Max array and max batt ah

[Guest]

Was waiting for this ... :-)

@plonkster, have you thought of the flip side of my comment ... maybe it is also THE best inverter to learn from why it is not your 2nd inverter. 

Paul is prepped and Edmund is leading the way so lets wait for @edmundp to give his opinion as he used the Axpert for a year, developed software for it, understands electronics and how to fix them properly as the 350VA Victron is still running like a dream. 

[___]

1 minute ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

have you thought of the flip side of my comment ... maybe it is also THE best inverter to learn from why it is not your 2nd inverter. 

Sometimes I wish we had more of a range. This is like having only a Tata and a Mercedes Benz in the race... :-) Honestly, are these the only off-grid options?

Well, there is the Microcare inverter in the middle, but technically that is also a Hybrid.

If you go to sonopsolar and look in the off-grid bracket, they only have Voltronic and Victron. Go to sustainable (we go there ONLY to look at things, we never buy from them!) and do the same, that adds Omnipower, Cotek and Meanwell. I heard good things about Meanwell, but all these inverters lack the charger/transfer switch feature. Go to Current Automation, and that adds Outback, Delta and SMA, which are also high-end contenders and not a fair contender for the Axpert.

So I think the problem is really that there aren't that many options in this space. The Victron is really the only one that can -- with some programming -- do the same as the Axpert. Of course it can do so much more than just that (which is half of what we argue about mostly), but then we're down to cost again.

Horses for courses I guess.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, plonkster said:

Sometimes I wish we had more of a range.

It is the forum's dynamic. At least we are adding value, more choices. 

[___]

40 minutes ago, PaulF007 said:

Keep in mind that I bought mine used

Lol, well in used form I would ALSO buy it. Easy peasy. Under R2/watt, that's a good deal for a pure sine wave inverter :-)

41 minutes ago, PaulF007 said:

The problem arises if you buy a Axepert with your last cash with the hope that it will last you 10 Years and if it doesn't you are screwed then you will run into problem quite simply because your approach is wrong.

It might very well last that long. I don't expect it to based on the conventional wisdom of things too good to be true... but I have been wrong before :-)

43 minutes ago, PaulF007 said:

Jy kan nie a Toyota gaan loop koop met n Tatta se geld nie but the Tatta will also get you there  ....

Inderdaad. Maar as ek kar koop wil ek 'n halfmiljoen kilos doen voor hy breek... en dan wil ek hom nog kan verkoop aan die volgende ou :-)

[PaulF007]

1 minute ago, plonkster said:

Inderdaad. Maar as ek kar koop wil ek 'n halfmiljoen kilos doen voor hy breek... en dan wil ek hom nog kan verkoop aan die volgende ou :-)

En dan het jy ook GOEIE GELDJIEs vir hom betaal - 

[viper_za]

57 minutes ago, PaulF007 said:

If you chat to a guy like @edmundp you come to realize the short comings of these units and that you need to adapt to compensate  

I would love to know what all of these are, SOC is the best known

[Guest]

1 minute ago, viper_za said:

I would love to know what all of these are, SOC is the best known

But are you going to be open and listen to his feedback? 

[viper_za]

1 minute ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

But are you going to be open and listen to his feedback? 

Why not, he's got the facts does he not?

[___]

6 minutes ago, viper_za said:

I would love to know what all of these are, SOC is the best known

I believe the other things have to do with the MPPT tracking and adjusting faster, which gives you slightly better solar yield, and it means that when the load drops (the kettle turns off) the MPPT backs off sooner (instead of pushing the batteries over 63V and popping your caps :-P ). Those are the rumours. Also curious to learn what he found.

My Ziehl UFR1001e and the current sensor will probably land tomorrow... then my journey to hybrid-dom starts too.

[___]

24 minutes ago, PaulF007 said:

En dan het jy ook GOEIE GELDJIEs vir hom betaal - 

Dis die moeilikheid, ek moet my Toyotas maar tweedehands koop. En selfs dan is die goed maar duur. Maar heng, hulle gee net nie moeilikheid nie.

[viper_za]

3 minutes ago, plonkster said:

I believe the other things have to do with the MPPT tracking and adjusting faster, which gives you slightly better solar yield, and it means that when the load drops (the kettle turns off) the MPPT backs off sooner (instead of pushing the batteries over 63V and popping your caps :-P ). Those are the rumours. Also curious to learn what he found.

My Ziehl UFR1001e and the current sensor will probably land tomorrow... then my journey to hybrid-dom starts too.

Saw these yes, Would just love to know how it was calculated

[___]

1 minute ago, viper_za said:

Saw these yes, Would just love to know how it was calculated

I suspect it was done by visually watching the voltage gauge, and looking at the Kwh counter at the end of the day. But we'll have to wait :-)

[PaulF007]

1 minute ago, plonkster said:

Dis die moeilikheid, ek moet my Toyotas maar tweedehands koop. En selfs dan is die goed maar duur. Maar heng, hulle gee net nie moeilikheid nie.

I am a BIG fan of 2nd hand let the pioneers go and buy new , I still maintain the best car you can own is the one that is paid off ....

Are we now off topic . @The Terrible Triplett what was your question again? 

 

[viper_za]

2 minutes ago, plonkster said:

I suspect it was done by visually watching the voltage gauge, and looking at the Kwh counter at the end of the day. But we'll have to wait :-)

bit-bang

[___]

5 minutes ago, PaulF007 said:

maintain the best car you can own is the one that is paid off

True, but it assumes something: That a paid-off car has the lowest TCO (total cost of ownership). This is usually true. It's not necessarily true in the mid- to long term for luxury German saloons. It is quite possible that the interest on the loan for that Corolla will cost less than the repairs on your BMW :-) True story: I swapped a 3-series for a Corolla for that exact reason. Of course, it was a Shrek+Donkey moment of knowing which end of the bridge is safe, having owned a Corolla before and never having a single day's trouble with it.

Edit: Of course I now own a Corolla that is paid off. Now that is the best place to be :-)

[Guest]

And I own a Corolla, Isuzu and Victron and all is paid off.  EDIT: An no problem from any one of them.

No questions left. Thread has been thoroughly diverted to cars again. (rofl)

[___]

Just now, The Terrible Triplett said:

all is paid off

I would NOT mind getting a decent green loan to buy a nice inverter setup. But banks want to charge you personal loan rates. Hopefully that will change. I know people who already tried this route, but looks like its time hasn't arrived yet.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, plonkster said:

I would NOT mind getting a decent green loan to buy a nice inverter setup. But banks want to charge you personal loan rates. Hopefully that will change. I know people who already tried this route, but looks like its time hasn't arrived yet.

Plus one for that. Found same problem.

[viper_za]

1 hour ago, viper_za said:

Saw these yes, Would just love to know how it was calculated

@The Terrible Triplett and @edmundp when can we expect a new thread with this info?

[Guest]

Edmund

6 minutes ago, viper_za said:

... when can we expect a new thread with this info?

Edmund is preparing his feedback.

[viper_za]

6 minutes ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

Edmund

Edmund is preparing his feedback.

Great, hope we don't have to wait as long as the other thing he mentioned showing us 

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, viper_za said:

Great, hope we don't have to wait as long as the other thing he mentioned showing us 

Nope, for I am the one waiting this time. 

[SilverNodashi]

4 hours ago, PaulF007 said:

 

Jy kan nie a Toyota gaan loop koop met n Tatta se geld nie but the Tatta will also get you there  ....

Maar `n Tata met `n Toyota motor ry tog soooo lekker. Lexus is mos Toyota, is dit nie?

 

P.S. I read to the end, where TTT said we derailed the thread to cars, again, before I made that comment!

[KLEVA]

Yes, we headed off topic, but the principles were kept... When you know how to drive you can afford to drive a Merc/BMW... But when you start out you are most likely driving a second hand beat-up claptrap where your feet act as better brakes through the floorboard rust than the actual brakes on the car!

The Axpert has it's many annoyances, but as a starter solar system it seemed (In my Opinion) to have a much smaller starting perspective cost wise, and a simpler installation. They also seemed pretty decent at handling the wife's abuse, and can still be parallel connected later to expand, at a much smaller cost than the "better" kit.

You do have to remember though, that you are buying a Tata/Lada equivilent, rather than a Merc/BMW. Decent enough to do the job, but requires a bit more attention and hands-on. I have been quite Ok with mine, even with its faults, but those faults would have been unacceptable if I had spent 3 or 4 times the money.

All that aside, the original point of this post was about how to access the input (solar) kW vs Batteries... Go back to one of my Blogs, and you will see that no matter the system (within reason), no matter the panels (within reason), the BATTERIES are the key... Solar power needs to store, and it needs to store for the longest time at the best possible power output... Spend your dosh on Batteries first (and it is expensive to do it right first time, even more expensive if you have to do it right the second or third time after a mistake).

A high capacity storage system can enable you to go off grid, even if you have a TATA, but if you skimp there, then you may only have 1 or 2 hours off-grid when the Sun disappears, no matter how much you feed back to Eksdom/Eishtekwini... If they dead, you will be too.

One of my most reliable systems (even better than my entire house supply) is a 10W solar panel (yes, you read that value right), feeding a massive 102Ah Deep Cycle through a cheap Ellies charger... The draw on the battery per day is incredibly low (admittedly), but I once tried to replace it with a basic 40Ah deep cycle of the same brand and the whole setup collapsed in a few days of no sun... Despite the recommended values for charging currents and the negatives, this is the system that has been feeding my alarm/gates/electric fence/intercom/solar pump for nearly 2 years without amendment (should get a slightly bigger solar panel - like 50-100W according to EVERYONE, but the battery stays fully charged, so haven't messed with it yet in 2 years).

So, my rule (after lessons learned) is batteries, batteries, batteries - The best, the most powerful, and as many as you can afford.

Again, this is my personal experience and there will be other perceptions and answers, from even more experienced members. But I am a firm believer in the idea that something even as basic (and reasonably reliable) as an Axpert with a Bentley/Ferrari battery bank, will give a better system than a Victron/Blue/etc system with a crap battery bank. So if your budget is limited, point your money at batteries first, and get the best you can.

My 2c over.

[Guest]

@KLEVA, just to hear your opinion on the following. Note: Below is ONLY applicable to users that has Eskom.

Point 1: Batts are not cheaper than Eskom.

Point 2: I have seen a few times now where people buy the best batts only to see they got the load wrong, and then there is no money left.
Or they bought too big for as time went by they learned and reduced their load. So monies wasted that could have gone to panels.

Point 3: Axpert has the option to use a large array with small batts. There is no more load shedding and due to Point 1, you are losing money with a large expensive bank.

That is why I suggest do batts last, once you have reduced and learned, for as Plonkster also said, you are going to replace batts.

So do it as cheap as you can in round one, learn by keeping them going, like you did with the 102ah batt, for as long as you possibly can, by reducing your load in the evenings, and stash monies away for that big bank if load shedding returns.

Make sense or am I smoking something?