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If anyone has been following my posts lately, I've been complaining on how hard it is to get Lifepo4 cells here in the Middle East. While it's pretty easy to get smaller cells online, like Topband 25Ah, or some no-name 13Ah cells, it's a real hassle trying to get the larger cells. I've been...

After a long and frustrating search for a battery box for my DIY 8s pack, I think I've found the best one (for my needs at least). For my solar needs, I am building 2 x 24v Lifepo4 batteries that will be in parallel, each with its own BMS. I'm using EVE LF90K cells. I originally bought some...

Well, it all started out when I saw an Ebike battery pack by the trash can one day while walking home. There were some wires ripped apart, but I though it would be nice to take it home, and repurpose the 18650 cells in it. To my surprise, this was actually a 36v 10ah Li-ion 10s pack using...

[Update] It seems to have low temp charging protection! See my update on this: https://diysolarforum.com/threads/review-cheap-12v-20ah-lifepo4-from-aliexpress-with-low-temp-protection.31939/post-389593 I have recently recieved the 12v 20Ah battery ordered from AliExpress. I got it for $93, and...

Well, I have this crazy idea that came up a while ago, and now I'm going forward to implement it. The motivation is like this: We all love solar, many of us like/have EVs. We would love to put some solar power to use in order to extend our EV range. But as some of us know, connecting solar to...

Hi there, I just received this 24v 8A Lifepo4 charger that I got from Aliexpress, that will be used for a 24v 40Ah DIY Lifepo4 pack I'm building. This pack will be a replacement for SLA batteries used in a small mobility scooter. The current setup uses a small 24v 2A SLA charger to charge two...

Hi everyone. Just wanted to share my experience so far with this seller and the cells. Some background: I'm building a DIY 24v 8S Lifepo4 pack for my dad's mobility scooter, to replace the two 12v AGMs. I know that there are other forums for this, but I have learned alot from this forum and it...

I found a nice explanation of common AIO charge/load priority setting (as in MPP/MUST/Voltronic): https://newfield.co.za/2021/09/13/optimising-your-solar-solution/#:~:text=*Please%20note%20there%20is%20a,until%20its%20low%20voltage%20point. At first glance, SOL and SBU look the same, but there...

Hi. I have a general question about DC-DC chargers. I'm guessing that not all products are alike, but probably work the same: When does a DC-DC charger stop charging the battery to be charged? Is it based on voltage only, or based also on current? For example, if the DC-DC charger sees that the...

Just some thoughts while trying to bring up my system: For European 220-230V single phase AC: I know that when installing an EV charger (EVSE), they sometimes require you to install a (costly) Type B RCD dedicated for the EVSE which can sense DC leakage too. The reason being is that DC currents...

I just received my order of 8 x EVE LF105 Lifepo4 cells from Gobel. The order took about a month and half to arrive (to the Middle East, sea shipping, per my request as air freight was too expensive for me). Not bad! They split my order into two packages, I suppose to be within customs weight...

I have the 200A JKBMS for 8S Lifepo. When connecting to the cells, I was wondering how much current one terminal (on each side) could handle? My dilemma is if I should use both terminals on each side with 6 AWG wire each, or if I can get away with using just one terminal with a 4 AWG ? I know...

Hi. I have the SRNE installed on a semi-portable solar generator at my parents house, connected to SolarAssistant. SA doesn't show any grid usage, even though the inverter is in UTI mode, connected to grid. It doesn't show grid usage when loads are connected, but also doesn't show grid usage...

Hi there. I'm working on my setup for 2 x 24v Lifepo4 (100Ah each) in parallel for a 24v 3k AIO Inverter. I am planning to place this breaker board in a metal enclosure that I already have, so space is somewhat limited. Basically what I have is two 125A DC breakers (one for each battery) going...

Hey all, I have a somewhat unusual setup and would like to maximize my solar panel output. Currently I have 4x100w panels (2s2p) and 2x455w panels (not in series or parallel). I currently have these connected to a grid-tied microinverter, with 4 separate MPPT ports. But, I now want to connect...

Hi there. I am planning to build an 8S 24v 40ah Lifepo4 pack for a mobility scooter. I am planning to use only 80% capacity as a charge-discharge cycle, for extended pack life. I intend to do this by charging only up to 90% SOC, and discharging to 10%. My question is: Will cell balancing work...

Hi. After much distress with some cheap Aliexpress microinverters, I shelled out some more cash an got a better quality Deye 2000w microinverter that uses the Solarman app and website. I love the amount of detail it gives, but there is one thing that bugs me, and I wonder if others have this...

Hi there. Having seen some of Will's beginner videos and read across his site, I'm a bit confused and would appreciate your help. For example in this video, he uses only one fuse on the battery for the load and the SCC: I understand that you should have a fuse directly on the battery. Is it...

Hi. I have a 220v AC/12v DC Xijia (CNSPower) 1500w inverter. I'm using it in a portable solar generator setup. The inverter doesn't have ground-neutral bonding, same as most of these types of inverters (Giandel, etc...). The output of the inverter AC socket goes to a small panel box, which...

Don't know why the post was sent twice - please delete this...

Hi. I have a no-name MPPT micro inverter that is suppose to handle up to 600w. But, it has 2 inputs and each is limited to 300w by the specs. I have a 455w panel, which is too much for a single input. I can confirm that actual open voltage is around 45v and open circuit current is at or above...

For my 24v Lifepo4 build, I came across this product: https://mr-mckenic.com/2019/10/23/contact-cleaner-lubricant/ Has anyone tried this on the contact/terminals of their battery? The nice thing about this specific one is that is has (conducting?) lubricant which is supposed to prevent...

Hello. I recently got to connecting my PV to my MUST 3kw 24v AIO (PH18-Plus). I have noticed that it's under-reporting PV amps, sometimes as much as 1.5 amps. Overall PV wattage reported also seems to have about 100w missing. How I checked this: 1. Using SolarAssistant, looking at PV amps...

Hi. I'm planning a 24v 40Ah Lifepo4 pack. The cells I plan to get state maximum discharge current of 3C. I am considering getting the 80A JBD 8S BMS. my question is can the overcurrent (discharge) protection be set by the app? For example, can I set the 80A to protect at 60A ? Is it common to...

I just received 4 x 100w DOKIO rigid (glass) panels. I know that DOKIO is not one of the bigger/well known PV manufacturers from China (as opposed to Longi/Trina/JA etc..), but I got a good deal on them on Aliexpress (11.11 sale) for $106 Shipping included. But I do know that many are happy...

Well, it's a long story but I'll try to make it short: After an order fiasco, I'm ending up with 8 x EVE LF90K (90ah) Lifepo4 cells, and another 8 x EVE LF105 (105Ah) cells. I have a 24v all-in-one inverter on order and want to build a battery for it. Although I am a JBD BMS fan, this time I...

Hi. I'm building a DIY Lifepo4 battery in a battery box, like this: I will be putting a DC breaker on the top of the battery box, mainly as a disconnect switch, so that when doing maintenance or disconnecting the battery, the terminals won't have voltage (positive side). My question is...

Hi all. I have been using SolarAssistant successfully with my MUST inverter for about a year now. But recently I got an SRNE HF2430S60-100 24V 3K AIO inverter for my dad. I hooked it up to a new Raspberry Pi4, via USB cable, installed SA and started to see the data. However, most settings...

Hi there. I have a small (but a bit complicated) grid-tie DIY solar setup. I have been playing around with solar a bit, just to learn, but now am trying to make my DIY setup as safe as possible, given some constraints. Basically I am using those cheap no-name Chinese micro-inverters (I have...

So I saw these Topband at BatteryHookup. Very popular in this forum. The deal was too good so I decided to get me a 4 pack to play with. I have no idea what I'm gonna do with them, but since ordering the 4 pack I ordered another 8. I might build a 12v battery for my UPS, and a 24v for emergency...

Hi. I recently got this type of DC circuit breaker: It's a 2 pole DC breaker, mine is rated for 160ADC, but has same connection drawing as in the picture. I will use it to connect my 24v Lifepo4 battery to my 3k 24v inverter. My question is, where does the load (inverter) go, and where does...

Hi. I recently noticed some strange behavior on one of my DIY Lifepo4 batteries, using a 4S JBD: When charge and discharge are enabled, I get the correct voltage at the terminals (using a DMM) as the BMS app states. But when charge is disabled, there is less voltage on the terminals (around half...

Hi there. Well, in the past year and a half I have been experimenting with solar, mainly having some solar panels on my pergola. I ordered some equipment from Aliexpress, and some of it is just laying around for various reasons. I would like to sell this stuff (hopefully to someone close to me...

Let's say I have a JK BMS connected to an inverter with communication between them. Will the JK throttle down the inverter's charging current at a higher SOC, or will it allow the inverter to charge at the maximum charge current set at inverter/BMS ? The reason I'm asking is because I would...

I'm thinking of changing my current DIY solar system, currently grid-tied with about 1kw of peak solar (4-5kwh a day during summer). I want to have some sort of battery backup for critical loads. I thought of getting an all-in-one inverter/charger. I have seen that the higher output ones (more...

Hi there. I have a 1200w no-name grid-tie micro inverter from Aliexpress (model GTB-1200). According to specs, it should handle 22-50v input, on each one of its 4 inputs. It has over-voltage protection. The problem is that it seems to be out of spec, and accepts voltages upto around 36v. For...

Just a little teaser: I'm working on a DIY solar generator that is also a boombox. I originally planned to use 16 x 25Ah Topband cells that I got from BH, in a 4p4s configuration (12v, 100Ah total). But, recently I saw a post on the forum for EVCOMPONENTS.COM. They have a great deal on EVE...

A bit theoretical, but has practical implications: What's more energy efficient: Pushing PV power to the grid, or storing in battery and using it ? Let's say our PV array produces 5kwh a day. For the sake of the discussion let's also assume that we are on a fixed grid tariff, and grid-tie is...

I have a MUST PH1800 Plus inverter (Voltronic clone / look alike). It has USB, RJ45 and what looks like an RS-232 port. I know that the USB can be used for PC software and have successfully used it with Solar Assistant. It seems to be a USB to RS485 internal converter. The RJ45 also has RS485...

A short intro: I have a 24v DIY Lifepo4 pack, 8x105Ah EVE cells. While I got these cells from a reputable supplier (grade A), it seems one cell is a bit faulty. If I recall correctly, there was one cell in this order that made a slushing sound when I shake it, it might be this one. There was no...

Hi. I was wondering if LFP batteries are suitable to replace lead-acid (AGM/SLA) batteries in an electric wheelchair/scooter? Are the rectangular batteries used for solar good for mobile applications or could they be internally damaged by the movement/bumps? Also, could they be used as a...

Hi there. I am planning a DIY solar generator, using Topband 25ah Lifepo4 cells (from BH). I have a 12v 1500w inverter. I would like to power loads up to this rating (around 120A at 12.8v). I have 12 25Ah cells that will be arranged in 4S3P configuration (75Ah total). Since these cells should...

Hi there. After seeing many YouTube videos about top balancing Lifepo4 cells by the parallel method, I was wondering why this method is recommended for Lifepo4 but not for Li-Ion cells? From what I have read, parallel balancing is dangerous for Li-Ion, because one cell with high voltage/SOC may...

Hi all. I'm basically building my third portable DIY power station / solar generator. This one will be for some friends of mine. But on each build, I can't decide on these specific topics, I'd like to hear your thoughts: 1. To bond or not to bond (N-G bonding) ? 2. To ground or not to ground ...

Hi. I'm building a 24v 40Ah 8S Lifepo4 pack, with an 80A JBD BMS. This will be charged with a CC/CV AC-DC Lifepo4 charger (voltage is adjustable). I have done all the top-balancing procedures, at 3.65v, and did a capacity test on each cell separately. Each one gave slightly above 40Ah...

Hi. I'm thinking about changing my current grid-tied system to a Hybrid All-in-one for backup purposes. I have 230v (European) single phase AC. My question is this: Would it be OK to bond the inverter's output Neutral to the same ground as my grid's ground (which is also bonded to the grid...

I am planning to put an SCC, shunt, battery, fuse box and some other components inside the trunk of my hatchback, as part of my (experiment) solar build. I was wondering what would be the best "thing" to mount these on/in. I have seen many just mount the components on a piece of plywood. Seems...