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diy solar

280ah battery build w/ Batrium

jvierstra

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Joined
Jan 8, 2022
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I am working on building an off-grid solar system for a cabin and just got my FIRST-ever battery built. I ordered 16 3.2v 280ah prismatic EVE cells from Docan Tech. They arrived from Houston, TX in excellent condition. Were charged to ~3.29v (+/- 15mv). I topped balanced with an iCharger X6 and a HP server power supply 'hacked' to get 47A output at 12v (see description here: http://www.tjinguytech.com/my-projects/HP47A). I charged them in parallel up to 3.65V and held constant current until ~0 amps. I had to do this for two batches of 8 cells because I didn't have enough bus bars. In total, charging took slightly over 4 days to top balance.

After top balancing I assembled a 16s pack and installed a Batrium WatchMon CORE + K9 + shunt and assembled a small 'control' board and passed it through a 225A ABB breaker with a shunt trip (will be put in a metal enclosure soon). I attached a Victron Cerbo GX and connected it to BMS via VE.Can -- surprisingly it all worked! (except that Batrium doesn't appear to send Alarm notifications on low temp, charge, etc. -- I think this is just a feature that is not implemented).

Eventually I will be hooking the battery up to a Multiplus 48V/5000watt inverter and a solar chargers from Victron and wind power.

In any case, I fully recommend Docan Tech prismatic EVE cells. 16 cost me ~2,400$ will shipping to Seattle, WA and arrived in roughly 7 days after payment.

Also, thanks to all the people putting images and information about their projects -- I don't think I would have been able to do this without this forum.



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What are those 2 red wires connected to the bottom of AABB breaker and what's connected to the top?
 
What are those 2 red wires connected to the bottom of AABB breaker and what's connected to the top?
Power to the 48v > 24v step down which powers batrium. It the shunt trips then the battery is completely turned off. There is two inline 3x20mm fuses to protect.
 
Power to the 48v > 24v step down which powers batrium. It the shunt trips then the battery is completely turned off. There is two inline 3x20mm fuses to protect.
The battery is disconnected when batrium is turned off?
 
Power to the 48v > 24v step down which powers batrium. It the shunt trips then the battery is completely turned off. There is two inline 3x20mm fuses to protect.
Why are you powering the BMS with a DCDC.

That looks like the core, which has an input power range of 8-65 VDC
 
Why are you powering the BMS with a DCDC.

That looks like the core, which has an input power range of 8-65 VDC
I need 24V for a shunt trip and other things and had some phoenix contact din rail fusable terminal blocks laying around. No reason other than that.
 
Yes. The batrium is shutdown when the breaker is off (complete shutdown).
Seems to be different approach but i saw the same from a youtuber. If i am correct, the relay in batrium sends 24vdc to your shunt to disco battery. Is that accurate?
 
Seems to be different approach but i saw the same from a youtuber. If i am correct, the relay in batrium sends 24vdc to your shunt to disco battery. Is that accurate?
Yes. ABB breaker shunt trip uses 24V from the DC-DC converter and is actuated by the SSR relay in Batrium expansion board.
 
A little update -- after 4 months on a cargo ship my equipment showed up in the Magellan Strait (Punta Arenas, Chile). I just got it setup and its running better than expected. I have 8 x 460w JA solar panels on a rail mount system on my roof (25 degs angle for 51 deg south latitude). I have it hooked up to a Starlink for remote monitoring. Currently, its powering all my power tools (house under construction) and my well pump.
 

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