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In the end, I went with crimped connections. I waterproofed them by using a rubber splicing tape - self amalgamating stuff. Some wraps went between the parallel cables, effectively filling the space. This was then wrapped with good quality electrical tape, mostly for UV resistance, but it also...

I have recently found the Youtube channel Roland W. He covers a range of topics related to solar installations. Recently, his video about earthing off grid inverters was useful to me. I have no affiliation, I just thought this content would be useful to people on the forum.

Should have decent heat resistance too, since they are intended for frying meat on.

How thick are they?

I thought some people might be interested to see the differences in some cable lugs I have received in the course of my solar battery build. The lugs are: 35mm2 with ø6mm hole, from Australian manufacturer Carroll, supplied by Springers Solar. 50mm2 with ø8mm hole, unbranded lugs from an Ebay...

Could you elaborate on how you dealt with this? Did you pull it out while it was going crazy? Is the yellow stuff from the cell?

Plenty to think about. I am in Australia. Most of our universities derive most of their funding from international students. Since the borders closed, this has almost totally collapsed so I suspect these institutions will be much less selective about who they take. My day job is teaching high...

So water heater + radiator?

This series of videos covers a low budget arrangement.

Inspired by these bus bars, I've ordered some tinned braid from China. When it gets here, I'll document the process I go through to make them.

I've had one of the ubiquitous Longwei power supplies for the last 18 months or so. It's sat on a shelf most of the time. It appears to no longer be working and I wonder if it is worth trying to repair. Symptoms: Lights are on, but nobody is home. Voltage and current displays read 0.00...

Sounds normal for a washing machine that is not doing any heating.

It's probably a bad idea, but I've run a tumble dryer on one of those, drawing 2000W. The socket end of the cord gets slightly warm.

Is that a euphemism for expensive disposal problem?

4mm2 extension cords are not common in Australia. 2.5mm2 is pretty typical for hard-wired household power circuits. Most common extension cords are 1.5mm2, but 2.5mm2 can be had (when not in lockdown). e.g. https://www.bunnings.com.au/deta-50m-2-5mm-10a-extra-heavy-duty-extension-lead_p0191740...

Thanks again. I'm now more confident my setup has a lower risk of electrocuting my family while burning the house down. Always more to learn. I'd love to get some sort of official training in systems like this, but the only way seems to be a four year apprenticeship. Not really practical while...

If it's in a camper trailer, cycle life is never going to be a problem. The batteries would probably die through sheer age before they get worn out from cycling. I'd give it a go and see what results you get. Add one appliance at a time. Do you wash hot or cold? If hot, does the machine heat its...

Got any info?

Those BYD modules look nice. I've just seen them being advertised by FPV Power in australia via a facebook page. Price is about double what it would cost to build DIY from bare cells, which I think isn't bad. The bloke selling them says they are taken from cars which have been test driven or...

Thanks for the input. I just tried this with a 275W incandescent heat lamp, the only non-LED bulb I have around. When connected across neutral and chassis ground, with nothing else connected to the inverter, the voltage drops to 49mV. My meter still recognises the 50hz frequency. I can not...

A bit of an update on this, perhaps some usable information for your resource: This is for the unbranded all-in-one MPS-V PLUS 3.5kW I have only tested with a battery connected - no PV or AC input. As you predicted, AC in and chassis ground have continuity. In off grid mode, powered only...

Great work. I saw current flowing into my battery for the first time only a couple of days ago, it's a good feeling. I have only installed half of my planned 12 panels on the roof so far and am with you on low efficiency. The pro's certainly get the job done quickly, but I think we amateurs can...

Do you mean the way it looks caved in around the terminal? I suspect the same effect could come from heat conducted by the bus bar. The top of the cell casing is pretty thin, isn't it?

I had a similar situation with a quote from Luyuan. I didn't go ahead with it in the end. Could it just be potential GST?

Seems like shaving the plastic ring down with a sharp blade would be pretty easy and avoid adding points of connection.

@fhorst , Thanks for continuing to share your experiences. I don't have any knowledge to contribute, but appreciate the discussion about causes and prevention of such fires. I have just installed a (much smaller) battery of this type in my shed, and will now be giving this extra consideration.

That's what I assumed, but the manual shows the output ground wire going to the screw on the chassis.

This is why I have loved forums like this, ever since I found a yahoo group for an obscure field of sailing boat design in about 2003. It never ceases to impress me how willing people are to provide detailed advice and consideration to internet strangers. Thank you! I will share my findings on...

I've recently received one of these 3.5KW all in one units (will be inverter-only usage in my case): aliexpress link Is there a set of tests I can do to conclusively work out the grounding arrangements? The manual and user interface is clearly derived from the same source as MPP etc, for what...

That's a 300 IQ move.

I'm in Australia. We'll catch up in a decade or so, as with most things.

Nice stuff. While I only have manual equipment these days, I know that having access to CNC gear really changes the way you think about design of parts.

I don't know how tight your space is, but don't underestimate the bulk of cables and fuses, as well as any shunts, relays etc. Your inverter also needs ventilation and probably has a preferred physical orientation.

Capacity aside, I'd be worried about leaking electrolyte.

Actually now that I think about it, the only cells I have side-by-side are connected in parallel blocks, so the cases should be at the same potential anyway, right?