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96v Solar Cabin Cruiser Project - Full Solar/Shore/Inverter/LifePO4 - Discussion and Progress

By decent prices I didn’t mean cheep as you say.

A repowered one went for $20k last summer by us and selling those motors might get the boat cost down to your battery cost. I had hoped you might find even better luck near the birth place of these boats.

Good luck and I will follow your progress.
 
Battery Box - Discussion.

  • This needs to be Robust
  • Needs to be fire proof - IE metal
  • Needs to be lockable.
  • Needs to be able to Bolted to the Boat.
  • Needs to be able to fit at the lowest part of the boat down the middle for stability.

Initial research seems the battery box will be one of the easiest parts to solve for this entire system. There are dozens of Rugged Truck and Work site boxes that meet the criteria. Just need to find one that is the correct size for my final battery configuration. They are Waterproof in the sense that top down water will not get inside and waterproof until submerged past lid.... If water is above the lid. the boat already has sunk regardless and I will have had much bigger issues at hand. :(

NOTE: the boat will have 4 2000 GPH Bilge Pumps that can run off main battery as well as separate circuit. This is 133 Gallons per minute total.

My preliminary idea will be to do the following. Would love input
  1. Make any necessary changes to box such as ports, vents, breaker cut outs, similar. Do a full test build out at the shop. Then remove
  2. install boxes in boat. BOLT to boat.
  3. Re-build battery inside the box. Each Module inside will be Self Contained, Compressed. Not ale to flop around. as well as securely mounted in the box.
  4. Line the inside of the box with a fireproof Non conduction surface.
    1. Need to make sure no shorts by rubbing box.
    2. Need to dampen any vibrations
    3. Fire Proof industrial Carpet or Gym Floor Minicell jump out at me. Would love Feed Back.


As always. Would love your feedback. Experiences, Knowledge, Suggestions and Scrutiny. Learning so much from the comments here. Thank you.



Battery Box idea.jpgBattery Box 2.jpgBattery Box3.jpg
 
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Hello, and cool project idea.


Good idea on lining the inside with non conductive and maybe even fire retardant material. Some people forgo spacers between 280Ah cells but I think it's a really good idea to have the non-electrically-conducting property in between cells since the wrappers can get chafed easily. The metal outer walls of the cell are conductive and do have a meaningful connection to the battery IMO, even if it won't support high amps. Could easily drain and ruin a pack if chafing connected two cells.

Be careful about which box you choose. The one you posted first has this review:
1617834731927.png

With some details that would disqualify it for this use case. I'm sure another one might be more suitable (thicker walls, better seal)
 
Hello, and cool project idea.


Good idea on lining the inside with non conductive and maybe even fire retardant material. Some people forgo spacers between 280Ah cells but I think it's a really good idea to have the non-electrically-conducting property in between cells since the wrappers can get chafed easily. The metal outer walls of the cell are conductive and do have a meaningful connection to the battery IMO, even if it won't support high amps. Could easily drain and ruin a pack if chafing connected two cells.

Be careful about which box you choose. The one you posted first has this review:
View attachment 44191

With some details that would disqualify it for this use case. I'm sure another one might be more suitable (thicker walls, better seal)
Spot on. I will do extensive research before the actual box is ordered. General idea is there are options of pre fabricated boxes. It will for sure need to meet my criteria above. Good Call out to make sure I check all reviews first. Massive thanks.
 
32s 96v BMS - Discussion. - Pick one. Shooting in the dark. What do you all think? Opinions?

Option A
This is $150 Each Shipped to the USA
They claim 200 continuous. but I am doubtful.

Uart Rs485 Communication Bt 3s-32s 10a-200a Bms Used For Li Ion Lifepo4 Lto Battery Cells - Buy 3s 4s 5s 7s 8s 10s 12s 13s 15s 10a 20a 30a 40a Uart Rs485 Communication Bluetooth Bms Use For Li Ion Lifepo4 Lto Battery Cells,16s 17s 20s 22s 25s 30s 32s

Uart Rs485 Communication Bt 3s-32s 10a-200a Bms Used For Li Ion Lifepo4 Lto Battery Cells - Buy 3s 4s 5s 7s 8s 10s 12s 13s 15s 10a 20a 30a 40a Uart Rs485 Communication Bluetooth Bms Use For Li Ion Lifepo4 Lto Battery Cells,16s 17s 20s 22s 25s 30s 32s 35s 40s 60a 70a 80a 90a 100a 120a 150a 200a...
www.alibaba.com

Option B
$130 each with screen
They say has Temp, Bluetooth, LCD screen and the "300amp" version is 120 continuous and 300 peak

High Current Ant 8s To 32s 100a 200a 300a Li Ion Lifepo4 Lto Smart Bms With Bt - Buy Ant Bms,Smart Pcb,Bms Product on Alibaba.com

High Current Ant 8s To 32s 100a 200a 300a Li Ion Lifepo4 Lto Smart Bms With Bt - Buy Ant Bms,Smart Pcb,Bms Product on Alibaba.com
www.alibaba.com

Option C - Smart Bluetooth Daly

$210 per unit + $150 shipping total

Lifepo4 Battery Packs Smart Bms 32s 96v Pcba Pcm 100a 200a 300a For 96v Lithium Battery Can Lcd Bt - Buy Lifepo4 Bms,Daly Bms,32s Bms Product on Alibaba.com

Lifepo4 Battery Packs Smart Bms 32s 96v Pcba Pcm 100a 200a 300a For 96v Lithium Battery Can Lcd Bt - Buy Lifepo4 Bms,Daly Bms,32s Bms Product on Alibaba.com
www.alibaba.com
 
1 vote for option A. Looks like JBD and i have had good experience with that. UART or some serial is a must.

Option B low confidence. Looks kinda flimsy. But would love to see test results of a load being applied.

Option C i would avoid because of how many sad DALY BMS stories i’ve seen. Especially the high power smart bms line.

Just off the cuff advice, definitely not formal electronics wisdom.
 
Metal Battery Box Fire / Electrical insulation

Ok, convince me otherwise... Ceramic Fiber Insulation. Meets all criteria... I think...
General info about Ceramic Fiber here
  1. Does not corrode
  2. Fire proof
  3. Electrical insulation
  4. Cuts easily to any shape.
Once I find the perfect Metal battery box (See above in thread) I plan to line it with this (or similar product. This is just an example)

ceramic fiber.jpg
 
1 vote for option A. Looks like JBD and i have had good experience with that. UART or some serial is a must.

Option B low confidence. Looks kinda flimsy. But would love to see test results of a load being applied.

Option C i would avoid because of how many sad DALY BMS stories i’ve seen. Especially the high power smart bms line.

Just off the cuff advice, definitely not formal electronics wisdom.
Just ordered Option A. you were the only one who spoke up. so your vote wins. I agree with you on all accounts.
 
Does not corrode
  1. Fire proof
  2. Electrical insulation
  3. Cuts easily to any shape.
seems really good, just maybe consider wearing some type of respiratory protection during parts of the the cutting and or fitting steps


only thing that popped into my head was ensuring that the insulation compression stays good. like, i dunno how the ceramic fiber mat will rebound. just a thought. could lead to having a little extra space around sides.
 
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