bigrovar:


Hey God, you are just putting more and more pressure on me to go full Victron. Keep giving me reasons to complete the migration—hopefully this year sha.

Just have one question about Multiplus. One thing which has held ME back is the heat duration. e.g A 5kw Inverter produces 3.7kw if the temperature is at 40c and about 3000w if internal temp is at 60c. How much have your experienced this in practise and do you consider this a hold back feature for those in tropical environment like Nigeria.

NiyiOmoIyunade:
Egbon. If you choose to afford it, Victron is a worthwhile investment any day that will pay back several fold.

The Victron 5kva Multiplus is rated for 4kw at 25 degC and then derates accordingly to ~3kw at 65 degC BUT the transformer and internals are actually rated for 5kW load for 30 minutes or until the over temperature protection kicks in.

Technical note is that the over temperature protection kicks in ahead of any possible damage to the internals (before you actually have an electrical overload)

The surge rating for starting heavy appliances is of course excellent and you may not easily match it in a cheaper inverter.

In practice I have several sites that run 5kVa multiplus at a constant 3,500w in an unregulated room and no trouble - what we typically do is to separate the consumers into essentials powered from AC out 1 and large loads powered from the secondary AC out 2 - if you try to power perhaps a second AC off the secondary AC out and the inverter was already near peak loading, it would simply drop the supply to the large loads but lights and essentials stay on - so with a judicious use of 'assistant' programming you can govern the system and prevent overloading the output supply.

Pertinent to note that AC Out 2 can also run off mains and totally bypass the inverter and battery stage and in case of mains failure will just drop the large loads after say 60 seconds or as you program it.

Of course all our designs include external overcurrent protection apart from the robust safety provided by inverter logic.

In summary when they say their 5kVa inverter can run 4000w sustained and 5kW for 30 minutes at 25degC they indeed mean what they say - your ocassional burst loads will present no trouble at all.

mangolpupa:


Ahh, apologies my mistake. its @kiekie1

However i copied and pasted his details here:

Contact,
Smartcell global services
CALL LINE: 081-350-31951

You can double check by searching his name too.

earthrealm:


It should be doable, if you are ready to void the felicity waranty.
You just need a new bms, a new metal case..chikena.
The 2 felicity packs will be gutted/dismantled and put in a new case, a suitably sized bms installed, and voila you have a 48v lithium pack

mangolpupa:


You welcome. I think between 150k -220k depending on capacity but dont quote me .

Please check with @Kieki1 or any other member that sells or recommends a direct source distributor, he should be in a better position to tell you prices as he deals with solar batteries, inverters etc.

Best wishes.

emyfine08:
Can you assist on it?

NiyiOmoIyunade:
I am now officially shook at the variety of pumps in circulation and their penchant for eating up insane amounts of energy

But fortunately I have access to quite a few pumps at my own location and customers' too - below is a picture of my 2hp garden irrigation pump - it is 2hp / 7.1a / 1.6kW which is pretty within spec of what 2hp should draw in a normal duty cycle.

To your questions

1) I suppose the Stabilizer has been paired with the pump and working in that application for a bit? - the proof of the pudding is in the eating. I would not normally use a 5kva relay stabilizer with 3.45kw of inductive load as you say the pump consumes but the pump startup surge is just for a few seconds and a decent stabilizer should be indifferent to this surge since the load is just passing through the transformer windings directly.

Is low voltage a real problem in this pump application? Yes, anything less than 180v from the stabilizer can't power the pump

Then I would have specced a servo stab with size suitably derated for the lowest operating voltage I expect on the input side of the stab.

2) I cannot say what your pump consumes and the nameplate is just a guide - you have to measure, measure, measure to know what the consumption is. I have encountered some ancient pumps being used out of tolerance but the biggest issue they present is the start up surge tripping up our protection devices - once running they run okay albeit inefficiently.

Since the control box states 15a, if I should connect the wire from the 15amp round socket to the 13a flat socket side of the inverter for measuring purpose, will it blow the fuse?


3) Measure your pump's actual power draw vs the inverter's surge rating to size properly. Already you said you think the pump eats 3.45kW so that would already exceed a 3kW inverter's rated capacity.

This is based on the calculations of Amps (15a) * Volts (230v). I remembered vividly when our electrician brought his 3kva stabilizer to power this pump when the 5kva stabilizer was faulty, and we were able to pump water with it. This also made me to somehow believed the pump is overrated.


4) One of the sad parts of an engineer's training is the loss of certainty and constant calling out of caveats and qualified opinions - a 200a BMS in 24v nominal application SHOULD run ~5kW easy however not all BMS with 200a written on them can do that rating. without problems. Also how was your LFP pack built? How were the cell interconnects made and were they properly torqued tight? This will drive how well the LFP battery pack does with large loads. I belong to a backend forum of LFP battery pack builders and I can assure you failures due to improperly torqued connections are very common although some will refuse to acknowledge this fact. Getting quality cells that can withstand a proper torque and how to deliver that proper torque became the holy grail of our movement.

My own custom LFP builds use an industrial grade machine to deliver an accurate amount of torque to each cell connection. We have not had one single failure or need to go retorque anything in a pack.

If indeed your pump draws 3.45kW, you will be operating pretty close to your battery 1C rating - a well designed pack can carry this load but you may well run out of stored energy if the pump is running for a long time - it were probably best to have some PV assist or Grid or Genny or constrain the pump draw and run time to within the stored energy delivery ability of your battery pack. In other words despite using the much vaunted LFP you probably need a different larger battery or switch to a smaller and more efficient pump for long term stability.

Finally at the risk of serious vitriol and backlash from
a certain set of people, I reiterate that a 1.5hp pump drawing 1.8kw and above is either ancient or inefficient or falsely labelled. When I say inefficient I mean broadly that the pump is either working a harder duty cycle than designed (undersized) or the wrong pump is being used for the application (over powered) amongst several possibilities. In the best case the hp rating should be upgraded to match the actual electrical behaviour of the pump (address misleading labelling) - this is what an informed user or technical person should do vs. trying to reinvent the relationship between various standard measurements of energy and work done.

The fact that something can move/lift liquids does not mean it is the right pump for every application - just as people match inverter to loads, pumps need to be matched to the required duty cycle for an application. Again this is no wonder in a country where people routinely use a 5kVa inverter to run less than 1kW of loads with very brief surges into the 2-3kW range and applaud themselves on how 'robust' their design is or say the hugely oversized inverter is more 'rugged' which is why they chose it.

There! I said what I said ......

TechGeek777:
.....
Is low voltage a real problem in this pump application? Yes, anything less than 180v from the stabilizer can't power the pump

2) I cannot say what your pump consumes and the nameplate is just a guide - you have to measure, measure, measure to know what the consumption is. I have encountered some ancient pumps being used out of tolerance but the biggest issue they present is the start up surge tripping up our protection devices - once running they run okay albeit inefficiently.

Since the control box states 15a, if I should connect the wire from the 15amp round socket to the 13a flat socket side of the inverter for measuring purpose, will it blow the fuse?


3) Measure your pump's actual power draw vs the inverter's surge rating to size properly. Already you said you think the pump eats 3.45kW so that would already exceed a 3kW inverter's rated capacity.

This is based on the calculations of Amps (15a) * Volts (230v). I remembered vividly when our electrician brought his 3kva stabilizer to power this pump when the 5kva stabilizer was faulty, and we were able to pump water with it. This also made me to somehow believed the pump is overrated.
......

earthrealm:


Naah, best done by someone in your city, am not in lagos.

indicate your city, perhaps someone in your city who can do it will come up, however be prepared to spend above 200k in parts, labour etc

samir101ng:


This !!! This power derating issue is also a point of concern apart from the intial cost of the inverter. With average temps over 30C even with the harmattan weather here in Abuja, your 5kva Victron inverter is essentially a glorified 3.7kva inverter. And at that price and performance, my wallet cannot justify such expenditure. I however tap into Bigbrovars grace to also buy Victron when the Lord blesseth my wallet. Egbon Niyi, please keep on preaching the blue gospel. Your ministry shall flourish together with Nigeria's GDP

samir101ng:


Thank you Egbon Niyi for the feedback on this derating issue. My concern is can i run continuous loads over 4000w as an example above lets say 34C which is today's ambient temp for Abuja or will the inverter refuse to power the load ? I don't want to provide additional cooling for the inverter so it will be subjected to our average ambient temps.

Sheisenough01:
Good morning all,

Novice here that will need your help. I recently installed a setup for my home using a Famicare I think 3 or 5kva.

2 tubular 220ah battery and 2 300w and 4 180w panels, with an Mppt Charge Controller. All were brand new.

All installation was carried out by an installer so forgive me if I don't know the right specifications.

The issue here are
1. The inverter battery charge light never goes off. Always blinking since in1stallation.

When the battery bar (four bar) voltage is always at 13.5-13.7v .

2. Major issue, the battery doesn't last more than 5 hours. Usage is not that much at least I have never gone beyond 25% load capacity since installation but within 4-6 many hours of use it starts beeping.

Note nothing heavy is on the system. Four fans, One TV and lights.

Please what is the solution to this as this setup cost quite a lot and isn't meeting my expectations.

gadgetplanetng:
I know this is on short notice,

But I'd need someone experienced to come along for an energy audit by 10am tomorrow in Port Harcourt (Olu Obasanjo Rd).

For a 10/20Kv system.

Moneyyman:
Hello, guys. I need suggestions and possibly ideas on cost for a solar system.

I want to power these for 15 hours daily.

65W Laptop
Monitor
Phone (charged once daily)

What systems should I go for? (Battery, solar panel, and inverter...or just inverter+panel?)

Do you have an idea of the total cost?

Thanks.

Fapemz:



Go for our MPS range of portable LFP power solutions and just 600watt of solar. I will recommend MPS 3

kiekie1:



Warmth regards

Happy new year Sir/Ma !

vta2008:


Mine is the 5.5KVA 24V version.....check the side of yours for the specs. The battery charge light finally went off after I installed 4 350w solar panels and a 15kva stabilizer. Till date the light never goes off UNLESS there's solar power and grid supply at the same time....very weird stuff.
I don't know if the stabilizer is what is helping the light go off

I just checked my user manual and 3.5kva as well as 5.5kva are 24V inverters. Your inverter is showing 13.5V instead of >24V. Maybe your installation wasn't done properly OR your model is the 1.5kva or 2.5kva 12v

If you have the 5.5Kva model, it already comes with a PWM 24 charge controller. Hope the external charge controller isn't messing with it.

Finally a few people here like NiyiOmoIyunade and isangjohnson have talked about batteries with fake ratings (180AH labeled as 220AH). Maybe na your situation *I reject am for you*

I now handover to our Inverter Lords

drizzypat:
Hello so today my tech engr came in.

He said it's the inverter he turned it on and there was a spark sound from the inverter itself, he then suggested to have it fixed that it'll be favorable

My only issue now is will the cost to have it fixed not be up to half the must inverter itself?he said it's a board thing.

What do suggest guys..

Spend to fix or result to getting another ...

I'm talking on a long TERM basis

I am completely off grid!
@NiyiOmoIyunade
@zeestone99
@mangolpupa
@jonescosmo

gadgetplanetng:
I know this is on short notice,

But I'd need someone experienced to come along for an energy audit by 10am tomorrow in Port Harcourt (Olu Obasanjo Rd).

For a 10/20Kv system.

mangolpupa:


Assuming you bought the MusT inverter for 360k and the cost of repairing that board is nearing half of the cost (180k). I will be favorably disposed to getting a new "better" quality hybrid inverter than spend that much repairing the board. Reason is that there is no guarantee that board wont go bad again.

If you ever decide to go for a new inverter, my advise is to make sure you are getting one with a good history of performance/service you can verify to an extent or even better from an authorized dealer if possible. Buying from an authorized dealer will have some advantages like some form of warranty or after sales service. Often times in our country, as a general statement, Items gets worse after visiting repair shops, so weigh your options wisely.

More importantly find out what caused the last issue with the inverter: was it a surge or bad connection or what? Then what could you have done to stop it from happening should be the next question. If you don't identify the cause of the last mishap, even a repaired or new inverter will sooner or later go through the same issue.

drizzypat:


Wow thanks a lot . Gen actually bought about the issue

As I was charging my battery(which I normally do)

Rn if I try to get another I was thinking of Ivm felicity 5kva

And not connect generator to it

The reason I did at first was due to not enough panels .

I will have to mange d panels then for now and jst don't use gen anymore on it.

Sheisenough01:



Thanks your response has helped a lot. This is the user manual attached. I've checked both sides of the inverter there is no specification written. A fake model maybe?

Moneyyman:
How much is it?

drizzypat:
hello do you have felicity 5kva inverter

drizzypat:


Wow thanks a lot . Gen actually bought about the issue

As I was charging my battery(which I normally do)

Rn if I try to get another I was thinking of Ivm felicity 5kva

And not connect generator to it

The reason I did at first was due to not enough panels .

I will have to mange d panels then for now and jst don't use gen anymore on it.

christy99:
Please what do you mean by PV? I currently have a 3.5kva inverter with two dry cell batteries and four solar panels installed but I intend going off grid hence why I'm upgrading my setup. Loads will be majorly two LG dual inverter AC of 1hp each, thermocool freezer of about 150watts, LG inverter fridge of about 130watts, two LG inverter TVs and led lights of say 20 at a time with each being 5w. Also Microwave to be put on Alone after Putting off the ACs

mangolpupa:
House, does anyone have the experience or knowledge of using bentonite or merconite for earthing instead of charcoal and salt.

if yes, what is your experience and how much did the bentonite cost per bag (how many kg is in a bag) or merconite cost per bag.

If the house knows anyone who does please let me know.

NiyiOmoIyunade:
Bentonite clay and marconite are good materials but you are better off with an industrial premixed GEM - see pic below

This will give a very low resistance (highly conductive) and non-corrosive earth with stable and permanent readings for 30 years or more.

Each GEM bag should cost under 25k at current prices.

If anyone will cheap out and use charcoal then they should get the powder form or grind/pound the lumps into as fine/powdery form as they can manage.

Salt leaches out of the install site as rainfall comes and goes every season and may also corrode the copper so I do not encourage the use - if you must use salt then test your soil resistivity and dose regularly.