Gengfawn
New Member
About 5 years ago I purchased an off-grid cabin with a system that was installed in 2012.
The system it came with was:
4 x 180watt panels
Morningstar CC - TS-MPPT-60
12 x 232ah 6volt GC2 batteries
3000 watt - 24v Inverter
Iota Auto Transfer Switch - ITS-30A
Iota Charger - DLS 27-25
Gas Generator
I've done my best to look after the batteries by not discharging below 24v and keeping them topped up with distilled water but they are past their useful life for me now and I find myself having to rely on my generator quite often.
Ive been wanting to replace the FLA batteries with LiFePO4 but I was having a trouble finding a supplier that would ship to my location. Recently I found that Exliporc on Alibaba will ship to me so I ordered some cells. My plan for the battery is as follows:
8 x 314ah Hithium Cells
JK BMS (JKB2A8S20PHC)
24v self regulating heating cable to allow charging when below 0C
Mersen 400a class T fuse and holder
Pass thru terminals for the box
Epoxy sheets between the cells
Kapton tape to hold together the cells
Plywood box lined with cement board
Plastic storage bin lined with fiberglass insulation to place plywood box inside of
After building the battery from what I understand I will need to change the charge settings in the charge controller by uploading a custom profile, change charge profile for the ac - dc charger with the LiFePO4 IQ4 module, and use a precharge circuit prior to attaching the batteries to the inverter to prevent in-rush.
Besides the battery I also plan to add a solar panel to the system. I was having trouble finding a panel that matched perfectly but I found a panel that has similar voltage. The old panels are 35.5 Vmp and 5.07 Imp with the current arrangment being 2s2p so the charge controller has about 10 amps at 71 volts supplied to it. The new panel is rated 13.37 amps at 37.41 volts. I plan to wire all panels in parallel to supply the charge controller with about 33.5 amps at 35.5 volts and fuse each postive wire with an inline MC4 fuse (8amp on 180 watt panels and 25amp on 500 watt panel).
I've attached a diagram of my planned design. Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated.

The system it came with was:
4 x 180watt panels
Morningstar CC - TS-MPPT-60
12 x 232ah 6volt GC2 batteries
3000 watt - 24v Inverter
Iota Auto Transfer Switch - ITS-30A
Iota Charger - DLS 27-25
Gas Generator
I've done my best to look after the batteries by not discharging below 24v and keeping them topped up with distilled water but they are past their useful life for me now and I find myself having to rely on my generator quite often.
Ive been wanting to replace the FLA batteries with LiFePO4 but I was having a trouble finding a supplier that would ship to my location. Recently I found that Exliporc on Alibaba will ship to me so I ordered some cells. My plan for the battery is as follows:
8 x 314ah Hithium Cells
JK BMS (JKB2A8S20PHC)
24v self regulating heating cable to allow charging when below 0C
Mersen 400a class T fuse and holder
Pass thru terminals for the box
Epoxy sheets between the cells
Kapton tape to hold together the cells
Plywood box lined with cement board
Plastic storage bin lined with fiberglass insulation to place plywood box inside of
After building the battery from what I understand I will need to change the charge settings in the charge controller by uploading a custom profile, change charge profile for the ac - dc charger with the LiFePO4 IQ4 module, and use a precharge circuit prior to attaching the batteries to the inverter to prevent in-rush.
Besides the battery I also plan to add a solar panel to the system. I was having trouble finding a panel that matched perfectly but I found a panel that has similar voltage. The old panels are 35.5 Vmp and 5.07 Imp with the current arrangment being 2s2p so the charge controller has about 10 amps at 71 volts supplied to it. The new panel is rated 13.37 amps at 37.41 volts. I plan to wire all panels in parallel to supply the charge controller with about 33.5 amps at 35.5 volts and fuse each postive wire with an inline MC4 fuse (8amp on 180 watt panels and 25amp on 500 watt panel).
I've attached a diagram of my planned design. Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated.
