Most reacted posts

I've personally interacted with @Will Prowse and I can guarantee that you weren't talking to him. Was there any contact made directly from his channel, or was it all from another source, like a phone number? The grammar doesn't line up, and neither does someone like Will, who's weekly income...

I've loved solar power, and have been playing with it since I was a kid. Now, I have my own place, and a few extra dollars, so I put together a little system, it backs up my essentials, but it's more just to play with. My power really never goes out, I live about 2 minutes from the electrical...

I get frequent brownouts, but blackouts for over a minute here aren't super common. However, yesterday, my 5 year old woke me up to tell me that the power was off and had been so for a little while. I could hear the neighbors Generac chugging away, and the rest of the street was dark. Boom...

It's hard to put a price on having power when others don't.

I think there is a massive point that's being missed by most in regards to "climate change". Factory farming, fishing, and deforestation. Half of the debris in the oceans are from fishing boats (nets and trash), plus they cause massive amounts of damage to wildlife (plants and fish) with...

That sounds like a thinly veiled threat not to get the credit card companies and PayPal involved. By your own admission, you got in over your head ("I am working diligently to get both resolved but, unfortunately, the scope of each of these messes is just overwhelming and together pretty...

I wanted to build a high output, portable, lithium battery for work and car-camping. I already had eight 100ah CALB Cells, and a plastic Plano box that they fit almost perfectly into. The project was more about condensing and putting my system into a portable box, I already had most of the...

I think this is how you would properly store the amps, not so sure about the watts though, you might need a battery for those.

David's technical inaccuracies have been brought up multiple times on this form already. To me, he's the definition of "paid product reviews". I wouldn't take any advice from him.

Search for them on this forum. There's a bunch of very bad experiences. The owner was even publicly arguing about what I thought was an honest review Will P left little while back. You really only hear about bad experiences with ordering from China on here. People post when they are upset...

Yeah, my "ROI" would be about a 48 hour power outage in the middle of summer or winter.

I'm in the process of converting a small tow behind trailer into a camper. It had an unpainted aluminum roof that would get up to 160°f on the surface, and heat the internal temperature of the trailer to well over 120°f. I have fans inside, but no AC; so in the sun it's completely miserable. I...

Isn't the road to hell paved with good intentions? I genuinely feel bad for Mike, the catalyst of the situation was something completely outside of his control. Had none of this happened he might still be considered a reputable vendor here. That being said, the resolution of the situation WAS...

Back in the good ol' days, when I used to order weed on the internet, I learned some valuable lessons. I see a lot of parallels here too. People are reputable, until they aren't anymore. There were established cannabis dealers making hundreds of thousands of dollars a month on different...

I wanted to put on rubber gloves just watching that.

That would be a good business model. Replace packs every XXX thousand miles, before they get too trashed, and have them certified for residential or commercial energy storage. Car companies could make a little extra money selling (or installing) the used packs, and in a perfect world they...

I saw a short circuit test of a CALB 180ah cell on YouTube. He pulled 2500 amps on a dead short with a wrench. That's about 13c. Round up to 20c for a safety margin. That's also an older model CALB cell, so newer cells could potentially push out way more than that, especially ones like headway...

These cells will EASILY push over 20c during a short circuit. This was a single 3.2v cell, imagine a 12v-48v pack with paralleled cells. When the ROMEX got too hot, it melted the insulation inside of the sheathing, and caused an additional, "internal" short. All it takes is a few seconds to...

The funniest part about that is I went and tried to Google for "dangerous lab leak conspiracy" and 99% of the articles were from the past few days. However, head over to the way back machine (archive.org) and search, I see that those same sites were saying that it was a "dangerous conspiracy...

I think a fire blanket (fiberglass cloth) would have been incredibly useful here. Toss it over the flaming pack, and it probably would have prevented almost everything from flying off. I think I'll toss it extra one in my vehicle today.

I think the NEC is there for good reason, but it's also naive to think that big companies don't try to influence codes to increase product sales.

Oh, no. Someone asking me to pay them with friends and family is enough to stop the deal right there. That's not a red flag, that's a stop sign.

My take-away from this is to buy panels locally if possible.

All jokes aside, I prep some food, and the investment has about doubled since I packed it. Most stuff was packed between 2015-2018, and bought in bulk, on sale mostly, back when food was cheap. I've also got a stabilized drum of gas that I filled for, IIRC, about $1.30 a gallon. It's done better...

Yep. I love the feeling of watching TV with the and using the computer while the entire area is black for hours. My security cameras stay active, and my fridge and freezer stay cold. The system isn't even very big, I just have solar and a generator to charge my batteries, so I have almost zero...

The statement about that pack being built for somebody else was a little scary. OP, please don't take offense to this, but the lack of proper safety features and best practices show that you have no business building batteries for people yet. It's very fortunate for the owner of the cart (and...

I try and go after the information presented rather than the presenter. A lot of people on here take advice from Will P, myself, and others on this forum, who are not licensed master electricians.

The regular news is dying, and doing anything they can to get the views that YouTube, IG, and Facebook took from them. They will literally say anything just to get a pageview. Check out the articles about the FLU they (the regular news) pushed every winter before 2019; you would think the world...

3 years living in the actual country and I've yet to call a tech for anything. All DIY. Edit: I can't take all the credit, my neighbors are incredibly helpful people.

If that were my system, I would definitely be working on running high voltage DC to the house. Instead of a bunch of transformers, and added industrial equipment, I would stack the panels voltage up, and run it into a high voltage solar charge controller at the house. The only two viable...

I just painted my bare aluminum trailer roof with around 10-15mil of elastomeric silicone coating. The internal temps of my trailer used to exceed 120°f, now it hovers around 90° in the direct sun. My infrared thermometer said the internal roof surface was over 170° in full sun, it would...

That cell is probably fine. I would run it through a few charge / discharge cycles, and monitor swelling / voltage. If there is no swelling, and the voltage stays the same as your other cells, you're probably good to go. The "cell" is actually a pouch wound up inside that aluminum case, the...

I always have to remind myself to take into account the "idiot factor" for products like this. I have an acquaintance who bought a Duracell (something like 200-500wh capacity) "portable power station" and left it a HORRIBLE review for it because it wouldn't run a hot plate or a big flat screen...

Batteryhookup has great deals on contactors occasionally. I got a few Gigavac 500a units with short leads for $5 each. https://batteryhookup.com/collections/accessories/products/te-connectivity-ev200aaana-500a-0-900vdc

My local scrap yard paid $5-15 depending on the size of the car battery, they paid per pound. I used to keep my old ones and scrap them, I got more scrapping, than I could get for the "core charge". I imagine that those will be worth a pretty penny in lead scrap value. Call local scrap yards...

I think we found SFK's lurker account. ?

I wonder what color crayon was used.

“Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.” We are living in the time of weak, spineless, men.

For the sake of longevity of the tool batteries (and potential fire hazard) I would use the proper charger. If you need to rely on solar charging for a landscaping business, I would suggest that you get a battery and inverter. That gives you some autonomy during clouds, and allows you to use...

It's possible that your shunt isn't perfectly calibrated. Unless you're using lab grade, calibrated equipment, I would expect a +/- 10% error margin, but hopefully less from a Victron. Even if it is accurate, unless you paid for legitimate "grade A" EV cells, then getting over 270ah from a 280ah...

I would choose diysolarforum members for my jury over randos from the street any day. The regulars on here are WAY MORE logical than your average Joe.

For your average DIY, I would suggest that people use baking soda to neutralize acid before they jump over to using super caustic NaOH. You aren't wrong though, dilute lye would work just fine, but it would be much safer to use baking soda, rather than another dangerous chemical.

That's EXACTLY the face I made when I tried it for the first time.

I dropped a key ring while I was leaning over to check the status of my batteries, The keys fell out of my pocket and landed just millimeters away from bridging my main two battery terminals. Lesson learned about giving the two terminals a little more space from each other. It's a 12 volt...

Power is still "good" here in TN, but they are doing rolling 15-minute blackouts. It's 6°f, so thank goodness for the wood stove. Batteries are nice because it takes more than 15 mins to get my generator out and running. My internet UPS beeps on power failure, and my dad is in town, staying in...

@HighTechLab calling for your awesome video again.

I find it highly irregular that four separate "Tier 1" solar charge controllers failed on your watch. I've had nothing but good luck with Victron, and I really haven't heard many other complaints on here either.

Modern phones with Internet connectivity. Remember that scene in The Matrix where Neo downloaded martial arts skills into his brain? Watching YouTube a YouTube video about how to set something up, or to learn a skill is the same thing. We've gotten to the point where you can literally...

I guess if you're going to be physically sitting in front of your cell monitor, every single time you charge and discharge your cells, at any rate, the ENTIRE time, then you could probably get by without a BMS. However, if you intend to charge or discharge, and even step out of the room for...

I am definitely an inpatient person, but it kills me to see people cranking up the voltage, when, most of us spent hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on cells. I bought a second bench power supply, so I could charge at 2x the speed. It's a very small cost considering what I spent on the...

And even after all that, it's very likely that a Chinese company will rip the idea off at some level, patents or not.

Are you effing kidding? YOU are the thief here Mike. YOU took money from people, FOR A PROFIT, and aren't giving it back. YOU are making threats against people for trying to recover their money that YOU collected. You are in completely over your head, you messed up, and now you're realizing that...

That's not entirely true. That's the voltage that the cells will settle down to after they've been fully charged. The closer you get to 13.4 volts (if the charger is set at that) the slower the charging will be, to the point that it could take a VERY long time to charge the top end up at 13.4...

I couldn't agree more. Time is the most valuable asset that anybody has, everything else can be replaced. Will clearly spends a ton of time on his YouTube videos, and it bugs me a bit when people say that he shouldn't be compensated for that time. If anybody doesn't like the way he's paid, I'm...

I'd like to start first by saying that I'm not affiliated with current connected, nor have I ordered any of their products. I do periodically browse their website, their kits are really cool, and the one I built was pretty similar to what they sell. I'm usually super critical of companies, and...

I just meant that things like that happen now and then, and the longer we go without an issue, the more likely it becomes that it will happen. Sort of like playing the lottery every day; your chances aren't great, but your odds of winning technically increase every time you buy a ticket for the...

I've got a piece of electrical tape over them now, until I'm able to get a set of terminal covers.

I moved a few months ago and our houses seem to contain similar stuff. I ended up buying a trailer, AND renting a large U-Haul. I loaded the trailer up with all the stuff that goes boom, and my wife drove the U-Haul.

They're most likely just fine. I've had shorts that are way more severe than that, and there was no detectable damage done to the cell.

Title says it all. Seriously, I love this forum, and the mods keep it running smoothly. I appreciate that you ASK me to change a post that is perceived to be insulting, rather than changing my words, or removing them. I appreciate that you let conversations take their natural course, even if it...

And I bet that the power you use in 3 years is still less polluting in a single, large, private jet flying some A-hole to Japan to eat sushi. A 737 (not the biggest, not the smallest) can use up to 800 gallons an hour. I use less fuel than that in 3 years of driving. A gas (harder to do...

Nobody here with any experience is laughing at you ?. I'm a professional pool service guy, I've been working on pools for almost 10 years (and electronics since I was a kid), my specialty is repairing pumps and heat-pumps. Not too long ago I wired a brand new heater incorrectly, and fried about...

I've had good luck with scrap wood and a vice. Pinch, squeeze, and hammer the vice closed.

Yes, it does. You have breakers hanging from the wiring, you can't possibly think that that is just as safe as properly mounted DIN rails. Heat from your loads will slowly expand and contract the wiring, and loosen your connections over time, if the breakers were properly mounted, and one of the...

I've watched your company go from a small shop, to a relatively large operation in just a couple of years. I think that's really awesome, especially considering the amazing customer service and support that you provide with all of your products. I'm currently undergoing a Cyber attack of some...

In my opinion, Tesla is able to get away with paralleling massive amounts of cells be because of three reasons. 1, they're using legit matched and batched cells to start with; 2, they use cell level fusing, and 3, they have active cooling and thermal management on their packs. I agree that you...

Where I am in Tennessee, there's no HOA, almost no permitting for homeowners, and the only eff they give about solar is an electrical inspection to make sure you don't zap a lineman. In my county, I could build another single family home on my property, and other than an electrical and sewer...

I found Blu-ray player on eBay for about $10. It didn't include a power cord or remote. The off-brand remote was $6 more. I figured I'd just use one of my many 12 volt, 2.1mm wall warts to power it, but NOOO, Sony just had to make the barrel plug proprietary, and a new adapter cost about as much...

This might sound like a stupid question, but is it 80° Celsius or Fahrenheit? 80° c is definitely not good, 80° f is within normal ranges.

I would definitely get an old broken Nokia phone to house the active balancer in.

Even "cheap" solar is expensive for a lot of people. My system was (built 3 years ago) about the minimum cost, while still being safe. 2.4kw useable storage, 1.2kw solar, plus accessories and stuff were about $1600 (excluding my time). I already had a lot of electrical tools and wiring as well...

I have a Giandel 2200w ,12v inverter that I've used to run a Kureg and a TV, as well as a huge fan at the same time. I've been using it on and off for about 3 years. Giandel is a great budget option. I also have a Xantrex Prowatt SW2000, it was more expensive, but it's over 10 years old and...

To be fair, that's like going to buy a new car, finding out that it has a new type of tire that needs to be refilled daily, and then the dealer saying "well you should have asked". No, you should have told me that your product had some known weird-ass quirk before I bought it. I bet that a...

Overkill uses Jiabiada (JBD) BMS's, they aren't actually made by Overkill. You can get them elsewhere for cheaper, but the advantage with OK is that Steve tests them all out before shipping, keeps them in the U.S, and offers a warranty. I have 5 different JBD units (not from ok), and all of...

Make your own market. Order bulk panels and equipment yourself, get them through customs / fees, and have them locally available. Of course there would be a markup, but it would be less if you purchased in bulk. Plus, people like things NOW, not in a few months. Design a few simple systems for...

That's the reason I continue to answer as well. I don't want a newbie to search for "do I need a BMS" and find this guy's dangerous, unchecked, opinions. Confirmation bias can be a powerful thing.

I just received my order of sixteen 90ah cells from ThriveEnergy on DHGate! They took 2 and a half months to receive. I paid less than $850 for them with 32 buss bars to parallel and balance, and they were matched based on internal resistance at the factory (I know that it doesn't mean they are...

My Mother-in-law's dryer stopped working. Pulled off the back power panel, and found this. A combination of, what I assume is, corrosion from the moist environment, and a loose strain relief caused a hot wire to somewhat slip out of the crimp terminal, spark and melt under load, until it finally...

Absolutely. That stuff should have never been made. My neighbor wiped out half my garden (a few hundred ears of corn, 20 or so garlic, lots of tomatoes) a few weeks ago when he tried to "weed" his lawn behind our fence. He didn't realize you were supposed to cut roundup, and killed half his...

I have a Plano trunk / box I got from home Depot for less than $20, it easily holds eight 100ah CALB cells, a BMS, and a Victron SCC. Looks good, fits good, is good. Plano56 Qt. Sportsman Trunk Black https://www.homedepot.com/p/Plano-56-Qt-Sportsman-Trunk-Black-161900/308744534 SKU# 308744534

Clicking on "other items from this seller" can be a dangerous game on AliX. ?

I paid $3 for a cheeseburger a few days ago that was 99¢ 4 years ago. I used (~5 years) to be able to spend $150 at the grocery store and leave with enough food for 2 weeks, now $150 is just enough for meat and condiments. Gas is obvious. You want to really boil your blood, make an Amazon list...

I learned the hard way to make sure the area where you are testing stays a consistent temperature. I got ~3% difference of performance over a 10° range.

That happens to Verizon customers on the regular. There was a famous one when they charged a woman like $1,500 or something, and refused to give it back. I remember it was in the news because she couldn't afford her rent. I used to use Verizon as well because I didn't have a choice. My bill...

Yeah, but that might actually fix the problem ?. It's much harder to price gouge for an abundant resource. De beers uses the same concept for diamonds that PG&e uses for electricity. Regardless of the real reason for the shortages, they exist, and energy is quite a bit more expensive in CA under...

Thank you everyone for the input! I went with a combination of Anderson Power Pole 45's and 30's (from PowerWerx) and couldn't be happier with them! They crimp easily, assemble in multiple configurations, and are easy to switch the polarity. I even rewired my son's modded Razor e100 scooter so...

I prefer JBD. The 100 and 120a are the most popular, but I currently use two of the 150a models that are the size of a loaf of bread. A few US based sellers carry JBD and Daly, but most of them don't have a decent selection. It would be cool if you had a 12, 24, 36, and 48v option.

Also, make sure you set the voltage of the power supply while it's disconnected from the cells. I have no reason to think that you didn't, but with some power supplies, if you set the voltage while it's charging, it can get all out of whack and overcharge the cells.

That's your biggest mistake. I've seen some very dangerous advice given on Reddit, with lots of up-votes. Reddit is a sounding-board for beta-cuck SJW's with no real life experience. The most knowledgeable people (IMHO) are on here, and stackexchange. I'm sure there are other knowledgeable...

This sounds like those "20,000mah" power banks on Amazon that are 20,000mah at the 3.2v nominal battery voltage (five, 5000 mah cells, for "20,000 mah), but then put in series to 12v, for rapid charging or a barrel jack, making the "20,000 mah" spec completely irrelevant at that voltage. It's...

I don't see any reason why you couldn't just swap the BMS out, it's definitely less work than selling and purchasing new batteries. I'm not familiar with those batteries specifically, but you may be able to add a low temperature disconnect as a separate unit. A simple unit like this, connected...

That'll be the day that humanity dies. Imagine going to court and trying to prove intent about just being wrong. It's concerning to me that you would murder somebody over their words. It's just as concerning that you're wishing rape on someone.

Fans are great candidates for soft starts, and the soft start units for fans tend to be much cheaper than ones for compressors as well. I have an old 3/4 horse scroll fan that was salvaged from a heat pump running next to my wood stove for circulation. On full blast, the inrush is about 1500w...

That 3000 watt inverter would need ~240 amps to run full tilt @12.8 volts. For a safety margin, I would say the system would need to be able to handle 300+ amps (150 per battery, and they do have 150 amp, 12 volt BMS's available, just not from overkill. JBD (overkills manufacturer) makes some...

That is correct. The only real way to know with any certainty how much power is left is with a shunt / hall sensor. The BMS should really just be there to prevent damage to the cells, rather than controlling the charge and discharge cycles. I Separate low voltage disconnects and high voltage...