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Having built my first batteries this year...I'd say just go with known good quality cells from a reputable source for your first build. It's quite an involved project as it is, best to try to control for as many variables as possible. Maybe some others more experienced here would say it's fine...

Used a little over 8 Months, they were working just fine as far as I can tell. I recently swapped them for JK BMSs because I need to be able to pull up to 200A for each bank and these obviously won't do that. The voltage leads (and the B- cables) already have 1/4 ring terminals on them. The C-...

Well…I spoke too soon. Had both BMSs overcurrent last night :(. At this point I think that there are still probably some bad connections somewhere, but regardless I am going to “do it right” this time. I just ordered 2 JK 200A BMS to replace my overkill solar ones. Just don’t feel like dealing...

Tonight, I go to bed victorious! Finally had time to do as @sunshine_eggo and others suggested. Set my inverter to 56V. Charged up cells one by one. I also rebalanced the cells in the other battery as a few looked like they needed it. Now it looks like some semblance of balance has finally...

Hmm I ran the power supply on each cell for at least 4 hours, the voltage of each cell ended up at around 3.6V, but then dropped back down after I moved on to the next one. Felt like I was playing whack a mole and fighting the passive balancer. Maybe I need to leave them charging for a lot...

Well...don't think top balance was the problem. I just got done topping up the entire bank and it still has the same problem. I suspect it is a connection issue but won't be able to take everything apart until next week. I did some quick voltage readings and noticed that the voltage drop from...

Just a quick update...I am 2 days in and (almost) halfway through topping up all the cells in the problem bank. Boy I really wish I had a power supply that did more than 5A right now...anyway everything seems to be going well for now.

Just to clarify, since I'm going to be doing this soon...you can do it live? as in leave the battery assembled/connected and BMS on and just slap alligator clips on each cell one at a time and top them up? I was thinking that I would have to at least disconnect the battery from the inverter at...

do you have two of them? Also curious as to why you'd want to get rid of them.

Thanks, I was considering just replacing my BMSs with JKs since they can do 200A anyway, good to know that I wouldn't have to worry as much about balance in case I go that route.

Thanks for the advice all! I think I am going to break out my DC power supply this weekend and just top up all 32 cells to see if that helps, probably check connections (and voltages across them) while I'm at it.

Yes. I should do that...I might also test voltage drops along the path. Most days yes. I will post screenshots of each battery later today. Bleeding off an individual cell is a good idea, I hadn't considered that.

Title summarizes what's going on, my 2x parallel battery banks are discharging unevenly. Here's my setup: Sol-Ark 15k Inverter 2x16s1 LifePO4 battery banks (EVE LF304), Overkill Solar 48v 100A BMS Since there's no way to get the BMS to communicate with the inverter - or each other - this is an...

This was basically the issue. Literally all it took was two quarter turns on the battery lug on cell 1 positive where the lead was attached and boom, problem gone! ? Now I feel silly. Guess I should have done my due diligence with checking the torque on everything the first time, but at least...

Ah there it is....I don't know how I didn't notice this the last time I checked the BMS. Voltage readings on cells 1 & 2 are going wacky, oscillating between unrealistically high and low very fast. I'll have to check the leads and/or the BMS itself to see if there's some problem with the connection.

Ah your theory does make a lot of sense. My system is whole-home, so we had the AC running and everything at the time. If the grid goes down (at night) and we have over ~10kW worth of loads running, the Sol-Ark inverter won’t actually draw more than that from the battery only anyway so it’s not...

Hi y'all. Have a bit of an issue that hopefully someone can help me with. Some info on my system: I have a DIY whole home system with 2 parallel 48v 308Ah LiFePO4 battery banks I built myself, 16 cells each (new ones from EEL Battery, so they should theoretically be decent quality). I'm using...

Now that seems like my cup of tea. Do you just monitor loads or do you also monitor grid import/sell?

That's awesome. I didn't even think to move around the CTs, makes a lot of sense.

I'm in the market for an energy monitor that can help me track the energy usage of various loads, with the goal of helping me identify where it makes sense to start looking for more efficient solutions (i.e. a heat pump vs my current AC/furnace). I need it to accurately meter my individual loads...

Hmm, interesting, a lot of the other places I was reading said that you had to cycle lofepo4 batteries every few months or so. But if it's good enough for utilities then I guess it should work for me. Our power has actually been pretty reliable since we've moved here a year and a half ago or...

Just got my DIY build online (that will be another post) but I'm looking for some recommended maintenance best practices for battery longevity. I have a ~29kWh bank I built myself (thanks to what I learned from this forum and Will's videos), the primary purpose of which is an emergency...

@TomC4306 nice, thanks for posting pics! That's a heck of a grade you had to deal with there. I'm curious about a few things I noticed with your design: - any reason why 2x8 instead of 2x6 other than strength? - why split the panels up pointing SSW/SSE instead of all of them just pointing due...

Ok so I have done a ton of research and browsing of various threads on this forum, probably for a good two weeks now. I am in the process of installing a 36 panel bifacial array that will be ground mounted in the pasture next to my house near my utility pole, which is where my equipment shed...

Glad I came across this thread. Setting up taps for jumpers is an excellent idea, much more cost effective than a fancy double throw switch or something. I shudder at the thought of the look my wife would give me if the power goes down and I tell her "hold on I just need to update the software...

Just ordered 32 EVE 304Ah cells for my whole-home system I am working on. I've done a considerable amount of research into battery construction and BMS, but I still can't figure out what the best solution for my situation would be as far as constructing this battery bank. I want to be able to...

In case anyone else comes across this thread and is in a similar situation, here's what the rep from Sol-Ark told me:

They did not, it just said that you should use a subpanel in the case that you have AFCIs. I reached out to their support but haven't heard back yet, hopefully they can clarify.

Thanks for the input! Just so clarify since you said it would work with my subpanel at the house, my intention is to have it powering the main panel at the pole, so everything at the house and the wellhouse, in case I didn't make that very clear in the original post. I initially thought they...

Hi all - newbie here hoping to get some advice. I've had solar done before at my last house (in a residential neighborhood) but this time I am looking to DIY. Not only for my own knowledge, but because in my particular atypical situation I can't find a vendor that isn't going to charge me and...