Most reacted posts

My Christmas holiday project... Taking inspiration from some existing repos using pysolarmanv5, I've made a good number of changes, additions, fixes, improvements etc to suit my set up, which includes the ability to poll multiple inverters using different modbus mappings, and in addition from...

I've just started out on the journey to build my own battery, replacing my 3x5kWh of packs with a 2p16s 30kWh one. I've placed an order with NKON for some absolute bargain Envision Grade B 305Ah cells. The process of getting the order and import right dealing with taxes into the UK correctly...

I was just about to get stuck into writing this exact thing... then found yours! Thanks so much @multimake for your work on this. I have just finished implementing with a pi4. I have 3 15kW packs now, it's working perfectly to read all 3. I did make a small change to your code. As standard...

They arrived today! Which was a surprise as the tracking said they were still in Lichfield. They were wrapped in cellophane, strapped to a pallet and stacked 2x2. I feel sorry for the poor chap who delivered them. Nearly 200kg on a pallet and a van delivery. Forklifted in but he was...

@Shimmy @400bird here you go, enjoy

Well, A grade EVE 280 with the same lead time was £120/cell, or with longer lead time about £100. So up to £1500 is a considerable saving and more capacity. As to whether the A>B "downgrade" was worth it, only time will tell, and there is plenty written about that on the forum already... I...

Following on from my last posts about getting metrics from inverters via modbus and creating grafana dashboards, I've now moved on to getting detailed stats from my batteries. This was driven by an issue I was having with my 3 packs deviating in SOC and an issue with the way the inverter handles...

Thought I'd post my DIY array as its (probably) a little unique because of the astroturf! On the left, above the kitchen, was my first foray to test the water for solar, how to hook up etc. Since it was a single story, which can be seen from bedroom doors, I wanted it to be somewhat aesthetic...

I just received the vat/duty invoice and Gerlach/DHL invoice. Total on this ~2000 euro order was £444. Gerlach total was £76. £2320 in total for 32 cells door to door. If it wasn't for Christmas and new year I'd certainly have them by now! But as it is I expect they will arrive within a week.

The original idea was to 3d print some spacing trays inc cable routing and BMS brackets, on a wooden wheeled base. The plastic would not have been taking much load.

I think I will make the whole thing public at some point. What do you already have - what is your data source? The flow is using the FlowChart plugin (https://grafana.com/grafana/plugins/agenty-flowcharting-panel/). I got the icons from svgrepo. I could share the json but it would need a lot...

I have made a few small improvements. Swapped out the costs for a sun hours map and, added the estimated battery time remaining and some more icons.

Well I may end up disappointing on this front. The 2p16s setup was playing on my mind. I started to look at sourcing another same v3.0 seplos BMS with the active balancer to do two DIY boxes. It was working out at least 230 delivered, more than double what I had already paid for the other one...

@houseofancients @Culchee I hear and acknowledge what you are saying regarding the 2p16s, and had done some research earlier on it - there are several pro/con threads on here, and I decided to take a managed risk approach with it - I'm already quite safety conscious even with 3x16s packs, in...

I got the config in this morning. I can see that the battery comms are still working with BMS data still received by the inverter so that's all good (but it's comforting knowing that the BMS should protect me from stupid settings too...). I had 30% from my SOC overnight, so I set user-def to...

This was also my expectation. However they said they cannot sell at zero rate VAT without being a B2B sale, having a valid VAT number. This didn't make sense to me, as if (more like when) I'm recharged VAT and duty to receive them, I'll only be chasing them for the refund of Netherlands VAT...

They also said this to me to start with, saying about some restrictions on batteries. I asked them to check again as I've had battery deliveries from abroad before, and then they came back with the DHL offer. Their website certainly doesn't allow you to make an order to the UK.

I have a well used fluke

@Umski i have been experimenting with my new force charge setting. What I have settled on is setting the minimum SOC to 21% and force charge to 20%. This seems to be "floating" the battery in a sense quite well - rather than blindly charging it with time of use overnight (it won't allow...

Yes I saw those too. Prices have come down a lot. But that pricing doesn't make sense! In total if I go for the seplos mason cases (most expensive opton) it will be £1635 per 15kw battery.

I haven't had that confirmation since, but yes they did sell VAT free to me, with the EORI. It's free to get an EORI as an individual or sole trader on the uk gov website.

I suggest you check all cells even if you are not using them yet - I had 1 with an off-centre welded stud. I have contacted Nkon about it. I'm not going to top balance, going to rely on the 2A active balancer to sort them out ?

@Umski I have just finished installing the 5kw lifepo4 battery. I have to say, it's brilliant. Worked first time, all comms working. It's great to see the inverter reporting battery SOC and other data. I'm sure when you receive your pylontech, your troubles will be behind you. If anyone...

Yeah I've fitted that too. Currently waiting for a digital torque meter to arrive so I can finish off and close it up.

I modified the title to suit! Does anyone know if the envision cells can be used horizontally? I see no warning against it in the spec document. And does anyone know the full height of the white vertical seplos mason cases. The Spec says 817mm but that indicates without wheels, however the...

I don't really see that it was much bother for them in terms of paperwork. As far as I saw, It amounted to them forwarding the customs paperwork for me to complete and return. The rest I handled directly with the customs agent appointed by DHL. They used the EORI to produce a VAT free...

Thanks, this is why I'm suffering where they are now the sun is lower, and the others are doing much better. I think, then, that the east roof is the most economical option as it won't be shaded until late afternoon, and is easier to mount. Plus I will add 2 or 3 additional on the top flat roof...

The arrows are animated (the dotted lines move). I've not yet made them direction based on flow - it is on the list (thats why some have double ended arrows for now). You can modify the arrow heads so direction in that respect should be possible (hide one end for example). The direction of the...

That was what the Solis chap told me. On the inverter menu you mentioned it says 130010 so seems to be!

@houseofancients perhaps you can be our local ambassador :) In a strange turn of events I was in Amsterdam late November, and then my wife was a few hours drive away in Germany during December. I even considering making a special trip/drive over to collect them from the UK! That is how good a...

Cells now charged and active balanced... then left to idle for a while settling around ~3.48V. They are within 20mv of each other. Discharge test @100A settles to about 9mv difference and a voltage drop to 3.27V. Still waiting for nkon to sort the one faulty cell. Had quite some trouble...

I had my firmware update today, I called them in the end and it was done within a few hours. Whole bunch of battery options now!

Sure... Local pickup is very preferred, but I'd also be happy to deliver in Kent or the Surrey and East/West Sussex borders for the cost of fuel.

Yes I can pre-heat to 62, there are designs in the manual even for using with a heat pump in this exact way. That Aztec boiler at 2kw seems ideal, apparently it will heat the output to higher than that and is a reasonable wattage to be covered by solar and/or battery. More research required...

A few updates. The Seplos cases have arrived. I was still in 2 minds about using them, continuing to design my own casing while waiting and half expecting them to be returned. But once they arrived and I took a peak at one, there was no going back. They are really well built and professional...

So I had a bit of a disaster with the user-def settings. Somehow the battery hit 0% over a couple of hours. It was doing its normal thing, holding steady at 25% then with slow decline. I checked on it a couple of hours later, and it was offline. I don't really understand how it happened...

@SeaGal I did some calcs. For you, 1% is 140w over 5 hours, or about 28w/hour (maybe more if it's more than 14kw of battery). For me, yesterday 16:00 through to 09:00 today was 11% drop (25>14%), or ~500w over 17hrs. That's 29w/hr. So, it seems this is pretty much the same. I read specs of...

It would have to be very expensive delivery to not make it worthwhile! Regarding bringing them over yourself in a car, this is actually considerably easier. There is a gov page you can pre-pay the VAT/duty using your passport as a reference. You can then go through "nothing to declare" when...

1st one nearly built. Loom tape makes for a neat install! I'm in no rush as I'm still waiting for the gas pipe to be moved so I can fit these in!

Yes sounds like the same shipment! TBH I'm not expecting them before christmas, whether it be nkon sending them or customs delaying it. How are you dealing with the import, or are you not in the UK?

Ah yes well, that is what I alluded to at the end there - perhaps not quite as strongly. I already have the additional battery. The simulators show, predictably, the top roof being the better choice but don't really account for the economics and shading complexities.

UPDATE 2... I have been playing with some layouts that will fit into my space. This is the best one I have so far. I have a 5kw hybrid inverter (plus a separate 3kw standard inverter). Max current is 100A but am using 200A BMS. I have battery post and extra bus bars on way from aliexpress.

I'm in the UK... I'm not sure why there is this variation of models! I wonder, if those with meters have issues, if it is worth trying the direct CT method and setting the clamp location appropriately. I am not able to use the clamp on the inverter anyway, because I have 2 inverters located...

UPDATE 1... Last week (after several incorrect delivery issues) I received the Seplos BMS and active balancer from fogstar. First, I received a JK... and then I received the BMS without the active balancer! All good in the end. It's very frustrating having this and no cells!

It was DSP 10 and HMI13

Before with my pace BMS I was using the PylontoMQTT project to get data out of the batteries. Does anyone know of something similar that works with the Seplos v3? I've tried a few options for Seplos out there but it appears maybe things changed with v3. Thanks!

Here you go!

Wow that is low. My background is 400w so I do that in the early hours alone when we are all asleep. The main issue is that the oven and hob go on for dinner, and if the hybrid car hasn't already used it, they will. Don't get me wrong, it's great that we are using everything that was...

That is just something to represent the network of wiring, your fuse board, or whatever - a focal point for your ins and outs. If you mean what do the numbers represent on the last screenshot - that is where I chose to put my meter API readings. I did struggle with how to count input and...

So, back when I was being experimental I installed 6 panels on a low garage roof. The garden/rear is SSW facing (233SW). The house shades the panels in the late afternoon in the summer, and the winter sun causes shading from some nearby trees. I know it was not optimal, but it was a first...

After stalling for so long because of the frankly ridiculous pricing of commercially installed solar, I've now installed my own system. I was fortunate enough to have plenty of ground floor roof space in fairly optimal south facing positions, on top of a rear extension and garage. So far I...

Yes 2% (£36)

The charge the battery had during the day was already used by that time (down to 25 SOC anyway). Not much sun that day.

I am soon going to be getting a sunsynk/deye/turbo/sol-ark inverter (I believe they are all the same) so will be figuring out the modbus mapping for that too. Then I will have working 3 different Solis inverters with and without modbus decoding, and the turbo... and for the UK, the smart meter...

Intend to use solarman, but yes. I verified the same yo-yo on the inverter itself. As soon as a pull the comms between the batteries it stops, reading whichever one it is directly connected to.

Good spot! I put foam both sides because they over-supplied the eva for between the cells. I liked the idea of extra insulation against the lid, not that it is anywhere near it.

Lol, I am indeed in the UK! In the winter when there is no sun... there is no sun. However when the sky is clear I am able to power through the day and charge 5kw of battery with 2 more hours of sun going waste. The majority of that is coming from those south panels so yes, I believe I would...

Thanks for looking! Yeah, I was originally going to set up a deferment account but it was a 30d+ process as I would have needed the wavier application and to send various financial docs for review. So I have a cash account and was hoping I would just load that up as needed. I also singed up...

@Shimmy did you have any joy? I have just added some alerting which calls webhooks based on the excess solar thresholds. I'm using these to trigger alerts via my athom homey, which asks if i want to start charing the car with the excess. If I respond yes, then it triggers the slow charger...

Yes I have the temp sensor and it's not in use, I can't see me using it now either. PM me. I simply called Solis in the end (was on hold for 40min). The chap that answered was very helpful though. He said he had 3 other tickets for the same inverter and the same request for an upgrade, and...

I suppose, it would have been very interesting to have tried the LA batteries after updating the inverter. I'm not sure but maybe @Umski was already on a newer firmware though and still has issues. Either way, there is no doubt that the lifepo4 is superior in every way except price!

Yes, the user-defined options has a lot more. But, I wouldn't have a clue what to set it all to for the lifepo4. How does the comms side work if you are using user defined? If I could use that, I think it would also be a way to limit the discharge?

How do you divert excess to DHW?

That was a weird typo/auto correct!! I have a contractor ordered... more crazy science when that arrives.

The easiest way to get DC cable locally, immediately, I've found is to buy jump leads from an auto parts store and cut the clamps off...

I'm currently importing 30kWh of cells to make a DIY battery of a layout that can fit into a shaped area I have. My current set of batteries will be up for grabs, 3 of them 15kWh in total. They only have about 300 cycles, one much less. All grade A cells. Two are branded Basen Green. They...

Excellent!

Save takes me back a screen, where I see the Protection options (voltages). Maybe a firmware difference? Mine is 2yrs old.

I am also regretting not getting a larger battery. 2x5kw will cost about £5-600 more than a single 10kw :-( I calculated that on average I had 4kw excess over the summer so 5kw should have been ideal. But it can't possibly be with hitting 70% in this weather! I was looking at using an export...

@Derek De Leon you were lucky, I waited 2 weeks then had to call them. My API access request was prompt though (in the end I've decided to use modbus anyway). @Umski I've hit an issue you might face. I went ahead a bought a 2nd battery, connected them in parallel, hooked up the comms. All...

Hi @Umski Yes same AC couple RAI inverter. It only has the CT around the live to grid, where it (correctly as far as I can tell) measures the positive or negative flow. As I understand that is all the a acrel is doing via a CT too. I'm not sure why it needs the acrel other than, perhaps, to...

This is pulled from the solarman logging sticks via modbus.

So, I've managed to completed the forms they sent and returned them. I did have the option of using an external declaration (£25) but chose to keep it simple and accept their £75 charge. I was able to use my EORI cash account reference instead of their chargeable deferment account. I'm...

Here you go

Hi @Umski @SeaGal - I registered here because reading your posts was like reading my experience over the last couple of days. I've basically gone through the exact same troubleshooting process for why the batteries won't charge or discharge with a very similar set up. I have 170ah of 12v (x4...

Did they send a bunch of paperwork through to complete or did you just receive an invoice to pay?

Due to multiple chops-and-changes to how I've set things up and the space I have to put things, I've ended up with a surplus of batteries and cells... and wasted cash, I suppose :-( I have 2x Basen Green 5kw packs using CATL Grade A cells. One has 438 cycles, the other 377, of the 6000 rated...

I was dealing with Roan and Jeffrey Peeters Roan van Diepenbeek. It's coming to the crunch now though. I have received the delivery notification and forms to complete from Gerlach who I think operate on behalf of DHL for customs clearance. Not that I appointed them or asked for that. They are...

Yes 60 euros each ex vat, shipping was 230 I think. VAT will be +20% for me.

I never got it working correctly, I had to use time charge / discharge in the end. It would not automatically switch between charging and discharging in self use mode. Have you tied resetting it (disconnecting DC) at a time when you expect it to discharge? That is the behaviour I found - a...

So, what I have done now which seems to be working well, is set time charging for 1amp in the early morning hours. This is enough to Give plenty of hours of evening usage to get the battery used down to the SOC cut off I set (25 or 30, haven't settled on one yet) Offset the inverter draw, and...

Right... if you then try to use all those in calcs, you have to start reversing signs. So I kept it aligned in that sense. You could flip them all of course, as an alternative, and still have calcs work without issue.

My inverter doesn't even have both an Acrel and Meter input - it is a single port labelled CT/Meter than only accepts a 2 wire connection. If you compare these two manuals you'll see the different contents and different layout of the ports: https://www.ginlong.com/rai_inverter1/4268.html...

My battery isn't a pylon, but I use the pylon option for compatible comms... Ah, then I definitely need to look at this.

My case doesn't have a separate ground either... @SeaGal I had my force charge on 15%, but it seems to have failed to work. Im hesitant to try it again... I'm thinking about rigging up a contactor on timer or somehow interfacing on 232 to switch it off between certain hours (like I know it...

It was mostly "tongue in cheek" ;) but certainly your input will be invaluable I'm sure!

https://www.basengroup.com/product/basen-51-2v-105ah-230ah-300ah-lifepo4-6000-times-deep-cycels-battery-pack-rack-type/

@SeaGal The only setting you can change is the minimum SOC. The inverter and BMS then take a decision on the rest. Here you can see on 8th 20% was hit mid afternoon, then it continues to drop 1% every ~1hr20min. Green is charge or discharge, orange is SOC. Similar, our total was 5.6kw. I'm...