Geyser timer solution for solar

[SauRoNZA]

Yeah, regulations require isolator near device for when it needs to be worked on it’s easy to turn off. I think it’s quite a new regulation too because my house doesn’t have one. Breaker in the db protects cabling from melting in overload or shorting situations afaik.

Isn’t there some specific distance from the DB board required maybe?

My old house didn’t have one either, but the new one does.

 

[wingnut771]

Isn’t there some specific distance from the DB board required maybe?

My old house didn’t have one either, but the new one does.

As mentioned above. 1m from device. I think this includes aircons also.

 

[SauRoNZA]

As mentioned above. 1m from device. I think this includes aircons also.
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View attachment 1898813

No I meant isn’t it only applicable when distance between geyser and DB is over a certain distance or isn’t line of sight.

There’s always addendums and what not to these things, I know the aircons are excluded under certain conditions or if they have dedicate plugs or something.

But then I guess you can argue what’s the difference between a plug socket and an isolator really…one is just wired straight into the DB and the other isn’t.

 

[wingnut771]

No I meant isn’t it only applicable when distance between geyser and DB is over a certain distance or isn’t line of sight.

There’s always addendums and what not to these things, I know the aircons are excluded under certain conditions or if they have dedicate plugs or something.

But then I guess you can argue what’s the difference between a plug socket and an isolator really…one is just wired straight into the DB and the other isn’t.

The isolator (basically an on/off switch like a plug) needs to be near geyser/outside aircon unit etc as per sans 2001 standard. Its for techy to easily disconnect when working on it as per description in post #423. If the plug is 1.5m from unit then you dont need isolator is how I understand it.

 

[B-1]

No I meant isn’t it only applicable when distance between geyser and DB is over a certain distance or isn’t line of sight.

There’s always addendums and what not to these things, I know the aircons are excluded under certain conditions or if they have dedicate plugs or something.

But then I guess you can argue what’s the difference between a plug socket and an isolator really…one is just wired straight into the DB and the other isn’t.

It was more of a recommendation in the past but if I remember correctly early 2000's it became law that fixed appliances need an isolator switch "within arms length". Its so whomever is doing maintenance on the machine can switch it off and not be worried someone is going to switch on the breaker while they are working on the geyser, oven or air-con etc.

 

[B-1]

Ironically you have to open the double pole isolator or the appliance to confirm the isolator is actually working before you trust it. By that stage you may as well have disconnected manually lol. One lekkie who worked on my geyser tested to see if it was isolated by shorting live to earth and neutral to earth and then live to neutral with his screwdriver cos he didn't have a meter lol.

All of these safety measures are the equivalent of "defense in depth". There's no 100% safe, there's only layers of safety, and the standards are there to ensure a minimum recommended level is achieved.

Yeah just treat everything as live all the time otherwise you will find out one day not everyone bothers to do the job right.
I think most people who work on wiring have gotten zapped at least once though.

 

[SauRoNZA]

It was more of a recommendation in the past but if I remember correctly early 2000's it became law that fixed appliances need an isolator switch "within arms length". Its so whomever is doing maintenance on the machine can switch it off and not be worried someone is going to switch on the breaker while they are working on the geyser, oven or air-con etc.

Yeah I fully understand the logic for it.

My house clearly just skirted past as all my aircons are on dedicated plugs.

Which means I’ll probably cry when I sell it one day.

 

[DrJohnZoidberg]

Still using my Astute breakers I've had for like 3 or 4 years now. One for the geyser and one for the pool pump.

I have had very little to complain about. The one can get a bit difficult if you mess around with your wifi too much, but if you have stable wifi it's pretty rock solid.

 

[abc98]

We've been changing over to these tasmota cbi astutes below , no issues so far, much more stable than the tuya home assistant integration.

Tasmota Smart Controller (Energy Monitoring) - SmartPad

The CBI Astute Smart Controller (ASC) is an energy monitoring, scheduling and control device with load management and automation capability. This plug's chipset has been replaced with a Tasmota chipset. The Tasmota chipset allows the device to function on its own network away from the cloud...

store.smartpad.co.za

 

[wingnut771]

We've been changing over to these tasmota cbi astutes below , no issues so far, much more stable than the tuya home assistant integration.

Tasmota Smart Controller (Energy Monitoring) - SmartPad

The CBI Astute Smart Controller (ASC) is an energy monitoring, scheduling and control device with load management and automation capability. This plug's chipset has been replaced with a Tasmota chipset. The Tasmota chipset allows the device to function on its own network away from the cloud...

store.smartpad.co.za

More stable?

 

[abc98]

More stable?

Tasmota runs locally, without tuyas servers.

With 20 odd timers, we got irritated with tuya and trying to get it to work reliably in home assistant, having to login multiple times + scan qr codes when using the integration, few months later having to log in again, some times it stops working for no reason, energy values all over the show, etc etc...

 

[wingnut771]

Tasmota runs locally, without tuyas servers.

With 20 odd timers, we got irritated with tuya and trying to get it to work reliably in home assistant, having to login multiple times + scan qr codes when using the integration, few months later having to log in again, some times it stops working for no reason, energy values all over the show, etc etc...

Ah yes, like tuya randomly turning everything on for no reason.

 

[Speedster]

Tasmota runs locally, without tuyas servers.

With 20 odd timers, we got irritated with tuya and trying to get it to work reliably in home assistant, having to login multiple times + scan qr codes when using the integration, few months later having to log in again, some times it stops working for no reason, energy values all over the show, etc etc...

Tuya local?

 

[denmendez65]

I see Tuya has done some sort of AI integration now. Personally, I haven't had issues with their stuff, except I think in about a year of having it, when they do updates and open the app, it turns on everything. I can live with it if it happens once every 3 or 4 months. Other than that, it has been flawless on my side.

Also, don't have as many devices as the others have on here. I have a Total of 8. One for the pool, one for the fish pond, one for the Jojo tank, 3 in the kitchen, one for the geyser and 1 energy meter with 2 CTs measuring the energy consumption on both outputs of the inverter.

Price-wise, I have spent 1000 rand for all 8 devices, including the energy monitor. The app is free, so I can't complain about a glitch every few months.

 

[wingnut771]

I see Tuya has done some sort of AI integration now. Personally, I haven't had issues with their stuff, except I think in about a year of having it, when they do updates and open the app, it turns on everything. I can live with it if it happens once every 3 or 4 months. Other than that, it has been flawless on my side.

Also, don't have as many devices as the others have on here. I have a Total of 8. One for the pool, one for the fish pond, one for the Jojo tank, 3 in the kitchen, one for the geyser and 1 energy meter with 2 CTs measuring the energy consumption on both outputs of the inverter.

Price-wise, I have spent 1000 rand for all 8 devices, including the energy monitor. The app is free, so I can't complain about a glitch every few months.

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I'm sorry but this flaw is life threatening, imagine you relied on a breathing machine or something and it turned everything on so instead of 48hours of life, you end up dying after 8 hours.

What's the price difference going with that other brand?

 

[Speedster]

I'm sorry but this flaw is life threatening, imagine you relied on a breathing machine or something and it turned everything on so instead of 48hours of life, you end up dying after 8 hours.

What's the price difference going with that other brand?

What's also interesting is I've used various Tuya switches for 5 years now and I've never had a device turn on/off at random

 

[denmendez65]

I'm sorry but this flaw is life threatening, imagine you relied on a breathing machine or something and it turned everything on so instead of 48hours of life, you end up dying after 8 hours.

What's the price difference going with that other brand?

Well, I wouldn't use it for life-critical things. But for home stuff, yes. Nothing life critical.

When I was shopping around, it was quite a bit. One of my smart switches was 110 rand. The next best thing I could find was about 300 rand. Multiply that by 8, and it's just under 1k vs 2.5k.

When it happens, the inverter or breaker catches it and just trips. I have left the AC IN breaker for the geyser off since I never use it, so when the switch does kick in, it actually doesn't overload the inverter.

And for some reason, it happens when I open the app (fortunately, it means it won't happen at night and I wake up to dead batteries). Definitely on updates because the layout would have changed on the app itself, and I suspect their server doesn't remember the status of my switch before the update, so they default it to on.

 

[denmendez65]

What's also interesting is I've used various Tuya switches for 5 years now and I've never had a device turn on/off at random

Interesting. Maybe I am just unlucky. Apple or Android? I have it on Apple so maybe its a platform thing.

 

[wingnut771]

Well, I wouldn't use it for life-critical things. But for home stuff, yes. Nothing life critical.

When I was shopping around, it was quite a bit. One of my smart switches was 110 rand. The next best thing I could find was about 300 rand. Multiply that by 8, and it's just under 1k vs 2.5k.

When it happens, the inverter or breaker catches it and just trips. I have left the AC IN breaker for the geyser off since I never use it, so when the switch does kick in, it actually doesn't overload the inverter.

And for some reason, it happens when I open the app (fortunately, it means it won't happen at night and I wake up to dead batteries). Definitely on updates because the layout would have changed on the app itself, and I suspect their server doesn't remember the status of my switch before the update, so they default it to on.

Oh that’s good. The first time you mentioned it iirc you came home to a dead house so I assumed china just somma decided to turn everything on.

 

[wingnut771]

Interesting. Maybe I am just unlucky. Apple or Android? I have it on Apple so maybe its a platform thing.

Can’t be. Apple just works.