A new beginning. How i learned to hate lead/acid batteries and found my perfect solution (LIFEPO4's)

[Darkstar]

So you are one of the 4 batteries sold?

Yes.

 

[shobe7]

Yes.

Hey Darkstar did battery clearinghouse ever get back with you, they also have a web page

Single BYD LiFePO4 24 volts Battery Pack - FREE SHIPPING

BYD LiFePO4 24 volts Battery Pack Restocked from new shipment. These commercial battery packs are a great value for the money. Each lot that comes in are slightly different. Tested from 3kWh to 4kWh per unit. Free shipping within 48 states. Pickup available at local FedEx Freight Hub...

www.batteryclearinghouse.com

 

[Deleted member 4428]

Hello @JeepHammer

Thanks for the vast explanation, of course it helps!



The LV2424 has programable charging parameters and alarms. I downloaded the trojan's datasheet and configured the alarm to 50% state of charge (Wich was 24.1v i think?). My numbers of load time for 150Wh were simillar to yours, so as you can see the batteries werent meeting the rated capacity (In fact they were far from that).... so im still thinking that maybe a cell was bad or something like that.



Yep, i dont see any reason for buying lead acids now if you are a Diyer, since at the end of the day, they are almost the same price if you build the lithium yourself and they are just vastly superior in every aspect.... wished i knew this before but sometimes you need to fail to learn. Im going full LFP this time

What battery did you end up getting?

 

[Red Squirrel]

If you are seeing lot of hydrogen or finding yourself having to add water often you probably have a problem. I found with my home UPS the issue is usually a shorted cell. I'm hoping this is just because I'm using cheap Canadian Tire batteries and that I would not get this issue with higher end Surrette Rolls or other similar brand. What happens is when a cell shorts out then instead of a battery being a 12v it's now a 10v, but it's being charged like a 12v. This causes a thermal run away situation and kills the rest of the cells while generating lot of hydrogen. On discharge, the run time will also be very short because any batteries in parallel with that string will be dumping lot of energy into the bad bank. Or if there is only one string, well you're already down 2v right off the bat. Even though technically you'll have a full charge any low voltage cut offs would and should happen as it won't know any better and assume the bank is dead.

The nice thing with lead acid though is they can be floated and don't need balance charging, which simplifies the hell out of any setup. You put them in series, float them at the proper voltage, put your loads on it, and call it a day. It's what the telcos have been doing for years and still do. With the lead acid replacement style lithiums it's not so bad as they will take care of all that for you and you can still float them as far as I know, but some won't let you put in series so still got to watch.

 

[tictag]

Be sure to connect your parallel strings up as @JeepHammer suggests, it is important to ensure that the resistance to every cell/battery is identical, read this for further info.

I noted that your existing system is not wired up optimally, which can cause un-even charge and discharge among the cells/batteries.

 

[Sam Maggio]

Hello Forum!

I started a little system with the main purpose of having energy all the time, kind of a big UPS for my office.

Buyed a little LV2424 Hybrid inverter from MPP Solar, and ended up with this:

View attachment 5081

-LV2424 Inverter
- 4 x 370Ah Trojan Batteries
- Oversized 1/0 Cables
- Marine battery switch and 200A Fuse

I was very hapy with the solution, at the moment we had a surge, the system instantly jumped to the inverter / battery supply, the computers and other equipment didnt even notice. Howemever, i found later after some trials that the batteries were our weak link:, they didn't last enough!

With 370AH at 24V, we have 8880W, being 4440W the 50% usable. My test was made with a load of 150W, they only lasted 10 - 12 hours, when according to my numbers they should last 25 - 30 hours with this kind of load. So not even half the rated capacity. Maybe i had a defective cell or something like that, but honestly i didnt had time to troubleshoot and play with them, so i better return them to the distributor. Also, with the experience learned that lead / acid could be a pain in the *** for my situation:

- You need to baby them a lot, any excess discharge / charge can damage them permanently
- Need to fill them with distilled water periodically
- They stink the place while charging (Probably the hydrogen?) - Need good ventilation for this same reason.
- Found a guy with problems with my same batteries:

So a lot of care for little usable power, i was done with them. Good thing i could get my 1500 USD back.

Was considering upgrading to AGM batteries, but they are expensive and have their good share of disadvantages too, lithium came to mind but i found the price out of my budget. (Only checked Simplify and other expensive brands).

Somehow i found William's channel and devoured the contend in a couple of days. I found a solution wich is safe, performant and the best, with a price that i can afford, LIFEPO4.

Im currently planning on implementing a 200AH or 280AH battery at 24v, so i will get a much better system without selling the kidneys, after some numbers the DIY lifepo4 should cost around 1600 - 2000USD, not that bad!. I still have some questions about this, but its better that i posted them separately as this post is long enough as it is....

So i guess i just wanted to write about my experience and show my grattitude to this comunity and William, just letting you know that this content can be a lifesaver for people like me that cant pay what contractors and companies ask for a system like this.

How do you get 200AH of LIFEPO4 batteries for $1600-$2000??? My math says only 100AH.