Thnak you, Andy, for the video. After watching it, I ordered one DYI box to accomodate my 302 Ah batteries. It look approximately two months to arrive from China to the USA. The box I received was slightly different with all the components displayed at the top. The installation was a bit hard due to flexible link not being exactly aligned but the biggest surprised was after I tried to connect the cables from the PCBs to the BMS. When the cable was plugged in, I could smell something burnt. When the BMS was energized it was displaying only 8 cells and giving an error message that the temperature sensors are sowing incorrectly. I went through the connector pin location and found that the connector on one PCB was soldered in reverse (so much for QA/QC). After contacting EEL support, I was promised replacement PCBs and the set arrived approximately two weeks later. After the PCBs were changed the BMS started to show all the cells and all seems to be working fine except the temperature reading, which also displayed warning message. Contacting EEL support about this issue was without too much trackinion and I decided to purchase replacement BMS. After installation of the new BMD, all works as supposed. ELL is not taking responsibility for fried BMS (I suspect the temperature sensing circuits were friede to volatge going to these circuitdue caused by incorrect installed connector) to the poor quality of their QA/QC program.
Yestarday I woke up in the middle of night and heard your music playing in my head.. Thanks for the videos :) Well, of course the beautiful white box will be full of black finger prints in a while.
Andy this is a nice build and after your digging for information. This makes your video a starting point for the build and where to find the information ℹ️ thanks ☺️
Indeed. But ggl starts offering such awesome pro videos after you “not interest” tens of Asian amateur “trash”. And no search works either. You have to pay ggl with viewing some bs until it put this video into “recommended”
In latest model EEL made two good modifications. There is a cover on top of case you can access top compartment to change fuse etc. Also there is a holder for NEEY ballancer
This still does not guarantee the bubbles are coming out. It's need the compression for that to happen. The layer will expand and squeeze them out but only if compressed.
Compression is not about battery life for me, but reducing stress on cell terminals, which will not be important with those bus bars. Looks like a NICE kit to me.
Andy if you worry about bubbles not coming out the first few cycles and no compression then put it on its back as you are going to do (dis)charge tests anyway. That's what i would do and you have a crane to ease things.
Instead of using a resistor to precharge capacitors, I use 2 x 24V incandescent globe is series. I had to precharge a 48V 11kW inverter, and this was the easiest method (globes easy to source close by compared to a resistor) that I found on line.
Hi Andy first of all thanks for all your videos you help a lot, let me share my experience with my EEL box they send the pcbs that have the links to take the voltages of the cells to the BMS with the wrong female connectors, I talk with them and the solution was that I had to cut the connector to have a perfect fit... this I know... and they refuse to send me a correct part... I will never buy nothing from them... chinese... they are fantastic... with their faults... with our faults they are more active... but with their faults... very relaxed, Thanks to let us share our experiences, all the best!
Thank I have been looking at these vertical cases I have been tending towards the Seplos version with the terminals at the back. I am really interested in seeing the difference with the EEL
I have one of the Seplos vertical cases and it was nicer to build then the one Andy has in this video, the top comes off making fitting the BMS much easier. In service for 80 days now, no issues other then the normal low power balancer. Lots of space to it a neeeey active balancer which was the way I went.
I have the Seplos Mason 280-L and i like it very much. Its exactly as your other Mason box only vertical. I ordered 10pcs including LF280K to resell here in the Netherlands.
Great Video. I am in the process of designing my own battery enclosure for LF280K cells and wanted to go vertical. But after seeing your video, I think it would be batter to do a horizontal instead. Thanks for the video.
Hi Andi, hi All, I am just in the process of assembling the horizontal (black) EEL boxes with 280Ah grade B cells. I love the assembly. My cases came with enough foam sheets for all cells. Maybe the 280Ah cells are just this much narrower than the 304Ah cells? I had to use my largest screw clamps (and some wood pads) to compress the front plate to the cells to reach the threads with the silver screws. And slowly one by one the screws all went to fully tight. Whatever slight bulges there were, they are now gone. Thus (I believe) the optimum form factor is achieved for the initial charge. One thing to the bus bars: The orange insulation is too long on all bus bars on one side (the other side from the little screw hole for the BMS connection). In my situation, if I attached the bus bars to the terminals just like this, one side would not get the full contact area on the terminal. Therefore I cut the orange material back just a cm or so. I think, this is quite important to prevent overheating due to bad contacts. Now I am very curious about the commissioning, especially the top balancing. 😊
The 280Ah cells have the exact same dimensions as the 304Ah cells, no difference! The stackable box has a different design and comes with proper compression option. The bulging never goes away again, no matter how hard you would compress them. The EVA tape just compensates for the uneven surface of the cells.
I have installed LFP cells sideways (not flat but sitting on the narrow edge) in a motorcycle conversion. After 2 years I found several cells leaking at the poles causing serious corrosion. I guess placing them upright would have prevented that. The other thing is when compressing them with 300Kg (not in this case) you want possible air bubbles to travel to the top. This would be compromised by laying them horizontally. Therefore a No No from me.
Very nice video and edit! By the way, I already build 6x of them and I they have now an manual inside and 16x of that foam. My advice is, do not put the foam on the cells, put it on the isolation pads, but only the half of them. Then you are very flexible where to put them and change it if needed. 👍 By the way, you can make some kind of compression with that metal bars, I press the upper plate with some ratchet strap down to the wheels on each side and then screw on the upper plate in the back and metal bars in the front. Then the upper cells are also well compressed against the other. 👍
Andy, at 12:10, I question the instruction advice not to use EVA foam between the cells, does that mean no insulating plates at all, no EVA or epoxy? That seems a big NO-NO to me as the only thing preventing the metal cases of the cells shorting together would be the thin shrink wrap, and a short between cells could spell disaster right?
@@CollinBaillie Thanks, I saw he had something between the cells but was not sure if it was EVA or Epoxy glass. How important is the EVA foam in stationary applications, and how important is it if you are compressing the cells? My point was more about the instructions, as it might lead people not to use any insulating material between and around the cells. Something that I've see other people do at their own peril. My preference might be to use both and if only one, the epoxy-glass sheets as it would be more temperature resistant and offer more short-circuit protection.
@@jackoneil3933 It's a very good point. Thinking about it, the foam basically offers a way to fill space, which is compressible. The FR4 sheet doesn't offer the compression. You raise a point of stationary or mobile. I guess this considers movement or vibration, and the two different installations would experience this to varying levels. I see your mobile/stationery installation and raise your with a heating/cooling expansion and contraction. Also a form of movement. Would EVA foam or FR4 sheeting be better here? Personal opinion would be to use the rigid FR4 sheeting on the outside faces of the cells to protect from puncture by external objects (including the metal case itself in which the cells are placed) and EVA foam between cells. Of course with the static, pre-defined dimensions of the case, you're limited if your cells take up enough space that EVA foam (even the 1mm thin stuff) just won't fit. If you're making a raw pack and say wrapping it with fibre tape and some whole-of-pack shrinkwrap, you can build it how you want. Another consideration: Does the EVA foam act more like an insulator than the FR4 sheets? Will your pack retain heat longer using a porous foam vs a solid sheeting? It makes for some careful consideration. All that said, the EVA foam is probably mainly to fill the gaps when your cells just aren't dimensioned large enough for the case to hold them all together tightly. Using just FR4 sheeting is perfectly acceptable if they are already a "tight" fit without the foam.
Interesting, I got basically the same case (the horizontal version) and grade A 304ah cells. I was barely able to even fit them in the case (with the epoxy sheets in between) and got a good compression with the end plate. Using even just one foam pad would prevent me from attaching the end Btw they have their own UA-cam channel with how to videos :) That’s how I figured out how to put everything together
Seplos supplied longer screws for the compression plate and all cells have EVA tape in between to smooth out curves and little swelling. Yeah, I know they have these videos but a link in form of a QR code would have been nice...
Hello sir. I have two EEL batteryes with JK bms. I do not understand why my invertor do not charge more than 54,4 V (if i put more i have 02 error) and the bms close the battery at 50 V. Cells are LF280K. If you have any ideea about this problem, thank you!!!
Is it possible to swap out the BMS to a JK BMS? Is this something you could try to do Andy to show those of us who would really like one but don't want the SEPLOS and already own a JK? Please xx
The JK BMS will fit into these cases and batteries, no problem. It is much smaller but also lacks the communication side of things. You also won't be able the display at the front or the buttons of course. So only access would be via local BT. So you would end up with all these holes and\or none functional display and PCBs with LEDs... If you're talking about the new JK BMS, we have to wait and see if it would fit. I know it will be compatible (in size) with the PACE BMS and can also replace the coms ports of the PACE
@OffGridGarageAustralia Thanks Andy your a gem! I will wait and see what happens with EEL in case they decide to upgrade to the JK. My offgrid shipping container house thanks you and so do l xx
I have knowingly (not from EEL) received B cells with potential swelling. They appear to have been shipped by sea with the boxes on end. All cells with swelling were on the same side in each box. They are supposed to be shipped terminals up for that reason. Like the one comment said, do tests with it lying down, after a few cycles , swelling if any should be done.
Hello Andi! I'd be very curious about the performance of the grade B EVE cells. How long can they supply a current of 150...200A? How do the individual cell voltages change during such a heavy load test?
Hi Andy ,and thaks again for this video!👍 EEL battery pack vertical model,Interesting... and about your:"What do you think about stacking batteries like here in this box?" I am particularly interested in knowing if there is really a difference in the functioning of the cells? their longevity? to the different parameters due to this position of the cells?? The manufacturers don't really communicate about this? But I think that certainly this position of the cells can perhaps have a slight difference in their functioning?? interesting...😉
Official statement from EVE: EVE recommends either upright or flat but not sideways. Read comment #74 here with the official reply from EVE: diysolarforum.com/threads/eve-280-cells-should-these-be-clamped-tight-or-spaced-for-expansion.7892/post-94866
Hello Andy, which box is the best with battery compression ? What is your opinion, vertical or horizontal is better for the battery ? Do u have JKESS Battery box ?
Hallo zusammen. Hätte eine Frage. Vielleicht kann mir einer weiterhelfen. Wenn ich 2 oder 3 EEl 48 V3 Batterien zusammen schalten will. wie müssen die Kleinen Dip Schalter stellen... und was für eine Batterie ist die Master.. Danke für die Hilfe. LG Harry
Very interesting Andy. Love it. I stumbled on your site and channel while researching a 12v build for my overland Ute I’m building. My question is, do you do or know if someone that does ‘build your own’ lithium batteries/system for off road use? Especially the vibration and dust issues associated with them. I’m looking at a 150-200amh system. Thanks appreciate it.
Hi Andi, can you provide the BMS model? Only the 10e v16 can be found online, with integrated ports. the ELL vertical case features BMS and separate communication ports, can you indicate some details?
@@OffGridGarageAustralia but can you buy it only from EEL BATTERY? I haven't found another seller online with a similar product. All V16 BMS are with communication ports integrated on the mainboard.
6:15 i have 2 Shoto rack batteries which placed face up, and i believe batteries are lied down as well for couple months now. I hope they will be fine.
Hi Andy! Thank you for a great series of videos, very useful and explanatory. What about the 2 BMS cables at the bottom of the cage? Did you just mount them, waiting to see what was happening when switched on? Viele Grüsse aus Dänemark!
Andy , They did not send you the instructions because they knew you were a guru at putting them together! lol .will be nice if they change to the Jk BMS Tho.😃 The 304ah cells are cheap right now at QSO .I just put an order in for some. .would be worth looking into for these units.
You could test it on your 2.0 set up? As i was thinking of doing it on my set up to see how it reacts against the other banks.🤔@@OffGridGarageAustralia
correct me if i'm wrong but it sure seems like all these DIY kits are using the all the same guts inside (BMS, cables, bus bars, displays, comm port module) and just making their own case designs (barely, in some cases.) While i'm still on the fence of this (what should really be called) semi-DIY setups, one aspect I just realized is, it'll be a heck of a lot easier and safer to hang empty cases on the wall and load the batteries into them, then trying to lift the loaded cases into place.
I build EEL DIY horizontal battery with Seplos 10E BMS this sping but use it in vertical position. Last week opened it to install NEEY ballancer and all cell just doing great beeing horizontal on top of each other. 10E works fine until 90+% Soc but then cell diference is 100-200mV and some cells are peaking. NEEY fixed it
The NEEY fixes such issues quickly and permanently. Long term will tell us if horizontal cells are performing the same as vertical mounted cells. Some had bad experience with laying them flat.
@@OffGridGarageAustralia it is always turned off until it wasn't, best to just be safe then have a massive ark or/and very hot spanner (bms/mcb on most of your battery packs should trip first but still a risk of bms/inverter or charge controller damage in short conditions especially with DC ) the DC cables was clearly powered here in this video as you was using a resistor to charge up the capacitors so it didn't spark when you put the cable on the post I love your videos by the way
Moin, ich muß mal gezielt (19:33) nachfragen, sind es Taster (Impuls) oder Schalter die einrasten und halten? Außerdem funktioniert leider der Link (AliExpress: Sorry, the page you requested can not be found:() in Deutschland nicht. Danke
@@mandimandi2523 danke für deine Antwort. Beim JK weiß ich es, da ich auch einen habe, aber beim Seplos BMS 3 soll es anders sein. Deswegen habe ich so gezielt nach gefragt. Beim Seplos kann man einen "Schalter" nachrüsten und per Software aktivieren. Aber keiner sagt um welche Art (Schalter/Taster) es sich handelt.
Hi Andy, I really enjoy watching you videos 👍 much better that TV . Could you please tell me how long that battery would run a 1kw load at 230 volts AC please , or how to do the Maths calculation or formula to do that . I understand 14.5kwh of the battery but not what you will get out of it after going through the inverter to power a 1kw load . Thanks
I have heard on a german youtube channel that it doesn't matter how the position is of the batteries accept upside down. My Seplos Mason 48V DIY kit battery is facing upwards. I reinforced the backside (now bottom) with plywood. Made a frame with rollers.
That double cabe from the BMS to Negative 9 and positive 8 I believe (there won't be a voltage difference on the same busbar) is a Seplos thing isn't it? Its like a 16s seplos BMS are two 8ses combined internally.
@@OffGridGarageAustralia After watching your UA-cam film, I bought 3 Eel battery boxes. In the manual, there is no way to tell which port is for what. I now understand from your answer that the can is for the connection to the inverter. Then the other 2, RS485, is for the parallel connection between all EEL battery's. Is what I am writing correct? After watching the film "Quality batteries from EEL? Testing the EVE LF304 B-Grade cells." I saw that you use the connection of RS548 for communication. Or was this just to connect it to the laptop. So which one would you use for connection to Victron's Cerbo-S? In the manual on page 16 you can see the setup for de can bus dip address. I believe each box has to be set up this way for them to work together.
@@karelkareltje6036 Yes, you are correct with the RJ45 ports To connect to the Cerbo GX you will need the Victron Type A cable and connect it to the left port of the BMS marked as RS485/CAN. Id you have only one BMS/battery, leave all DIP switches off. Plenty of videos on my channel showing the Seplos BMS and Cerbo connection in all details. In fact, there is a whole playlist about this: ua-cam.com/play/PLPomydD54sgC9MpkFBHniAWLa1e3S27LG.html
Nice yes l have two 5kw rack battery installed standing on end ,as that's all the space I have in box being only 300mm depth fit 2 x 147mm height in space
Andy did they give you any time frame for change over to jk bms. Please keep us informed as was about to drop money on 2x jk but may wait till eel start putting them in box.
I ordered the EEL box without bms. They gave me a good discount for that. Ordered the JK separately. I think i need to make some changes to the communication holes on the eel box
Yes, the JK has a different communication board and maybe mounting holes for the BMS PCB itself. It is size-compatible with the PACE but not the Seplos BMS. Yeah, get the boxes without the BMS as mentioned here if this is an option...
Andy, you've got almost every possible style and type of battery, which is great and gives us a lot of valuable information and comparisons (as well as the different BMSs). Probably the only type of battery you haven't tested are DIY PCB batteries, where the whole battery pack is connected together with just one (or two) large PCB board(s), in which all the busbars and all the balance cables are integrated. This kind of PCB to build battery packs has Taranis Energy for standard cells or jehugarcia for its 74Ah cells . What do you think about this kind of PCB for battery packs?
Nice looking kit enough to scan your additional info. for a link and $ price (did not see that). Like the Flexible Bus Bars as the better way to go. Looks great in organization of the important details. Wondering about pros and cons of sealing LiFePO4s in a case with (looks like) no ventilation ... for heavy amperage cycles. Thanks for this review ... Capt Bill 👍
Looking forward to seeing what I expect is the Seplos Mason 280L kit. I've been thinking about buying one as they represent good value for money from a UK supplier. What puts me off is that I already have two 5.3kW SunSynk batteries which I'm not knowledgeable / adventurous enough to try and combine on to a busbar.
I have built both, EEL and Seplos vertical DIY kits. The Seplos is definitely better made, metal material more solid, compression also more serious. What I don't like at Seplos, no flexibil busbar, you need to buy extra. Connection is also great, single nuts! Price very similar.
Am I missing an inside joke about allowing bubbles to escape from the batteries? I thought the swelling was inside a sealed case, no gas ingress or egress.
hello! Many congratulations on your videos, you are a great professional. I wanted to ask a question, I have a battery made from 280A cells and now I wanted to put this battery and a DIY box from the Basen brand. I asked if the BMS had a balancer and the lady I spoke to said it has a passive of 0.100A and is normal. is it enough to balance the cells? Thank you, I would like to have a more professional opinion from someone who knows before proceeding to purchase the DIY box. thanks
The traditional 100mA passive balancers will take the better part of a century (slight exaggeration) to fix any discrepancy in cell capacity/top balance. Just spend the money on an active balance board (even a 12S-16S 5.5A board, keep in mind you will only see 5.5A of current when there is a 1V delta) because they are under $50 and under $40 when on sale. Make sure you add a simple switch to the run pad on the board and TURN IT OFF 99% of the time. If you leave it on during the charge/discharge you will be UNBALANCING your pack between 2.85V and 3.45V. After an initial top balance you shouldn't need it turned on more often than one time a month for 24 hours (roughly). If your cells are garbage Grade B you would probably want to get a NEEEY active balancer that allows you to set the balance start voltage.
@@ericklein5097 hello! Thanks for the answer, but I didn't want to spend more since I'm going to buy a box that contains everything, I should also bring a BMS with a better balancer because if the big companies know that it is necessary to balance the cells, when manufacturing the BMS they should include this right away.
1880 euro inc VAT for 16 cell LF304 B grade with single M6 in the Netherlands. I think 2000 for LF304 A grade, but with double connector like in this video, and I could not find an easy way to order a battery box for that, or even add on cables. I have tested my batteries to be around 1010Wh.
I have understood that the batteries are not supposed to be squeeze with 300kg force, but the ends are tightened "tightly" to cells and the ends must withstand a force of 300kg, the force produced by of the cells.
The terminals are not close to the front cover. Plenty of space and no way they can ever touch due to the metal rail carrying the balancer PCB. If they do ever touch the front, you have other issues...😄
I have an aversion to placing cells on their sides. It seems to work fine, but if one cell blew, it would contaminate all the cells below it. Also, even though the cells are compressed, the cells on the bottom still take a higher weight load.
EVE recommends either upright or flat but not sideways. Read comment #74 here with the official reply from EVE: diysolarforum.com/threads/eve-280-cells-should-these-be-clamped-tight-or-spaced-for-expansion.7892/post-94866
@@OffGridGarageAustralia , that's very interesting! When I was looking into this I found mixed opinions. The general conclusion seems to be that it depends on the manufacturer and the chemistry. However, one argument against putting them flat was that LifePo4 batteries do have electrolyte and when the cells are lying flat, some of the plates inside won't be covered by it. So the advice was to either have the cell with terminals up or on the short side, but not flat like in this case. I am curious to know why EVE think that it is not advisable to have the batteries put on the short side and suggest being flat instead. Now because of all these mixed suggestions I am afraid to have my battery box put in vertical position :).
Hello, been a subscriber for a while, and love your videos. So it's been 2 months, what is your assessment of placing the batteries on their side? I have a pending project where this would solve some space in a remote well pump setup. Your thoughts??
I want to ask a question not regarding this but something else. Is it OK to mix victron charge controllers with different voltages eg. 100V 30A with a 150v 75A both victrons.
@@OffGridGarageAustralia yes they would. Say I have 7 panels voc 49.42 is 13.79 30A fuse rating per panel. Is it ok to use the configuration 3 panels in series n 4 panels in series and then parallel them together and use a victron 250V 85A victron. Or would I have to use break it two 2 arrays 4panels n 3 panels n use 2 different charge controllers.
@@OffGridGarageAustralia yes they would charge the same battery pack. The reason I am thinking this is I am using a hybrid inverter but I think its float mode isn't working bcz I don't c the battery pack charging even when the voltage drops below float voltage
We are also interested to know how it performs while charging(Voltage difference and can we reach 3.65 on cells since they are saying B Grade). I think if they are giving option for a service port then we can balance using NEEY balancer if needed and if we have multiple packs then we can easily balance with 1 balancer for all packs.
I have some concerns about vertical battery storage. It is obvious that the bottom cell is under the biggest preasure, then top one, and looks like cells work and storage in different conditions.
@@OffGridGarageAustralia I did not know that in Australia "B" grade cells are shipped matched. But I would balanced them before connecting them in series as magazine regardless.
Guten Morgen Andy. So, I guess my question would be..... What do yo do when you need to daisy chain them? This means having to run A bus bar system because you can not use different lengths of cables as this leads to heavy and unstable back EMF or Eddy currents I think is the more accurate term, inside the cables.... That will also mean a lot of noise on your DC system under heavy loads....
Well, I'm not sure about these cable lengths, but I'm using all these test batteries with a variation of daisy-chaining, different capacities, aluminium bus bars, different cables sizes and lengths and had no, really no trouble at all. I have run over 6000 watts from these systems with no problem ever while charging/discharging. Yes, some batteries will charge faster/slower than others but with LiFePO4, it is not a problem. I'll show this in one of the next videos...
Thanks again for another great video.just out of curiosity will you be doing a review or build with some sodium ion cells I think alot of people would be interested on there potential and performance.cheers again 👍
As always, no change log. I always try to have the latest. There is no mentioning of Victron or any other issues it fixes it. I cannot see any changes or improvements.
Someones gotta give you a hard time for missing .000000000000000000000000000001% of the information your supplying us..:.))))))) (JOKING HERE LOVE THE CONTENT ANDY)!!!!@@OffGridGarageAustralia
Any error messages while it's on? Check the resistance as well and make sure you haven't got a short or so. Could be a cabling issue but hard to tell...
Love all your videos, but this build seems to be missing some things. No circuit breaker? no T-class fuse? and where did that ANL fuse go? did I miss that?
Seeing as all the cells are free to begin with, why not connect them all in parallel and top balance them to 3.xx voltage you want instead of in series and dealing with balancers and dealing with cell overvolt protections, balancers etc before installing it?
We will see the impact of *not* top balancing cells that are almost a year old before assembly, as another thing Andy is testing, they will be top-balanced afterwards - the resulting capacity difference may be minimal (2-5Ah perhaps), as suggested by previous builds. The extreme majority of fully assembled battery packs sold do not top-balance them before shipment, and those packs work just fine.
As explained, it's always a bit of a test with such cells. The seller claims, they are all matched, so balancing them before assembling should not be necessary...
Thanks for sharing Andy, wow, you are a big power plant these days. I think you can survive 2 weeks without solar when all is connected. Nice build the EEL
Do I see correctly that the BMS is mounted on the compression plate with 6 screws? That plate bends due to the compression, so also the BMS could be bend? 😳
I know. A bit of cutting is required. If mine arrives, I'll cut a new piece of of metal to match the communication board and install that in the eel box. I think the display is larger as well. So that requires some cutting as well. The wiring to the bms is different. Pretty easy to solve wirh wires instead of using the busbars.
@@RobbieHLM Let us know how your modification went and what else you found that needs to be modified. I think a lot of people will be switching from the Seplos BMS to the new Inverter JK BMS.
Honestly wish manufacturers would come up with some special name for the 15S batteries. Yes I know they are true 48V nominal but having an odd number of cells does make things more complicated so I do agree that 16S should get the name 48V nominal. Maybe 15S can be "Odd 48V nominal" The only reason why you'd make a 15S is because you need a true 48V nominal or can't go up to 58.4V or whatever the max 16S voltage is..but all "48V" inverters I've seen support up to 60V so we should jail all the 15S battery manufacturers.
Hi, Gruß aus Deutschland. Du hast doch laut deiner Videos gute Beziehungen zu den Batterie BMS Herstellern. Ist es nicht möglich etwas zu programmieren so eine art Reset Knopf der anhand der Zellspannung das SOC kalibriert. Oder anhand der Gesamtspannung des Packs.
Thnak you, Andy, for the video. After watching it, I ordered one DYI box to accomodate my 302 Ah batteries. It look approximately two months to arrive from China to the USA. The box I received was slightly different with all the components displayed at the top. The installation was a bit hard due to flexible link not being exactly aligned but the biggest surprised was after I tried to connect the cables from the PCBs to the BMS. When the cable was plugged in, I could smell something burnt. When the BMS was energized it was displaying only 8 cells and giving an error message that the temperature sensors are sowing incorrectly. I went through the connector pin location and found that the connector on one PCB was soldered in reverse (so much for QA/QC). After contacting EEL support, I was promised replacement PCBs and the set arrived approximately two weeks later. After the PCBs were changed the BMS started to show all the cells and all seems to be working fine except the temperature reading, which also displayed warning message. Contacting EEL support about this issue was without too much trackinion and I decided to purchase replacement BMS. After installation of the new BMD, all works as supposed. ELL is not taking responsibility for fried BMS (I suspect the temperature sensing circuits were friede to volatge going to these circuitdue caused by incorrect installed connector) to the poor quality of their QA/QC program.
Yestarday I woke up in the middle of night and heard your music playing in my head.. Thanks for the videos :) Well, of course the beautiful white box will be full of black finger prints in a while.
Not only excellent content....but also excellent video editing . 👍🏼
Thanks a lot!
Andy this is a nice build and after your digging for information. This makes your video a starting point for the build and where to find the information ℹ️ thanks ☺️
Indeed. But ggl starts offering such awesome pro videos after you “not interest” tens of Asian amateur “trash”. And no search works either. You have to pay ggl with viewing some bs until it put this video into “recommended”
i started watching your videos to learn something new but now i am addicted 😅
ahhhhh new video!!! I just found out that there is a new eel version with round corners and here you are
Really? Is that a new design???
@@OffGridGarageAustralia The EEL round corners horizontal box is, at first i thought this was it
In latest model EEL made two good modifications. There is a cover on top of case you can access top compartment to change fuse etc. Also there is a holder for NEEY ballancer
p.s. printed manual included!
Suppose you can let the battery lie on the back for first few sessions of charge to get the bubbles out?
This still does not guarantee the bubbles are coming out. It's need the compression for that to happen. The layer will expand and squeeze them out but only if compressed.
@@OffGridGarageAustralia Thank you for the feedback and knowlege. Let the videos keep on coming we appreciate and enjoy it!
Super Lifepo4 👍😊
Thanks Andy
Compression is not about battery life for me, but reducing stress on cell terminals, which will not be important with those bus bars. Looks like a NICE kit to me.
Same. The bus bars are really nice.
I think brackets must be strong enough to let a safety valve do its job, and just resist to expanding a cell.
Andy if you worry about bubbles not coming out the first few cycles and no compression then put it on its back as you are going to do (dis)charge tests anyway.
That's what i would do and you have a crane to ease things.
I'm not too worried about the bubbles and it's a good long term test...
Great ❤ i love your effort
Thank you.
Instead of using a resistor to precharge capacitors, I use 2 x 24V incandescent globe is series. I had to precharge a 48V 11kW inverter, and this was the easiest method (globes easy to source close by compared to a resistor) that I found on line.
Great tip, thank you.
You can use DC cutter between inverter and battery
Good video. I like when you mentioned other brand and zoomed into the box. "Seplos"
Yeah, still got this sitting here and waiting for more batteries to come in so we can build it!
Hey Andy, looking forward for the build of the Seplos Box 🙂 Any plan when you will do this 🙂?@@OffGridGarageAustralia
Hi Andy first of all thanks for all your videos you help a lot, let me share my experience with my EEL box they send the pcbs that have the links to take the voltages of the cells to the BMS with the wrong female connectors, I talk with them and the solution was that I had to cut the connector to have a perfect fit... this I know... and they refuse to send me a correct part... I will never buy nothing from them... chinese... they are fantastic... with their faults... with our faults they are more active... but with their faults... very relaxed, Thanks to let us share our experiences, all the best!
Thank I have been looking at these vertical cases I have been tending towards the Seplos version with the terminals at the back. I am really interested in seeing the difference with the EEL
I have one of the Seplos vertical cases and it was nicer to build then the one Andy has in this video, the top comes off making fitting the BMS much easier. In service for 80 days now, no issues other then the normal low power balancer. Lots of space to it a neeeey active balancer which was the way I went.
We will have a look at the Seplos Vertical Box soon. Got it already here...
I have the Seplos Mason 280-L and i like it very much. Its exactly as your other Mason box only vertical. I ordered 10pcs including LF280K to resell here in the Netherlands.
Great Video. I am in the process of designing my own battery enclosure for LF280K cells and wanted to go vertical. But after seeing your video, I think it would be batter to do a horizontal instead. Thanks for the video.
Thanks for the feedback. It all depends on the space you have and if you want to compress the cells or not.
Hi Andi, hi All, I am just in the process of assembling the horizontal (black) EEL boxes with 280Ah grade B cells. I love the assembly. My cases came with enough foam sheets for all cells. Maybe the 280Ah cells are just this much narrower than the 304Ah cells? I had to use my largest screw clamps (and some wood pads) to compress the front plate to the cells to reach the threads with the silver screws. And slowly one by one the screws all went to fully tight. Whatever slight bulges there were, they are now gone. Thus (I believe) the optimum form factor is achieved for the initial charge. One thing to the bus bars: The orange insulation is too long on all bus bars on one side (the other side from the little screw hole for the BMS connection). In my situation, if I attached the bus bars to the terminals just like this, one side would not get the full contact area on the terminal. Therefore I cut the orange material back just a cm or so. I think, this is quite important to prevent overheating due to bad contacts.
Now I am very curious about the commissioning, especially the top balancing. 😊
The 280Ah cells have the exact same dimensions as the 304Ah cells, no difference! The stackable box has a different design and comes with proper compression option.
The bulging never goes away again, no matter how hard you would compress them. The EVA tape just compensates for the uneven surface of the cells.
I have installed LFP cells sideways (not flat but sitting on the narrow edge) in a motorcycle conversion. After 2 years I found several cells leaking at the poles causing serious corrosion. I guess placing them upright would have prevented that. The other thing is when compressing them with 300Kg (not in this case) you want possible air bubbles to travel to the top. This would be compromised by laying them horizontally. Therefore a No No from me.
Thanks for sharing.
Very nice video and edit! By the way, I already build 6x of them and I they have now an manual inside and 16x of that foam. My advice is, do not put the foam on the cells, put it on the isolation pads, but only the half of them. Then you are very flexible where to put them and change it if needed. 👍
By the way, you can make some kind of compression with that metal bars, I press the upper plate with some ratchet strap down to the wheels on each side and then screw on the upper plate in the back and metal bars in the front. Then the upper cells are also well compressed against the other. 👍
That was amazing👍
Very good 👍
Andy, at 12:10, I question the instruction advice not to use EVA foam between the cells, does that mean no insulating plates at all, no EVA or epoxy? That seems a big NO-NO to me as the only thing preventing the metal cases of the cells shorting together would be the thin shrink wrap, and a short between cells could spell disaster right?
Use the EVA or epoxy boards depending on the fatness of your cells.
Andy used epoxy sheets where he didn't use the foam.
@@CollinBaillie Thanks, I saw he had something between the cells but was not sure if it was EVA or Epoxy glass. How important is the EVA foam in stationary applications, and how important is it if you are compressing the cells?
My point was more about the instructions, as it might lead people not to use any insulating material between and around the cells. Something that I've see other people do at their own peril.
My preference might be to use both and if only one, the epoxy-glass sheets as it would be more temperature resistant and offer more short-circuit protection.
@@jackoneil3933 It's a very good point.
Thinking about it, the foam basically offers a way to fill space, which is compressible. The FR4 sheet doesn't offer the compression.
You raise a point of stationary or mobile. I guess this considers movement or vibration, and the two different installations would experience this to varying levels.
I see your mobile/stationery installation and raise your with a heating/cooling expansion and contraction. Also a form of movement. Would EVA foam or FR4 sheeting be better here?
Personal opinion would be to use the rigid FR4 sheeting on the outside faces of the cells to protect from puncture by external objects (including the metal case itself in which the cells are placed) and EVA foam between cells.
Of course with the static, pre-defined dimensions of the case, you're limited if your cells take up enough space that EVA foam (even the 1mm thin stuff) just won't fit. If you're making a raw pack and say wrapping it with fibre tape and some whole-of-pack shrinkwrap, you can build it how you want.
Another consideration: Does the EVA foam act more like an insulator than the FR4 sheets? Will your pack retain heat longer using a porous foam vs a solid sheeting?
It makes for some careful consideration.
All that said, the EVA foam is probably mainly to fill the gaps when your cells just aren't dimensioned large enough for the case to hold them all together tightly. Using just FR4 sheeting is perfectly acceptable if they are already a "tight" fit without the foam.
The instructions are not great. Not as detailed as Seplos has done them.
I've explained the cell installation and isolation at 12:40
Interesting, I got basically the same case (the horizontal version) and grade A 304ah cells. I was barely able to even fit them in the case (with the epoxy sheets in between) and got a good compression with the end plate. Using even just one foam pad would prevent me from attaching the end
Btw they have their own UA-cam channel with how to videos :)
That’s how I figured out how to put everything together
Seplos supplied longer screws for the compression plate and all cells have EVA tape in between to smooth out curves and little swelling.
Yeah, I know they have these videos but a link in form of a QR code would have been nice...
Great video again! The new EEL DIY kit already has the Neey balancer included. That is to be considered.
It's not on their website though. I have seen their offer with the NEEY but thought, it was a limited offer and they don't do this any more...
Hello sir. I have two EEL batteryes with JK bms. I do not understand why my invertor do not charge more than 54,4 V (if i put more i have 02 error) and the bms close the battery at 50 V. Cells are LF280K. If you have any ideea about this problem, thank you!!!
Is it possible to swap out the BMS to a JK BMS? Is this something you could try to do Andy to show those of us who would really like one but don't want the SEPLOS and already own a JK? Please xx
The JK BMS will fit into these cases and batteries, no problem. It is much smaller but also lacks the communication side of things.
You also won't be able the display at the front or the buttons of course. So only access would be via local BT. So you would end up with all these holes and\or none functional display and PCBs with LEDs...
If you're talking about the new JK BMS, we have to wait and see if it would fit. I know it will be compatible (in size) with the PACE BMS and can also replace the coms ports of the PACE
@OffGridGarageAustralia Thanks Andy your a gem! I will wait and see what happens with EEL in case they decide to upgrade to the JK. My offgrid shipping container house thanks you and so do l xx
I have knowingly (not from EEL) received B cells with potential swelling. They appear to have been shipped by sea with the boxes on end. All cells with swelling were on the same side in each box. They are supposed to be shipped terminals up for that reason. Like the one comment said, do tests with it lying down, after a few cycles , swelling if any should be done.
Never seen any documentation from EVE in what orientation the cells should be shipped.
Once they are swollen, it will never go away again.
Hello Andi!
I'd be very curious about the performance of the grade B EVE cells. How long can they supply a current of 150...200A? How do the individual cell voltages change during such a heavy load test?
I have tested B-grade cells vs automotive certified cells here in this video with 200A. No difference: ua-cam.com/video/6PyANZWtKnY/v-deo.html
Hi Andy ,and thaks again for this video!👍 EEL battery pack vertical model,Interesting...
and about your:"What do you think about stacking batteries like here in this box?"
I am particularly interested in knowing if there is really a difference in the functioning of the cells? their longevity? to the different parameters due to this position of the cells??
The manufacturers don't really communicate about this? But I think that certainly this position of the cells can perhaps have a slight difference in their functioning?? interesting...😉
Official statement from EVE:
EVE recommends either upright or flat but not sideways. Read comment #74 here with the official reply from EVE:
diysolarforum.com/threads/eve-280-cells-should-these-be-clamped-tight-or-spaced-for-expansion.7892/post-94866
Hello Andy, which box is the best with battery compression ? What is your opinion, vertical or horizontal is better for the battery ? Do u have JKESS Battery box ?
Hallo zusammen.
Hätte eine Frage. Vielleicht kann mir einer weiterhelfen.
Wenn ich 2 oder 3 EEl 48 V3 Batterien zusammen schalten will. wie müssen die Kleinen Dip Schalter stellen... und was für eine Batterie ist die Master.. Danke für die Hilfe. LG Harry
Very interesting Andy. Love it. I stumbled on your site and channel while researching a 12v build for my overland Ute I’m building. My question is, do you do or know if someone that does ‘build your own’ lithium batteries/system for off road use? Especially the vibration and dust issues associated with them. I’m looking at a 150-200amh system. Thanks appreciate it.
Hi Andi, can you provide the BMS model? Only the 10e v16 can be found online, with integrated ports. the ELL vertical case features BMS and separate communication ports, can you indicate some details?
Yes, that is the Seplos 48200 10E V16 in the EEL box.
@@OffGridGarageAustralia but can you buy it only from EEL BATTERY? I haven't found another seller online with a similar product. All V16 BMS are with communication ports integrated on the mainboard.
6:15 i have 2 Shoto rack batteries which placed face up, and i believe batteries are lied down as well for couple months now. I hope they will be fine.
Hi Andy! Thank you for a great series of videos, very useful and explanatory. What about the 2 BMS cables at the bottom of the cage? Did you just mount them, waiting to see what was happening when switched on? Viele Grüsse aus Dänemark!
Andy , They did not send you the instructions because they knew you were a guru at putting them together! lol .will be nice if they change to the Jk BMS Tho.😃 The 304ah cells are cheap right now at QSO .I just put an order in for some. .would be worth looking into for these units.
Yeah, OK, I need 16 more cells for the Seplos box I still have here...
You could test it on your 2.0 set up? As i was thinking of doing it on my set up to see how it reacts against the other banks.🤔@@OffGridGarageAustralia
Boa tarde meu jovem! Que maravilha o seu sistema, eh muita energia para ser consumida, meus parabéns.🎉
correct me if i'm wrong but it sure seems like all these DIY kits are using the all the same guts inside (BMS, cables, bus bars, displays, comm port module) and just making their own case designs (barely, in some cases.) While i'm still on the fence of this (what should really be called) semi-DIY setups, one aspect I just realized is, it'll be a heck of a lot easier and safer to hang empty cases on the wall and load the batteries into them, then trying to lift the loaded cases into place.
I build EEL DIY horizontal battery with Seplos 10E BMS this sping but use it in vertical position. Last week opened it to install NEEY ballancer and all cell just doing great beeing horizontal on top of each other. 10E works fine until 90+% Soc but then cell diference is 100-200mV and some cells are peaking. NEEY fixed it
The NEEY fixes such issues quickly and permanently.
Long term will tell us if horizontal cells are performing the same as vertical mounted cells. Some had bad experience with laying them flat.
Ordered vertical one from EEL. They had NEEY 4A in stock also. 280Ah cells. Will replace rack one EEL DIY installed verticaly.
You need to be really careful when using a full metal spanner when tightening the positive posts (need to get a insulated covered spanner)
Why is that mate? The power was turned off at the time...
@@OffGridGarageAustralia it is always turned off until it wasn't, best to just be safe then have a massive ark or/and very hot spanner (bms/mcb on most of your battery packs should trip first but still a risk of bms/inverter or charge controller damage in short conditions especially with DC )
the DC cables was clearly powered here in this video as you was using a resistor to charge up the capacitors so it didn't spark when you put the cable on the post
I love your videos by the way
18:10 20A resistor on the BMS?
Yeah for balancing I think
Wow 20A passive balancer.... ;-)
Good to warm up your coffe ☕ 😂
Moin, ich muß mal gezielt (19:33) nachfragen, sind es Taster (Impuls) oder Schalter die einrasten und halten? Außerdem funktioniert leider der Link (AliExpress: Sorry, the page you requested can not be found:() in Deutschland nicht. Danke
Was fuer Taster meinst Du? Welcher Link geht nicht?
@@OffGridGarageAustralia 19:43, Push-Buttons for BMS: AliExpress product link
@@OffGridGarageAustralia 19:43, Push-Buttons for BMS: AliExpress product link
das sind reine Taster zum initialisieren und um das BMS in den sleep modus zu versetzen. zumindest ist das bei JK der Fall....
@@mandimandi2523 danke für deine Antwort. Beim JK weiß ich es, da ich auch einen habe, aber beim Seplos BMS 3 soll es anders sein. Deswegen habe ich so gezielt nach gefragt. Beim Seplos kann man einen "Schalter" nachrüsten und per Software aktivieren. Aber keiner sagt um welche Art (Schalter/Taster) es sich handelt.
Hi Andy, I really enjoy watching you videos 👍 much better that TV . Could you please tell me how long that battery would run a 1kw load at 230 volts AC please , or how to do the Maths calculation or formula to do that . I understand 14.5kwh of the battery but not what you will get out of it after going through the inverter to power a 1kw load . Thanks
Soo nice and clean.
Are there any boxes for 18s?
I have heard on a german youtube channel that it doesn't matter how the position is of the batteries accept upside down. My Seplos Mason 48V DIY kit battery is facing upwards. I reinforced the backside (now bottom) with plywood. Made a frame with rollers.
That is the information I have as well.
That double cabe from the BMS to Negative 9 and positive 8 I believe (there won't be a voltage difference on the same busbar) is a Seplos thing isn't it? Its like a 16s seplos BMS are two 8ses combined internally.
@OffGridGarageAustralia: On which port did you place the RJ45? is this also the port to connect multiple EEL Batteries to the Victron Cerbo-S?
Which RJ45 do you mean? The BMS has three RJ45 ports.
One is for the inverter coms and two are for connecting parallel batteries/BMS.
@@OffGridGarageAustralia After watching your UA-cam film, I bought 3 Eel battery boxes.
In the manual, there is no way to tell which port is for what. I now understand from your answer that the can is for the connection to the inverter. Then the other 2, RS485, is for the parallel connection between all EEL battery's. Is what I am writing correct?
After watching the film "Quality batteries from EEL? Testing the EVE LF304 B-Grade cells." I saw that you use the connection of RS548 for communication.
Or was this just to connect it to the laptop. So which one would you use for connection to Victron's Cerbo-S?
In the manual on page 16 you can see the setup for de can bus dip address.
I believe each box has to be set up this way for them to work together.
@@karelkareltje6036
Yes, you are correct with the RJ45 ports
To connect to the Cerbo GX you will need the Victron Type A cable and connect it to the left port of the BMS marked as RS485/CAN.
Id you have only one BMS/battery, leave all DIP switches off.
Plenty of videos on my channel showing the Seplos BMS and Cerbo connection in all details. In fact, there is a whole playlist about this: ua-cam.com/play/PLPomydD54sgC9MpkFBHniAWLa1e3S27LG.html
Nice yes l have two 5kw rack battery installed standing on end ,as that's all the space I have in box being only 300mm depth fit 2 x 147mm height in space
Yeah, the floor space requirement is certainly a benefit of these vertical batteries.
Andy did they give you any time frame for change over to jk bms. Please keep us informed as was about to drop money on 2x jk but may wait till eel start putting them in box.
I ordered the EEL box without bms. They gave me a good discount for that. Ordered the JK separately.
I think i need to make some changes to the communication holes on the eel box
Yes, the JK has a different communication board and maybe mounting holes for the BMS PCB itself.
It is size-compatible with the PACE but not the Seplos BMS.
Yeah, get the boxes without the BMS as mentioned here if this is an option...
Andy, you've got almost every possible style and type of battery, which is great and gives us a lot of valuable information and comparisons (as well as the different BMSs).
Probably the only type of battery you haven't tested are DIY PCB batteries, where the whole battery pack is connected together with just one (or two) large PCB board(s), in which all the busbars and all the balance cables are integrated. This kind of PCB to build battery packs has Taranis Energy for standard cells or jehugarcia for its 74Ah cells . What do you think about this kind of PCB for battery packs?
Heard about them but never seen one for sale anywhere. Is this a thing for DIY batteries?
I'll look into it...
@@OffGridGarageAustralia Yes it's for DIY battery building and yes it's on sale.
Which do you like better, EEL or Apexium
Nice looking kit enough to scan your additional info. for a link and $ price (did not see that). Like the Flexible Bus Bars as the better way to go. Looks great in organization of the important details. Wondering about pros and cons of sealing LiFePO4s in a case with (looks like) no ventilation ... for heavy amperage cycles. Thanks for this review ... Capt Bill 👍
I have no ventilation in my battery shelf either. You don't need it for Lithium batteries. Unless you're talking about heat disposal...
Looking forward to seeing what I expect is the Seplos Mason 280L kit. I've been thinking about buying one as they represent good value for money from a UK supplier. What puts me off is that I already have two 5.3kW SunSynk batteries which I'm not knowledgeable / adventurous enough to try and combine on to a busbar.
I have built both, EEL and Seplos vertical DIY kits. The Seplos is definitely better made, metal material more solid, compression also more serious. What I don't like at Seplos, no flexibil busbar, you need to buy extra. Connection is also great, single nuts! Price very similar.
I'm guessing your talking about Fogstar. I got mine about 3 months ago with grade A 304AH eve cells. Well worth it.
thanks for this im considering ordering 2 :)@@rickysemmens6250
This is Miya from EEL Battery~Feel free to consult me at any time
Would it make any sense to lay the case on its back for the first few charging cycles; to allow the bubbles to escape despite the lack of compression?
Am I missing an inside joke about allowing bubbles to escape from the batteries?
I thought the swelling was inside a sealed case, no gas ingress or egress.
hello! Many congratulations on your videos, you are a great professional. I wanted to ask a question, I have a battery made from 280A cells and now I wanted to put this battery and a DIY box from the Basen brand. I asked if the BMS had a balancer and the lady I spoke to said it has a passive of 0.100A and is normal. is it enough to balance the cells? Thank you, I would like to have a more professional opinion from someone who knows before proceeding to purchase the DIY box. thanks
The traditional 100mA passive balancers will take the better part of a century (slight exaggeration) to fix any discrepancy in cell capacity/top balance. Just spend the money on an active balance board (even a 12S-16S 5.5A board, keep in mind you will only see 5.5A of current when there is a 1V delta) because they are under $50 and under $40 when on sale. Make sure you add a simple switch to the run pad on the board and TURN IT OFF 99% of the time.
If you leave it on during the charge/discharge you will be UNBALANCING your pack between 2.85V and 3.45V. After an initial top balance you shouldn't need it turned on more often than one time a month for 24 hours (roughly). If your cells are garbage Grade B you would probably want to get a NEEEY active balancer that allows you to set the balance start voltage.
@@ericklein5097 hello! Thanks for the answer, but I didn't want to spend more since I'm going to buy a box that contains everything, I should also bring a BMS with a better balancer because if the big companies know that it is necessary to balance the cells, when manufacturing the BMS they should include this right away.
That is exactly the case I am trying to get, funny to see you doing a review on it as I’m looking at it but it cost too much for me.
You're not in AU by any chance?
@@OffGridGarageAustralia No I live in Canada, about $400 for shipping to Canada, I enjoy your video content Andy.
@@frostyfroze7352 That's a bit too far. Otherwise I would have shipped it to you.
Andy love your videos, I'm guessing 33:05 is the Seplos Mason 280L? Any hints as to when you will be releasing your review on this?
Heya, those diy bild kitt's looks very nice indeed and they work pretty good too
Andy are the on/off switches momentary switches? And are they NO or NC?
Locking switches, so they stay in one position until you hit them again.
nice video as usual, could you share all your bms setings 1-86 ty
For the Seplos BMS? Coming up soon...
1880 euro inc VAT for 16 cell LF304 B grade with single M6 in the Netherlands.
I think 2000 for LF304 A grade, but with double connector like in this video, and I could not find an easy way to order a battery box for that, or even add on cables.
I have tested my batteries to be around 1010Wh.
Have you bought two inverters more? At the 16:48 left bottom corner.
Empty boxes of the Victron 150/70 MPPTs.
I have understood that the batteries are not supposed to be squeeze with 300kg force, but the ends are tightened "tightly" to cells and the ends must withstand a force of 300kg, the force produced by of the cells.
Didn’t see an isolation plate towards the front cover. Or is there any on the inside of the frontcover?
The two long clamps will prevent the cells from touching the front cover plate.
@@SOLAR-cr5dpSure. But having all the terminals somewhere close to a metal cover?! I don’t know… 🤷🏻♂️
The terminals are not close to the front cover. Plenty of space and no way they can ever touch due to the metal rail carrying the balancer PCB. If they do ever touch the front, you have other issues...😄
I have an aversion to placing cells on their sides. It seems to work fine, but if one cell blew, it would contaminate all the cells below it. Also, even though the cells are compressed, the cells on the bottom still take a higher weight load.
EVE recommends either upright or flat but not sideways. Read comment #74 here with the official reply from EVE:
diysolarforum.com/threads/eve-280-cells-should-these-be-clamped-tight-or-spaced-for-expansion.7892/post-94866
@@OffGridGarageAustralia , that's very interesting! When I was looking into this I found mixed opinions. The general conclusion seems to be that it depends on the manufacturer and the chemistry. However, one argument against putting them flat was that LifePo4 batteries do have electrolyte and when the cells are lying flat, some of the plates inside won't be covered by it. So the advice was to either have the cell with terminals up or on the short side, but not flat like in this case.
I am curious to know why EVE think that it is not advisable to have the batteries put on the short side and suggest being flat instead. Now because of all these mixed suggestions I am afraid to have my battery box put in vertical position :).
Hi Andy, what about the link to the BMS switch, can't find it.
It's under the Seplos BMS on my website:
off-grid-garage.com/battery-management-systems-bms/
*JK-PB2A16S2OPX4.3 include bms module? Where are this bluetooth module? On the bms board or hub board or under the display?*
On the BMS board.
Hello, been a subscriber for a while, and love your videos. So it's been 2 months, what is your assessment of placing the batteries on their side? I have a pending project where this would solve some space in a remote well pump setup. Your thoughts??
Hey. You should test new Seplos batterys with their build in inverter. Produckt looks intseting but is it good and realible thats the question.
link?
I want to ask a question not regarding this but something else. Is it OK to mix victron charge controllers with different voltages eg. 100V 30A with a 150v 75A both victrons.
Yes, as long as they are connected to different, separate solar arrays, no problem. I assume, they will charge the same battery?
@@OffGridGarageAustralia yes they would. Say I have 7 panels voc 49.42 is 13.79 30A fuse rating per panel. Is it ok to use the configuration 3 panels in series n 4 panels in series and then parallel them together and use a victron 250V 85A victron. Or would I have to use break it two 2 arrays 4panels n 3 panels n use 2 different charge controllers.
@@OffGridGarageAustralia yes they would charge the same battery pack. The reason I am thinking this is I am using a hybrid inverter but I think its float mode isn't working bcz I don't c the battery pack charging even when the voltage drops below float voltage
We are also interested to know how it performs while charging(Voltage difference and can we reach 3.65 on cells since they are saying B Grade). I think if they are giving option for a service port then we can balance using NEEY balancer if needed and if we have multiple packs then we can easily balance with 1 balancer for all packs.
In the next, I have answered all your questions.
@@OffGridGarageAustraliaThanks 👍
I have some concerns about vertical battery storage. It is obvious that the bottom cell is under the biggest preasure, then top one, and looks like cells work and storage in different conditions.
They do not recommend any balancing in parallel prior to the installation?
I never do it. The seller matches all cells, so why would you? I always install them as they come and see how far I can charge them.
I wonder why you did not top balanced this cells before buiding the battery?
I explained it in the video, I think.
The seller matches the cells, right, so why do you need to top balance?
@@OffGridGarageAustralia I did not know that in Australia "B" grade cells are shipped matched. But I would balanced them before connecting them in series as magazine regardless.
It would be great to have isolationg switch in the battery.
Guten Morgen Andy. So, I guess my question would be..... What do yo do when you need to daisy chain them? This means having to run A bus bar system because you can not use different lengths of cables as this leads to heavy and unstable back EMF or Eddy currents I think is the more accurate term, inside the cables.... That will also mean a lot of noise on your DC system under heavy loads....
Well, I'm not sure about these cable lengths, but I'm using all these test batteries with a variation of daisy-chaining, different capacities, aluminium bus bars, different cables sizes and lengths and had no, really no trouble at all. I have run over 6000 watts from these systems with no problem ever while charging/discharging.
Yes, some batteries will charge faster/slower than others but with LiFePO4, it is not a problem.
I'll show this in one of the next videos...
Thanks again for another great video.just out of curiosity will you be doing a review or build with some sodium ion cells I think alot of people would be interested on there potential and performance.cheers again 👍
I have 4 NA+ batteries here, just not enough time. We will be looking into this soon.
@@OffGridGarageAustralia fair enough.ill be looking forward to your review and opinion on them when you have time.cheers
Energy density needs some time to improve....and even then the voltage range is far too wide
Andy, the firmware update for the 10e BMS, is that specifically for Victron, or a general firmware update ?
I was also wondering about this and if it is worth upgrading mine. I can't find a changelog
As always, no change log. I always try to have the latest. There is no mentioning of Victron or any other issues it fixes it. I cannot see any changes or improvements.
wheres the bms buttons! Wah!!!! :)
Are they Momentary switches NO or NC and what voltage??
Sorry, I have them now under the video or here under the Seplos BMS:
off-grid-garage.com/battery-management-systems-bms/
Someones gotta give you a hard time for missing .000000000000000000000000000001% of the information your supplying us..:.)))))))
(JOKING HERE LOVE THE CONTENT ANDY)!!!!@@OffGridGarageAustralia
Where are the Aliexpress links for the On/off switch and connector to the 10/E BMS ?
Added now, sorry.
Can't wait! It looks like fun but NRTL Listing is a thing in the US.
25:56 is the case connected to the negative? Using that wrench is scary.
No, the case is neutral.
Question on jk bms . I got one just today but it will turn on for only about 10 seconds then shut down . All cells are about 3.3 volts
Any error messages while it's on? Check the resistance as well and make sure you haven't got a short or so. Could be a cabling issue but hard to tell...
Andy my friend. Temp sensors belong on the bus bar. It rrepresents the internal temp of the cell.
That is arguable... my friend😉
Please provide the BMS Switches link?
It's under the Seplos BMS on my website:
off-grid-garage.com/battery-management-systems-bms/
Is the EEL D.I.Y battery box ,specific size for the 304ah cells or can small AH cells be used ?
They have this size that takes the 280-320ah type size cells and they also have a box for the 230ah cells.
280Ah and 304Ah have the same cell size. The 230Ah cells are smaller...
👍👍👍
Not much room left for dancing in the garage Andy hahahaha.
All those cases look amazing mate!
We can still do the Lithium Tango here! 🕺💃
@@OffGridGarageAustralia Make sure you future proof and save enough space for the Sodium Salsa! 🤣🤣🤣
Love all your videos, but this build seems to be missing some things. No circuit breaker? no T-class fuse? and where did that ANL fuse go? did I miss that?
You missed the fuse I showed and installed. Circuit breaker can be an option but with a fuse, not necessary.
Seeing as all the cells are free to begin with, why not connect them all in parallel and top balance them to 3.xx voltage you want instead of in series and dealing with balancers and dealing with cell overvolt protections, balancers etc before installing it?
We will see the impact of *not* top balancing cells that are almost a year old before assembly, as another thing Andy is testing, they will be top-balanced afterwards - the resulting capacity difference may be minimal (2-5Ah perhaps), as suggested by previous builds. The extreme majority of fully assembled battery packs sold do not top-balance them before shipment, and those packs work just fine.
As explained, it's always a bit of a test with such cells. The seller claims, they are all matched, so balancing them before assembling should not be necessary...
@@stefanvanzyl9090 Ok, makes sense. :)
will we hear something about NEEEEY for this set ??
I have seen the NEEY on the EEL website. Not any more though...
Wasn't compression only recomended for LF280K?
All non K types dosn't have 6000 cycles livetime....or am i wrong?
Datasheet specifies fixture for 304 as well.
We probably have a fixture here, definitely not a compression.
Thanks for sharing Andy, wow, you are a big power plant these days. I think you can survive 2 weeks without solar when all is connected. Nice build the EEL
If everything would be connected, yes, 1 weeks should be possible with AC, pool and EV charging.
Do I see correctly that the BMS is mounted on the compression plate with 6 screws? That plate bends due to the compression, so also the BMS could be bend? 😳
The BMS is indeed mounted on the top plate. But as I explained in the video, it's not a compression plate.
@@OffGridGarageAustralia,
Well, the batteries may swell after mounting and bend the top plate… not? Or it may bend when servicing the batteries.
Ordered the EEL box as well. Now waiting for the new JK-BMS to arrive.
Can't wait to start building this one
will the new JK BMS fit into the EEL Box? Is the form factor the same (main board, connection board, screen)?
The new JK will not fit in the box as it has different communication ports.
It can, however, replace the PACE BMS 1:1
I know.
A bit of cutting is required.
If mine arrives, I'll cut a new piece of of metal to match the communication board and install that in the eel box.
I think the display is larger as well. So that requires some cutting as well.
The wiring to the bms is different. Pretty easy to solve wirh wires instead of using the busbars.
@@RobbieHLM Let us know how your modification went and what else you found that needs to be modified.
I think a lot of people will be switching from the Seplos BMS to the new Inverter JK BMS.
thats the problem. there is no jk-display which fits into the box@@tiborchren
Andy, have ever received any 48v battery that is build with only 15 cells instead of 16?
Yes the Pylontech and also the Hubble AM-2 both are built with 15 cells.
@@SOLAR-cr5dp thanks a lot, my question is because I bought a GreenSun Solar battery, and I checked inside an there where only 15 cells.
No never. They would be incompatible with my system. I always ensure, it's a 16s battery.
Honestly wish manufacturers would come up with some special name for the 15S batteries. Yes I know they are true 48V nominal but having an odd number of cells does make things more complicated so I do agree that 16S should get the name 48V nominal. Maybe 15S can be "Odd 48V nominal"
The only reason why you'd make a 15S is because you need a true 48V nominal or can't go up to 58.4V or whatever the max 16S voltage is..but all "48V" inverters I've seen support up to 60V so we should jail all the 15S battery manufacturers.
Hi, Gruß aus Deutschland. Du hast doch laut deiner Videos gute Beziehungen zu den Batterie BMS Herstellern.
Ist es nicht möglich etwas zu programmieren so eine art Reset Knopf der anhand der Zellspannung das SOC kalibriert. Oder anhand der Gesamtspannung des Packs.
Reminds me of how far we have come!
So easy now.
Andy is going to have to much capacity soon 😂
As if you can have too much 😊
And none of these batteries are actually connected to my production system...
I have to wait for the 'Power-Garage' upgrade I have planned...