₦airaland Forum

NairaBaba:
PLC , programmable logic controllers, are not "analogue method" as you stated. PLCs generally handle analog( discrete) such your solar panel voltage and current, battery voltages and digital values such freezer/pump on, 0ff.

For anyone with basic programming skill, a glance into the ladder logic I uploaded will give the ideal of the almost endless configuration/ control that you achieve with PLC.

In the ladder logic I uploaded, I preferentially start and stop the freezers and pump based on solar power being produced. Battery voltage also can start and stop the loads, freezers and pump, . Built into the ladder logic I uploaded are number of timers; on-delay, off-delays, weekly and yearly timers, astronomical clocks, counter , resets, trip signals etc to ensure Safe and optimal performance.

I opted for PLC because I want to run my loads, start and stop freezers/pump, based on the available solar power production optimally without deeping into the battery.

With PLC , remote monitoring and datalogging can easily be achieved.

Properly programmed, a sonoff basic with node red will do all this and much more and it is infinitely extensible. The Siemens Logic is good but is limited in so many ways compared to a properly programmed raspberry pi running the appropriate packages, it is more expensive and it doesn't have so much redundancy built into it.

A sonoff basic with a BMV or another battery monitor can give a fine grained control of freezer and water pump better than these analogue methods. With a raspberry pi, running node red, the possibilities are endless; running the freezer only within a time period, running freezer only when the battery is charging, within a certain SOC or within a voltage range.

Abdomox:
Thanks for this info. How do you know an inverter that does equalization?

Sadly, it is not easy to determine unless it is clearly written on the carton. The tell tale signs will include inverters that can be programmed. If you can set the charging voltages (Bulk, Absorption, Float and Equalize), it probably can also equalize. The best way is to ask for people who may be using the kind of inverter you want to buy. I know most high-end inverters like Outback, Victron, Magnum, Schneider etc have equalization settings.

Abdomox:
Good day. thanks for the advise on hydrometer, will get one tomorrow.

When charging, I used my Clamp to check, it reads 12amps (i.e what my inverter is sending to the batteries). When I started charging this morning, it moved from 24.8V to 25.8V and moved to 26.3V after 2hrs30 minutes (still charging). So I think like 1V is added when charging.

During my search online, I read about sulfation. And I did the following, ran the battery for 8 hours (5 led bulbs ) and reduced the acid level to the marked points (Guess Luminous just filled to the brim without checking the max point).

Sorry, not familiar with how to use voltmeter to check battery charging capacity. The voltmeter records I post are from the installed voltmeter beside the batteries (bought this just to monitor).

Flooded batteries need to be equalized occasionally. I have had a set for about 6 years now, Trojan 6V in 48V configuration. Whenever I noticed a dip in the way my voltage holds up, I knew that it is time to do manual equalization. If your inverter and charge controller can not equalize, then you are in trouble.

ojeysky:
We've not factored in waybill as well, you will probably need a truck to move 48v 2000AH and also a large room space while with 3.5m max I can have a 48v 1000AH LFP in my car trunk

With my experience with Lead Acid and LFP, I will take 600AH LFP over 2000AH Lead Acid. I don't know the characteristics of this particular battery, but a 2000AH LAB does not give you 2000AH, maybe about 1000AH or a little more if your load is light.

ojeysky:
We've not factored in waybill as well, you will probably need a truck to move 48v 2000AH and also a large room space while with 3.5m max I can have a 48v 1000AH LFP in my car trunk

One fear I had about this kind of setup is if a few of the batteries developed faults. 1. They are rare batteries, not easy to come by and 2. The cost of replacement. That is one of the advantages of 12v systems in parallel. A bad battery will not immobilize the entire system.

Trippledots:
Hi guys,

Pls anbody knows if fangpusun charge controller can actually handle lithium battery.

It's on the manual, but I want to be sure oh since the manual is a copy of victron's own.

YES! It actually has a lithium profile in the settings.

GeorgeD1:
in conclusion, while i'm reluctant to change a winning team (obviously lead-acid has served me well),
i'm open to new technology and definitely lithium will have a major part to play going forward as a
next steps towards acquiring even more storage as i continue adding power guzzling creature
comfort equipment to the house.

Wow! Huge. So, how much battery capacity are we talking about?

Is anyone here familiar with Felicity Charge Controller? I need the 120A or the 100A version, but it is important that I'm able to communicate with it over serial or modbus. Thanks in advance.

EggSauce:
may someone Never have someone like you as friend... Chai ..see bad energy

Truth is bitter. When you are selling anything, buyers must have full disclosure. It helps them value whatever they are purchasing appropriately. I will be glad if someone can point some of these things to me if I was seriously considering this phone and I didn't know much about it. I was merely providing information for potential buyers, the information the seller has carefully hidden. If you call that bad energy, so be it. To everyone their own.

D4donnn:
I've used that phone and that phone is one of the snappiest brand new phone you can get for that price if not the fastest .

That phone came out in 2016 and is running Android 6, now that Android 11 is around the corner. It will not even run many new android apps. Just getting potential buyers know what they are buying. And the manufacturer, LeTV has gone burst and stopped making phones. These are left over of fire sales done about 3 years ago.

KunlexyInc1:
OPEN BOX LETV X526 FOR SALE

5.5" FHD Display
Snapdragon 652 CPU
3GB/64GB Variant (No expandable memory)
Dual camera setup (16MP rear and 8MP front camera)
Fingerprint sensor
Infrared sensor
4G LTE support
3000mah Battery
More pictures available in DM for serious buyers

Included in the box: Type-C cable, phone guide and Charger

Clearance Price: 30K firm

Location is Abeokuta (Ogun State), can be waybilled through interstate buses/cars or GIG Logistics to other states

Contact me on 07081517572 (Call/WhatsApp)

What version of android? 30K is too much for an obsolete phone.

ceaser:
Well, I like to use the web for controls too, but the problem of security is not something I wanna have to battle with. Even the security cams that I have installed only cover the premises, not inside the house as much as I would have loved to.

That is why I resort to using switches over GSM network providers. I may not have the privilege of continuous monitoring like it is with raspberry pi mini computers connected to the internet and stuff but at least I get to throw a few switches with phone calls and DTMF tones, SMS communication/control and get replies for status monitoring.

I think this is safer from hackers.

I have a few cameras inside my house. I like to be able to see round the house in the night or when not at home. I however avoided the rooms for obvious reasons. Again, I know it carries some risks, but then I'm not Bill Gates or Dangote or a big politician. I'm not entirely sure my risks are that high. Anyone who has the resources to break into my network to see me and my children watching TV is welcome. This not to say that I don't take security serious, I do.

ojeysky:
You are right mail may not be the best example, a third-party social media app may be a better example, but I should note that it connects securely (https) through the api to the eWelink server, that's the situation that my eWelink app on my phone will be anyway.
Ultimately it's not the best solution but it works for me until a time when I have enough motivation to flash tasmota

Actually, once you are connected to the internet, you are open to some risks. But, internet has become so important that the fear of intrusion shouldn't stop anyone from exploiting whatever it has to offer. One just need to practice commonsense security. Good passwords. Some firewalls, especially on the WAN side and avoid using your home network for storing anything critical. Though I try to protect my network, but I doubt if any intruder will find anything useful to other than switching on or off a few of my switches.

Even Tasmota also has an internet interface through which you can do OTA updates. And not connecting to the internet will deny you the ability to remotely login and control your system. And that is a major icing on the cake for me. I can remotely start charging with NEPA if the sun is not good enough. I can check to make sure that my water has pumped. I can even shutdown the TV when my children are spending too much time with. The possibility is endless.

NiyiOmoIyunade:
This whole subject is a veritable rabbit hole to go down.

You can start with building a dashboard to monitor and log your solar generation and household consumption both locally and remotely.

To achieve this you would need a compatible inverter (e.g axpert type or Victron) or compatible Battery Monitor e.g BMV 7XX. For the solar generation side, a Victron MPPT or other device that supports ModBus TCP or MQTT or serial comms would work.

All the information that your devices spit can be aggregated and hosted on EmonCMS [will host whatever metric you can post and is free to use locally or pay per feed for the web accessible version] or PVOutput.org for the solar generation and a few other metrics.

In my case, I have many years of pro level programming for medium scale applications under the belt so I simply write my own custom Python scripts that take data from any devices (my Venus GX as central data aggregator) and posts it to any platform of choice. Thus I dispense with all the NodeRed, OpenHAB and other crutches that people are wont to use - IMAO too much overhead for a simple task as monitoring.

All these are best done via a minimalist always on and always online PC such as a RaspBerry Pi 3B+.

You get a dashboard such as the below and can change on the fly to suit any need. If you put it online, you can view your home system from anywhere in the world.

So you need to acquire a RaspBerry Pi preferably 3B+, you need a device with serial or RS485 or ModBus TCP or MQTT comms that you can harvest data from and then you need a place to store and view the data (EmonCMS for general monitoring, PVOutput for a more restricted/solar generation focused) solution.

The setup will be Device >> RaspBerry Pi >> Hosting Interface e.g EmonCMS. Your device can be inverter, battery monitor, GX device or charge controller or anything really so long as you are able to speak commands to it over the wire and have it obey or talk back to you

Credits to BigRovar for giving me the foundations upon which all my monitoring and logging solutions are built and I also call out Oga Barezzi to showcase some of those beautiful dashboards he has been playing with in secret.

True bros, IF all you want to do is see a bunch of data and like to dig into codes and commands when anything goes wrong as they often do. I was introduced to Home Assistant and Node Red by a gentleman (a super sys admin in my place of work) who was running his automation using python and emoncms. When he discovered Home Assistant and Node Red, he realized that they are better than hunting around Linux with commands.

The obvious advantage with these tools is that, like myself, you don't need super coding skills. You actually don't need to code at all. You also have visual cues and representations of what you are doing and getting. When things go wrong, you can easily see what the problems are and resolve them. Actually, these platforms are built on python, Home Assistant, Node Red, Openhab etc. They are like GUI for python scripts and what you get out of them are limited by your creativity.

Like I said, my Linux is very rudimentary, yet I'm able to use my Pi to interface through Bluetooth with my ANT BMS, all three of them, get their data, on continuous basis, and post them to Home Assistant for storage and display as you can see below.

abbeymighty:
Please, i just bought two 220ah 12v tubular bat3, when ever it changing either phcn or solar, it shows 27.6v on CC, but once the charging stop, it reduces to around 25. 5v . is the bat3 OK?

Yes. That is the standard behavior. The initial voltage you saw was from the charger trying to drive electrons into the battery

lilGiant:
Someone just told told me that most of the Samsung and iPhones in the Nigerian market are not original. And that duos is a copy phone. How true is he?

The person was talking rubbish. You should stop listening to or respecting his opinions or one day he may tell you a lie that will lead you to hellfire! You are warned.

ojeysky:
You seem to disagree with your starting statement but then seem to agree with me in your conclusion (the bold) which is the capacity mismatch in series that I referred, did I miss something?

For clarity, no issues with paralleling cells of same capacity (and you can even be good with different capacities in parallel) which is how my current LFP bank is configured (105x2)x 8s

My point is that batteries in parallel configuration are less susceptible to problem of mismatch than batteries in series, in my experience. I will not put batteries of varying age or capacity in series, but I regularly do that with parallel and I have never observed any penalty in battery longevity.

ojeysky:
I understood it quite well my brother, if you have a 100AH 24v setup and then add another 100AH 12v in parallel to one of the 12v in the 24v series set-up, what you basically have credited is 12v 200AH connected in series with 12v 100AH.

Yes it will work but it will kill the battery, especially the single 12v 100AH in the series connection as there is no longer capacity balance. Do you get it now Bro?

I believe the "capacity balance" is a myth. My personal observation is that batteries in parallel will charge and discharge according to their capacities. Because, current, like water will take the path of least resistance, batteries in parallel will charge and discharge according to their need based on internal resistance. This may be contrary to theoretical stipulations, but it is what I have observed over about a decade of interactions with batteries and solar. Of course batteries in series are a different beast. They need to be sufficiently similar in age, chemistry, capacity etc.

I have 2x 48v 16s Daly Lifepo4 BMS for sale. 80A maximum charging and discharging current. I will give them out for 45k each or nearest offer.

ojeysky:
Interesting sunny day, did over 3x of my array capacity, funny enough i didn't achieve any record instantaneous hervest but the cumulative is fantastic!
#YesToRenewable

Truly a good day for solar. Got 24.3KWh even though my lithium batteries stopped charging at about 2pm. Last Tuesday was my historic best at 27.9KWh. My array is 7.44KW, Flame Solar (320x12 and 300x12).

Anyone has the control board for Outback VFX3648 inverter to sell?

mctfopt:
I guess we are saying the same thing with different grammar..

Yes, I was backing up and extending your position.

mctfopt:
It is true the price is not only the indicator to the quality of a product, but over time premium products are usually costlier than their non premium counterpart. It is now left to the discretion of the buyer if they are willing to part with more for the perceived quality of the product. It's like walking on a tightrope, you need the pole (your common sense) to achieve the equilibrium while watching out for that rogue gust of wind (overpriced goods) that may knock you off the rope.

As per knowing the number of cycles, do you really blame the people importing it (Nigerians) or the people producing it (Chinese) for this lack of information? Often times, stuffs such as this is hidden by the manufacturer, the buyer on the other hand does not really care as the batteries are pretty cheap. After all most marketing decision always comes down to the cost of the product.

Of course no marketer will want you to know the cheap battery you just bought has only 250 cycles, but they can always tell you that it is 70k each for 200ah

One very easy way to be deceived into overpaying for goods (battery inclusive) is to equate high price with quality. Even in international markets where big brands are involved, many have come to realize that a large part of the cost you pay for big brands goes into the branding racketeering. Nokia android phones are a good example. Those phones are not made by Nokia, they are made by HMD Global who make returns to Nokia per unit sold. So, when you buy a nokia phone, a little part of your cost price goes to paying for the label on the phone.

On the other hand, buying goods solely on price is a very good way of ending with a dud. If it is extremely cheap, that is often for a reason; fake product, under-specification (150AH labelled as 200AH), use of poor quality components, poor after-sale services etc.

So, price should be the least of your consideration when buying batteries.

1. Physically inspect the battery; poor attention to manufacturing details is often obvious even from the packaging. Poor external appearance often signposts poor internal quality.
2. Track records; ask people who have used a product before about their experience. While some people will be lucky or unlucky, if you get a fairly consistent report about a battery, you should take those reports seriously.
3. Traceable to a known manufacturer. People put their labels on product as a way of establishing brand recognition and dominance. Companies with consistent poor reports will soon disappear. Be aware that many unscrupulous businessmen can put any label on any product,
4. After sale services. Even best companies have occasional failures and problematic production batches. Do they stand by their products with good warranty supports? I will buy a weak local product with warranty compared to a strong brand with no one to talk to when problem arises.
5. Finally, people say, you should buy battery based on weight as the components are fairly standard in the same product group. If a 200AH AGM battery weighs less than 150AH from a good brand, you are probably buying poor quality or fake product. However, this comes with a caveat as some dubious manufacturers have been known to add glass or rock to a compartment in their battery to add dead weight.

These are better things to consider rather buying the one asking for more money. But like others have pointed out, the treatment of your batteries is probably the best indicator of how long it will last you. Consistent over-discharge or overcharging of any battery will make it die young.

adrusa:
And most of the specs are fake. Most probably a single, low resolution, low megapixel camera, 1gb RAM, 4 or 8Gb ROM and possibly skinned android 5 or 7. Buy at your own risk.

And fake fingerprint sensor.

mahkanjuh:
Go to AliExpress or wish, this kind of phone full there
Buy at your own peril.......
Those phones are generic, no real company behind them,
Anyway, don't let me say much
Just go to Ali express and check, some of them even comes very much cheaper than this

And most of the specs are fake. Most probably a single, low resolution, low megapixel camera, 1gb RAM, 4 or 8Gb ROM and possibly skinned android 5 or 7. Buy at your own risk.

I purchased the Felicity FL-IVCM5048 with claimed 5KVA (4KW). Quiet small and light. I was wondering if this thing can truly do 4KW. If the company can lie about the capacity of its lithium battery, it shouldn't be difficult for them to lie about the capacity of their inverter. Special thanks to @Ojeysky for helping me with getting the data from the inverter using solpiplog.

justcallmenuel:
3kva felicity hybrid inverter available, #160000. Call/WhatsApp us on 08168986461

How much is 5kva?

Evening house. Can I get a quote for Felicity 5kva hybrid inverter FL-IVCM-5048? Who has the datasheet for this inverter? @Ojesky once used the 24v equivalent, what is your experience like please? Thanks.

dapsyra:
http://115.28.16.44:81/file/9017.ZIP?spm=a2g0s.imconversation.0.0.4df33e5f8nxeY4&file=9017.ZIP

Thank you.

Can some good samaritan share the ANT-BMS software with me. Thanks.

ceaser:
Neither has coms of any sort.

However Version 119 of MakeSkyBlue has WiFi hardware so that you can connect your phone to it. I doubt it has remote monitoring capabilities, so you have to be within the WiFi range to use the phone app.

I even doubt if the app is available in the play store. It seems you have to do a side instal from a mediafire link.

Thank you. Then it is basically a no-go for me.