So is it a bit risky to do a capacity test on a single cell? Would it be better to get the BMS and test all of the cells at once?
I am planning to do the capacity test with the heater fan that Will has the video on and he did not indicate a big risk of doing it individually. If you do them all at once, how can you tell which cell is bad if there is a problem. I thought it would be easier to see how each cell performs by doing them one at a time.
You can test each cell individually without a BMS, the load tester will count the power used and will stop at the voltage that you set. The problem is it will take forever. Once you have a BMS you can build a 12v battery you can do faster load testing. Do you have a plan for monitoring your system? There are a few options, Will has a good assortment on his website. If you have one of these monitors you can use an inverter and put a higher load to reduce the amount of time it takes to do a load testing.
If you want to do things properly then follow the instructions given to you. Parallel top balance to 3.65 volts. Then hook up your batteries in series with the BMS and proceed to play. This is the safest way and you will be able to tell if you have a bad cell from the information you get from the BMS. Other than shipping damage I have noticed only one who received a bad 280ah cell. As I recall he was only getting 175ah from it. That's the only one I know of.
The heater fan is something like this? It's called a capacity tester.
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I am also planning on getting the BMS from Overkillsolar since he has customizations for the wires and lugs and has a good reputation for support. As much as I have loved watching Wills videos, you don't have to buy anything he recommends. He doesn't have the time to test everything that's out there. As you know forum members have tested a lot of stuff and I tend to look at those posts closely.
BTW, are you planning on using an inverter in the camper? Just curious since I don't think you have mentioned it.
Hybrid Inverter 2400W 3KVA 24V 110VAC Grid Tie Solar Inverter 80A MPPT Charger
So did you get your MPP Hybrid Inverter from Ian in Utah? The MPP Solar unit Will recommended? Just curious as I might go in that direction.
I went with the other from Ian in Utah, as I wanted the faster grid charge ability plus the surge capacity.
I just bought the Overkill BMS...hopefully it will not take too long and I can sort the batteries and then assemble everything....getting a bit nervous