Loadshedding solutions

[mikkelz]

On 1/12/2023 at 1:05 PM, The Ouzo said:

We had a light green pool mid december, but that was because I forgot to change the floater. With the pool covered you cant see that the floater is done, so you kind of forget about it.

Never leave a "floater" in your pool! 😜

[Theunissa]

On 1/16/2023 at 8:12 AM, ChrisF said:

 

Did a bit of digging in the regulations.

 

SANS10142-1 refers to SANS 10086-1 for details on "Battery rooms"

 

SANS 10086-1 only speaks to lead acid batteries, and only for "large scale UPS applications".  For some context, companies such as Telkom has LARGE rooms filled with lead acid batteries.

 

The regs carry on to describe the forced ventilation for these rooms.  Back to Telkom - they use extract ventilation systems to ensure all possible hydrogen is extracted from the room, and the building.  As the fan will be exposed to hydrogen gas it is of the Class 1 Div 1 type, for potentially explosive atmospheres.

 

 

Okay, SANS 10086-1 also refers to  BS6132 and BS6133 - Alkaline and lead acid batteries respectively.  I dont have access to these two codes, but typically the SANS code is just a copy of the BS code ....

 

 

These codes do not speak to sealed batteries.  It also does not refer to lithium batteries.

 

 

As such this is SANS10142-1 Ed 3 7.14.3 does NOT apply to:

1. SMALL home installations.

2. Systems using sealed batteries.

 

That being said - best to keep the batteries and inverters in well ventilated spaces, even if it is just to keep the temperatures in check.

You must also look at 10400 and 60324. You will see  the part I posted mentions that batteries are high risk. It does not distinguish between types of batteries. Im not gonna argue that the law is old and does not encompass specific battery types like lithium. The law needs a serious renovate but forsee that lithium will become very high risk. Because no 1 our brandweer doesn't even know how to handle lithium fire. It's not even100%, clear how to kill it. But because it does not say a specific type. The law says it will include all. That law of the meaning of the word implies if not 100% clear definition. There is a spesific name for it. Can't remember now. Also I know of someone who's kids got injured( lungs burned) due to lead acid batteries releasing Gas die to over charge. And that makes it already a health ND safety risk. The problem with alot of things out there is that people want to take one sans and say I will do what this says. But ohs act says you should consider all. And yes eskom is to blame for power issue. But you yourself is to blame if you don't do stuff that complies because your put your own life and family at risk. 

[Bundu Ric]

21 hours ago, Theunissa said:

You must also look at 10400 and 60324. You will see  the part I posted mentions that batteries are high risk. It does not distinguish between types of batteries. Im not gonna argue that the law is old and does not encompass specific battery types like lithium. The law needs a serious renovate but forsee that lithium will become very high risk. Because no 1 our brandweer doesn't even know how to handle lithium fire. It's not even100%, clear how to kill it. But because it does not say a specific type. The law says it will include all. That law of the meaning of the word implies if not 100% clear definition. There is a spesific name for it. Can't remember now. Also I know of someone who's kids got injured( lungs burned) due to lead acid batteries releasing Gas die to over charge. And that makes it already a health ND safety risk. The problem with alot of things out there is that people want to take one sans and say I will do what this says. But ohs act says you should consider all. And yes eskom is to blame for power issue. But you yourself is to blame if you don't do stuff that complies because your put your own life and family at risk. 

Just a question on the above, if you have batteries (lead acid) charging managed via an inverter could there still be overcharge or is it safe to assume the inverter managing that risk for you?

[Theunissa]

28 minutes ago, Bundu Ric said:

Just a question on the above, if you have batteries (lead acid) charging managed via an inverter could there still be overcharge or is it safe to assume the inverter managing that risk for you?

If the inverter is setup 110% correctly for your battery it's safe. But the quality of your inverter will also be a big role player ( cheaper more likely to fail) but if the inverter fails it will overcharge. But I've only seen this twice in 20 years. The problem is the risk is there with lead acid. Also as the batteries get older it happens more readily, because the batteries don't get full so it keeps on charging. And overcharges. The biggest reason I have found batteries to overcharge is due to age and lighting damage. I've seen hundreds of batteries (, sealed lead acid) leaking. Had a garage motor battery overcharge and leak on top of customers car with 2 weeks from new. You can move the batteries and extend the cables. But distance will be dependent on cable thickness. I you csn move away do so. If not I would atleast install an extractor fan above them to remove possible fumes 

[ChrisF]

3 hours ago, Bundu Ric said:

Just a question on the above, if you have batteries (lead acid) charging managed via an inverter could there still be overcharge or is it safe to assume the inverter managing that risk for you?

 

The "problem" with lead.acid batteries is that gas is released as part of the normal charge process.

 

So even with a good inverter perfectly set up you will have gas release ....

 

 

A VERY flammable gas !!!

 

 

Which is why "battery charging bays" must have minimum ventilation requirements.

 

 

Now try this in a room with minimal ventilation and things can get nasty ....

 

[Theunissa]

9 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

 

The "problem" with lead.acid batteries is that gas is released as part of the normal charge process.

 

So even with a good inverter perfectly set up you will have gas release ....

 

 

A VERY flammable gas !!!

 

 

Which is why "battery charging bays" must have minimum ventilation requirements.

 

 

Now try this in a room with minimal ventilation and things can get nasty ....

 

I think moderne battery that are sealed are less of an issue in this regard. But I don't do lead acid in a house 

[Bundu Ric]

Thanks, so I currently have 2 led acid batteries in my study which is in the corner of the room not boxed in, so is my understanding correct to rather replace them with gel batteries?

And if yes, any specific brand that is recomended as these ones I got from Builders as I just wanted a setup that could run the study for 4 hours at a time during load shedding.

[Theunissa]

1 hour ago, Bundu Ric said:

Thanks, so I currently have 2 led acid batteries in my study which is in the corner of the room not boxed in, so is my understanding correct to rather replace them with gel batteries?

And if yes, any specific brand that is recomended as these ones I got from Builders as I just wanted a setup that could run the study for 4 hours at a time during load shedding.

Gel is same as lead acid. 

[Spookie]

Noob Q: Anyone else having issues with fibre during loadshedding?

I have a UPS that can last the 2-4h stints no problem, but after an hour of loadshedding the internet stops working. So everything is connected, just no data flow (broadband light is red and service light is off - usually both are green).

Raised it with my ISP and they just blame Eskom and their ‘batteries not having enough time to recharge’. I’m not super clued up on these things, so trying to confirm that it’s definitely an ISP issue and not a fibre provider issue before I change ISP’s only to find I’ve gone full circle 😂 friends down the road are MWEB and have zero issues even in 4h windows.

 

[DJuice]

Looking for some advice to cool our garage where our inverter and batteries are located. Number one priority, cost effective, ek is kuiken swak. Would a standup fan make a difference?

It is an very old home, the garage can take 6 vehicles no problem, the garage is just to large for an ac and ac takes up to much power for our system.

As you are aware we live in Upington, used to heat, love the heat, but this last two weeks, was hellish.

Our system can carry the water cooler no problem, but ac we have to use sparingly, installing three more panels to carry the ac in the home. Water cooler the solution, but way above my means at the moment, and then the family will ask why not a water cooler for down stairs in the home.

We have Hubble batteries, some love them, some hate them, it was what we could afford and sofar worked with no problems, they are 7 months old, working temprature is +-55, has not bombed out, so atleast temprature below 55, but I have seen a 50.

Have a great day all!

 

[Frosty]

7 hours ago, Spookie said:

Noob Q: Anyone else having issues with fibre during loadshedding?

I have a UPS that can last the 2-4h stints no problem, but after an hour of loadshedding the internet stops working. So everything is connected, just no data flow (broadband light is red and service light is off - usually both are green).

Raised it with my ISP and they just blame Eskom and their ‘batteries not having enough time to recharge’. I’m not super clued up on these things, so trying to confirm that it’s definitely an ISP issue and not a fibre provider issue before I change ISP’s only to find I’ve gone full circle 😂 friends down the road are MWEB and have zero issues even in 4h windows.

I’m with Vodacom (fiber) and have problems with connectivity during stage 6. They’re too big to care about one small area of my suburb.

[The Ouzo]

Bit of a load shedding lol.

 

We were scheduled to go off at 20:00 last night. I got back from a meeting at the daughters school at about 19:30, changed and decided to make some coffee so we could settle down infront of the TV.

19:53 the lights go out, just as I finish stirring my coffee. Cue some swearing, then decided stuff it, I need some chill time so we will watch 1 episode of a show using the inverter.

about 15 minutes later the neighbour messages us to check if everything is ok as our house is totally dark.

That when we realised its not load shedding, we had run out of electricity.

[-cK-]

Is the friends down the road on the same fibre provider as you?  My ONT box has a LOS indicator to show if the fibre line is down or not making it easier to pin point problem otherwise can't you log into the router and check status of line.  There is usually and status indicator to show is the line is down or whether the ISP is down.

[Ispeed_V]

Now this is what we all need:

Work-ready Acer eKinekt BD 3 exercise bike powers your laptop | Stuff

The Acer eKinekt BD 3 is an off-grid digital nomad's dream.

The eco-friendly Acer eKinekt BD 3 is part stationary exercise bike, part office desk, and can convert your pedal power into electricity to juice up your tech while you work out.

From the ground up, it’s a pretty standard-looking exercise bike that’s made from post-consumer recycled plastic. Only a compact desk has been plonked over the handlebars. A built-in LCD display shows how hard you’re working (physically working, that is – it can’t tell if you’re sending emails or filling out spreadsheets in rapid time), with an hour of cycling at 60rpm able to generate 75 watts of power.

The desk has three USB ports (two full-size and a single USB-C) to recharge your gadgets, along with space for a laptop, a bag hook and cup holder, so you can set up for the day and cycle a century without having to take your eye off your inbox.

Both the bike seat and desk height are adjustable, with separate Working and Sports modes able to swap between an upright position (ideal for pedaling and typing at the same time) and a more lean-forward one for extra leg space to really punish those quads. The desk slides forwards and backwards for when it is and isn’t needed, too.

There’s a smartphone companion app that works out calories burned, and watts generated in real-time, based on personal info like height, weight, age and gender, with workout history recorded over time.

This isn’t some wacky concept, either: the Acer eKinekt BD 3 is actually going on sale, with prices set to start from $999 in the US and €999 in Europe. Home working cycle addicts will be able to snap one up in June.

 

[Bundu Ric]

11 hours ago, Theunissa said:

Gel is same as lead acid. 

Thanks. 

Apologies for the noob questions, so the R3k vs. R4k battery is the same except for the gel innards and it being sealed?

Does this mean the gel / sealed batteries are better for the normal acid batteries in my study, meaning safer?

[Frosty]

1 hour ago, The Ouzo said:

Bit of a load shedding lol.

That when we realised its not load shedding, we had run out of electricity.

Happened to me, more than once, over the years.