PR3

@Encid Thank-you kindly for that information. I'll make a note of her details; I hope not to need it but great to have it. Been watching the solar performance on no export mode, think I'll have to make use of the good daylight hours to get things done that require power.... laundry, cooking, ironing etc. Because it only makes what you use; today it only produced 8.5kwh rather than the 17ish it's been doing recently. Not spinning the meter backwards is certainly going to put some time on the ROI that is a fact. Of course there are ways of making the most of the solar game, they involve heavier investment in a hybrid inverter, storage and the other bits and bobs required with such a set up. Food for thought I suppose. Regards. PR3

Totally agree, I will do that soonest, I have been testing it today and I'm pleased to say its functioning correctly. So as you say a video of the current set up going through the parameters will be done soonest. Unfortunately the storm we had the other night seems to have fried the tv coaxial that runs under the road along with my tv signal booster, we had no cable tv since then so assumed it was a network issue, they came today and tested and gave us the wonderful news. I ran a patch cable to the KTV house just to make sure and sure enough its true...sigh. Ah well Netflix until that gets sorted. All the Best PR3

I have a Sofar 5KTLM-G2, most the setting changes were messing around with power reflux and they all ended up the same as before in the end. The only one IIRC which ended up permanently changed was set power derate, this was switched to disable. By that stage I was just being a robot pushing buttons on request and I'd just about given up I wish I'd have paid a little more attention now . Yes the wiring could have been wrong on the CT, I know my side was ok as I only used a single length cable each time and continuity tested it prior to fitting. Either way it's something what's finally been put to bed and I'm happy for that. All the Best PR3

Was giving this a little thought, if for instance there was another consumer unit fitted between the meter and the CT clamp, theoretically you could put constant load on it ( low wattage of course) and then leave the solar powered up on no export thus powering fridges and any other necessities whilst away for extended periods. If the meter reader turns up, it's moving in the right direction albeit ever so slowly. Which is all very well until the constant load fails and the meter is stood still ..Lol. Just a thought and something I'm considering myself. All the Best PR3

Woke up this morning with a damaged fascia board, roofing panels off an outside walkway and the water tank enclosure, and a garden full of someones leaves, quite a storm last night it was nasty. After performing most the repairs a set about again trying to get the CT to work. In order to do this, I first relocated it back to where I had it the first time (at the insistence of the supplier) which involved running cable 20m of 2x1 yet again Lol taking all the trunking covers off and the rest of it. Even then it still wouldn't work, same thing 0.03kw. But, the supplier was great we video called about 4 times there were other tech staff there suggesting stuff too, the swapping direction was basically a "just try it see what happens" thing after we changed settings and tried other things..... and eureka it worked...it bl**dy well worked!! Still a little confusing as I tried that before and still had problems maybe the setting changes helped too. So I'm leaving it that way permanently, no switch or anything. Just goes to show though, given what we all understand to be correct ended up not so in this case. The arrow points at the house not the meter....in fairness it could very well be an etching error on the CT unit itself. Bit of a mystery that one. Anyways it is of course time for a beer. Cheers All. PR3

I'm not sure which company it was there are a few here i think she did a Google search and just started calling until one answered then acted as a translator while i did the button pushing, I dare say there are some English speaking technical staff here too but I haven't found them yet. If i get any more info I'll gladly share it on the Forum. Cheers. PR3

@Crossy I have been playing with the CT again the last 2 days trying it on both cables both ways round its been a stressful experience Lol. The best it will do is cut the power output to 0.03kw then it just sits there and doesnt change regardless of what loading we put on it or take off. In fairness I am doing this midday so i dont know if it makes any difference? Sofar never got back to me with a solution or suggestions so we have contacted the supplier, he was most helpful but all his suggestions were things I had tried already. He will speak to his engineer contact at Sofar to try get more information. We also spoke to a 3rd party solar installer who was also helpful and seems to think the unit is faulty as it should still produce power with the CT activated. The manual I got with the unit gives little info on parameter settings, maybe the unit is bad, maybe one of the settings is causing the problem I really don't know. It's a bit like being in limbo. I prefer to deal with definitive situations its easier to strategise..... if the Inverter is toast then I either get it repaired or replace and sell the repaired unit, or use it on the other house with a few panels. At the moment it's like walking round a 4 metre room in the dark banging off the walls.5555555. Hopefully tomorrow will bring some clarity or at least a direction. Yes, I agree brain it's time for a vodka. 5555...sorry thinking out loud. 555 All the Best PR3

You can still buy them new in Saudi, the compound I lived on had the window rattlers (as we called them) and I loath the day they were changed to splits. The old window ones were ugly, noisy and for sure a lot less efficient but they seemed to work a lot quicker and keep the room colder, additionally the heating side was much better too for the winters. I wouldn't have them myself but I will never knock them

Hi, that's the odd thing, we were 1125 kw/h used, the solar made around 400 kw/h also; so that makes 1500+ usage which is way above the most we ever used by 35%. I know it's hot but wow. We have never been close to negative readings as we use use quite a bit of energy, additionally we make sure it's (solar) always isolated when we go away for a night or so. We have 2 fridge freezers and another fridge upstairs so there are plenty of things eating the power, I notice night time temperatures are 30ish degrees which wont help either. Perhaps it's time for an energy audit. Anyways I'll keep updating as things take shape. All the Best PR3

Okay brief update, first blue sky day here in KK so checked panel output of PV2 and was 162v, most I ever saw was 167v out of that array so seems the shattered glass has had a negligible effect on output. I thought I'd finally sorted the CT problem thus had it switched on for meter reading day. Meter reader came and we got a "there seems to a problem with your readings" (translated by the missus) on the bill and no other details or amount. So I suppose Monday will bring more news and will update as we go. Turns out the CT wasn't doing as I thought so it may have been spinning in reverse when he took the reading. Hard to see why as we had 3 aircons rolling and a washing machine and it was only making 1.5kw at the time. Perhaps was unlucky and the air con compressors weren't spinning and the washing machine was having one of those pause for thought moments like they seem to have sometimes. Lol Have contacted the supplier of the Sofar inverter (Sofar never replied to my enquiries for assistance btw and neither did Bluesun the panel manufacturers); he has been most helpful thus far in terms of guidance, and also assured he'd send someone local round next week to assist FOC if needs be. So after all the excitement of Songkran another episode awaits albeit perhaps one I don't want. It's peeing down outside and can hear the thunder, going to grab a wine bottle and watch the lightning. Update soon with hopefully not too depressing news. All the Best PR3

I cleaned my panels the other day, no water involved just a soft floor duster type thingy. They were a little dusty but once they were done saw an approx 150w gain. Not an enormous amount but worth the 5 minutes effort.

If it's a Thai bank account there will be an ID attached to that account. This happened to my wife, she got a police report to have the account frozen at the bank; and then the police located the holder of the account. A young lady of college age had created an account in her name for someone else and given them the SIM attached to the account for online transactions, for a small sum. The account holder was the one deemed responsible and my wife got the money back from her family to drop the charges Against the daughter. This was only around 45k and was for an exchange service for foreign currency. Wife felt terrible as it was a poor farming family. Perhaps the OP ought to suggest to try the same for his BIL.

Good Evening All, Apologies; I haven't been posting for a while have been sick with many things starting with covid last November Since then Type A flu (worse than but likely complicated by covid). Mystery illness that had me on my *ss and then food poisoning. Anyways a bit better now and slowly on the up. Cold season wasn't the best time for the Solar set up. It certainly poked holes in my original plans of very low winter bills when it became apparent that the 7 panels on the front of the home hardly do anything as the sun pretty much doesn't touch them for about 7 weeks. At that time the back 4 made the solar power so better than nothing, shame really as there isn't much room to mount more in that location. Anyways the CT clamp still doesn't work...lol. Despite my many attempts, have finally contacted Sofar regarding this and waiting for a reply. Until then we lose roughly a day and halfs free power. Most important update is that one of my solar panels has shattered. Went to check them today as it had poured down in the afternoon and there it was, completely end to end and edge to edge small crazed bits of glass. Most depressing. I checked for any signs of localised damage perhaps something had fallen on it but nothing, maybe thermal shock caused by the downpour...who knows? We contacted the shop we bought from and things looked promising for a replacement at first. Then they transferred us to the claims department and pretty much got farked off immediately no warranty and very little explanation; so will contact the manufacturer next to see their response. Not going to name and shame until then, and only by PM don't want to end up in bother..Lol. I did climb over and check it seems its laminated so nothing is going to get inside thankfully. I'll keep an eye on the output from PV2 and observe just how bad it's affecting the other 3. Anyways on a better note I didn't die and sunny season is coming. Hopefully a decent sumer will see more production. All the Best Gents. Mark.

I wasn't aware of that thanks for the information PR3

Forgot to mention if the mains supply has air inside after repairs or new connections your pump will have to deal with any potential air lock that has caused. If it cannot reach the cut off pressure (because its a water pump not a compressor) it might run till something gets rather hot and fails. Perhaps it's a good time to at least consider getting a tank, if you take the expense aside (which to be fair none of us want) it does make a lot of good sense long term..really. PR3

A guy I knew up the street pumped straight from the mains and had the same symptoms you have I.e. rapid cycling of the pump, I have had a tank since I moved here in 2006 didn't really understand the advantage at first but I assure you; having a tanked supply has many advantages and often makes headaches a little easier to diagnose. Mainly because the pump is dealing with the same conditions all the time. As a bonus when the water goes off you still have a reserve. There's a very good chance if you get a new pump it will behave in the same manner as your current one; sorry to say that but seen it a few times where direct into the mains. If you're reluctant to have a tank it may be better to get used to the pulsing, however as with many electrical things it's not the best choice for longevity of the switch and motor capacitor. I hope you get it sorted I've had my share of these unwanted surprises and it ain't fun. PR3

Yes the tank was not cheap, but it looks like a stainless steel replacement so will last a long time, a worthwhile investment tbh as they all seem to develop those pinholes after a few years. I just replaced our Hitachi one for the same reason and had 3 mitsus go at the old house. Anyways, if you look at the castellated black plug at the top right hand side on the picture, undoing this will let any air out of the pump, however make sure its not pressurised when you do it as it will blow the rubber seal out. As for the cycling; there can either a leak on the pipework after the pump, an airlock in one of the pipes so make sure you purge all toilets, showers and faucets of air. Another problem I once had was the check valve from the mains, some systems have it set up so if the pump fails or power outage the mains water automatically comes through. These do eventually fail amd the pump then pressurised the mains water supply if it's lower pressure. Are you drawing from a tank or directly from the mains water? PR3

I used some of these type on projects and found them good. Rubber coated and stainless so best of both worlds if you really want to use a cable tie and are looking for a decent life span and not to harm the cable sheath. Check out เคเบิ้ลไทร์ สแตนเลส 304 กว้าง 4.6 YOR...at 33% off!฿82.00 only!Get it on Lazada now! | https://s.lazada.co.th/s.iMJl7 Hope the link works Lol.

Well all went well with cabling and trunking so at midday brought the 2nd string online. 3.32kw was the best I saw but it hasn't been the sunniest of days. Still, very pleased with the result. Total cost in the end was a smudge over 91000baht so not too expensive at all. Fingers crossed nothing goes pear shaped anytime soon. I'll update from time to time. Thanks ever so much for all the assistance and advice I have been given. Quite sure I'd never have got through the install without the help. Thinking about it I still haven't tested the CT no export as yet so no doubt I'll be asking for more . All the Best Everyone. Mark.

Good Evening All So yesterday i had a plan about putting the rails on for the second string of panels. Started to get stressed out over the potential of falling through the damned thing. The frame has 800 x 800(mm) gaps where the tin goes on its a bit of a twitcher. No chance of access due to the boards already being in place sooooo. Consequently got 1 rail on at the edge ???? Today awoke with a bit of determination. So I cut a load of box up I had left from the supports off the first string and got cracking. By hook or crook I was gonna get this done. Had to maneuver the bits of steel around to provide support whilst balancing me and the damned panels. I had to keep taking a break because my feet were sweating so bad in my crocs (happens when I'm full on sh***ing it) so made it hard to feel sure footed. But eventually got it finished. Pheeeew. I have to add was so happy to look at it done at last. Stuck the meter on and getting 166vdc from the 4 panels which is as spec thankfully. Haven't finished the wiring up that's tomorrow's task and that's when I'll have a better idea of how it's gone and whether they'll perform on load. Fingers crossed will be okay. On a seperate note was getting 2.37kw from the front string (according to the inverter readout) so happy with that from a lab rated 2.96. Will update with the final push (until storage and a hybrid become necessary..????) All the Best. PR3

@007 RED Thanks for the tip. I wasn't even aware they went to sleep. One thing I will say, they are deep sleepers because nothing I could do would wake it up. I went outside just now and the alarm was on because the power supply was off, reconnected everything back up where it should be and all is well. That really had me worried I tossed and turned all night. So in summary I didn't sleep well at all because the inverter did.???? Live and learn I suppose. Cheers All PR3

Further update....So I bypassed the overload protection (just in case it couldn't send enough current?) and instead connected to the 2 pole AC mcb on the combiner panel and still no life at the inverter.???? Have contacted the supplier will update as things develop and of course have another check of everything else in the morning. Fingers crossed can sort it out. Will try stay positive and look at fitting the second string as soon as. All the best. PR3

Quick update,couldn't wait til morning so went and checked it out, 232v ac from the connection plug so seems power is not an issue. I so hope its not failed after only a few days. I really don't fancy the warranty roller-coaster. Ahhhh cr*p

Well no idea what's gone on. Just checked the inverter on the way back from the putting some garbage out and it's dead. Was perfectly fine all day and haven't touched anything. Tried isolating and firing up again and nothing..oh dear. Will have a proper look in the morning, hopefully just a fuse or something.

Brilliant thanks for that. PR3