Puredrive Battery

eclipsechaser

I have 3x 5kWh PureDrive batteries. 1 I got 2nd hand and asked the installer to put install it at the same time as the other 2. They had lots of problems installing any of them to begin with. A more knowlegable installer was then sent out and he got the 2 new ones running but said that he would need a software update to do the 3rd.

That's been several months and the company aren't responding to emails/ calls. Is there anyone someone could recommend to get the 3rd one up and running? It's already attached to the wall so I can't imagine it's a huge job for some who knows what they're doing. At this stage, I'm happy to just pay someone else and get it done.

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120718740#Comment_120718740

Get on to Puredrive support it's possible the batteries are not compatible. Some or all 1st gen don't work with 2nd gen batteries afaik. A member back up the thread had issues and needed an update done. They might have some better info. @ silver_sky

silver_sky

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120718740#Comment_120718740

PureDrive are so slow and frankly lied to me multiple times about sending stuff. I finally did get the cable for the upgrade in the end and asked them to assist over the phone. I was concerned that maybe there was an issue with the battery. They said do it yourself and give us a call if issues.

So I have the cable and was able to get my 5kWh battery updated to the current firmware. The issues I was having stopped.

Where are you based? If you're not far I may be able to help. I'm not an installer though, just another like you that had to muddle through these companies with awful support. :(

The batteries all need to be the same series though. Check the serial numbers, what digit do they each start with?

eclipsechaser

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120719834#Comment_120719834

That's an incredibly generous offer. I'm in Rathfarnham and will PM you to see if a meet-up is possible.

I just checked there and they all begin with: WSUK65502xxxxx. The x's are where they start to differentiate from each other. I hope that means they're all compatible at least.

Ha Long Bay

Does anyone have access to the BMS update tool?

I finally got the update cable sent out but the download is missing from their website.

https://puredrive-energy.co.uk/firmware-updates/

Jonathan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121043554#Comment_121043554

Link is working for me. Redirects to a sharepoint site.

https://puredriveenergyltd-my.sharepoint.com/personal/social_media_puredrive-energy_co_uk/_layouts/15/onedrive.aspx

I might borrow the cable off you once your finished with it if that's okay. Need to update my pair. Still running original firmware.

Ha Long Bay

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121043621#Comment_121043621

Hi Jonathan when I click the link it shows the folder empty.

On the cable more than happy to stick it in the post to you when I am done with it.

Ha Long Bay

Would anyone have a cable I could borrow? The one Puredrive sent out doesn't appear to connect correctly and looks slightly damaged.

silver_sky

Ha Long Bay kindly sent me along a cable to test. It worked correctly with my 5kWh battery. I ordered another cable from elsewhere which has now arrived, and will make it up later using the original as a guide. I'll make a post later on the outcome. This will hopefully help others be less reliant on the shambles of PureDrive support.

footfall789

Hi,

I have 2 5KW Pure-drive batteries for about a year now.

I am currently having an issue where the batteries only charge to 96/97% in the Afternoon and any excess energy produced by the Solar Panels over and above what is used by the House is exported to the GRID and not used to charge the batteries to 100% they will only charge to a MAX of 96/97% in the afternoon.

However this is not the case in the morning , prior to 12 noon. Any excess energy produced by the Solar Panels over and above what is required by the House is stored in the Batteries until they reach 100% and then the excess is exported to the GRID.

I have checked the battery details and the Battery is NOT setup to Dump or Discharge onto the GRID in the Afternoon.

Wonder if anyone came across this issue before .

Regards, footfall789

yllw.ldbttr

I have two of these but looking to add a third - can anyone recommend a good source with reasonable prices?

ronoc101

Any chance someone close to Dublin has a USB to RJ45 RS485 cable I can borrow ?

Having battname-fail issues and have been sent F/W update tool but don't fancy waiting on them to send the cable.

TIA.

Jonathan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121596087#Comment_121596087

PM me. Based in Fingal.

ronoc101

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121596496#Comment_121596496

Thanks Jonathan. Appreciate that.

hick

ok team!

I’ve bit off more than I can chew!

Went to add a new battery and well after a fairly hefty heave into the attic, all 60kg!! I plugged all in and all batts showed me the red ring!

but worse I put everything back to exactly the way it was with 2 batteries and fu*k sake the original 2 continued with the red ring. I swear this line being in old XBox territory.

Any tips please!!!

Jonathan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122016027#Comment_122016027

What can you see on the Solis inverter? Can the inverter see the SOC?

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122016027#Comment_122016027

This might help as well if any use, from about 8 minutes 40 seconds in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxDzZ2wuWsQ

Ha Long Bay

Also when you reverted to the original setup did you restart both batteries by pulling the DC isolator on top of the units?

@Jonathan I wonder if something like this could happen connecting a gen 2 battery to existing gen 1 units?

con747

In the previous page it was pointed out that some gen 1 batteries won't work with gen 2 batteries so it could be a cause if the batteries are different generations.

Ha Long Bay

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122016153#Comment_122016153

OP can you compare the details here across the originals and new batteries? Label is on the bottom left.

Jonathan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122016102#Comment_122016102

Yes, sounds very plausible. The whole v1 vs v2 thing isn't very well documented.

Ha Long Bay

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122016278#Comment_122016278

That's an understatement as well as the v0.5 version!

Hopefully the OP can confirm gen versions which might point towards the source of the issue.

hick

thanks everyone for the responses! Much appreciated.
so it appears that I have 2 x v2 and 1 x v1

The old config which was working with no errors was a v1 and v2, though there were big issues with the install, which is document further back in this thread

The old configuration would not work when I removed the new v2

As of this morning I have the new v2 on its own connected and working.

the old v2 would not work on its own

I have not test the new v2 connected to v1 or the v1 on its own.

saga continues, more testing this afternoon.
but there’s definitely a problem and it’s likely version related now

hick

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122017807#Comment_122017807

so have just spent the last hour trying all configurations

So neither of the two original batteries, a v1 and v2 will not work on their own

They will not work together in the original configuration

Neither will work as slave to the new battery, a v2

All the works in the new v2 in isolation

Totally confused and frustrated 😩

And thumb is sore to boot flipping on the switches on the batteries, isolation switch and inverter with all the restarts.

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122019356#Comment_122019356

Maybe try get in touch with Puredrive and give them the batteries codes and see if they can shed any light on a way to configure them if possible?

Ha Long Bay

Are you terminating the can bus when you are linking them together? Also what type of cable are you using to link them? It's suppose to be a cat5 cable.

hick

thanks both

yes terminator in down port in all instance on the last battery (or solo)

Used the original cable that worked all along. Also tested with spare solis cables and new CAT 5s
yes a call to puredrive in the morning for sure

Ha Long Bay

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122019592#Comment_122019592

When I was talking to them back in Feb they were taking on a service engineer for Ireland so hopefully that has happened. Let us know how you get on.

hick

hey folks, minor update. Spoke with Will in puredrive this morning. All very straightforward. Going to schedule an onsite visit, if they can’t sort them and there, they will replace both batteries. Pretty happy with that. He got back on an hour later for solis info and access, was great to see the responsiveness has picked up for sure. But will wait before I start popping the champagne just yet!

@Ha Long Bay i asked about the dedicated Ireland engineer. He wasn’t sure, so I’d say not yet.

Midlakelands

Just to add to this. I had some issues with my v1 Puredrives probably faulty cell in one of them which caused it to suddenly drop from about 30% to below 15%. Will from support organised an on site visit and when a firmware update didn't work they replaced my batteries with no quibbles. That is why I purchased these in the first place as I wanted that level of support when something goes wrong. Seems to me that Puredrive have definitely improved in this regard.

Now they are only in since yesterday so hopefully I won't be back with further problems.

Plus I am presuming they are now v2 but other than checking with puredrive regarding serial numbers I don't know how I can directly check that myself.

Ha Long Bay

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122037576#Comment_122037576

If you see my post about 10 posts up that will show you how to check. Sticker on the left hand side of the battery.

Midlakelands

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122037613#Comment_122037613

Yep completely missed that. Thanks I can now see that I'm on the v2 hardware with v3 firmware.

MossyTracks

Great conversation and very insighful. I have a question:

If I have a Solis combi invertor and a 5KW PureDrive battery, could I order a different branded battery from China and easily plug-and-play the battery with this existing setup? I'm not locked in to just use PureDrive batteries?

SD_DRACULA

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122093359#Comment_122093359

You can only use one or the other (technically) because they can't talk to each other.

Sell the puredrive and get two of the others but DIY battery is the gold standard these days but only if you're handy at the DIY.

You can build a 15kwh battery for around €1500, all the details are on the battery thread.

Jonathan

It seems Puredrive have now rebranded as (or bought a license to use the name) Duracell.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ukid5AHecpk

RTT

Hi folks,

I was having issues with my nearly 3 year old 5kwh Puredrive gen 1 battery which I thought I'd share here. It would get to 48% in the evening ,then suddenly drop to 0% and force charge. I called my installer who told me it needed a firmware update. I contacted Puredrive (Will) and they sent me the cable. Was stung for customs charge of about €5. Tried to do the update but it wouldn't work. Will in Puredrive tried to update the firmware remotely as I allowed him remote access to my laptop..no joy. He told me that my gen 1 battery was faulty, was under warranty and that it would be replaced with a gen 2 battery and they would send a new one. Was afraid I'd be charged customs duty on it as it was being sent from the UK. Anyway found a workaround and it was shipped and fitted by original installer. All working again now.

Jonathan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122569460#Comment_122569460

Good to hear. What was the workaround?

RTT

They shipped it to the installer's supplier up north. The installer collected it, fitted it and took away my old battery. Happy with Puredrive's customer service to be fair.