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Basic skills help us get through life. I heard a startling report recently on the number of people who could/couldn't balance a checkbook. Schools used to teach life skills. When I was in high school I took wood shop, metal working and the other required courses including a foreign language. I...

If it painted red it is the positive wire….

Mooving on... Why does a chicken coop only have two doors? Because if it had four it would be a sedan.

Well Amy just sent photos and confirmation that the packages are on the way! Looks nice!

When I started down this path used a Kill a watt meter to measure usage. That was a real eye opener.

Nothing tests your systems better than a full power outage. Those who are off grid do this daily. For others their solar supplements their AC needs to varying degrees. Recently the power went out. Albeit for a short period of time. Our battery backups did their job. One thing I realized though...

Really like this brown stain. Goes well with black panels with black frames.

May the fourth be with us all. Sorry wanted to use that before the day was over.

OK, compared to some other projects mentioned here this is a relatively simple one. Only it was my first time actually doing it which adds to the "fun" factor. Needed to remove the toilet bowl so I could paint behind the needed receptacle. Nothing says "fun" like manhandling a hack saw blade...

Ok. Running the light in the laundry room. No flicker noted.

This video explains their purpose:

I seriously considered moving to 48v with my recent update. Pricing on the Inverter Charger and BMS are essentially the same and battery case prices are close to each other so price wasn't a big consideration. However if I were to build a 16s 280 AH DIY battery I would likely assemble it in...

I certainly wouldn’t want to be in a situation with a broken toe, overwhelming heat and no power. Years ago in my college days we had a house fire because an extension cord was overheating. Typically batteries don’t do this unless there was a trigger. Replacing cords and upgrading wires as...

And that is priceless

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on gear that he will only use a couple times per year.

To paraphrase a former College Football Coach who was describing the forward pass, when you pick up an 8s “portable “ battery three things can happen and two are bad.

Last night I wired the smart shunt to each battery. Originally I was going to tie into the common bus bars as a consolidation, but until additional batteries are tied in will use this approach. Will did a nice video on this unit, the Victron smartshunt.

Well said. Really appreciate the presence of @Nami. Hoping this discussion continues until we are able to solve these issues.

Ok. Have been distracted by life, moving my batteries to battery cases (another thread) and that thing called a full time job. Anyhow pulled up an inclinometer on my phone and was able to get each side within a couple of degrees of each other. Inserted the holding bolts and touched up the...

Got my order placed with Amy. Adding a fourth 24v battery to the first build and adding cases and JK inverter BMS to them. Will pull the 4 weakest cells and build a 12v battery for other uses.

Ok. Early on testing of a 10.6 cu ft chest freezer.

When I first got started I wanted to buy everything via the states and went with a group buy that went bad. Amy makes everything so easy. She is so laid back with no pressure. She knows her products and if needed is willing to ask questions of her suppliers. She provides excellent service...

Sorry for the radio silence. Was saving up the $$ for the next purchase. Next thing I know I was replacing a kitchen sink and remodeling one of the bathrooms. Wife has been patiently waiting during my solar projects and it was time to update some things. Time well spent and she is happy which is...

I remember my first energy audit after using a Kill a Watt. I put the calculations into a spreadsheet. The findings were humbling to say the least.

My grandparents raised two kids during the depression. Even though they had a garden and knew how to hunt my grandfather said those were some of the most difficult days of his life. I had the privilege of living next door. I treasure those conversations and learned a lot of old fashioned...

In considering bus bars, I found the following chart helpful. It discusses amp capacity for copper bus bars. Perhaps there is a better source for this: https://www.copper.org/applications/electrical/busbar/busbar_ampacities.html

My last two orders have been averaging about 30 days from order placed to my door. Considering it has to be transported and loaded unloaded on a ship and shipped across the country that is actually quite quick. I also like the photos showing the order. Top notch service! It is also nice...

Think of all the money we saved!

Here is the video created by @HighTechLab which describes proper crimping. Very nicely done. The unit they described is the second one I indicated. It worked well for my 1/0 and 2/0 cables. I only wish it came with smaller dyes.

There is an amazing sense of accomplishment when you build your first battery pack. Granted there is a little nervousness the first time you start your inverter. Once things are up and running you are hooked as you start to think of the possibilities. Especially when your better half sees what...

During a recent power outage having access to an alternative source of power brought a smile to my wife’s face. Worth every penny!

Topping off the tank.

My Pike bus bars arrived today. Rated for 400 amp continuous. 6 to 48v dc. Placed a common fork next to one for scale. The amount of metal showing is misleading. It runs down into the plastic casing. The weight of these is comparable to the ones in the other build.

These photos are very similar to before. There were a couple of updates for strength of the battery box. The side panels are now 2x6 material. In the back corner by the dolly the joints are secured with a quality indoor outdoor wood glue and timberlock lag bolts. I replaced the 2x4 over the...

I purchased batteries quite a while back from a group buy that later went an undesirable route. Will not explain further. There are many who remember. Long story short first two batches of cells have done very nicely. Third batch is behaving under the leadership of an active balancer. There...

I am fond of Selterm. Just placed another order. As usual, bought more than needed. They seem to fall into the "missing sock" twilight zone.

Just watched a couple of videos on this. Very impressive technology. Did find a link for US. Could probably do a thread on this. Great idea https://usa.maussafety.com/product/maus-stixx-pro/

Typically this won't happen. As the battery fills, the resistance increases. This limits the amount that can actually flow to the battery. If 2 are filled and the 3rd is close to full then the amount than can get to the 3rd battery is reduced.

Or HOW much did this one cost???

Waiting for breaker box.

The weather has interesting twists and turns. I have a family member on Hilton Head Island. They had beautiful weather last week. Typically this area is sheltered from the strong effects of winter. Well, in the forecast for tomorrow morning, snow is scheduled. According to our family member...

The Classic 150 is built like a tank. If you look at the following on the forum there are a number of Tier 1 members. Midnite and Victron got their reputations due to their reliability in the field over the years. There are a number of other products which have done well with the test of time as...

Love my black frames. Very discreet on a ground mount.

Another vote for Victron. Nice and quiet, easy to install and prices have dropped. There has been concern about a lack of support for the Growatt brand lately. One of those reports came from a supplier.

Nice! Did this about 8 months ago. Such a "joy" finding a way of getting underneath the sink to remove things. You get extra credit for this! Can appreciate the plastic concerns. Recently went on a toilet repair journey. Nothing gross but ended up purchasing and using a toilet auger because...

The probability of the buttered side landing face down is directly proportional to the expense of the carpet “Jennings Postulate”

Ok. Trial run. This is 4 awg THHN-2 19 strand wire. Fits perfectly. No reduction needed.

In earlier days a lot was mentioned about helpful tools for building your own batteries. Here is a partial display of items I have found very helpful in the process. I’m sure others have their own tools as well.

Ok. Wanted to build something that had a lower center of gravity. Also wanted to have multiple angles available. Utilized a therapy goniometer to set three angles 20, 33 and 45 degrees. This will let me get close to ideal angles give or take a few degrees for each month of the year. This will...

When does a car stop being a car? When it turns into a driveway.

My grandmother used the original solar powered dryer her entire life. When her washing machine broke she bought another wringer washer

Skills will continue to hold value as time goes on. Reason I enjoy resources like this forum.

Really appreciate all of the suggestions. The talent on this site never ceases to amaze me. An order was placed today for copper bus bar material. Will definitely be looking at the use of protected vice grips, a bench vice and rotating prior to cutting. Fortunately the lug assembly already...

Currently updating my batteries. Adding another one and putting in cases with display screens. Prior to doing so am doing resistance testing to the older cells to allow me to better match cells in each box.

Well said. Very well written.

Originally I purchased this toolbox for the exact same reason. The wheels were a plus. If memory serves me correctly it was a snug fit with 8s Catl cells. I repurposed it and now it contains all my solar bits, pieces, lugs etc.

Have to admit this is addictive. Once I got the basics up and running the imagination took off. Find myself waking up in the wee hours with my head swimming with new ideas.

A new product is NOT the solution we were promised. @Nami how is the software update coming?

One of the reasons I am attracted to Tier 1 is that many of these vendors have done the extra work to meet specs for UL or ETL. Yes, I know many of the Victron products are not UL rated and are excellent items. However, I paid the little bit extra for a unit that has that spec. If you look at...

Also wanted to point out that the battery case also comes with dividers for under, around and between the cells. There is also a "wall" that can be snugged against the battery cells to firm them in place.

Perhaps this would get more attention in its own thread?

Agree with this suggestion. They are probably going to get my next order for an inverter when I buy it. Very good reputation.

My neighbor had an excavator for a while. Helped to level an area next to the shed which houses some gardens and will house a couple portable solar carts in the future. The area was filled with tree roots. He saved my shoulders and weeks of time. There are benefits of bartering for resources.

Periodic maintenance is recommended for other items such as automobiles. Currently planning a tear down, detailed inspection and reassembly in a battery case with dividers and a redundant fuse on each case. This was already planned. This thread reinforces need for me to follow through with...

Word of advice: Don't trust atoms. They make up everything.

Thank you everyone! OK, so I picked up some of these dental tools. Here is the one I used.

If a cell is leaking, I would not consider it safe, regardless of any residual voltage that "might" be present.

Agreed. I ended up taking things apart and putting them back together a number of times in order to get them right. Helps me sleep better at night knowing it was done right and won’t be misunderstood if someone else happens to work on it. Not likely but safer nonetheless.

This is the battery case. Some assembly required...

When my boys were in scouting took part in a number of backpacking trips. There is something very special about being away from technology and enjoying the sights and sounds of nature. When I was young we used to stay in a cabin up in Canada. They did have electricity but there was no radio or...

I sent an email strongly suggesting she read the response to her post. Clock is ticking…

@Nami when I type in "JK inverter problems" this thread is at the top of two different search engines.

I have this fear of elevators. I am taking steps to correct it…

Batteries in parallel share the load and they tend to do it proportionally. In other words, a higher capacity battery tends to loan more current than a lower capacity battery (in amps). If you have a multitude of batteries, then yes, your inverter or inverters will be the limiting factor...

Our Fed Ex issues seemed to improve once they changed the final hub to another location. Apparently the one was understaffed and they were infamous for missing deliveries. They even made the evening news for their antics. The drivers can really make the difference however. When my generator...

The version 5 cart was pretty cool. Would be really neat to see a water resistant system that could use any server rack or DIY battery case as well.

Memories. I thought it was something because my Amd had a turbo button that took it to a blistering 40 megahertz. And now my old cell phone…. Lol

Managed to top mount the JK BMS screen on top of the battery box.

I have owned a number of cars over the years. Over the last 10 years I have developed a trusting relationship with my mechanic who also happens to be a neighbor and a friend. Having said that, if there is a safety concern with my car, I can rest assured that my mechanic will point it out to me...

It also is beneficial to double check each battery for polarity. Had a batch where at least one of the batteries was marked incorrectly.

Two people ran into a building. You think one of them would have seen it.

IMHO this is one of the great advantages of knowing how to DIY. The other day I was watching my friend mechanic repair a car. A needed part was on back order. He took the sensor apart, cleaned it and put it back together again. Worked like new. Prebuilt is cool and all. Nice appearance, and I...

I have a third pack that is less “behaved” than the others. I currently have it off line and am using a bench tester and using a charge and settle approach in an effort to coax some cooperation between cells. Time will tell…

Many of us came to this forum wide eyed and enthusiastic about the concept of solar. Many watched videos on YouTube and became intrigued about the possibility of converting sunshine to electricity. For many it has been quite a journey. We gathered our thoughts and shared them with the...

Having built a a number of DIY batteries I have found the experience invaluable. The skills learned can be used in other projects down the road. These skills with a multimeter, crimper, shrink wrapping, etc were helpful in my portable panel builds, combiner box and portable power station.

For my first case I used the original JK Bms. I then drilled a plate of polycarbonate and screwed it into the four holes on the compression plate. I then attached high end velcro from McMaster Carr and velcro attached my Bms to the polycarbonate sheet. My new ones will use the case plate...

And she continues to reply after delivery to answer any support questions. Very impressed. Will be buying from her again!

Personally my experience has been different. Shenzhen Luyuan Technology Co is a Chinese company with exceptional sales, customer service and follow through. It doesn't match anything of the descriptions provided above. Yes I understand it might be the exception to the rule but it can happen...

Hmmm. Aging infrastructure. Talk of increasing costs. Plans for increased demand for non peak hours. Nothing to see here. Its going to be fine.

A mentor once gave me excellent advice. Keep it simple. There are places that require perfection such as building a battery or doing the wiring, fuses and breakers. However a project like this can be very forgiving. The wiring and breaker will require perfection. Not having the perfect angle...

Still on the list of needed items are the inverter and charge controller. In the past I dealt with Logan of Arizona Sun and Solar and the service was excellent. I am currently leaning towards Current Connected. Dexter of @HighTechLab has been very helpful in communications and on this site. They...

If you have some rogue cells that didn't work well as an 8s or 16s but still have some life in them, a 12v build can be a rewarding project.

I have been "building" my system for about two years, give or take. Basically save up some $$$, make a purchase, repeat... It would have been nice to have done it all at once, but life's realities kick in. You know food, gas, shelter, those pesky things that eat up the budget.

I am in the process of building a "home" for my inverter charger, batteries, etc. I actually designed an enclosure I was planning on building this weekend. The challenge was where to place it. One location was more convenient but would require a much longer wire run, therefore more $$$. This...

I would expect the control systems for an EV to be far more advanced due to the conditions they encounter during day to day operation. I would also expect them to come at a much higher cost than many could afford for a DIY system. Having said that, this is getting off topic since this is a...

Just when you think you have seen everything…. These are not AA batteries we are working with. That is why I respect and appreciate this forum. Safe practices are taught and reinforced in our discussions.

I believe that the one thing all members strive for in building their systems is to be as safe as possible. Sometimes one walks the path between need to have versus want to have. Then there are things like code and other considerations along the way. I took a number of steps to try to ensure...