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This is an anti-DIY message specific to DIY batteries, so I apologize, but my message for the masses is, unless you know what you're getting into, consider buying a pre-assembled battery. Deciding to DIY my solar battery was one of my worst mistakes ever. I'm still not done yet, and so far the...

If anyone is looking for a reasonably-priced highly qualified solar consultant, I highly recommend Todd @ncsolarelectric here on this forum. When we started on our DIY solar project, we were completely lost. Todd patiently provided all the advice and information we needed. He's been absolutely...

The moderator @upnorthandpersonal and I have traded a dozen messages over the last 2 hours on this topic and we both agree that the popular video by @RayfromTX entitled "Reduce the Risk When Buying Lifepo4 From Alibaba!" is misleading. We felt it was important to let the members of this forum...

There's a "silver" version of the JK-BMS which has a place I can bolt my battery negative wire, that I understand. But the black style JK-BMS I have (JK-B2A24S20P ) I have just has these tiny short battery wires. Are you supposed to unscrew the black cover and put your own size/length leads or...

We have a mountain spring on our property that puts out 68F spring water, flow is slow, about 1/4 gallon per minute. Wondering if this could be fed though a water to air heat exchanger in the house to cool a small room a little in the winter and heat a little in the summer. Not expecting...

There are lots of people around the net complaining of problems with vendors on Alibaba. When there's a problem, the options are first trying to work it out with the seller, and if that fails: 1. Attempting to get a refund though Alibaba 2. Attempting a chargeback through credit card company 3...

Say I have 4 large 280AH batteries with a high state of charge, and 4 more with a low SoC. I assume if I use big busbars and parallel these 8 batteries there could be drama like sparks and possibly even damage to the cells. I have some 18awg wire, could I safely get around this by just using the...

I have a row of 8 batteries at low SoC held tightly by thick sheets of aluminum at either end. The nuts on the threaded rods are just slightly tighter that I can tighten by hand, 5 in-lb. Hard plastic separators between the cells. No springs, no rubber, no extra room for expansion at all. EVE...

Is a 200A DC breaker too large for wire that maxes out at 175 AMPS? I'm assuming the answer is yes. I'm in Japan and wire sizes are different here, the size of the wire in question is "60 SQ" Which is between AWG 1/0 & AWG 2/0 in size. For comparison sake: AWG 1/0 = 170 Amps = 53.5 SQ AWG 2/0...

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I believe @Steve_S said somewhere it's faster charging individual cells than groups of cells. Meaning, for example, it's more than 4X faster charging a single cell than a group of 4 cells. Is this true, and how much faster is it, roughly? Also, related question, I'm using 18GA wire for...

I decided to top balance my cells to 3.45V instead of 3.65V because of the conclusions of this video: Other advantages: it leaves a larger margin for error and probably leads to greater battery life. I know 90% of people here go to 3.65V. So tell me why this is wrong, and I should be charging...

Hey guys, in the event the AIO inverter fails for whatever reason, I don't want to rewire the grid to loads panel connection from scratch. So I'm trying to figure out the best way to switch the grid connection between the loads panel and the AIO inverter. Basically, if the AIO inverter fails, I...

About to order solar panels and I cannot afford to make a mistake. Please double check this is a decent reasonable choice for my inverter. Inverter: Deye SUN-8K-SG01LP1-US...

The newer version of the JK-BMS will talk to inverters, and there's a project to allow the JK-BMS to talk to the inverter. It would mean my JK BMS could talk to my Deye inverter. Sure it's cool, I get it. Maybe you can implement some cool charging strategies, etc., but beyond things like that...

Deye 8k, previously it would activate AC momentarily and then throw F08 GDFI_relay_failure error. To solve F08 error I've wired load N to ground as recommended here, and now the unit won't do anything but show DC power from the panels. Inverter now makes no attempt to start AC power. Deye...

Has anyone in the history of man been able to get their Deye / Sol-Ark / Sunsynk inverter to run strictly on solar without battery or grid? I'm just wondering if it's possible to use it this way in SHTF situations, assuming battery and grid failures. Don't worry, I understand it doesn't "work...

Normally, when you have a networked device like a router, you can connect to it and login to the admininstrative interface. With Deye's stick logger, all you can do is login to it for the sole purpose of configuring it to connect to your home WiFi, so that DEYE engineers and other 3rd party...

I've been trying to top balance a 16 cell battery in sets of 4 (in parallel, using a charger), but it's taken 1 week and I've made little progress on the first set of 4. Here are the voltages of the 4 cells I have tried to charge: 3.343V 3.340V 3.333V 3.332V (They didn't charge evenly because...

My unfinished system: Inverter: Deye 8K BMS: old JK (not the "inverter" version) Battery: 16S2P (32 280AH cells) The JK BMS suck at monitoring battery SoC. Some say use a Victron Smart Shunt to monitor SoC. I'm unclear on how important it is to have a smart shunt monitoring SoC. Say, on a scale...

Hi guys, it's kolek again, the village idiot with zero DIY skills and no qualifications to be doing electrical anything. Is it ok to use busbars instead of wire like I'm doing below to make connections? Like below connecting the busbar to the 200A breaker? If you guys approve this, all...

Prior to the recent problems with the new JK-BMS, it seemed the consensus was that JK-BMS was better than Daly BMS. Now it's less clear, at least in my mind. I'm leaning toward the JK-BMS. I have both the Daly 16S 48V 300A BMS and the JK-BMS 200A 2A model to choose from. Battery is EVE DIY...

Referring to his half-cut solar panels, Fafrd posted saying "Interestingly, on overcast days I can actually get as much output as I get on clear days." Here's the post: https://diysolarforum.com/threads/will-shading-keep-me-from-getting-any-solar-power-in-the-winter.32216/#post-392233 Anyone...

Someone please fill in the X. You don't take a totally empty cell and put it in parallel with a full cell, right? Read somewhere on the forum they must be within a certain voltage, like 0.01V or 0.1V or something like that, but can't remember what the number was. Assuming standard 280AH cells.

First time connecting Deye 8K inverter (model SUN-8K-SG01LP1-US) in Japan. - Solar panels are connected. - Inverter is NOT connected to the grid. - No battery is connected. I'm having an F08 error GFDI _Relay_Failure. For this error code, the manual says: "When inverter is in Split...

I was planning on not having a switch on my battery, and just unplugging it using an Anderson connector when I need to disconnect it. But I still need a precharging circuit. Someone should sell a pre-charge connector for Anderson connectors, but since they don't, what's an elegant way to...

When importing expensive solar parts from China to the U.S., such as solar panels or batteries that cost $5000, and you're bringing them in by FedEx and honestly declaring their full value of $5000, is anyone paying import tax?

I'm planning to buy 8000 watts of solar panels soon. Pls help me choose between these 2 options: Option #1 160 watt panels (unused but discontinued) I can get for $40 each (Solar Frontier SF160-S) OR Option #2 455 watt (new model) panels for $163 each (Longi Solar LR4-72HPH-455M) Obviously...

LF280 cells purchased from Amy at Shenzhen Luyuan 2 years ago. Supposedly her best "Grade A" batteries. The batteries have never been used. Using battery charger, charged a group of 6 batteries for the first time to 3.56V. Now after just sitting for 2 days, the charge on each of the 6...

In most places, winter solar output is far less than summer, right? So to keep your batteries charged, you actually want a larger array during the winter than the summer. Is there any way to automatically accomplish this? Say your inverter maxes out at 8000 watts. You buy a 14000 watt array...