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The SolArk is installed with 20 380W panels. They replaced the meter yesterday, and sent the permission to operate this morning. I'll be turning it on by tomorrow without batteries. I'm getting bus bars made so the batteries look as good as they perform.

My camper has a dedicated battery compartment, so I intend to construct my own restraints to hold the batteries secure. Once I remove the battery box required by the FLA, there should be enough room to house 8 cells.

I'm using aluminum bus bars. They need only be slightly larger than what you would use in copper, and the material is cheaper. The bolts are a little more expensive, but critical. Just before you bolt everything together, clean the terminals and bus bars to remove any oxidation. I'll be...

I'm finally getting set up for the testing that I expected to do in this thread. Horrible delays in getting almost all my equipment. Finally got my crimping tool and put together a basic setup and ran a trial tonight. Still waiting for the aluminum bolts, so I'm running with the brass ones...

That is my application as well. In addition, I live in Florida, so humidity is a constant which makes corrosion an ever-present enemy. I'm going with aluminum M6 bolts for mine. I'm not at all concerned because you can't torque the bolts past the spec for the aluminum terminals anyway and it...

Yes, there are a number of bus bar calculators out there. You need to measure the cross section of the bus bar, or transpose the formula to identify how big the cross section has to be for the current you desire. For manual calculations, the rule of thumb for copper is 1.6A per square mm of...

I talk about the Cadillac of connector lubricants because that is what I have done extensive research on. I regularly discourage people from spending that kind of money on it. The fact is that the light coat of oil provides a self healing barrier against moisture and oxygen reaching the...

LiFePO4 testing is pretty straightforward. A 280Ah setup should be tested to the voltages that @Gazoo stated. It's how many amps for how many hours. Depending on your power draw capabilities, you can test them at any current level. 280A for 1 hour 140A for 2 hours 70A for 4 hours 40A for 7...

Both alloys can be tempered to T6, so I don't know why the comparison was between 6063-T5 and 6061-T6 except to bias the result. There are comments that claim to contradict the results in further studies. From the ThomasNet link I provided: Material properties Type 6061 Aluminum alloy...

There aren't a lot of skills needed. Download the app to your computer and ryn it. Open the example sketches and watch videos about how things work. Once you get comfortable with it, go search for sketches where people have already done what you are trying to do. Usually there is something...

You are correct. Corrosion is a slow process. That is why prevention is so important. I have frequently said on here that the most important place to prevent corrosion is on the aluminum threads in the terminals. Everyone seems so stressed out that they are not strong enough, but perfectly...

I generally put a connector lubricant on all outdoors electrical connections I deal with. Even on my vehicle, when I change a tail light, I treat the contacts. I work in the avionics industry and this a continuous concern. Even with this, I avoid dissimilar metal contact whenever possible.

I have been shopping for solar in Central Florida. The best quote I have so far is 16,550 for 7.22kW system using Enphase everything but the Encharge battery mounted on my new standing seam metal roof. I would love to read what different people have learned about different panels, inverters...

That's good news! My shipper says that mine are waiting for customs also. My tracking number has yet to go live, so I have to take their word for now.

Set up for Top Balance. Still the little wimpy bus bars, but they are fine for 10A. One pic showing the voltage, the other showing the current. 5.3mV across the 50mOhm shunt shows that the power supply reading of 10.6A is pretty accurate.

I don't believe that the rated current for the BMSs is overstated. I bought a Daly 60A BMS as a cheap starter to practice on. It holds 60A without heating up the case much at all. What seems to be lacking in almost all cases is the wire size to handle the current. In my experience, that has...

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@fhorst From an Engineering standpoint, I disagree with you on many points. The addition of more metals will only complicate the corrosion model. Among other factors, differences in thermal expansion rates are ignored in your theory. As the aluminum contracts, the silver won't follow once it...

Zinc is not between copper and aluminum. It is at the lowest end of the noble metal chart. Only magnesium is lower. That's why it is sacrificial. It will always be the first to corrode.

There are much better places to ask these kinds of questions. There are a lot of conversations about how to find your answers and size your system to meet your needs on this forum, but this one is for discussing these cells and the trials of buying them from China. Please go back to the...

Not a cardinal sin. I would like you to get the answers you need, and your chances of success are better when questions are in the right place. You may even be able to find someone who has already provided the information you are seeking. I frequently find that is the case.

You are on track with the reasons for the CAN bus. If the SolArk knows the SOC straight from the BMS, it can cut itself off at the appropriate time without relying on the BMS to cut the power both on the charge and discharge ends. I haven't seen the SolArk software in action. Waiting for my...

This should get you started. There are hex head versions available as well if you dig around. Be sure to get the right length. The data sheet for your cells will tell you how deep the holes are, or you can measure it. Try to get your stack-up of bus bar, washer(s) figured out so that you...

I might use a small inverter, but I go camping to commune with nature. There is a TV and radio in the camper for rainy days or when we are on shore power. The batteries are for when I take it hunting or off grid camping. Not a lot of electricity used except for running the fridge and...

I presumed that the zinc was chosen as sacrificial anode to try to protect the aluminum. Yes, grease is a poor conductor, but the reason for it is to provide a protective oxygen barrier. Connections should always have a large enough cross section for the current intended. Saying that the...

Everything charged up perfectly last night. I arranged to work from home today so that I could take my wife to an appointment. This gave me the perfect opportunity to run a full discharge. You can see the two times that the load was turned off while I took her to her appointment and picked...

The depth sounds about right. The threads are a 1mm pitch. I use some pretty beefy bus bars that are either 1/4" or 5/16". I but the aluminum bolts 16mm or 20mm length.

I received the same pathetic bus bars with mine. So thin that the bolts they supplied bottomed out long before securing them. The size of the bus bars will be determined by the intended current draw of your system. If you don't plan to draw more than 20A, then the little ones will...

At this point, I am going to hire a contractor to install the system due to the need to get it done by the end of the year. I'm willing to pay the extra for that service and get a warranty, but DIY the maintenance and upgrades.

I am in about the same stage as you with my battery order. I placed my Alibaba order April 20 and I am eagerly awaiting their arrival. How much did you spend on 4 280Ah cells? I may have the same electronic load and BMS. They too are enroute from AliExpress. See attached images. One...