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  1. Sverige

    A second, buffer battery remote from main battery bank for servicing DC loads

    I have my offgrid system set up to charge my main battery bank, which then distributes DC power to remote loads via (fuse protected) cabling around my home, as well as via offgrid inverters connected close to the battery for mains powered loads. Where possible I run loads on DC and seek to...
  2. Sverige

    Making connections to 4S2P pack, where?

    When connecting the main positive and negative leads from a 4S2P pack such as the arrangement shown in the photo below, is it best practice to connect the cables 1) to the two inner points labelled A, 2) to the two outer points labelled B, or… 3) Both A and B points, with those cables joined...
  3. Sverige

    Las Vegas travel disruption due to F1

    I guess this might not be the best forum in the world to ask for travel advice, but at least I’m in the off topic section! All I keep reading about Las Vegas when I Google it is that the city is completely screwed at the moment due to the disruption caused by the construction in preparation...
  4. Sverige

    Sodium ion batteries vs LiFePO4

    Docan are offering sodium ion batteries now at $90 per 220Ah cell, with attached spec sheet, but I’m not very clear on how they compare to LiFePO4. Anyone using these already? Maybe we will need a further forum section, as currently there is just “DIY LiFePO4 batteries”. Quite a steep charge /...
  5. Sverige

    Using NiChrome wire for PV diversion water heating

    I have a run of about 25m of copper water pipe which draws from my hot water tank and has a loop back (U connection) at the destination end (close to the taps in my house), also a circulation pump which will drive water through this circuit and, if the water returns warmer than it left the tank...
  6. Sverige

    What price is fair for used cells?

    A guy near me is selling 16 x Lishen 272Ah cells for around $83 each. These Lishens normally capacity test at around 280Ah, so comparable to Eve LF280k, but I think rated for only 3,500 cycles but 1C discharge. Eve is 6,000 cycles at 0.5C discharge I think. They’ve been in use (so he tells me)...
  7. Sverige

    How to read QR codes on Lishen cells +other questions!

    I just received 4 Lishen 272Ah cells from Quishou and they all look nice, with perfectly flat sides and not a hint of swelling. I would quite like to read the QR codes to see what they tell me and whether the production date aligns with the sticker showing 2022/10/29. Is there an app for that...
  8. Sverige

    Panel tilt improves solar production…?!

    Does it? :LOL: A recent installation in France. The French always like to be a little bit different, so let‘s see if this catches on ?‍♂️
  9. Sverige

    Video of prismatic cell production line - is it Eve?

    Seplos put out this interesting video on their YouTube channel: Since Seplos don’t make their own cells (unless I’m very wrong?!) it’s clearly from one of the manufacturers and the telltale electrode layout shown makes it seem to me they may be Eve cells. Pausing the video around 0:46 shows...
  10. Sverige

    Inside the Basen test & dispatch center

    An interesting video tour showing racks of batteries presumably being charged to an even level ready for dispatch. Nothing about the equipment shown seems to indicate it can do anything more sophisticated like measure cell IR or capacity.
  11. Sverige

    My re-circuiting day

    I used a dull and overcast day today to take the chance to re organise the circuiting of my panels just slightly. The middle row of three panels in the marked up picture below was previously in a 3S3P arrangement with the panels to the right of them, but this was overpanelling the input of my...
  12. Sverige

    Amy Wan from Luyuan - no sale, just good advice

    Everyone wants to grumble on this forum section about vendors who don’t deliver what‘s promised, so I thought it was a good idea to mention a supplier being honest enough to give me good advice, even at the cost of making a sale. That supplier? Amy Wan. I contacted Amy because I wanted to buy...
  13. Sverige

    Lishen 272Ah cells - supplier sources?

    A couple of years ago the Lishen 272Ah cell seemed to be growing in popularity with DIY pack builders, maybe taking over a bit from the Eve 280Ah cells which had seemed all the rage until then. Recently I’ve seen no mention of Lishen cells and it’s Eve everywhere again - what happened? Did...
  14. Sverige

    Daly BMS - possible to send own data to Bluetooth dongle?

    The Daly UART protocol is published in the resources section of this forum and from searching around I see plenty of discussion of people reading the data from the Daly BMS for purposes such as implementing their own custom battery monitoring, integration with smart home systems, etc.. My...
  15. Sverige

    LiFePO4 low temp charging protection setpoint

    I was under the impression LFP batteries could be charged in temps above freezing point, but am frequently seeing people on these boards mention 5C as the setpoint being programmed into programmable safety cutout devices such as BMSs. Is this just excess caution, or is there a reason people are...
  16. Sverige

    Solar hot water system, help choosing right approach

    Hi all, I see a few threads in this section which cover this subject, but nothing which seems fully relevant to my circumstances. I am trying to research what might be the best approach to make use of solar to heat water for showering during the 9 months or so each year when we have enough...
  17. Sverige

    Gobel ESS / LSEV grade - what’s the difference?

    Anyone know what ESS and LSEV signifies? Price difference is very small.
  18. Sverige

    Freezer using more and more power when compressor runs - is it about to die?

    I have an Electrolux full height freezer which is pretty old now (bought 2002). Earlier in the summer when running it on my off grid inverter I was seeing a power draw of around 70-80W with the compressor running (after the initial startup surge had subsided), then a month or so ago I started to...
  19. Sverige

    Ask Alexa…

    Yesterday my wife decided out of the blue to ask Alexa what Goofy’s real name is - the result was surprising! I won’t spoil it by telling you, but those who have an Alexa speaker or fireTV stick with microphone button (or Alexa app on iOS or Android) might want to ask “what’s Goofy’s real...
  20. Sverige

    LiFePO4 100% SOC limit and relationship to charging current

    Most LiFePO4 cell datasheets will define completion of charge (100% SOC) as occurring at 3.65V at charge rate of 0.05C, where C is the cell capacity in Ah. For a 280Ah cell this 0.05C charge rate is 14A, and if charged at a lower current, the cell will be over charged by the time the voltage...
  21. Sverige

    How does this “lead acid compatible” LFP battery work?

    Can anyone work out how this battery actually works? It is said to be compatible with mixed mode use for those with existing lead acid battery banks and has a DC / DC converter mentioned within the specs. I’m trying to work out how it might be built internally and how it functions, in case we...
  22. Sverige

    Using a cable run for double duty (mains / low voltage solar) and doing it safely

    I have a three core cable which runs the length of the outside of my house, from the south facing location where my off grid solar panels are to the north side of the house where my charge controllers and battery are housed. This cable is already in use, carrying mains voltage (230V AC) live...
  23. Sverige

    LiFePO4 overcharge damage

    How much damage does it cause LiFePO4 cells to briefly overcharge them to 4V per cell? By briefly I mean for just a few mins before the voltage was brought back down to below 3.6v/cell.
  24. Sverige

    Getting 24V AC efficiently

    I have a device which uses 24V AC, which I’m currently powering from my LiFEPO4 solar charged battery via an inverter (to 230V AC) and then transformer to drop down to 24V AC. It works, but it bugs me that it’s inefficient, so I’m wondering if there’s a more direct way to convert 12V DC to 24V...
  25. Sverige

    High frequency inverter won’t drive LED PIR flood lamps

    I’m using a 5000W Mensela IT-1 inverter which is running various low power loads around my house quite successfully, but for reasons I don’t understand, it just won’t light my LED security floodlights which are activated via a PIR detector and look like the photo below. They are just 8.5W each...
  26. Sverige

    Renogy Rover 40A Li - easy to fix?

    I have a Renogy Rover 40A MPPT charge controller which no longer wants to charge my 4S LiFePO4 battery. It will sometimes charge for nearly half an hour in the mornings, but then the charging current drops down to 0.07A or below. It’s never been stressed with more than around half the max rated...
  27. Sverige

    Anyone know a good smart home forum?

    Hi, I’m trying to get up to speed with how to use a XiaomI smart home hub I’ve bought and have a heap of reading to do and questions to pose, as smart home control products are their own world and off topic for this forum. Does anyone who is onto this stuff know where the smart home equivalent...
  28. Sverige

    Externally controlling a non-controllable charge controller

    It seems it’s mostly the more expensive charge controllers which make provision for external enable / disable control via a closing contact. What all of the cheaper charge controllers seem to have in common though is over temperature protection which shuts off charging when the internal temp...
  29. Sverige

    Connecting off grid inverter to house wiring

    Is it ok to permanently join neutral from an off grid inverter to neutral in house wiring distribution board, then switch individual wiring circuits between the inverter live and mains live (with an intermediate ”off“ position, so power doesn’t switch directly from mains to inverter without a...
  30. Sverige

    Connecting off grid inverter to house wiring

    If considering connecting a generic cheap off grid (not grid tie) inverter to house wiring, would it be safe to make a permanent connection between inverter neutral and house (mains) neutral and then just switch the live lines? In this case, the inverter neutral would always float at the same...
  31. Sverige

    LiFePO4 accessories supplier within Europe?

    Does anyone know of a stockist who might sell suitable busbars for 272Ah Lishen cells “off the shelf” within the EU? Or is everything of those nature shipped from China / HK? I have 4 cells and currently no busbars and looking for the cheapest way of solving this problem. I was looking into...
  32. Sverige

    Switching 220V mains with sonoff relays

    I’ve bought two of the 4 channel Sonoff relay sets and would like to use them to switch the output of my inverter to various load circuits. The load circuits will he switched between inverter and grid mains, so I need to be careful everything is double safe. The sonoff relays are rated to 240v...
  33. Sverige

    Moving house load circuits to switchable inverter output feed

    I’d like to make use of my off grid inverter (220-240V single phase AC) to power some circuits in my house on a switchable basis, ie. only switched on once in a while when I have enough accumulated solar power in battery. The rest of the time these circuits will run mains from the standard...
  34. Sverige

    DC/DC converter module efficiency testing

    I ordered a few different types of DC/DC converter modules from amazon all of which had vague specs like “up to 95% efficient“, so I started to wonder how efficient they really were in the application I wanted to use them in. All work in a similar way - you connect a DC voltage at the input...
  35. Sverige

    This is not a complaint! It’s a suggestion

    I love the clear categorisation in this forum and find that almost everything is covered, but there’s one thing which I consistently find difficult to place into any of the sub-forums, and that’s maybe best described as “general electronics” or maybe “DIY electronics”. We have sub-sections for...
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