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I'm very grateful for this forum and for all the smart people on here who have helped me along the way. I'm happy with the way that my solar system turned out, and this website was a huge resource for me when learning enought to pull of the installation myself. Another recent example is with my...

I guessed the problem was that I didn't discharge the batteries very much, so they topped off every morning early, and the MPPT didn't need to produce anything. I didnt realize the MPPT displays only the electricity it harnesses. I'm assuming my theory is correct at this point, because I...

If I get the resolution I'm looking for, I will delete this post. Currently the Victron sales rep for our region and our distributor are gaslighting us. My Victron MPPT stopped working properly about one year ago. This reflected as a battery bank that could not charge to 100%. I didn't know...

TL,DR: Where I live, grid electricity based on our usage would cost us about S/1000 PEN (~$285 USD) per year. A decent solar system, on the other hand, is an investment of S/35,000 PEN – S/50,000 PEN. So we’re looking at anywhere from 35-50 years to recuperate the investment on solar. Solar...

I'm trying to figure out how to put a system together, so the first thing I check is the manual, and here's what I see: As if spending thousands of bucks for your components wasn't enough! Now I need to fork over some more to have a "victron-approved" person connect their laptop to my...

Honestly, for me it's mostly for the badge of honor.

I realize most of that is stated, because the lawyers have their say. My problem is that my distributor's stance is "if you do the installation yourself, we won't honor the warranties." Nowhere was this stated before the purchase over four months ago, but that is what they told me recently when...

I've found my mental health tends to be in a better state when I stand up for myself.

I hear you. Unfortunately, while Victron might be better, I wish it didn't come across as so ostensibly lining the pocketbooks of European executives. It seems their charge controllers are inflexible in their increments, as if everything were some sort of upsell. Most high wattage panels seem to...

At least Thailand is connected to China by ground. Yeah, I'm on the other side of those mountains in the jungle. The market is very under-served here. About half the time I need a product, I just can't find it here. Amazon's been doing free shipping to Peru (and a bunch of other destinations I...

Panels are up! Tomorrow I'm going to start wiring

This is just uncalled for. "World view"?! Imagine that someone could predict someone's worldview based on their knowledge of MPPT specs:unsure: Do you moonlight as a fortune teller. Maybe you're just showing your own colors.

Can you please link to the 4 part grounding guide on the forum? Who is the author of the guide? Mike Holt says grounding rods can actually work against you, because lightning that hits the earth nearby, can travel up the grounding rod and into your components.

So looks like the average is $3 per Watt according to the original post of this thread? Yikes. In Peru the installation is not too expensive, but you get gouged on the products with the 18% sales tax, customs fees, shipping, etc. For a 6.4kwh array-based system, I'm looking at probably spending...

Most days I top out my 14kwh battery bank before 11am. I thought about doing crypto mining, but my internet is abysmal. Any other ideas?

Great response. I've been investigating a little bit, taking off outlets and examining the wiring...opening breaker boxes, etc. I've taken a lot of photos of the different parts of the AC system. It doesn't look good. It's basically like I might as well just pay another electrician to do...

See, this is why it's good to know your stuff as an end-user when dealing with sellers in this industry. Someone like me, would've bought the thing and been none the wiser. At least we can glean some proper info from people like you. Thank you for your service to the community.

OP, please note the tongue-in-cheek nature of this post. The ferrules most likely have nothing to do with the problem I'm having.

I really wish more people responded to your thread. Have you heard any reports of people running these units after 5+ years? I'm on the fence about them myself, as I'm pretty much "on my own" geographically. It would take a long time to get a replacement. And, my battery options are limited to...

Yes it indicates external control. This morning I used my multimeter and took some notes for you. The way the batteries and battery cables are designed, you cannot take a measurement on the front of the units, because all the metal is hidden. Notes: -Touch50/CerboGX under MPPT says battery...

I don't have the money for a well anymore. The fraudster ran off with the money that was for the well. Anyway, what would be better than trying to retrofit their joke of a well, would just be to extend the piping the extra 10 feet to the creek and hooking up a more traditional water pump when...

nvm I found my answer https://community.victronenergy.com/questions/72307/connection-issues-with-mk3-and-laptop.html

I didn't realize that's how most MPPTs were. I'll keep an eye on that 60 cell vs. 72cell. Most of the locally available panels here seem to be 72.

WTF? https://mitsubishi-kyw.co.th/Product/For-Home/Water-Pump/Automatic/769.aspx?NodeID=769&ProductType=5

The system was originally purchased and shipped to us from the distributor in November or December 2020. We did not update the CerboGX firmware until July 2022. That is the current 2.89 version that you're seeing. I'm not sure what version we were operating prior to that update. In any case, we...

Are you talking about a supposed Growatt published list? I just watched a youtube tutorial published by Growatt on the SPF 5000ES unit and they alluded to some compatible batteries list. They didn't link to it though, and nothing came up when I searched. What gives? From what I gather, Growatt...

Okay those are insights I hadn't heard before. I text chatted via whatsapp with the distributor's electrical engineer last night and suggested to him to consider that it might be an issue with the BMS. No. There are no assistants installed. When I spoke to the distributor's EE last night he...

Changed to 1 minute log interval. Limit charge current & Limit managed battery charge voltage are disabled in my system. Not "forced off", just disabled. Although the Pylontech chooses its own limits, but I think you know that already.

This is hilarious! I'm surprised no one even responded to it. LOL at #12

This is what we did. Seems to have worked at least for now. We´re back to being able to get 5-6 liters out of the tap without having the pump kick on.

USA is similar to that. But in these scenarios we're talking about piddly capacity: "up to 160Wh" I'm guessin the international regs are similar as, here in Peru, I can find prices that are not exorbitant when it comes to 6Ah LiFePO4, but then you see no name 12V 100Ah batteries that are $530...

I watched the video recently after seeing this thread here. I enjoyed the movie and thought it was well done. It's not even available on youtube anymore, so that alone is a badge of honor for the film. Nowadays, if something is too hot for Alphabet to handle, then I figure it's worth a look. In...

Peru was probably like this too five years ago. Now, there are companies in the capital that have pre-packaged kits that are mostly AGM and cheaper components, but they also offer high-end components. As you say, "out of reach for regular folks". I'm out in the boonies, and I went with the...

Good resource: https://www.victronenergy.com/live/multiplus_faq?do=export_pdf

For those of us who are still green, what indicates the low surge capacity?

Since I posted my last response, I did a little more research, and what you've just said is the tentative conclusion I came to as well. There are also some lightning protection systems that one can install around whatever you're trying to protect from direct lightning strikes. However, as far...

The term is what? Clipping?

Thanks TechnoDave. We sure could use someone like you in this part of the world. There's not much quality down here.

I'm not in the US.

The crazy thing about the victron company with its blue color scheme and its angle that it is top of the line in off-grid components is their default warranty policy. If your whole angle is to provide technology for off-grid solutions, why would you require your end-user to disconnect their...

I'm in Peru. That's not an unusual way to treat a customer in this country. That said, I am considering exactly what you've suggested. Although I do have a CerboGX with Touch50, I'm not sure if that allows me to configure the multiplus via a smartphone. I was thinking about buying the MK3-USB...

I guess I'll just wait until someone figures out the perpetual motion machine.

Ok, that's what I figured. Thanks for confirming. This is exactly what the plan is. 3 Strings of 4s 400W and 1 string of 4s 410W. These will go to a combiner box with a busbar, 15A fuse for each string, and a 63A DC circuit breaker for the two "combined" wires exiting the box heading to the MPPT.

Last night about 2am, my wife and I woke up, and then heard our dog howling like a wolf. He does that sometimes in response to something that might be going on with our neighbor's dogs. A moment later a loud bang! Something hard hit our corrugated metal roof. And/or our solar panels! The sound...

Hah yeah, I've seen some European websites with units that could probably work down here in Peru. We're 220v and 60Hz here, but I think most of Europe is 230v and 50Hz. I did spend a few hours yesterday looking into the various units on the market. I really wasn't too impressed by any of them...

That's not me. My youtube channel is the same as my username on here. Mostly just videos about our reforestation project.

latitude: ~ -6 degrees; elevation: 950m

I DON'T call BS on this post. Can't think of a good reason why anyone would make up something like this.

yep, they used a bicycle pump here.

??? Am I missing something? Sounds like a contradiction to me? The whole topic of grounding in my situation reminds me of that Mike Holt youtube video I linked to in one of my other threads. My house has steel beams cemented into the earth...Every single component of my system will in some way...

Sure thing. Lately when we opened a faucet slightly so that it emitted a very small stream of water, the pump would kick on and off, on and off a couple times in rapid (split second) succession. It would also sometimes fire up on its own at night while we were asleep. I turned its circuit...

I read another product description for a different pump with this same accessory and now I realize why they use them. Let's say your basement gets flooded. You can place this on the ground and you will be left with a lot less standing water on the basement floor than if you just use the end of...

Very well put. I try to recognize my own self-interests and ask if what I am stating is the truth. I always strive to question myself in the pursuit of that truth. It is frustrating when I'm running towards the truth while watching the other side run further away from the truth. Let's hear your...

That sounds logical. Wouldn't thin, loose strands of copper be subjected to breakage under enough applied pressure? Better to cold weld them together in a ferrule me thinks.

I'm going to post this ongoing solar diary. Please feel free to interrupt at any time to point something out if I'm doing something wrong. It feels like a gauntlet just to get this point. I haven't even started the installation yet, and I have absolutely zero background in electronics. I first...

This. That's exactly what I've been doing. The good thing is the community level support with Victron. I've watched a couple webinars on these things, so slowly figuring it out. Better safe than sorry. I don't think I could afford to buy these components a second time.

What video(s) are you all talking about?! I don't have any videos on Pylontech. I have a couple unlisted youtube videos I made documenting the problem with the MPPT and another video showing the unboxing of the battery returned to us by the distributor following warranty "service" showing that...

I have been working on upgrading my string box for the past couple of days. It has been my first experience with cutting, stripping, and crimping wires. I did the best I could to anticipate all the tools I'd need for the whole installation, and ordered a bunch of stuff on Amazon to have it...

I currently have a victron 250/100 on my system. The unit needs replacement. Was thinking about downsizing until I can get a replacement 250/100. PV array is 4s4p. Highest PV voltage I've ever seen is 190V. Unfortunately, I think the PV array is the limiting factor here. Since each string is...

Look no further than Mousetrap Mondays. This is the best youtube channel I've found on the subject. This guy is the real deal. Did you know that most mousetrap videos on youtube that have hundreds of thousands, or millions of views are using captive animals that have not been fed for long...

What is the lowest gauge wire that can fit into the "screw terminal"?

Are there any out there on the market? I'm looking for a plug and play option that fits the bill...Ideally something that has over 1200wh....

We purposely left one section of interior wall incomplete in our house. Just a couple weeks ago, we had the welders come out in order to customize a structure to our specifications. I had to draw everything to scale, and fiddle around for quite a bit on graph paper, due to the limitations of the...

You're a good person for me to talk to then. I have no problem paying 2-3 grand more for something that will last 20+ years. Do you feel that these units have that longevity? Of course you could probably get three growatt units for the price of a victron easysolar, but you'd also be dealing...

I can't get my Multiplus to be recognized in VEConfigure. I've got an MK3-USB, dowloaded the drivers, restarted the computer, reinstalled VEconfigure. My USB drivers are working OK, computer is fine, but for whatever reason I can't get my Multiplus recognized on VEConfigure3. It also won't show...

On that Victron community link you shared with me, there were some answers that guy received suggesting he use a thermal camera. I happen to own one of these: Do you think using it is at all relevant in my situation? What would I pay particular attention to?

Is this a huge issue. The panels are the same brand and model, but my distributor doesn't have any left of the 400W version. They have the 410W version. I've already got 12 panels I was planning to put in 4s3p, but I want to go with 16 panels in 4s4p. Here's the specs of the two panels: I...

Yeah, the other night we pushed in the schraeder. no moisture came out. I didn' do the soapy water test, but I otherwise couldn't hear or feel any air leaking. I don't understand what you mean by your last sentence. My best amateur guess is that the pressure gauge is no longer accurate, and...

I contacted the manufacturer and they sent me the technical specifications of the wires in my photos. Hard to believe really. 55amps air&ducts?! I asked if this was verified by a third party and at what distance of wire is it capable of transferring this current without incurring more than a 2%...

No, we use rainwater and it's the rainy season, so it won't be a problem for a few months.

Long before starting our off-grid solar power installation, we had an electrician wire the house for outlets, lights, switches, breakers, etc. He left a couple loose wires sticking out of the floor to attach to my inverter to feed the house. How do I know which cable is positive vs negative...

It only happened twice over the course of a month, and why would such a thing cause the entire battery stack to limit capacity down to first 88 percent and slowly now only 85%?

Cable glands? Aren't those for penetrating a roof? It sounds like maybe I haven't understood why they're using MC4 connectors in the first place for the string box. Is that to keep out the elements? In my situation I'm going to run the PV wires through the roof down to the string box located...

Who's to say it's undercharging? It might be overcharged for all I know.

There is also this panel available from another vendor. I'm not clear if it's rated Imp of 10.88A would be too much difference for the 9.60A of the Jinko panel. I've read the articles linked in this thread, but I still don't understand how much tolerance is OK when we're talking about the...

Thanks for the reply. I feel reassured. Yes, we are using self-drilling roofing screws. And yes the purlins have a wall thickness of 2mm. No, not 900mm. The purlins are spaced at about 1100mm (I just measured this yesterday). The handyman here now is familiar with working on this type of roof...

This thing is only $4,000 for a 10kwh battery bank plus 5kw inverter. Has anyone done a proper analysis of this thing? https://www.amazon.com/BESTSUN-Renewable-Storage-Powerwall-Inverter/dp/B07ZDD9929

Well about the multimeter. It's not like it's 20 miles away, it's just up in our storage loft where we put tools that we haven't used for months so they aren't cluttering our very small house. I used it once during the installation. I'm not doing this for a living. It's actually detracting from...

Yes, I'm mounting to the five beams that you can see in my first photo. This does requires perforating the sheet metal with the screw from the structure's L feet. Out of the whole project this is the part that causes me to hesitate the most. I'm not sure how to proceed. So, your recommendation...

You're producing 4-5kwh on a cloudy day with 2,970W of panels connected?! Amazing.

Hopefully more power won't be necessary. On the contrary, what happens when the batteries are fully charged and there are still plenty of sun hours left in the day? Where does all the electricity go from the panels?

Yes, that is what I was wondering. Earlier you said 5x. Your example was of a small air conditioner. Are we comparing apples to oranges if we're talking about water pumps then? Is there something special about the Red Lion pumps that startup wattage is only ~2.5x running wattage? Could I expect...

Lol. Contrast that with the customer service in Peru. My distributor charged me for a couple cable sets that weren't even necessary, and they didn't even send them. When I finally realized it, they denied the fact that they left out the cables, and then gave me the silent treatment every time I...

The batteries themselves have an on/off button. Would I connect the positive cable to the inverter, turn the batteries on, use the resistor for the negative, turn batteries off, connect negative cable to inverter, turn batteries on again?

Online purchases. Even if there were local vendors with good options, I don't think they'd let me test their pumps.

That Delta 2 Max costs $2000USD here in Peru. At a certain point, it probably makes more economic sense for me to just make my own DIY power station by buying the separate components, and wiring it all together myself. Although the problem there is that those separate components are bound to be...

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I'm designing some systems in my head based on either a growatt 5000ES or one of the victron Easysolar 48/5000 Each have an MPPT amperage rating of 100. So, I'm looking at using 12 400 watt panels of course....I'm not sure what the full operating voltage MPPT range is for the victron, but the...

I feel this video deserves more discussion. Especially the part starting around the 50 minute mark. @Will Prowse recommended watching it in one of his recent videos. I also feel this video deserves more explanation. I've always been told to use copper grounding rods, and even bought a kit with...

Ahh, so the panels actually end up sitting on top of those placas? At least that's what I think I'm seeing in your photo. And those only go under the internal separators, or both the external and internal separators, or it doesn't matter either way?

Here's all the graphs for the three panels: Amerisolar, JA, and the last one is the 400W Jinko I already have. Amerisolar 410W panel: JA 455 Watt Panel: My 400W Jinko:

Yes, I thought your 10% buffer was a bit excessive. For example I'm using this calculator: https://www.explorist.life/solar-charge-controller-calculator/ I was actually wrong about the VOC of the 320W panels (the vendor doesn't have the right specs on their webpage). According to the...

I just went through VE configure and re-entered all the values in the Victron-Pylontech compatibility manual. That didn't fix it.

Ok, I'm just going to go ahead and wire it like that, even though the distributor says the unit doesn't have polarity. Better safe than sorry.

If I can't get zinc spray, what should I use? Tinned copper lugs?

Just when I thought I had this figured out, you throw a wrench in the works. So, it's really not enough to just look at the LRA or LRW rating? Even that could vary significantly based on how high I'm planning on pumping, type of pipe/hose, etc.?

I'm afraid I don't know what that means. My guess is DC, but it's just a guess. Coupling? What does that mean? Coupling what?

Okay first of all, thank you for the very long, well thought out response. You definitely sound like someone who knows their stuff. I think the answer is Yes to all three questions, but I want to caveat by saying (just as you recognized) that even though I can change some parameters like the...

Hello, How do you attach the ground wires to the panel array? Do you need to attach a separate wire for each support rail? or just attach a ground wire to one of the two support rails for each row of panels? Let me ask with a picture. Here are the accesories I have to attach ground wires to...

So why would someone prefer MC4 connectors? That's a lot more restrictive. Look at my example for instance. If the panel's Isc is 10.61, then you can only have two parallels on the Victron 150/100. For twelve of those panels you'd have to go: 2s2p one string; 2s2p second string; and 2s2p third...