO MPPT. Correct?

TSE1 problem 1: For a non-ECO MPPT battery charger (or other brand). Running a controller P1 signal cable to a 3-5V DC relay mounted to the DCB could be all that is needed to turn PV pwr on/off per the controller programming. Comments?

TSE2 problem 2: Backup power to the controller. I notice the use of PCB transistors and mosfets. Assuming their is no feedback current after the voltage drop to 5V. Could mounting a rechargeable NiMH PCB (9V in, 5V out) in parallel not resolve this issue? Better still, disrupt the voltage drop to 5V, and have it supplied solely by the NiMH PCB?

Finally, I have noticed that there are a few direct PV to Geyser MPPT controllers (no battery charger) which do what one wants without installing a PTC AC/DC element. They work with standard geyser hardware. Firstly, the one I read about, uses PV DC to AC "modified sine" viz. it is a hybrid of either MPPT (or PWM) with a modified sine inverter. Secondly, it is more expensive for a dedicated solution which might not be justifiable because modified sine inverters are cheaper to manufacture than pure sine. Thirdly, resistive loads and inductive loads afaik work differently. The current to the inductive load gets less as temp increases, therefore safer should there be a thermostat failure in the closed state. Fourth, you could achieve the same control with PV to a 20-70V DC 1800W buck booster PCB to PTC DC element, some relays and a DC digital timer (if you must).

Concerning the fourth point, I will be doing this and using the Geyserrwise TSE1 to disrupt PV power via a relay (perhaps arduino). There is also a wifi upgrade to the TSE1 display now. The alternative would be to install the Geyserwise ECO MPPT.

If you have wrestled with similar problems and found solutions or difficulties, pls post.