All things Sunsynk (Deye, Inge, etc...)

Kosmik said:
Hi guys,

I just had my inverter changed from a 5kw to a 8kw deye but there seems to be a funny situation with the CT. CT is exactly the same as it has been on the db and eskom side but it looks almost like the inverter is confusing the two CT readings ie: internal and external.

Example:

View attachment 1708197

so if there is no non-essential draw there is always the differance of 20w or so which is what the inverter normally allows to draw from eskom to test connection.

So before, it was plain to see, External CT was grid at say 500 and internal CT was at 480 with the differance being the draw by the non-essentials. Now as above, it seems to e swopped? The internal CT is higher than the external which means and showing negatives on my essentials at times because of the differance. Also I noticed a while back that the cummulative grid usage would not increment. with non-essential use, giving me a false daily total basically sans the non-essential draw from grid.

Now with the CT in the same spot and direction, I can only assume its something with the connection on the board of the inverter or am I totally wrong here?

Solarman dongle and inverter both read the same for those readings so there doesn't seem to be a discrepancy between the inverter and dongle.
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Are you sure the CT wires werent switched around when installing new inverter?
EDIT: Not the coil itself... but the 2 wires that plug into the inverter.
 
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Fcon_Vpro said:
Are you sure the CT wires werent switched around when installing new inverter?
EDIT: Not the coil itself... but the 2 wires that plug into the inverter.
Click to expand...
My thoughts are that yeah because its really weird but just checking that maybe it could be anything other like a different setting between the 5 and 8 but I didn't see any.
 
Kosmik said:
My thoughts are that yeah because its really weird but just checking that maybe it could be anything other like a different setting between the 5 and 8 but I didn't see any.
Click to expand...
The wiring on the 8KW could be different if I'm not mistaken. I think there are CT coil wires that need to be swapped around. Our installer phoned the supplier when he did our 12KW and was told which wires go where. Too long ago to remember.
 
Arb question and I'm sure it was the manner on my 5kva, I was able to charge at a much higher rates ( Hubble AM2 batteries which are rated 1C @ 100A ). It seems the installer has set the limit to 50A on the battery max charge which I think is holding the system back. I'm also sure I had a grid limit of like 10A or 20A for grid charge but the solar was allowed max.

Any pointers on those setting locations?

This definitely looks like hard capping to me.

1715682680555.png
 
Kosmik said:
Hi guys,

I just had my inverter changed from a 5kw to a 8kw deye but there seems to be a funny situation with the CT. CT is exactly the same as it has been on the db and eskom side but it looks almost like the inverter is confusing the two CT readings ie: internal and external.

Example:

View attachment 1708197

so if there is no non-essential draw there is always the differance of 20w or so which is what the inverter normally allows to draw from eskom to test connection.

So before, it was plain to see, External CT was grid at say 500 and internal CT was at 480 with the differance being the draw by the non-essentials. Now as above, it seems to e swopped? The internal CT is higher than the external which means and showing negatives on my essentials at times because of the differance. Also I noticed a while back that the cummulative grid usage would not increment. with non-essential use, giving me a false daily total basically sans the non-essential draw from grid.

Now with the CT in the same spot and direction, I can only assume its something with the connection on the board of the inverter or am I totally wrong here?

Solarman dongle and inverter both read the same for those readings so there doesn't seem to be a discrepancy between the inverter and dongle.
Click to expand...
I do remember reading a long time ago that the points of connection for the CT are different for the 5kw and 8kw. So would just make sure that is done correctly.

Just curious, any reason swapping for an 8kw and not just adding another 5kw?
 
Tradezzz said:
I do remember reading a long time ago that the points of connection for the CT are different for the 5kw and 8kw. So would just make sure that is done correctly.

Just curious, any reason swapping for an 8kw and not just adding another 5kw?
Click to expand...
Its a rental, they just upgrade the unit and its a nominal cost compared to the recent increases in electricity. Literally R200 more a month for 4 more panels ( 455W ) and the 8kva, also relocated the directions of a portion of the array. At current costs, I need to only gain 60kwh of energy to net the existing cost and its already making that up very quickly.

The installers are just irritating as the focus on the hardware but their config tweaks suck.
 
Anyone have a sense of what is a "fair" installation cost for adding another battery to your existing solar bank? Going from 2 batteries to 3.

I'd imagine there is maybe rebalancing and extra cabling and then the labour cost?
 
Pansyfaust said:
Anyone have a sense of what is a "fair" installation cost for adding another battery to your existing solar bank? Going from 2 batteries to 3.

I'd imagine there is maybe rebalancing and extra cabling and then the labour cost?
Click to expand...
I'm looking at same thing

And in my case another set of brackets
 
crawler said:
I'm looking at same thing

And in my case another set of brackets
Click to expand...
You might need to increase the size of the fuse, if the original fuse was too small. It should have been sized to the inverter capabilities though, but this isn't always done.
 
Pansyfaust said:
Anyone have a sense of what is a "fair" installation cost for adding another battery to your existing solar bank? Going from 2 batteries to 3.

I'd imagine there is maybe rebalancing and extra cabling and then the labour cost?
Click to expand...
Depending on the type of battery you have it could be as simple as just clipping in another set of cables, or it could require changes to the cables and fuses. The first one is very much a DIY job, the latter you might want to get someone in for. All depends on what your current setup is and what you want to add.
 
Speedster said:
Depending on the type of battery you have it could be as simple as just clipping in another set of cables, or it could require changes to the cables and fuses. The first one is very much a DIY job, the latter you might want to get someone in for. All depends on what your current setup is and what you want to add.
Click to expand...

So the bank is already a 10KW (2x 5) sunsynk. Not sure what the existing cable size is (think it is 25?), but might require additonal. I'll check the amps on the existing fuse, but if it was specc'd to the inverter size, we have an 8KW Sunsynk.
 
Pansyfaust said:
Anyone have a sense of what is a "fair" installation cost for adding another battery to your existing solar bank? Going from 2 batteries to 3.

I'd imagine there is maybe rebalancing and extra cabling and then the labour cost?
Click to expand...
I got an extra (3rd) battery installed at the beginning of the year. Battery (SunSynk) cost was R28k and labour was R650 (ex VAT). So those were my prices. I'm in JHB.

Batteries prices have come down slightly since. My installer wanted to sell me another battery last month for R25k. I was tempted, but the system I currently have is more than sufficient for my needs.
 
Pansyfaust said:
So the bank is already a 10KW (2x 5) sunsynk. Not sure what the existing cable size is (think it is 25?), but might require additonal. I'll check the amps on the existing fuse, but if it was specc'd to the inverter size, we have an 8KW Sunsynk.
Click to expand...
I'm assuming you mean 10kWh?

Fuses should be specced to cable size, not inverter size. Sunsynk are 1C batteries, so they can deliver 10kW, which is already more than the 8kW the inverter can use. I.e, adding more batteries shouldn't require changing the fuses or connection to the inverter. What is required is simply to add a battery to the bank by connecting it in parallel with the existing bank and then connecting up the comms cable. The "hardest" part is mounting the new battery to the wall - assuming you've got them wall mounted.
 
Speedster said:
I'm assuming you mean 10kWh?

Fuses should be specced to cable size, not inverter size. Sunsynk are 1C batteries, so they can deliver 10kW, which is already more than the 8kW the inverter can use. I.e, adding more batteries shouldn't require changing the fuses or connection to the inverter. What is required is simply to add a battery to the bank by connecting it in parallel with the existing bank and then connecting up the comms cable. The "hardest" part is mounting the new battery to the wall - assuming you've got them wall mounted.
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Yes yes, 10KWH :P

Okay, so I just got the quote for installation and it shows they want to add a busbar and redo cables, update wiring to inverter for increased amperage and extra fuse disconnectors . Comes to R9000 odd, which to me seems exceptionally exhorbitant or adding one more battery?
 
Pansyfaust said:
Anyone have a sense of what is a "fair" installation cost for adding another battery to your existing solar bank? Going from 2 batteries to 3.

I'd imagine there is maybe rebalancing and extra cabling and then the labour cost?
Click to expand...
I had a third battery installed last year around August. I cannot really tell you what the cost was though because my installer listed it R650 but like most installers they pad the product price and make the install look cheap. The price of the battery was very inflated.
 
Last year I ripped out the battery cabling my installer used and replaced it with the cabling kits made for Sunsynk batteries. I also used the opportunity to cable my two Sunsynk batteries according to the manual and not the way the installer did it originally.

Cable Set Type 1
Cable Set Type 2

This year I puchased another Sunsynk battery and cable set. Installed it all myself. Hardest part is the mounting of the battery on the wall. The cable set makes the cabling part a breeze.
 
1am7h30n3 said:
Anybody else having issues with the solarman dongle logging? I seem to be intermittently not logging any data for a few hours at a time over the past 3 days. Internet has been functioning perfectly for other websites at the times that the data is missing, so I don't think it's that, unless it's some sort of intermittent routing issue for the specific IP that it's logging to. I saw that the device was showing offline on the solarman website today and went and looked at the inverter and the dongle appeared normal, 3 green LED's that blink in some sequence.
Affected days looks like:
1. 11.30am to 4.20pm on 9 May.
2. 12.35 to 3.30pm and 9.20pm to 10.35pm on 10 May.
3. 12.30 to 2.55pm and 3.50pm to 5.05pm on 11 May.
Click to expand...

Stokstert said:
I also had the same problems on 9 to 11 May as you had, especially at night.
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I spoke to a few other people with Solarman dongle, it's certainly not a universal issue. I've been missing hours of data in my logs almost every single day since 9 May. I spoke to a guy at my work and he confirmed he's not missing data, I spoke to my cousin and he confirmed (with screenshots of days I was affected) that he's not missing data.

I didn't think the problem was (just) my internet, since if I'm home at a time that the website/app shows my logging device/inverter as offline, I can still load the Solarman website and retrieve data from previous days, and all other internet functionality seemed OK.

I decided to just unplug the dongle from the inverter for a couple of minutes. I also unscrewed the antenna and screwed it back in, in case there was a bad antenna connection and then plugged the dongle back into the inverter. It's been logging for about 36 hours since I did that, without any missing data, that's the longest unbroken stretch since my problems began. I'm hopeful that this has resolved my issue. Perhaps the Solarman dongle just got confused after running for so long (years without a power off), or perhaps my router got confused with the dongle always being connected for years (well, since the last time my router crashed and had to be rebooted).

Edit: 28 May 2024. Haven't lost any data whatsoever since pulling the solarman dongle out, reseating the antenna and putting it back in, working well.
 
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Anyone else seeing less average daily PV generated than during the same time 2023?

I've been noticing this since March and still at end-May consistently less average kWh produced per day.
On average, about 3-6kWh less, per day.

8kWh SunSynk with 12 x 600W Canadian setup with the only change over the last year being 2 x firmware updates.
Panel placement the same, trees and shading even less than last year after serious trimming, but with worse performance.
Even though I expected no real difference, I meticulously washed all panels a couple of weeks ago - negligible , almost unnoticeable difference.
I also hoped that the slightly warmer Gauteng temperatures in April/May could be the reason, but now that we're seeing comparable daily averages than same week in 2023, that's also debunked.

Could it be that some form of clipping or limiting is happening due to more recent SS firmware? (or simply causing it to be less efficient?)
 
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