Signature solar just watched the video and will include hardware for each pack! Thank goodness. DIY Parts List (affiliate links): Battery Pack: signaturesolar.com/eg4-8-cell-pack-lithium-cells-25-6v-100ah/?ref=cPwLcVc0SW-BjN 24V BMS: overkillsolar.com/%20%20product/bms-100a-8s-lifepo4/%20%20?myboi=187467879 48V BMS: overkillsolar.com/product/bms-100a-16s-lifepo4/?myboi=187467879 Battery Box Terminals: amzn.to/3ikFKrk Ring Terminals for balance lead: amzn.to/3D0G4Fw Ring Terminals for larger wires: amzn.to/3N90UH6 Tools for this project: www.mobile-solarpower.com/tools.html Battery Schematics: www.mobile-solarpower.com/design-your-own-12v-lifepo4-system.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Does off-grid solar confuse you? Check out my DIY friendly website for solar system packages and product recommendations, and so much more! www.mobile-solarpower.com Join our DIY solar community! #1 largest solar forum on the internet for beginners and professionals alike: www.diysolarforum.com Check out my best-selling, beginner-friendly 12V off-grid solar book (affiliate link): amzn.to/2Aj4dX4 If DIY is not for you, but you love solar and need an offgrid system, check out Tesla Solar. Low prices and great warranty, and they can take your entire house offgrid with their new Powerwalls: ts.la/william57509 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My solar equipment recommendations (Constantly updated! Check here first): 12V/48V Lithium Batteries: www.mobile-solarpower.com/solar-batteries.html Solar System Component Directory: www.mobile-solarpower.com/solarcomponents.html Plug-N-Play Systems: www.mobile-solarpower.com/full-size-systems.html Complete 48V System Kits: www.mobile-solarpower.com/complete-48v-solar-kits.html DIY Friendly Air Conditioner/ Heat Pumps: www.mobile-solarpower.com/solar-friendly-air-conditioners.html Complete 48V System Blueprint: www.mobile-solarpower.com/48v-complete-system-blueprint.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My Favorite Online Stores for DIY Solar and Coupon Codes: -Current Connected: SOK, Victron and High Quality Components. Best prices and warranty around: currentconnected.com/?ref=wp -Signature Solar: Cheap Server Rack Batteries and Large Solar Panels: www.signaturesolar.com/?ref=h-cvbzfahsek -Ecoflow Delta Official Site: My favorite plug-n-play solar generator: us.ecoflow.com/?aff=7 -AmpereTime: Cheapest 12V batteries around: amperetime.com/products/ampere-time-12v-100ah-lithium-lifepo4-battery?ref=h-cvbzfahsek -Rich Solar: Mega site and cheaper prices than renogy! Check them out: richsolar.com/?ref=h-cvbzfahsek -Shop Solar Kits: Huge site with every solar kit you can imagine! Check it out: shopsolarkits.com/?ref=will-p -Battery Hookup: Cheap cell deals bit.ly/2mIxSqt 10% off code: diysolar -Watts 24/7: Best deals on all-in-one solar power systems, with customer support and distribution here in the USA: watts247.com/?wpam_id=3 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Contact Information: I am NOT available for personal solar system consult! If you wish to contact me, this is my direct email: williamprowsediysolar@gmail.com Join the forum at diysolarforum.com/ if you wish to hang out with myself and others and talk about solar FTC Disclosure Statement and Disclaimers: Every video includes some form of paid promotion or sponsorship. Some links on this youtube channel may be affiliate links. We may get paid if you buy something or take an action after clicking one of these. My videos are for educational purposes only. Information is subject to change/update at any time. Electricity is DANGEROUS and can kill. Be smart and use common sense :) DIY Solar Power with Will Prowse is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, An affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com
naturally! "oh! Will has a recommendation that is cheap and easy enough to add" "so sayeth the Will!" great info :D now we just need to figure out how to use external battery banks with all these all in one packs like an eco flow!
At 1:43 I think you made a bad assumption. Just because they are all connected there is NO guarantee that they are at the same state of charge. Unless each of them was TOP Balanced together you may be getting batteries from different batches with different SOC's ... We had a server pack at work not pass their UPS Emergency run time and it turned out that one of the batteries was way out of spec from the others and therefore shutting down the charging way before any others. Let me know if I am not thinking straight ...
Yeah, Wil's videos are still practical and useful. Either evaluation of products or how tos and projects. Back in the day, I liked Jehu Garcia and did a lot of the salvaging, cycling and building of 18650 batteries, battery banks and other projects. Now Jehu just makes videos about the latest thing that he wants to sell. Hey, he made his channel, do what he wants with it... but don't expect me to be watching. I get enough commercials without looking for them! Ya'll Take Care and be safe, John
Will: "Let me show you beginners how it is done...: Will later: " Oh my gosh, the battery is working! How cool is that?!" :) Love when the teacher is excited that it actually functioned properly when he finished!
I mean it's a great thing but Wil is normally Soo Optimistic. I mean he laughs and jokes when something doesn't work right (or work at all!). Maybe those were free samples for evaluation so he doesn't get that 'ripped-off' feeling inside! He did seem pretty unhappy about the Ford Lightning that he ended up returning. 🤣🤣🤣 Anyway, I get aggravated and mad too easily. Wil just takes it easy! Ya'll Take Care and be safe, John
Excellent video Will! I’ve run the numbers several times on those battery packs trying to come up with a more cost effective solution versus buying server rack batteries but by the time you add the bms the savings just aren’t there. This is especially true if you start to take into account the features like built-in breakers, communication ports for the BMS, etc. In this video you implied that there may be a way to build a large battery bank using fewer BMS‘s. Obviously that would help make the whole thing more cost effective. I would love to see a video or hear your thoughts on a big DIY build that might compete with the 30 kWh a full server rack from EG4 give you.
Will's videos are great! It so wonderful to have someone who is so knowledgeable on this subject explain things so well for beginners. Will is truly an asset for all of us! (Don't ya want him for your neighbor so you can just hang out with him! He seems that cool!)
Thanks for another great beginner video! I’m sure you have a lot of new subscribers that will love this. You have a wonderful way of explaining things that make it so easy for people new to the industry. Your bms hook up instructions are second to none!
Hey Will, Another great video. I purchased mine from Signature Solar and received last week. Very glad you verified the thread size big help. Also have the same OverKill BMS have not installed due not having hardware. I'm in the process of building a mobile Solar Generator. Purchased Growatt 3000W 24V from Signature Solar also. Going to install inverter and battery on Hand Truck. Purchased yesterday 4 Slfab Elite 370W solar panels for the system.
Mark I read through your purchases, what items will you power? I'm a newbie... no experience. Want to go solar for an offgrid system, camper & simple electronics.. Ideally, kitchen appliances, chest freezer,lights,fan Thanks in advance for any input..
@@ncsojourner200 Hey Rusty, I'm on mainly using it for Emergency Backup power. A couple years ago we had a Snow Storm and were without power for 3 days. I have 2 Gasoline powered Generators but if you can't get gas the generator won't do you any good. This system can supply 20amps of 110V so it can power anything you want up to that 20 amp limit. It could power a Small AC unit, Space Heater, and pretty much everything you have on your list. The reason I went with 24V instead of 48V was to keep the cost down. I spent the extra money on the Solar Panels to get the battery charge back up with limited sunshine. Thats it for now.
Thank you...I did notice the 24v being less ,,, Am thinking of doing complete solar instead of the 6500 to have neok run power lines to a properly... Single & flexible not tremendously needy,, Could do primitive if needed... But fans,ac,frige/freez would be great luxury.... Many thanks
I'd love to see a thermal image of those welded bus bars under heavy load! Probably a much better, more consistent connection than we get with the old-fashioned bolt-down individual bars. How about a quick comparison video? (I'm loving how fast this field is progressing! Thanks for keeping us up to date!)
I'm building this pack and how could you not love this BMS. The paperwork is hysterical. "If you need help I will help you, If you screw up I will help you, if you kill it I will refund your money , send me back the dead BMS" LOL you can't go wrong. The only thing I will do is use SS set screws and bottom them out at 15 inch pounds. That way when tightening the nuts down I can hold the stud made by the set screw still. That way there is not chance of stripping the threads. Shipping of the BMS was very fast.
I'll love to see you get 3 or 4 of this pack and show how to parallel connect them not just on the main + and - terminal, but all the terminal on each cell like parallel connect the balance leads.
Thanks Will. I built one with your guidance. And I did the classic "How cool is that, It actually works!" It should power my refrigerator for ten days in my camper van. I added two DC to DC converters to step down to 12 volts and one to step down to 5 volts. Bought the Aim battery charger that can recharge it at 1000 watts. Might buy the Zero Breeze air conditioner.
I got some of the "extra" smoke out of a BMS when I plugged the balance connector in without ensuring that each balance lead was wired according to the diagram. The easiest way to make sure that it is correctly wired -- before plugging the balance connector into the BMS -- is with the multimeter negative lead on the black wire connection and then touch each white wire with the positive multimeter lead -- in order -- and the voltage should step up at each white wire .... 3.6v, 7.2v, 10.8v, etc. I got lucky since they had programmed extra smoke in the BMS and it did no harm -- the first time.
I love the intro so simple but it works. Each one just a little different like Kramer coming through Jerry's front door. Best one was when will was on the bench dragging the pack across it.
I bought 8 of these in January and they are working flawlessly 🙂 I was just going to by 4 more but they are no longer listed on Signature Solars web site... oh well. For those that bought them the bolt sizes should be M6x10 for terminals and M5x6 for balance leads.
This is what I was waiting for! Just ordered 1 today! Thanks Will. Been watching all your videos for a year. I have a camper van. Ford Transit. Good to go!
...I think you're getting spoiled with all the rackmount prebuilts. Your milk crate battery got me started in this crazy solar journey. Another cool video - thanks.
Just to let everyone know. Everyone is shipping fast. I ordered the battery on April 14th 2022 and it arrived on the 19th. It did not have the hardware packed with it, but it doesn't matter I will be using studs instead bolts anyway. I ordered the BMS on April 14th and it arrived on April 18th 2022. I paid the extra $10 to have the lugs crimped on and would recommend it to all. BTW due to my dual use of this pack I need it as a small lightweight (somewhat) pack some of the time but plan on adding another battery bank when I'm out in the middle of no where and can't set out solar. At that time I'm going to have to decide whether to switch between batteries or ( I know I know ) run them in parallel. This pack was just too well put together for me to pass it up. It fit my needs very well. Thanks for the heads up and tutorial.
I received 8 of these today, shortly after ordering them about 2 weeks ago they took them off of their site and no longer offer them for sale. Good thing I acted fast.
Could not find the preassembled pack on their site..Have they stopped selling them and if so know of a new place to get something similar Will? Love the videos and the loose calm fun demeanor keep it up!
I saw this battery pack when I was in search for a battery, but with the cost of shipping, and a BMS, the price was practically the same as an Ampere Time battery. I went with the fully built battery instead.
Nice! What was shipping cost compared between the two? I’m on their site and I was getting ready to check out with this battery kit, growatt 5000us and EG4 battery
@@about2088 Free shipping, and took about a week and a half to get delivered via FedEx. I'm still in the process of building my system. It'll be two 1KW systems, one for heating water in a IBC tote, and the other to charge the battery to run a water pump and a washing machine.
Hey Will! By chance I bought this pack a month ago and used this BMS for all the reasons you mentioned. It works pretty well and has full capacity.. I would recommend it!
No.. However the BMS can monitor the wattage use for you. I added it to my solar bank and so far it charges and discharges as advertised!! The cells are also at perfect balance. One thing i learned in using cells and this BMS is that the leads from the BMS MUST be very secure. The slightest loose or frayed connecting will result in a "false" voltage reading and will cause the BMS to go off on alarm!!
I'd suggest a hydraulic crimpers for battery wires; learned my lesson hard way (crimp worked its way loose over a year and got a bit melty on wire). Luckily caught it during high load test (100amp) before the setup made it into my RV. Cheap hydraulic crimps like 20-30 bucks on amazon now.
Hello from Sacramento CA. I was cruising your channel last night expecting a new video and missed it and I am scribed??? Will definitely be looking into this. Just about done with the water damage/seal of my 1970 airstream remodeling. We are putting the bedroom in the back and the bathroom in the middle. Not sure of the position of the bed. So were taking it out this week to decide if we like the current mockup. This will decide how and were the batteries will go in the trailer. I plan on putting in floor lockers for the batteries and that footprint will change depending on the placement of the bed. And the more low slung weight closer to the axels the better. This is a major systems upgrade and 5years of planning on two different floorplans to even out weight distribution I have already taken out over 60 feet of copper pipe. I am planning on loadsharing the trailer and the boat with the houses electrical grid. I mean why have them sit idle. My goal is to be grid free but have the option to reconnect to the main power grid when and if we move. Great job Will quick and to the point.
Just checked with Signature Solar and they no longer sell the 8 cell battery packs. Will do you or anyone else have a suggestion where to get them? Thanks for the help.
I think a nice diy replacement for this type of compression system would be a couple of cheap endless loop rachet straps, and some cut pieces of pvc. But for sure that disposable packing strap sure is a nice way to make the compression pack.
Excellent video as usual. I would like you to show a home built battery to add capacity to a power station, like ecoflow, mango, etc....since the addon batteries they sell cost almost as much as the power station.
Just a FYI the crimper you used on the small blue terminals was a tool intended for uninsulated terminals. Side note; I have used the same tool hundred’s of times on the insulated type.
Yes indeed but that other spot doesn't crimp that well. I only use the uninsulated spot. the insulated one is too close to the cutters and I've messed them up using them like that
Yeah have to agree, need proper crimpers. Crimps are not done the best here, really amateurish. Which is too bad because the info here is great. Not sure of the gauge of balance conductors but looks from video to be smaller than 14 - 16 AWG, (Blue) terminal, maybe need 18 - 22 AWG (Red) terminals. I find when instructing people on how to do something, do your best and if some a little sloppy at first, at least they were shown the correct method.
Will you are the Best!!! : ) Will, can you give us an example, on how to build a big battery bank 48v with these packages, and with high quality BMS. As you said at the end of the video.... Thank you very much!!!.
DO you have a tutorial for a 12V DIY from scratch? I would like to build my own 12V LiFe batteries and I have a very very VERY tight budget, but my flooded batteries can't take our needs and I am draining them. Thank you! Your videos are incredible!!
Did you build your 12v system? Care to share which brand of products you purchased? (Battery,charge controller, solar panels, inverter) There are so many brands now, it's hard to tell cheap junk from budget friendly goid!
I'm currently building 4 48v batteries from 8 of these battery packs. I purchased the 48v version of the bms you used in this video from overkill solar. It all seems quite straight forward except for 1 thing. The wiring diagram that came with the bms clearly shows the BC0 lead connecting to the main negative, then BC1 connecting to the 1st cell positive, then BC2 connecting to the 2nd cell positive, then BC3 and BC4 connecting to 4th cell negative and positive. Then BC5 and BC6 connecting to cell 6 negative and positive, BC7 and 8 connecting to cell 8 negative and positive. It continues like that, skipping every other cell and connecting to negative and positive. The wiring diagram you show for the bms you have shows the same, but you wire every balance lead to the positive of every cell, just like every other bms video I've watched. So, which way should it be, the way the diagram shows or the way you did it?
How to wire 2 parallel, 8 series 24v bms? I finally built a battery using 16 100ah EVE cells. Got an ANT 7-16 140A BMS and can't find any information about how to connect it to my configuration 😢
How do you calculate the amount of batteries Watt hours for a home.. I have 10,000 Watt in inverters... 19KW in batteries, 4300 in solar.. what would I expect for a 100% off-grid home?
Hi and thank you for your awesome videos. I been wanting to build my own battery and I found this video. I have a all in one 24v 3kw inverter that clearly says for seal, agm, and lithium battery only. I was wondering if a 24v lifepo4 with a BMS like the one you are building on this video will work with my inverter? The battery connector on my inverter is only one connector so is has charge and discharge function. Thank you.
Any videos on rewiring a battery that's 24v to 12V? As I write this I realize I can formulate /configure based of this video... ty 4 letting me waste your time.
My family is new to solar so this sounds like Greek to me. Do you have a video for beginners that is still hearty enough to run the fridge and window AC unit?
GREAT VIDEO. Its shame here in the future the raw cells end up costing more then a premade full battery. PS I could listen to you say the word "tighten" forever. hehehe
What would you recommend for a 36 volt, 100 amp hour golf cart application ? Including a good quality BMS that you yourself would use ? Thanks, great video Will !
On old , normal wire strippers , there's a bunch of micro bolt cutters , the little bolts will just pop in too. Just cup your hand over where they don't fling out and get lost .
Just got mine this week took a little over 14 days to receive it and it was damaged. The box looks fine but the cell on the pos end is pushed up and the buss bar is in a bind. I have emailed them today and hopefully will hear back soon. I am worried if I tried to pust it back down it would damage the cell or bust the welds. Was really looking forward to assembling this today.
Question- Hey Will I love the depth of information you provide and the way you explain the info . My question for you is if I'm wanting to make a solar set up that is going in my work trailer wanting it to be able charge all batteries for cordless tool the biggest batteries i have are the milwaukee 12amp ones , but I also like to be able run my table saw and chop saws and all corded tools from this and if the ever blackout I like to be able run extention from trailer to the standing freezer and chest freezer and fridge and be able to run these continuously, if have sun every second day to top batteries back up . Was hoping to be able to do this for under 3-4 thousand dollars. I sore that you said those 250w panels that $60 where good also I have a 3000 w inverter already , but if you can't let me know if what I'm trying to do is even possible? Thanks heaps for your help on this will
I would like to know if you can make a recommendation for batteries for a marine application. I have twin diesels and 3 batteries. I need them to be able to crank the motors and then run the electronics. I’m more concerned with practicality and safety as well as cost. Not going to have a completely solar setup, but may expand to that in the future.
Hi. I bought a battery queen vertical 14,4 kWh Battery from Deligreen. But it stays on standyby. It won't charge at all! Is it possible to gett screen shots of the right settings or maybe a anydesk session where somebody of the forum would check all the setting with me? It's so frustrating when it doesn't want to start. Can you or somebody you know help?
Can you build two of these with two 8S BMS's and if so how would you join them and then wire them to a 24V inverter/charger? How would they connect to the charge controller?
What is the easy way to replace the 3 lead batteries (1 chassis and 2 Coach batteries)? I want lithium with cold weather protection. Any direction would be appreciated.
Signature solar just watched the video and will include hardware for each pack! Thank goodness.
DIY Parts List (affiliate links):
Battery Pack: signaturesolar.com/eg4-8-cell-pack-lithium-cells-25-6v-100ah/?ref=cPwLcVc0SW-BjN
24V BMS: overkillsolar.com/%20%20product/bms-100a-8s-lifepo4/%20%20?myboi=187467879
48V BMS: overkillsolar.com/product/bms-100a-16s-lifepo4/?myboi=187467879
Battery Box Terminals: amzn.to/3ikFKrk
Ring Terminals for balance lead: amzn.to/3D0G4Fw
Ring Terminals for larger wires: amzn.to/3N90UH6
Tools for this project: www.mobile-solarpower.com/tools.html
Battery Schematics: www.mobile-solarpower.com/design-your-own-12v-lifepo4-system.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Does off-grid solar confuse you? Check out my DIY friendly website for solar system packages and product recommendations, and so much more! www.mobile-solarpower.com
Join our DIY solar community! #1 largest solar forum on the internet for beginners and professionals alike: www.diysolarforum.com
Check out my best-selling, beginner-friendly 12V off-grid solar book (affiliate link):
amzn.to/2Aj4dX4
If DIY is not for you, but you love solar and need an offgrid system, check out Tesla Solar. Low prices and great warranty, and they can take your entire house offgrid with their new Powerwalls: ts.la/william57509
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My solar equipment recommendations (Constantly updated! Check here first):
12V/48V Lithium Batteries: www.mobile-solarpower.com/solar-batteries.html
Solar System Component Directory: www.mobile-solarpower.com/solarcomponents.html
Plug-N-Play Systems: www.mobile-solarpower.com/full-size-systems.html
Complete 48V System Kits: www.mobile-solarpower.com/complete-48v-solar-kits.html
DIY Friendly Air Conditioner/ Heat Pumps: www.mobile-solarpower.com/solar-friendly-air-conditioners.html
Complete 48V System Blueprint: www.mobile-solarpower.com/48v-complete-system-blueprint.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Favorite Online Stores for DIY Solar and Coupon Codes:
-Current Connected: SOK, Victron and High Quality Components. Best prices and warranty around: currentconnected.com/?ref=wp
-Signature Solar: Cheap Server Rack Batteries and Large Solar Panels:
www.signaturesolar.com/?ref=h-cvbzfahsek
-Ecoflow Delta Official Site: My favorite plug-n-play solar generator:
us.ecoflow.com/?aff=7
-AmpereTime: Cheapest 12V batteries around:
amperetime.com/products/ampere-time-12v-100ah-lithium-lifepo4-battery?ref=h-cvbzfahsek
-Rich Solar: Mega site and cheaper prices than renogy! Check them out:
richsolar.com/?ref=h-cvbzfahsek
-Shop Solar Kits: Huge site with every solar kit you can imagine! Check it out:
shopsolarkits.com/?ref=will-p
-Battery Hookup: Cheap cell deals
bit.ly/2mIxSqt
10% off code: diysolar
-Watts 24/7: Best deals on all-in-one solar power systems, with customer support and distribution here in the USA:
watts247.com/?wpam_id=3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Contact Information:
I am NOT available for personal solar system consult! If you wish to contact me, this is my direct email: williamprowsediysolar@gmail.com
Join the forum at diysolarforum.com/ if you wish to hang out with myself and others and talk about solar
FTC Disclosure Statement and Disclaimers:
Every video includes some form of paid promotion or sponsorship. Some links on this youtube channel may be affiliate links. We may get paid if you buy something or take an action after clicking one of these. My videos are for educational purposes only. Information is subject to change/update at any time. Electricity is DANGEROUS and can kill. Be smart and use common sense :)
DIY Solar Power with Will Prowse is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program,
An affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com
Hi how can a crimp fitting be better then a solder one???
naturally! "oh! Will has a recommendation that is cheap and easy enough to add" "so sayeth the Will!" great info :D now we just need to figure out how to use external battery banks with all these all in one packs like an eco flow!
Do they not ship to the United States? The only option for shipping using your affiliate link is to pick it up at their store in Texas.
At 1:43 I think you made a bad assumption. Just because they are all connected there is NO guarantee that they are at the same state of charge. Unless each of them was TOP Balanced together you may be getting batteries from different batches with different SOC's ... We had a server pack at work not pass their UPS Emergency run time and it turned out that one of the batteries was way out of spec from the others and therefore shutting down the charging way before any others. Let me know if I am not thinking straight ...
@@ghostwriter6699 if it doesn't pull full capacity, return it. No, you should make that assumption.
Hi Will, Great video! Brought back many memories of the early days in your camper when you did many beginner videos for us. Enjoyed watching!
Ditto! 😁
The past (and future) RV product-related videos are by far my favorites!
Yeah, Wil's videos are still practical and useful. Either evaluation of products or how tos and projects.
Back in the day, I liked Jehu Garcia and did a lot of the salvaging, cycling and building of 18650 batteries, battery banks and other projects. Now Jehu just makes videos about the latest thing that he wants to sell. Hey, he made his channel, do what he wants with it... but don't expect me to be watching. I get enough commercials without looking for them!
Ya'll Take Care and be safe, John
Will: "Let me show you beginners how it is done...:
Will later: " Oh my gosh, the battery is working! How cool is that?!"
:) Love when the teacher is excited that it actually functioned properly when he finished!
I mean it's a great thing but Wil is normally Soo Optimistic. I mean he laughs and jokes when something doesn't work right (or work at all!). Maybe those were free samples for evaluation so he doesn't get that 'ripped-off' feeling inside! He did seem pretty unhappy about the Ford Lightning that he ended up returning. 🤣🤣🤣
Anyway, I get aggravated and mad too easily. Wil just takes it easy!
Ya'll Take Care and be safe, John
Excellent video Will! I’ve run the numbers several times on those battery packs trying to come up with a more cost effective solution versus buying server rack batteries but by the time you add the bms the savings just aren’t there. This is especially true if you start to take into account the features like built-in breakers, communication ports for the BMS, etc. In this video you implied that there may be a way to build a large battery bank using fewer BMS‘s. Obviously that would help make the whole thing more cost effective. I would love to see a video or hear your thoughts on a big DIY build that might compete with the 30 kWh a full server rack from EG4 give you.
You sound so confident putting it together and so surprised when it works. I love it!
I'm building my first battery next month, I've been watching a lot of your great videos to learn as much as I can.
Very cool!!
Will's videos are great! It so wonderful to have someone who is so knowledgeable on this subject explain things so well for beginners. Will is truly an asset for all of us! (Don't ya want him for your neighbor so you can just hang out with him! He seems that cool!)
@@jimritter6861 That would bee cool to hang out with him. Great guy
Thanks for another great beginner video! I’m sure you have a lot of new subscribers that will love this. You have a wonderful way of explaining things that make it so easy for people new to the industry. Your bms hook up instructions are second to none!
Hey Will, Another great video. I purchased mine from Signature Solar and received last week. Very glad you verified the thread size big help. Also have the same OverKill BMS have not installed due not having hardware. I'm in the process of building a mobile Solar Generator. Purchased Growatt 3000W 24V from Signature Solar also. Going to install inverter and battery on Hand Truck. Purchased yesterday 4 Slfab Elite 370W solar panels for the system.
Mark I read through your purchases, what items will you power?
I'm a newbie... no experience.
Want to go solar for an offgrid system, camper & simple electronics..
Ideally, kitchen appliances, chest freezer,lights,fan
Thanks in advance for any input..
@@ncsojourner200 Hey Rusty, I'm on mainly using it for Emergency Backup power. A couple years ago we had a Snow Storm and were without power for 3 days. I have 2 Gasoline powered Generators but if you can't get gas the generator won't do you any good. This system can supply 20amps of 110V so it can power anything you want up to that 20 amp limit. It could power a Small AC unit, Space Heater, and pretty much everything you have on your list. The reason I went with 24V instead of 48V was to keep the cost down. I spent the extra money on the Solar Panels to get the battery charge back up with limited sunshine. Thats it for now.
Thank you...I did notice the 24v being less ,,,
Am thinking of doing complete solar instead of the 6500 to have neok run power lines to a properly...
Single & flexible not tremendously needy,,
Could do primitive if needed...
But fans,ac,frige/freez would be great luxury....
Many thanks
Mark i checked the site and cannot find this pack. Do you have a link? Thanks
Will, please see if Signature Solar will have these battery packs for sale again.
I'd love to see a thermal image of those welded bus bars under heavy load! Probably a much better, more consistent connection than we get with the old-fashioned bolt-down individual bars. How about a quick comparison video?
(I'm loving how fast this field is progressing! Thanks for keeping us up to date!)
I'm building this pack and how could you not love this BMS. The paperwork is hysterical. "If you need help I will help you, If you screw up I will help you, if you kill it I will refund your money , send me back the dead BMS" LOL you can't go wrong. The only thing I will do is use SS set screws and bottom them out at 15 inch pounds. That way when tightening the nuts down I can hold the stud made by the set screw still. That way there is not chance of stripping the threads. Shipping of the BMS was very fast.
Overkill solar is great 😂
I'll love to see you get 3 or 4 of this pack and show how to parallel connect them not just on the main + and - terminal, but all the terminal on each cell like parallel connect the balance leads.
Thanks Will. I built one with your guidance. And I did the classic "How cool is that, It actually works!"
It should power my refrigerator for ten days in my camper van. I added two DC to DC converters to step down to 12 volts and one to step down to 5 volts. Bought the Aim battery charger that can recharge it at 1000 watts.
Might buy the Zero Breeze air conditioner.
I got some of the "extra" smoke out of a BMS when I plugged the balance connector in without ensuring that each balance lead was wired according to the diagram. The easiest way to make sure that it is correctly wired -- before plugging the balance connector into the BMS -- is with the multimeter negative lead on the black wire connection and then touch each white wire with the positive multimeter lead -- in order -- and the voltage should step up at each white wire .... 3.6v, 7.2v, 10.8v, etc. I got lucky since they had programmed extra smoke in the BMS and it did no harm -- the first time.
I love the intro so simple but it works. Each one just a little different like Kramer coming through Jerry's front door. Best one was when will was on the bench dragging the pack across it.
I bought 8 of these in January and they are working flawlessly 🙂 I was just going to by 4 more but they are no longer listed on Signature Solars web site... oh well. For those that bought them the bolt sizes should be M6x10 for terminals and M5x6 for balance leads.
Super bummed was just gonna buy more
@@shawnwaller8183 Me too
@@KerbalSpaceCommand i just talked to signature solar they arent selling them anymore
@@shawnwaller8183 Is it temporary or permanent?
@@KerbalSpaceCommand From what the lady said it sounded permanant.
This is what I was waiting for!
Just ordered 1 today!
Thanks Will. Been watching all your videos for a year.
I have a camper van. Ford Transit.
Good to go!
Another awesome video! Thanks for guiding us through these budget-conscious solutions instead of just pushing the latest do-it-all gadgets.
This would be great in a weather case for the fishing people who love 24v trolling motors.
...I think you're getting spoiled with all the rackmount prebuilts. Your milk crate battery got me started in this crazy solar journey. Another cool video - thanks.
Just to let everyone know. Everyone is shipping fast. I ordered the battery on April 14th 2022 and it arrived on the 19th. It did not have the hardware packed with it, but it doesn't matter I will be using studs instead bolts anyway. I ordered the BMS on April 14th and it arrived on April 18th 2022. I paid the extra $10 to have the lugs crimped on and would recommend it to all. BTW due to my dual use of this pack I need it as a small lightweight (somewhat) pack some of the time but plan on adding another battery bank when I'm out in the middle of no where and can't set out solar. At that time I'm going to have to decide whether to switch between batteries or ( I know I know ) run them in parallel. This pack was just too well put together for me to pass it up. It fit my needs very well. Thanks for the heads up and tutorial.
I received 8 of these today, shortly after ordering them about 2 weeks ago they took them off of their site and no longer offer them for sale. Good thing I acted fast.
Very informative I keep waiting for the price to drop. This seems like a great deal. Thank You
Could not find the preassembled pack on their site..Have they stopped selling them and if so know of a new place to get something similar Will? Love the videos and the loose calm fun demeanor keep it up!
yeah i just read stopped selling them 2 months ago
@@hobiethompson8986 bummer ..and thanks..
this was fun!
I’m not interested in doing this, but I could understand everything you were saying.
plus you are always very articulate.
These batteries 🔋 and your videos are getting better and better. Wonder about a Victron BMS with these welded battery terminals…..?
Can we get updated links? Is this not sold anymore???
Hey Will, if you could do a video of connecting 2 of these in series to make a 48 volt battery with a 48 volt BMS that would be great!
Will fastly approaching that 1 million subscriber mark...thats wats up...and as we say in The Navy..BRAVO ZULU.
😎 How kool is that!! It actually works!! Thanks for the Sunday morning smiles. ✌️
I saw this battery pack when I was in search for a battery, but with the cost of shipping, and a BMS, the price was practically the same as an Ampere Time battery. I went with the fully built battery instead.
Which configuration did you go with?
@@about2088 24v
Nice! What was shipping cost compared between the two? I’m on their site and I was getting ready to check out with this battery kit, growatt 5000us and EG4 battery
@@about2088 Free shipping, and took about a week and a half to get delivered via FedEx. I'm still in the process of building my system. It'll be two 1KW systems, one for heating water in a IBC tote, and the other to charge the battery to run a water pump and a washing machine.
Hey Will! By chance I bought this pack a month ago and used this BMS for all the reasons you mentioned. It works pretty well and has full capacity.. I would recommend it!
Have you by chance done a run time test on the pack using a common household (or RV) appliance(?)
No.. However the BMS can monitor the wattage use for you. I added it to my solar bank and so far it charges and discharges as advertised!! The cells are also at perfect balance. One thing i learned in using cells and this BMS is that the leads from the BMS MUST be very secure. The slightest loose or frayed connecting will result in a "false" voltage reading and will cause the BMS to go off on alarm!!
I'd suggest a hydraulic crimpers for battery wires; learned my lesson hard way (crimp worked its way loose over a year and got a bit melty on wire). Luckily caught it during high load test (100amp) before the setup made it into my RV.
Cheap hydraulic crimps like 20-30 bucks on amazon now.
Hello from Sacramento CA. I was cruising your channel last night expecting a new video and missed it and I am scribed??? Will definitely be looking into this. Just about done with the water damage/seal of my 1970 airstream remodeling. We are putting the bedroom in the back and the bathroom in the middle. Not sure of the position of the bed. So were taking it out this week to decide if we like the current mockup. This will decide how and were the batteries will go in the trailer. I plan on putting in floor lockers for the batteries and that footprint will change depending on the placement of the bed. And the more low slung weight closer to the axels the better. This is a major systems upgrade and 5years of planning on two different floorplans to even out weight distribution I have already taken out over 60 feet of copper pipe. I am planning on loadsharing the trailer and the boat with the houses electrical grid. I mean why have them sit idle. My goal is to be grid free but have the option to reconnect to the main power grid when and if we move. Great job Will quick and to the point.
they don’t seem to sell them anymore 😭
Anyone know if these are still for sale anywhere? The link goes nowhere on the signature solar site.
You are a great Salesman and a great teacher 👨🏫……….
Thank you for sharing.
😎
link to the battery website did not work could not find the batteries showed in your video
As always, a high quality and very approachable video.
Just checked with Signature Solar and they no longer sell the 8 cell battery packs. Will do you or anyone else have a suggestion where to get them? Thanks for the help.
Could either buy the right size bolt. Or trim them down dermal or whatever. First test them with nuts before applying them in the product.
that graph at 6:34 doesn't seem to line up with what Will did, is there a reason the graph is different?
Hi Will. Could one cut the middle bus bar to make 2 parallel to create a 12 volt battery? Thank you!
Beautiful and meticulous demo 👌
I think a nice diy replacement for this type of compression system would be a couple of cheap endless loop rachet straps, and some cut pieces of pvc. But for sure that disposable packing strap sure is a nice way to make the compression pack.
Excellent video as usual. I would like you to show a home built battery to add capacity to a power station, like ecoflow, mango, etc....since the addon batteries they sell cost almost as much as the power station.
Glad I ordered this stuff just barely before this video. Hate when you sell my stuff out! Lol
Home Depot has a Stanley tool box that this fits. It is 19 x 10 x 10.
Tractor Supply has an older version that I own.
I've been checking their site for a couple of weeks and they don't seem to have these anymore?
i contacted them by email and the said the wont sell them anymore due to damages and general issues with selling them.
Thanks Will! As always, entertaining. You can tell people take you serious, the Overkill BMS is sold out! That happens a lot? THANKS WILL!
Another great informative video Will !👍💪
Just a FYI the crimper you used on the small blue terminals was a tool intended for uninsulated terminals. Side note; I have used the same tool hundred’s of times on the insulated type.
Yes indeed but that other spot doesn't crimp that well. I only use the uninsulated spot. the insulated one is too close to the cutters and I've messed them up using them like that
Yeah have to agree, need proper crimpers. Crimps are not done the best here, really amateurish. Which is too bad because the info here is great.
Not sure of the gauge of balance conductors but looks from video to be smaller than 14 - 16 AWG, (Blue) terminal, maybe need 18 - 22 AWG (Red) terminals.
I find when instructing people on how to do something, do your best and if some a little sloppy at first, at least they were shown the correct method.
Will you are the Best!!! : ) Will, can you give us an example, on how to build a big battery bank 48v with these packages, and with high quality BMS. As you said at the end of the video.... Thank you very much!!!.
DO you have a tutorial for a 12V DIY from scratch?
I would like to build my own 12V LiFe batteries and I have a very very VERY tight budget, but my flooded batteries can't take our needs and I am draining them.
Thank you! Your videos are incredible!!
Did you build your 12v system? Care to share which brand of products you purchased? (Battery,charge controller, solar panels, inverter) There are so many brands now, it's hard to tell cheap junk from budget friendly goid!
I was surprised that a crimp connection is better than solder. Can you explain? Is it because solder can crack? Thanks.
I strongly prefer to solder everything, but to each his own. Thanks for the great videos.
Shipping to the front gate: integrity of the pack relies on the cell connections & tape. Could be dicey.
Love all your videos and thankful for them! 💙
I'm currently building 4 48v batteries from 8 of these battery packs. I purchased the 48v version of the bms you used in this video from overkill solar. It all seems quite straight forward except for 1 thing. The wiring diagram that came with the bms clearly shows the BC0 lead connecting to the main negative, then BC1 connecting to the 1st cell positive, then BC2 connecting to the 2nd cell positive, then BC3 and BC4 connecting to 4th cell negative and positive. Then BC5 and BC6 connecting to cell 6 negative and positive, BC7 and 8 connecting to cell 8 negative and positive. It continues like that, skipping every other cell and connecting to negative and positive. The wiring diagram you show for the bms you have shows the same, but you wire every balance lead to the positive of every cell, just like every other bms video I've watched. So, which way should it be, the way the diagram shows or the way you did it?
I talked to Richard from Signature Solar. He said they are no longer offering these 8 cell packs.
With this, a charger and an inverter you'd have an UPS to run a computer?
How to wire 2 parallel, 8 series 24v bms? I finally built a battery using 16 100ah EVE cells. Got an ANT 7-16 140A BMS and can't find any information about how to connect it to my configuration 😢
How do you calculate the amount of batteries Watt hours for a home.. I have 10,000 Watt in inverters... 19KW in batteries, 4300 in solar.. what would I expect for a 100% off-grid home?
Seems like they don’t sell these packs anymore :(
As always a great, nononsense easy to follow build video. Thank you!
WILL, HOW is crimping better than soldering if you clean off the flux after soldering???? I ALWAYS CRIMP, AND SOLDER. I am confused. Thank you.
That overkill schematic had three + wires going to negative from bms
Just added the 24v DIY pack to my cart at Signature Solar.......local pickup only, no shipping option
Awesome video ! Indeed, the price is very tempting !
Hi and thank you for your awesome videos. I been wanting to build my own battery and I found this video. I have a all in one 24v 3kw inverter that clearly says for seal, agm, and lithium battery only. I was wondering if a 24v lifepo4 with a BMS like the one you are building on this video will work with my inverter? The battery connector on my inverter is only one connector so is has charge and discharge function. Thank you.
Great option. Considering a bms, and 3000 inverter, for under 2k-ish, what a possibly 🤔 aside from a $5000 blue yetti at 5k watt hour.
Any videos on rewiring a battery that's 24v to 12V? As I write this I realize I can formulate /configure based of this video... ty 4 letting me waste your time.
My family is new to solar so this sounds like Greek to me. Do you have a video for beginners that is still hearty enough to run the fridge and window AC unit?
What would you do for the every day travel trailer
What would be the most appropriate BMS setup for having two of these banks in parallel? What are the problems with having two BMS units in parallel?
GREAT VIDEO. Its shame here in the future the raw cells end up costing more then a premade full battery. PS I could listen to you say the word "tighten" forever. hehehe
What would you recommend for a 36 volt, 100 amp hour golf cart application ? Including a good quality BMS that you yourself would use ? Thanks, great video Will !
You could also cut the bolts.
Yes, true. Fit a nut before you cut and it'll clean up the thread when you remove it.
Yeah and I have a deburring tool to clean up the threads but no thanks. Especially this small of a bolt. Absolutely not worth it.
Always interesting and informative.
On old , normal wire strippers , there's a bunch of micro bolt cutters , the little bolts will just pop in too. Just cup your hand over where they don't fling out and get lost .
Just got mine this week took a little over 14 days to receive it and it was damaged. The box looks fine but the cell on the pos end is pushed up and the buss bar is in a bind. I have emailed them today and hopefully will hear back soon. I am worried if I tried to pust it back down it would damage the cell or bust the welds. Was really looking forward to assembling this today.
I tried to order another one of these but Signature Solar will no longer offer these they are reserving the batteries for their server rack systems.
If the bolts are too long, you can either file or cut them to make them shorter vs hacking by adding washers or adding a nut :)
So technical and detailed! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🎯
Why did both the blue leads go to the negative terminal?
Question-
Hey Will
I love the depth of information you provide and the way you explain the info .
My question for you is if I'm wanting to make a solar set up that is going in my work trailer wanting it to be able charge all batteries for cordless tool the biggest batteries i have are the milwaukee 12amp ones , but I also like to be able run my table saw and chop saws and all corded tools from this and if the ever blackout I like to be able run extention from trailer to the standing freezer and chest freezer and fridge and be able to run these continuously, if have sun every second day to top batteries back up . Was hoping to be able to do this for under 3-4 thousand dollars.
I sore that you said those 250w panels that $60 where good also I have a 3000 w inverter already , but if you can't let me know if what I'm trying to do is even possible?
Thanks heaps for your help on this will
Great post my friend. You make everything look simple/easy. 💪😇
I have two of them, neatly packed inside of Stanley tool boxes :)
I would like to know if you can make a recommendation for batteries for a marine application. I have twin diesels and 3 batteries. I need them to be able to crank the motors and then run the electronics. I’m more concerned with practicality and safety as well as cost. Not going to have a completely solar setup, but may expand to that in the future.
Which or how many BMS is required for (2) of these in parallel?
Hi. I bought a battery queen vertical 14,4 kWh Battery from Deligreen. But it stays on standyby. It won't charge at all! Is it possible to gett screen shots of the right settings or maybe a anydesk session where somebody of the forum would check all the setting with me? It's so frustrating when it doesn't want to start. Can you or somebody you know help?
Great step by step instructions
Why did you cut off the tinned ends of the balance leads? I did not . should i do this over?
If you have a bad cell, how can you replace it? Any video links?
Can you build two of these with two 8S BMS's and if so how would you join them and then wire them to a 24V inverter/charger? How would they connect to the charge controller?
I plan on staying out for a really long time up in the northwest territory
What is the easy way to replace the 3 lead batteries (1 chassis and 2 Coach batteries)? I want lithium with cold weather protection. Any direction would be appreciated.
Can I use Lifepo4 battery for Home Inverter/UPS instead of Lead acid batteries.
I guess signature solar is out of the DIY game🤔?
If i attach this to my Solar mppt, will the controller set the output to 12 or 24v?