11 hours ago, IcePick1957 said:

But if you compare the 2 PDF files, under the paths in step 5 to 6 you will notice the one displays this version 20.59 in the path.

Yes. But they both do, as far as I can tell.

Maybe my browser's cache is playing games with me.

11 hours ago, IcePick1957 said:

So, hope you are ok with it.

Of course. I don't want people getting the wrong file.

@Coulomb  👌

 

Hi all, first post here. I'm from Spain, so sorry if for my poor english.

 

I'm an early owner of an Axpert VMIII-5k-48v, with firmware 20.58 (stock); I've readed almost the entire forum, but I'm still not sure if it's possible to upgrade to 4x.xx series firmware, since mine is an unit from the first production batches (3 years old now). The manual says that Pylon compatibility will be deployed with future firmware, and I run on Pylons since first day using ICC to control them. I've checked all the hints to verify that is an original Axpert, not a clone, and it seems that it's original. Anyone can clarify me about the possibilities of upgrading firmware without worries, without the danger of my wife hitting my head 'cause there's no electricity at home?

 

Thank you all and excuse my english.

@bellotaman Refer to this link: 

 It contains the correct file for Axpert VM III models, mostly for the 5k 48 volt models. But still do it at your own risk as I did not test it on 5k models. (I don't own one)

As you can see from the discussion on this topic.

@ Everyone Else..      Can somebody who tested it on VMIII 5k 48Volt model please advise if it works?

 

Note that my upload is of unknown status; I've checked it multiple times, but @IcePick1957 says my upload has a different firmware in there. His upload, which works for him, is soon after mine.

6 hours ago, bellotaman said:

Anyone can clarify me about the possibilities of upgrading firmware without worries, without the danger of my wife hitting my head 'cause there's no electricity at home?

Voltronic engineers could answer that sort of question, but they won't.

Superficially, the firmware series (20.xx and 41.xx) seem very similar, but it would take hours of checking, and even then I could not be sure.

Voltronic can be quite random with their version numbers, but usually a new major version number means a major change in firmware. So personally I would not risk it. I can confirm that the model checking appears to be identical, but there are so many other things that could go wrong.

Search for Firmware for Axpert VM III version Ver 20.59 or 20.57, are you available, please help me

1 hour ago, Khaled alfasih said:

Search for Firmware for Axpert VM III version Ver 20.59 or 20.57, are you available, please help me

If you are looking to download Axpert VM III firmware version 20.59, it's available via the link in this post:

Can I ask why you want this older firmware? Did you try 41.17 and find it didn't work perhaps?

 

On 1‏/4‏/2022 at 11:28, Coulomb said:

إذا كنت تبحث عن تنزيل إصدار البرنامج الثابت 20.59 من Axpert VM III ، فهو متاح عبر الرابط في هذا المنشور:

هل يمكنني أن أسأل لماذا تريد هذه البرامج الثابتة الأقدم؟ هل جربت 41.17 ووجدت أنه ربما لا يعمل؟

 

I used 41.17 and 91.20 and the problem is not solved for me
The problem is as follows:
1- When disconnecting the batteries while the vm3 5kv is working, the device does not show any alert to disconnect the batteries
2- I have 9 Jenko type 460w solar panels and the device seems to me that it uses batteries from 1-5 A
3- The funny thing is that when the batteries are disconnected, the device still appears to me that it is using batteries within the previous values, knowing that my consumption does not exceed 1000W

14 hours ago, Khaled alfasih said:

1- When disconnecting the batteries while the vm3 5kv is working, the device does not show any alert to disconnect the batteries

My understanding is that these models that are allowed to be run "batteryless" should never have the battery disconnected while running. It's OK if the inverter detects the lack of battery at power-up (using AC-in or solar power), but once a battery is detected, they assume it's always there. So there will be no notification that the battery has suddenly been disconnected.

14 hours ago, Khaled alfasih said:

2- I have 9 Jenko type 460w solar panels and the device seems to me that it uses batteries from 1-5 A

Those panels appear to have a Voc of 51.7 V; 51.7 x 9 = 465 V; add 7% for 0°C winter mornings and it comes to 498 V. That's running really close to the rated maximum voltage. It should be just barely OK in most conditions, though.

14 hours ago, Khaled alfasih said:

3- The funny thing is that when the batteries are disconnected, the device still appears to me that it is using batteries within the previous values, knowing that my consumption does not exceed 1000W

As mentioned above, the firmware likely assumes that the battery is still there, making calculations based on that assumption. Some of the "measurements" are actually estimated, such as AC-in power and battery current, based on various assumptions. If you invalidate those assumptions, some of the reported values are going to be wrong.

axpert vm iii supports work without connecting batteries

14 hours ago, Khaled alfasih said:

axpert vm iii supports work without connecting batteries

Yes, but I believe not disconnecting the battery after power-up.

Hi everyone new to this site. I am in Catalonia, and need your sage advice.

 

I have a VMIII 3k-24 and I am starting to see issues.

In the evening when no longer receiving PV the unit switches to Utility (on setting SUB or SBA). OK.

However (after 3-5 minutes) there is a buzzing sound from the unit, and it appears to use more Amps than load output.

I have the unit set to OSO, so this energy is not going to the batteries (and not indicated as charging).

So I planned to reset the unit to factory settings, but I do not see the option in the manual.

(With the Android App I can Restore to defaults, but not all settings are reset).

 

I was thinking I need to update firmware, but wanted to keep this as a last resort.

 

3 hours ago, Stal said:

However (after 3-5 minutes) there is a buzzing sound from the unit, and it appears to use more Amps than load output.

Do you mean it draws more current from AC-in than would be needed to support the AC-out load?

Are you taking power factor into account? For example, if you have a 920 W motor load, it might be at a power factor of 0.8, so 920 W but 1150 VA. The AC-out current will be 1150/230 = 5 A, not 920/230 = 4 A. Usually you will have a mix of inductive loads (e.g. fridges) and resistive loads (heaters, incandescent lights, etc). So to calculate the AC-out current, you need to use the apparent power in VA, not the real power in W. Fortunately, the inverter reports both apparent and real power, both on the display, and via RS-232 commands, on monitoring software.

As for the buzzing sound, I don't know what it is caused by. Some loads with awful power factors (e.g. hair dryers on half heat) seem to upset inverters, causing flickering lights, and perhaps also that buzzing.

Super thanks Coulomb for the reply.

I have a rail meter on AC input, and another for Inverter output in Amps (* see photo where it is working correctly [red is output]).

I can have 3.6 Amps going in from the Mains (Utility) and maybe drawing only 0.7 Amps as output (almost everything in the house off).

Whilst this happens it sounds like, a 'seized motor' drawing power, in the VMIII inverter box. When I restore to default with the App it stops (the buzzing sound) for 3-5 mins before restarting.

Really strange sound. I can only imagine it is a relay that is defective (don't imagine there is any form of motor inside).

Otherwise the 'box' works well, especially when there is PV input.

 

I tried disconnecting the 24v batteries, but as mentioned above, it now complains that there are no batteries attached.

If I could reset (back to factory), maybe I can clear the fault. As I don't recall the afore mentioned sound in the first month of use.

I am resisting every urge to open and investigate 😉

 

 

 

 

Edited June 13, 20224 yr by Stal
Large image, reducing dimensions then upload

20 hours ago, Stal said:

I can have 3.6 Amps going in from the Mains (Utility) and maybe drawing only 0.7 Amps as output (almost everything in the house off).

Subtracting the load current, that's some 2.9 A difference. If that current was in phase with the voltage, then that's over 650 W of power being "lost". I would think something would be burning hot if that was the case.

The main reactance in the inverter is the LC filter. Considering just the capacitor part of that for now, in the PF0.8 5 kVA models it's 20 μF, for a capacitive reactance at 50 Hz of j160 Ω, or a current of about j1.4 A. That accounts for about half of the current, though the LC filter is probably a little smaller in a 3 kW model. The inductance can only reduce the current drawn by the filter.  Idle power draw and switching losses with a small load will only count for about a quarter of one amp.

With respect to the sound, I can only imagine that it's when the inverter is in parallel with the utility, so that power is being balanced between utility and inverter. Shift the phase one way, and the inverter pushes power into the mains/load. Shift the phase the other way, and the inverter draws current from the utility to the bus, which must be draining it into the battery. When this is happening, there are currents fluctuating through various magnetics. Magnetostriction can cause the magnetic materials to move slightly, and this can cause a sound. The fundamental frequency will be 50 Hz, but there will be plenty of raspiness to the sound because of the switching frequency.

I don't believe that a "factory reset" is possible, nor that it will solve your problems. You really don't want to lose all your calibration values. Probably only the factory can set all those.

In summary, I can account for less than half of the observed current difference. So something odd is going on there, but I really don't know what it might be. Sorry.

Thanks Coulomb for your detailed analysis. 

I was hoping there might be a way to reset by linking to the PC, or by updating the firmware.

I will disconnect it for a few days, and read up on these VMIII units for options.

 

It would have been nice to try again without the 2x 205Ah Flooded batteries I have here,

...but now it detects their absence and fails to use the PV input.

Maybe like a car ECU, if I leave it disconnected for a few days it will reset all settings. My only play left.

 

Cheers for the advice.

 

4 hours ago, Coulomb said:

Subtracting the load current, that's some 2.9 A difference. If that current was in phase with the voltage, then that's over 650 W of power being "lost". I would think something would be burning hot if that was the case.

The main reactance in the inverter is the LC filter. Considering just the capacitor part of that for now, in the PF0.8 5 kVA models it's 20 μF, for a capacitive reactance at 50 Hz of j160 Ω, or a current of about j1.4 A. That accounts for about half of the current, though the LC filter is probably a little smaller in a 3 kW model. The inductance can only reduce the current drawn by the filter.  Idle power draw and switching losses with a small load will only count for about a quarter of one amp.

With respect to the sound, I can only imagine that it's when the inverter is in parallel with the utility, so that power is being balanced between utility and inverter. Shift the phase one way, and the inverter pushes power into the mains/load. Shift the phase the other way, and the inverter draws current from the utility to the bus, which must be draining it into the battery. When this is happening, there are currents fluctuating through various magnetics. Magnetostriction can cause the magnetic materials to move slightly, and this can cause a sound. The fundamental frequency will be 50 Hz, but there will be plenty of raspiness to the sound because of the switching frequency.

I don't believe that a "factory reset" is possible, nor that it will solve your problems. You really don't want to lose all your calibration values. Probably only the factory can set all those.

In summary, I can account for less than half of the observed current difference. So something odd is going on there, but I really don't know what it might be. Sorry.

Hi Coulomb , I remember many months ago when I had my MKSIII on bench , I typically measured in access of 4A  reactive current , where as the real power at that time was only about 150 Watts or so .  That's when I decided not to use standalone clamp meter as  a measure for measuring input power , it is highly misleading .   I verified this on two-channel digital scope , and the phase angle was  big , how much and in which quadrant , I cannot recall.

 

Kind Regards

Edited June 14, 20224 yr by BritishRacingGreen
Extra info

For what its worth. Just wanted to mention I managed to upgrade my RCT/Axpert VMIII 24v 3kva to 41.17 from version 41.03 of the firmware.
Mental note:  Do not try and upgrade using a Mac with a Windows VM.  It somehow messes with the file.  I ended up with a error/warning 32 had a bit of panic initially.
Eventually went to go dig out a Windoze Laptop started the flash process again took about 10 minutes give or take and everything was fine after that.  Next step still have to do the remote display firmware.  Thanks for all the feedback and info on this forum. It came in super handy.

Edited September 19, 20223 yr by vodor

Hi All 

Just a quick question, after all the shenanigans I went through to get the version update working my MCU is still not on the latest version 2.6. (or newer) 

What are the benefits of the latest version? 

I am running a pure back up (anti Loadshedding) solution on a VM3 5KVA connected to a 5.12 Shoto Rack mounted battery.  (No panels) 

Everything works well except there is no BMS communication between the Inverter and the battery and I am running it on USE Setting  (setting 5) and voltage management. 

So the argument is, if it ain't broke why fix it, but if there is some updates to allow for communication between the 2 that would maybe convince me to break it (again)

Thanks

1 hour ago, javadog said:

What are the benefits of the latest version? 

It's hard to say, since Voltronic don't publish change logs.

But I can tell you that while there is code supporting battery type SH (SHoto), this item is still skipped in the latest firmware (02.81). It's the last one still skipped in this manner; other protocols have managed to drop off the "skipped list".

So it would seem that there is little to no benefit for you at this stage.

Thanks, I will then not break everything again and wait till they add the Shoto's to the non skipped list. 

On 2021/06/08 at 3:09 PM, eHunterADJ said:

I can say that I successfully flashed this firmware on to my VMIII 24v - and all went well. (flashed via USB)

It did prefer a proper restart as ICC didnt communicate properly with some settings but after the inverter restart, that was fine also.

I was hoping to flash MCU 02.61 also, but seems you must do that via a COM / RS232 interface, so will acquire that and perform the flash at a later stage.

How did you get the firmware?

1 minute ago, SST said:

How did you get the firmware?

 

I think you can find it here @Coulomb posted all the info 

 

2 hours ago, SST said:

How did you get the firmware?

Thanks.

I'll note that 72.40 is NOT suitable for VM IIIs (the subject of this topic). It's possible to brick your inverter if you attempt to reflash with the wrong firmware.

There are many firmwares uploaded to the files section of this forum; please read the notes carefully, to ensure that you have the correct firmware for your particular model.

Edited June 6, 20233 yr by Coulomb