10kWh LifePO4 DIY Battery Addition..... Here is my write up.

poker--addict

is it easy to add more batteries later? i.e If I was to DIY 5kw, could I add another 5 or 10 later? Would there be issues if the first batch were 1 year old when new ones added?

Logic is better putting money to an EV with a vehicle to house a battery in it, but a 5kw battery would manage the issue of short-term clover on an otherwise ok say. Today is a prime example of some cloud and showers around but strong sun 70% of the time. The immersion is on and off manually 😂

Do people find 5kw battery gets them through "peak period" - suspect we will all eventually end up on smart meters. Will monitor my specific usage in that period over next week.

EDIT to add did I read 8 DIY batteries wont get me to required voltage so need to go 16 (10kw)?

unkel

No you couldn't really add another 5 or 10 later. The batteries would be mismatched. Well I suppose you could, but you would not get the full capacity. It's better to either make your mind up, up front. Or to sell what you have and buy more if you want to expand. That's what I did earlier this year. I had 10kWh, but bought 20kWh and then sold my original 10kWh

Battery prices are going up though and people are prepared to pay a premium not having to wait 2-3 months for the batteries to arrive from China. So I sold my old 10kWh for significantly more than I paid for them about 18 months earlier

championc

For the 10kWh vs 20kWh dilemma, I had 10 and had to start thinking about automating the process of charging based on the forecast.

But in the back of my mind, there was

A) I could buy 10kWh VAT free in case they cop on and stop it

B) I'd be covered with plenty for when Time of Use tariffs come and Day / Night meters cease.

C) I'd have no forecast worries

So I now have 20kWh. All I have to do is ensure that I have about 60% SOC each morning. If the day is crap, I have enought to get me to midnight, and if it's a cracker, I have space for that charge (from my 3.9kWp)

Throw into the mix the fact that you have 8kWp, I personally think you would be nuts only getting 10kWp.

Remember, you have your GivEnergy (or whatever it is), which will make back a huge chunk of the money you previously invested

poker--addict

Asked about 5kw get talked into looking at 20kw 😂

givenergy??

unkel

Givenergy? Eh no. And please read the last few comments again. A message from us battery loves to you:

Do not pay anyone to install any battery for you. You will lose a lot of money if you do. If you really do want a battery, install it yourself and make it yourself. And even if you do, it is unlikely to ever pay for itself...

poker--addict

Miscommunication . I don’t have a GivEnergy. I meant what was the previous posters reference?

championc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119750528#Comment_119750528

Ah ok, so you have nothing currently ?

In any case, you have an 8kWp system. That can easily support a 20kWh battery.

A 5 will cost more than a DIY 10, and a 5 could be full in under an hour.

This thread is only about DIY building of a 10kWh bank, and all the info needed is pretty much in post #1 of this thread

poker--addict

I pulled trigger and ordered 10kw for a DIY job.

I agree 20KW at DIY prices would work far better for me, just post paying for panels too there is cash flying out all directions at moment so there is limits and 20kw will have to come later.

Anyone else at similar stage let me know.

unkel

Nice one, keep us updated when you get them and about your build. Now as a point of order, power is expressed in kW, the capacity of your battery in kWh 😃

You buy from PWOD, did they still deduct the VAT, how much did you pay for the 16 cells delivered?

poker--addict

PWOD, €1585 paid (so far). Reckon two full months for delivery.

Evd-Burner

What exactly did you order from PWOD?

I got quoted though Jenny Wu (Ray builds cool stuff recommendation) for 16 cells EVE LF280K shipped from EU to Ireland, the cost is 132*16+136=2248USD, add Alibaba trade assurance fee 56USD, the total is 2304USD.

So about 2400 euro for 13.44kW, just shy of 11kW usable. 280ah 3.2v per cell.

What you all think?

unkel

I would take CALB cells over the EVE cells. Less capacity but they seem a lot sturdier. They are also a bit cheaper last time I looked. But maybe that's because I started with EVE style cells that were a lot smaller, just 45Ah and some of their terminal threads got stripped and some cells bloated. Not good.

championc

I too am not a lover of those Aluminium cased cells. The terminals and busbars seem very inadequate. You can happily use a rachet on the bolts on the CALB terminals

Evd-Burner

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119762312#Comment_119762312

So my intention had been to follow the build method of the box from the Ray Builds Cool Stuff channel. With compression on the pack and noting not to full tighten using torque wrench until properly compressed.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEW1Dv7_YieagyEvxUpL10Q

To also be completely honest, until going over this thread I hadn't even realized there were other types. The CALB type, if I was to order via PWOD at 200ah I would get just under 10kW of battery with 8kW usable. Looking at other peoples quotes its potential to get these around the 1500 mark, where as the EVE cells I was looking at would get 13.44kW for about 2400, with just under 11kW usable. I don't know what to do now 😐️

graememk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119762736#Comment_119762736

A lot of ones now aren't even using compression either! Look up the off grid garage too on YouTube.

_dof_

By the way, anyone going to buy cells on Aliexpress, I would recommend using topcashback.co.uk. They give cashback on aliexpress.com.

Usually I was buying low value stuff on aliexpress, so got small cashback, but when I bought the 20kwh cells from PWOD, i earned 94 pounds in cashback, not too shabby.

If you want a referral to topcashback send me a private message.

Mods, feel free to delete this if it's inappropriate.

Mr Q

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119762205#Comment_119762205

I have these EVE cells but from a different supplier. 280Ah by 16 would be 14.34kW but will be more expensive than the CALB per kWh no matter what way you look at it.

I have zero issue with the terminals, seem fine for the amount you need to tighten them.

But they can be swollen a little due to the soft casing, I doubt that happens with the plastic cases on the CALBs.

Evd-Burner

I've decided to go with the CALB cells from PWOD.

Looking on PWOD through AliExpress its EUR1620, just wondering has any body bough through Revolut?

If I switch to USD and buy via Revolut its only EUR1550.

championc

Yes, I did with Revolut, although the rate was very favourable back in June.

I follow PWOD and got a 200 off discount message / coupon the other day, so they are worth following

poker--addict

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119765064#Comment_119765064

I should have thought of that!!! Doh!

Evd-Burner

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119765147#Comment_119765147

Follow them where?

championc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119766752#Comment_119766752

On the AliExpress app

Evd-Burner

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119767418#Comment_119767418

Thanks for that, I'm at the end of a mortgage switch which should be done mid next week, going to order once its done so hopefully with following and having the items in the basket I get a coupon in the meantime to encourage a purchase :P

Geeyfds53573

Hang in there should be 11/11 sale coming up but surprised I don’t see it yet - was waiting myself for it

noelocon

So I finally got my 10 Kw setup (16s, seplos, sofar me300) connected to the grid today and I'm noticing a few issues. Apologies if these are dumb questions but there's a overwhelming amount of info out there and it's hard to know what's right.

[1] The Sofar only sees a 100A battery even though the seplos is saying that there's a 200A battery on it's display. I've selected General Lithium as the battery type but I've done no setup on the seplos as I don't have a Windows PC.

[2] The seplos shows the following battery charge mV, I had done a top balance a while ago but I let the batteries hooked up and powering the sofar 3000 for a few weeks by mistake while waiting for the sparky to arrive.

3349

3351

3305

3305

3307

3306

3306

3307

3307

3304

3306

3304

3305

3350

3335

[3] Is there anyway to configure the Seplos without a windows PC. I can setup a VM on a mac/linux laptop if needed but I just wanted to check in case there was an easier method.

thanks for your help

Noel

graememk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119779983#Comment_119779983

[2] it doesn't matter what ah the sofar reads, it works on the SoC from the BMS. Fine to ignore.

championc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119779983#Comment_119779983

Once you go through a full cycle of fully charge to fully discharged to fully charged again, it should calculate the SOC%.

LiFePO4 cells will not lose charge when standing. Regarding top balancing, while I charged to 3.65v, they dropped back to around 3.4v on the first go. It was only on the second go that I had them all sitting above 3.6v. Being at 3.4v initially, cost me capacity.

munsterfan2

Hi,

Quick question, my replacement cell didnt arrive, refund under way on aliexpress. Anyone know where I could order a single 200ah CALB cell for delivery from EU. Tried googling etc but not having much luck. All aliexpress orders are 2 month lead times.

Thanks

championc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119790820#Comment_119790820

Where did you order it from ? Someone other than PWOD or OYE ?

munsterfan2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119791100#Comment_119791100

Think the shop was esare, but now showing as shop-##### (### = numbers). After being shafted by oye I am not too keen to throw more money at them. Just got letter from bank, VISA chargeback has to be within 6 months from purchase date and I was outside that. Basically I will just look at it as 1200 euro wasted, expensive lesson.