batteries for Sol-Ark 15KW

pat72 · Jul 12, 2022

Hi everyone,
Looking to get LifePO4 batteries to work with the Sol-Ark 15K. I'm a bit confused with the open loop / closed loop features. I contacted Sol-Ark and was told that in order to work with this inverter, the battery must "... allow open loop so we can control through settings inside the Inverter"
Do you guys know which batteries are open loop vs closed loop?
Wherever I see specs, I don't see anything saying open or closed loop battery.
My understanding is that open loop batteries don't communicate to the inverter their state of charge and closed loop batteries do (correct me if I'm wrong, I could very well be).
So does that mean that if the Sol-Ark 15K works with open loop batteries, it doesn't communicate with the BMS?
Any help would be very much appreciated...as well as any suggestion on where to buy about 20kw of storage without breaking the bank.
THanks a lot
Pat

I Just Cant Anymore · Jul 22, 2022

Based on my research, batteries with CAN communication seem to be basically plug-and-play for SOC and Temp comms with Sol-ark. With RS485 it seems to have more potential as it can read voltages at the cell level, but I havent played with that. For reference, EG4 and Jakiper batteries do work with the Sol-ark CAN comms. I have 15kw worth of Jakiper that communicate just fine.

I dont know what they mean by open or closed either, but I hope you find your answer. Good luck.

robby · Jul 30, 2022

Some one told you that incorrectly. They meant to say must be closed loop.
Sol-ark prefers that you used closed loop but it still works fine in open loop.
You can get good expensive closed loop compatible batteries from Fortress Power or you can get lower cost batteries from SOK.

bfrank · Sep 28, 2022

If I may hijack old thread, what about a DIY set of batteries using the 3.2v 280ah cells from china configured into 48v with daly or similar BMS?
Will Sol Ark 15k work with them?

byteharmony · Oct 3, 2022

bfrank said:
If I may hijack old thread, what about a DIY set of batteries using the 3.2v 280ah cells from china configured into 48v with daly or similar BMS?
Will Sol Ark 15k work with them?

Please hijack with this kind of content.

I'm continuing my march towards this goal and today I'll be posting about EMT conduit in the attic going through a garage firewall and into my basement.

On the battery front. I am planning and working towards the 18650 POWER wall for the fixed stationary battery and then large recycled EV batteries for a 48V lawn tractor project (and snowmobile and boat) that will provide additional storage capacity support for the house.
1 quick question RE your comment. What is 3.2V battery? Lifepo4?

I think so, anyway, the best input I have regarding that is to switch out daly with JK. Primary reason, smaller multiple wires are easier to work with than fewer big ones. Also, active battery balancing seems smarter to me than daly, non-active battery balancing.

My DIY Powerwall design so far is exactly the same as the very generous German video maker:

nc73 · Oct 3, 2022

bfrank said:
If I may hijack old thread, what about a DIY set of batteries using the 3.2v 280ah cells from china configured into 48v with daly or similar BMS?
Will Sol Ark 15k work with them?

why wouldn't it not work, they are batteries after all. just can't communicate with sol-ark but that's an optional feature.

bfrank · Oct 3, 2022

byteharmony said:
Please hijack with this kind of content.

I'm continuing my march towards this goal and today I'll be posting about EMT conduit in the attic going through a garage firewall and into my basement.

On the battery front. I am planning and working towards the 18650 POWER wall for the fixed stationary battery and then large recycled EV batteries for a 48V lawn tractor project (and snowmobile and boat) that will provide additional storage capacity support for the house.
1 quick question RE your comment. What is 3.2V battery? Lifepo4?

I think so, anyway, the best input I have regarding that is to switch out daly with JK. Primary reason, smaller multiple wires are easier to work with than fewer big ones. Also, active battery balancing seems smarter to me than daly, non-active battery balancing.

My DIY Powerwall design so far is exactly the same as the very generous German video maker:

My apologies, yes 3.2v LifePO4. I already made the purchase of the SolArk15k. But I'm winging it and hoping it'll work out. Thanks for tip on JK vs Daly. I've seen others recommending away from Daly.

I've settled on the Sol Ark probably as much for permit reasons as anything else. I want to have a system that:
1) sells to grid
2) has a transfer switch to an off grid setup that shares the same solar panels - plays the role of backup generator.
3) allows me to play with things on the off grid side after county & electric company are satisfied that I'm up to code.

The SA pretty much seems to have that in the box although at a hefty price and I've been struggling with whether its worth that vs going to an off grid setup with the grid as a backup. At this point I am opting towards simplicity and as far as getting the batteries working, I'll cross that bridge once I've crossed these other bridges.

bfrank · Oct 3, 2022

nc73 said:
why wouldn't it not work, they are batteries after all. just can't communicate with sol-ark but that's an optional feature.

I see, thanks. Complete & total inexperience is why I ask the question.

Shawn Hayes · Oct 3, 2022

pat72 said:
Hi everyone,
Looking to get LifePO4 batteries to work with the Sol-Ark 15K. I'm a bit confused with the open loop / closed loop features. I contacted Sol-Ark and was told that in order to work with this inverter, the battery must "... allow open loop so we can control through settings inside the Inverter"
Do you guys know which batteries are open loop vs closed loop?
Wherever I see specs, I don't see anything saying open or closed loop battery.
My understanding is that open loop batteries don't communicate to the inverter their state of charge and closed loop batteries do (correct me if I'm wrong, I could very well be).
So does that mean that if the Sol-Ark 15K works with open loop batteries, it doesn't communicate with the BMS?
Any help would be very much appreciated...as well as any suggestion on where to buy about 20kw of storage without breaking the bank.
THanks a lot
Pat

I have dual Sol-Ark 12K’s in parallel. I am using 304 amp hour, CATL, LiFePo4 prismatic cells as my battery. I have 16 batteries in series, I have four sets in parallel, for a total of 63 kWh. (16S4P)
Sol-Ark willl charge and discharge (open loop) those batteries without any BMS present. However I would highly recommend against NOT using a BMS for safety concerns and other reasons!!
I am using the Batrium watchman core w/ Blockmon M-8’s as my BMS to communicate with Sol-Ark. Sol-Ark will tell you that Batrium and Sol-Ark will not communicate in a closed loop set up. However it is possible to get enough communication for these two to work together.
I highly recommend doing your due diligence, reading and researching thoroughly before purchasing and trying any set up.
There are multiple threads on this forum that will help you get Batrium and Sol-Ark communicate through CanBus.
I can only share with you my experience and the reasons why I chose to go this way. You must decide what is best for you, your budget and your experience level. Just wanted to let you know that some things are possible, just so you can be informed what others are doing.

Sol-ark + batrium canbus integration workaround until its supported

In another Sol-Ark related thread, @coolwaterxii asked me to share my experience so far with getting the Batrium to communicate with my Sol-Ark. so I responded to @coolwaterxii to come to this thread and I would answer his questions and share some of my experience so far. Photos below. System is...

diysolarforum.com

bfrank · Oct 5, 2022

Shawn Hayes said:
I have dual Sol-Ark 12K’s in parallel. I am using 304 amp hour, CATL, LiFePo4 prismatic cells as my battery. I have 16 batteries in series, I have four sets in parallel, for a total of 63 kWh. (16S4P)
Sol-Ark willl charge and discharge (open loop) those batteries without any BMS present. However I would highly recommend against NOT using a BMS for safety concerns and other reasons!!
I am using the Batrium watchman core w/ Blockmon M-8’s as my BMS to communicate with Sol-Ark. Sol-Ark will tell you that Batrium and Sol-Ark will not communicate in a closed loop set up. However it is possible to get enough communication for these two to work together.
I highly recommend doing your due diligence, reading and researching thoroughly before purchasing and trying any set up.
There are multiple threads on this forum that will help you get Batrium and Sol-Ark communicate through CanBus.
I can only share with you my experience and the reasons why I chose to go this way. You must decide what is best for you, your budget and your experience level. Just wanted to let you know that some things are possible, just so you can be informed what others are doing.

Sol-ark + batrium canbus integration workaround until its supported

In another Sol-Ark related thread, @coolwaterxii asked me to share my experience so far with getting the Batrium to communicate with my Sol-Ark. so I responded to @coolwaterxii to come to this thread and I would answer his questions and share some of my experience so far. Photos below. System is...

diysolarforum.com

awesome info, thanks!

carsantini · Nov 14, 2022

I Just Cant Anymore said:
Based on my research, batteries with CAN communication seem to be basically plug-and-play for SOC and Temp comms with Sol-ark. With RS485 it seems to have more potential as it can read voltages at the cell level, but I havent played with that. For reference, EG4 and Jakiper batteries do work with the Sol-ark CAN comms. I have 15kw worth of Jakiper that communicate just fine.

I dont know what they mean by open or closed either, but I hope you find your answer. Good luck.

hi, do you know if the Orient Power wall mount batteries from the same seller as Jakiper has closed loop communication with Sol-Ark?

629658 · Nov 18, 2022

SolArk 15 with 900+ Ah of Trophy Batteries. Couldn’t be happier. Not closed loop but I purchased Solar Assistant and so I can read the Trophy BMS and the Sol Ark 15 all in one place. Works like a charm. Actually the Sol Ark does a decent job at figuring out the SOC which is really the most important thing. Closed loop would be fine but absolutely not necessary. I just need to know the SOC. You can also use a Victron Shunt and connect that to the Solar Assistant to get an accurate SOC.

I Just Cant Anymore · Nov 18, 2022

carsantini said:
hi, do you know if the Orient Power wall mount batteries from the same seller as Jakiper has closed loop communication with Sol-Ark?

I’m pretty sure that wall mount from Orient Power is the same BMS as the Jakiper (pre “pro” version)

For what it’s worth, I have been able to get all battery specs for each battery through SolarAssistant by linking and addressing the Jakipers through the 485 ports, then using the rs232 serial port on the master battery to the USB adapter on the Raspberry running SA. I don’t know how well known this method is but I sort of stumbled onto it. Didn’t see it listed like this anywhere before trying it.

It’s very nice to see all temps, cell data and power for each battery in real time.

It’s probably a well known method and I’m just a slow knucklehead, but it is sure handy.

batteries for Sol-Ark 15KW

pat72

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I Just Cant Anymore

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robby

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bfrank

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byteharmony

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nc73

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bfrank

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Shawn Hayes

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Sol-ark + batrium canbus integration workaround until its supported

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bfrank

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Sol-ark + batrium canbus integration workaround until its supported

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629658

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