KevinC_63559
Solar Enthusiast
Prepping to buy a rack full of 48V batteries from Current Connected. Since they sell both brands, I presume both are excellent, which is making the selection a bit harder.
Five background things:
1) This is an indoor room temperature static rack mount solution - not mobile, so no vibration issues or temperature concerns
2) Live in the country: No codes, no inspections, no permits - but still try do things "right", so UL listing matters a bit
3) Money matters, but not if the options are within +/- 15% of each other, maybe even 20%. "Right fit" overrides that level of difference
4) Full story, so far, in my journey thread here
5) I'll be pairing the batteries to Victron Multiplus-II 3000VA gear (UL1741 listing) configured in split phase 240V mode
So... from their website (my understanding):
Both are 48V 100Ah with similar discharge/recharge rates and 100A max current. Both have 10 year warranties. Both support Victron closed loop with appropriate cabling.
EG4: "UL1973 Listed ETL Conforms to UL 9540A"
SOK: "UL1973, UL9540A Certification, UL9540 (pending)" Enclosure Protection IP20.
EG4: "...designed to last for more than 7000 dep charge and discharge cycles and have a life cycle of more than 15 years with an 80% depth of discharge daily"
SOK: "... 80% capacity after 4000 cycles. That is even at a 100% Depth of Discharge (DOD) with a 1C rate."
EG4: "parallel connection with up to 16 batteries" (CC website) "parallel connection up to 64 batteries (EG4 website)
SOK: 15 in parallel with BMS communication
Planning on (5) SOK for the office, (15) SOK for the later house project. Thinking (6) EG4 for office (filling the rack), so (18) for the house?
EG4: Enclosed Battery Rack ($549) - presumably takes up a bit more room but looks "cleaner"
SOK: Open Rack ($200, but free with purchase of 5 batteries)
SOK "Max Terminal Feedthrough Current: 350A"??? So you can never draw more than 350A through potentially 15 parallel batteries? OK - sanity checked, the Victrons max at 120A each, so 240A total. Sounds like it might be an issue with Multiplus II 5000s when paired for split phase?
EG4 solution cost: 5*$1299+$549=$7044 ($8343 is I went with (6))
SOK soluition cost: 5*1565.65=$7828.25+free rack (So EG4 is either 10% less or 6% more with 20% more capacity)
EG4 - Not user serviceable
SOK - Everything accessible with a screwdriver and 10mm wrench
User serviceability is the obvious big difference. I'm guessing that if something goes wrong with an SOK, I pull the battery out of the rack, open it up, figure out the problem, and CurrentConnected sends me replacement parts. A week later, I'm back up and running at full capacity. Hmmm, probably means I should have a spare pair of longer cables so that I could bypass the missing battery. Conversely with an EG4 I presume I would need to yank the battery, motor freight it back to CurrentConnected, await repairs, and pay to have it motor freighted back to me. That feels like several weeks of downtime for that pack and not insignificant shipping expenses.
Would appreciate folks pointing out things I've missed and/or stating their preferences (ideally with explanation of why).
Five background things:
1) This is an indoor room temperature static rack mount solution - not mobile, so no vibration issues or temperature concerns
2) Live in the country: No codes, no inspections, no permits - but still try do things "right", so UL listing matters a bit
3) Money matters, but not if the options are within +/- 15% of each other, maybe even 20%. "Right fit" overrides that level of difference
4) Full story, so far, in my journey thread here
5) I'll be pairing the batteries to Victron Multiplus-II 3000VA gear (UL1741 listing) configured in split phase 240V mode
So... from their website (my understanding):
Both are 48V 100Ah with similar discharge/recharge rates and 100A max current. Both have 10 year warranties. Both support Victron closed loop with appropriate cabling.
EG4: "UL1973 Listed ETL Conforms to UL 9540A"
SOK: "UL1973, UL9540A Certification, UL9540 (pending)" Enclosure Protection IP20.
EG4: "...designed to last for more than 7000 dep charge and discharge cycles and have a life cycle of more than 15 years with an 80% depth of discharge daily"
SOK: "... 80% capacity after 4000 cycles. That is even at a 100% Depth of Discharge (DOD) with a 1C rate."
EG4: "parallel connection with up to 16 batteries" (CC website) "parallel connection up to 64 batteries (EG4 website)
SOK: 15 in parallel with BMS communication
Planning on (5) SOK for the office, (15) SOK for the later house project. Thinking (6) EG4 for office (filling the rack), so (18) for the house?
EG4: Enclosed Battery Rack ($549) - presumably takes up a bit more room but looks "cleaner"
SOK: Open Rack ($200, but free with purchase of 5 batteries)
SOK "Max Terminal Feedthrough Current: 350A"??? So you can never draw more than 350A through potentially 15 parallel batteries? OK - sanity checked, the Victrons max at 120A each, so 240A total. Sounds like it might be an issue with Multiplus II 5000s when paired for split phase?
EG4 solution cost: 5*$1299+$549=$7044 ($8343 is I went with (6))
SOK soluition cost: 5*1565.65=$7828.25+free rack (So EG4 is either 10% less or 6% more with 20% more capacity)
EG4 - Not user serviceable
SOK - Everything accessible with a screwdriver and 10mm wrench
User serviceability is the obvious big difference. I'm guessing that if something goes wrong with an SOK, I pull the battery out of the rack, open it up, figure out the problem, and CurrentConnected sends me replacement parts. A week later, I'm back up and running at full capacity. Hmmm, probably means I should have a spare pair of longer cables so that I could bypass the missing battery. Conversely with an EG4 I presume I would need to yank the battery, motor freight it back to CurrentConnected, await repairs, and pay to have it motor freighted back to me. That feels like several weeks of downtime for that pack and not insignificant shipping expenses.
Would appreciate folks pointing out things I've missed and/or stating their preferences (ideally with explanation of why).
