AOLithium (48V) Buyer Feedback

[Detritalgeo]

What exactly are these connectors? Are they custom to AOLithium or are they available from other suppliers?

I think AOL just get them from Futronics Connectors, a Chinese company that seems to make cable and connectors for EV and energy storage. Just Google tonics connectors.

The red one is Ruixu and not sure about that one. Will have to look up CNNT.

 

[LordGarak]

I didn't notice the part number was in the pictures.

For those who would like to make their own cables, a quick googling finds:

Waterproof Energy Storage Connector Right Angle 125A Orange 25mm² Unshielded Cable Z Key

!! This product is not compatible with other brand products. It would be best if you bought the same key plug and socket of this brand to use it properly. High current rating, high ampacity in a smaller package. High reliability, meets or exceeds the electrical performance of bolt-on compression...

www.metabee.com

At that price there isn't any savings in making your own over getting them from AOLithium. But you might be able to go up a wire size.

Anyone seen them for significantly less?

 

[Detritalgeo]

I didn't notice the part number was in the pictures.

For those who would like to make their own cables, a quick googling finds:

Waterproof Energy Storage Connector Right Angle 125A Orange 25mm² Unshielded Cable Z Key

!! This product is not compatible with other brand products. It would be best if you bought the same key plug and socket of this brand to use it properly. High current rating, high ampacity in a smaller package. High reliability, meets or exceeds the electrical performance of bolt-on compression...

www.metabee.com

At that price there isn't any savings in making your own over getting them from AOLithium. But you might be able to go up a wire size.

Anyone seen them for significantly less?

Nope, until your link I didn't know they were available.

I guess you could order some directly from Futronics for less but assume it would have to be an industrial bulk order.

 

[flammafeuer]

So, I was reviewing the materials slip that was attached to the cellophane wrapping the boxes the batteries were in. There is no listing of lithium on mine. The major components are aluminum, iron phosphate, graphite, and methyl ethyl carbonate. Anything I'm missing here?

 

[radmike]

I came across this post while searching for the connectors on the Epoch rackmount battery:

48V 100Ah 5.12kWh - Self-Heating Server Rack Lithium Battery

www.epochbatteries.com

It uses the CNNT ES08-P same as the Ruixu, MapleLeaf Power and others. My problem was that I needed the short 25cm battery to battery jumpers but none of the battery suppliers had them available or even offered them. I had no luck contacting CNNT directly so I started searching for a compatible connector, trying various samples which were all slightly different. I finally found that the Phoenix Contact ES-BPC-C connectors have the right fit:

https://www.phoenixcontact.com/en-ca/products/connector-es-bpc-c-16-25-og-1106306

https://www.phoenixcontact.com/en-ca/products/connector-es-bpc-c-16-25-bk-1106307

These are available from the major electrical distributors like DigiKey or Newark. They are not cheap so making your own cables won't save you any money but if you are in a similar situation as I am, I hope this information is helpful.

 

[silverlexg]

Just a heads up for anyone looking you can buy a set of plugs from Ruixu directly now for $25. Seems very reasonable given how much the others are asking.

https://www.ruixubattery.com/product-page/lithi2-16-battery-cable-connector-black-orange

 

[noobie]

FYI to all, there's a sale on these for black friday... $799 USD or $999 CAD.
Previously the listed price included shipping and taxes as when I bought a couple of these, the price was $1499 CAD with no additional charges.

Now shipping is an additional flat rate of $300 in Canada from the looks of it. So for one battery, it's not really worth it(not much of a discount from when I bought mine) and the price ends up being $1467 CAD for a single battery with taxes and shipping.

However, if you select the 3 pack, then it's still $300 CAD shipping and works out to be $1241 per battery after taxes and shipping.
3 pack seems to include all cables and their crummy racking system as well.

So far, my 2 batteries are working fine that I had bought Nov 29 2023.

 

[airChris]

FYI to all, there's a sale on these for black friday... $799 USD or $999 CAD.
Previously the listed price included shipping and taxes as when I bought a couple of these, the price was $1499 CAD with no additional charges.

Now shipping is an additional flat rate of $300 in Canada from the looks of it. So for one battery, it's not really worth it(not much of a discount from when I bought mine) and the price ends up being $1467 CAD for a single battery with taxes and shipping.

However, if you select the 3 pack, then it's still $300 CAD shipping and works out to be $1241 per battery after taxes and shipping.
3 pack seems to include all cables and their crummy racking system as well.

So far, my 2 batteries are working fine that I had bought Nov 29 2023.

I just purchased 4 of these for C$999 each, including cables and the mounting rack. Shipping was free to Vancouver, BC.

Definitely a good deal.

 

[noobie]

I just purchased 4 of these for C$999 each, including cables and the mounting rack. Shipping was free to Vancouver, BC.

Definitely a good deal.

Yeah the 4 pack seems to have free shipping. Otherwise you’re on the hook for it. But it’s a great deal if you need and can afford 4 at once.

 

[airChris]

Yeah the 4 pack seems to have free shipping. Otherwise you’re on the hook for it. But it’s a great deal if you need and can afford 4 at once.

I bought 3, then later bought a single. Free shipping on both. But perhaps that has changed in the last week?

Chris

 

[noobie]

I bought 3, then later bought a single. Free shipping on both. But perhaps that has changed in the last week?

Chris

Hmm, yes it appears it's changed from earlier and it's now free. So $999 CAD + tax.
$370 CAD cheaper than what I paid 1 year ago

 

[gfwilliams]

Bought 4 of these in the UK, now down to £550 delivered: https://aolithium.co.uk/collections...-2v-100ah-server-rack-lithium-lifepo4-battery

I bought 2 at a time and you get the brackets and cables included, and while I'm not a fan of the connectors, the cables seem impressively thick compared to what came with my Delong packs 2 years ago.

Arrived quickly, well packed, and from the outside at least look high quality. Seemed to communicate fine with a SunSynk/Deye inverter (albeit only giving values as if it were a single pack rather than a list of SOC of each battery).

The BMS appears different to what it used to be (eg in https://diysolarforum.com/threads/a...-communicate-with-all-in-one-pylontech.69101/) - does anyone have any updates on what it is and options for other communications (eg to check the voltage levels set for cut-off and cell balancing?)

 

[Solar Moose]

I had these in my cart at AoLithium’s Canada website at $999.00 ea for single units. On cyber Monday I did a general google search for them and found Amazon Canada had them for $949.00 ea cdn! Ordered 6 that way as with our current CAD-USD exchange rate of about $1.40. It worked out to $675.52 usd ea.!

 

[noobie]

Looks like they dropped the price on their website to $949 CAD now too. Whatever way you get them, they sure are cheap!
I just wish I could use them for a "legit" code compliant system here in Ontario. But alas, we require 9540a certification on the system as a whole from what I can find.
I still have my 2 for the off grid backup system I have though.

 

[Detritalgeo]

Bought 4 of these in the UK, now down to £550 delivered: https://aolithium.co.uk/collections...-2v-100ah-server-rack-lithium-lifepo4-battery

I bought 2 at a time and you get the brackets and cables included, and while I'm not a fan of the connectors, the cables seem impressively thick compared to what came with my Delong packs 2 years ago.

Arrived quickly, well packed, and from the outside at least look high quality. Seemed to communicate fine with a SunSynk/Deye inverter (albeit only giving values as if it were a single pack rather than a list of SOC of each battery).

The BMS appears different to what it used to be (eg in https://diysolarforum.com/threads/a...-communicate-with-all-in-one-pylontech.69101/) - does anyone have any updates on what it is and options for other communications (eg to check the voltage levels set for cut-off and cell balancing?)

I noticed that the battery page at AOlithium.com now has a more detailed FAQ where they answer the question about BMS's.. It is true they changed BMS suppliers after the initial run so the current manual is different than the original..

 

[Solar Moose]

I spoke too soon. Looks like there is a time delay, maybe a few minutes. The BMS disconnects at 57.0V and above.

This morning my second battery is finally top balanced, it took three weeks! Looks like the BMS will balance to 20mV. Now to discharge it a bit so I can re-add it to the stack.

Still top balancing one of mine, the others are much better. Wondering how yours are doing after a few cycles Kremer?

 

[Solar Moose]

Had 2 units delivered today. Order was processed on the 25th and looks like freight logistics got it moving in early December. Nothing wrong with shipping times but seems AOLithium customer support does not have access to the waybill records of shipments out of the Canadian warehouse agent. Tracking is possible but didn't get the number from AOLithium.

The packaging is wild, plywood crate on a pallet with metal corner reinforcement. Battery is switched by chunky foam blocks and a huge bag of silica dessicant.Very solid.. The cables were in a box on top and flattened but no damage. Turned one pack on and it's at 30 SOC and all cells are within 2 mV or so.

Overall looks great but time will tell.

Do yours have blue or red dip switch housings? Mine are red, maybe to mean they are V2 BMS???

 

[Detritalgeo]

For what its worth, I just recieved 4 more units and the DIP blocks are red..

From what I can tell there have been 3 variants of the BMS shipped wihtout any specific versioning changes in labels or documentation...

1. A) MARK 1 - The original with the Blue DIP block, data-rich LCD homescreen and RJ11 port for inverter connection (CAN only), BMS Made by Shenzhen Daren High Tech
2. B) MARK 2 - Blue DIP Block, Basic LCD homescreen with battery icon and RJ45 port for inverter connection (CAN/RS485), BMS made by Shenzhen Kesheng Power Technology
3. C) MARK 3 - Red DIP Block, data-rich LCD homescreen (same as Mark-1) and RJ45 port for inverters (CAN/RS485), BMS origin TBD

I have 2 Mark-2's I purchase December 2023 and did a quick test to see if they communicate with the Mark-3's and no luck yet, There is something different about the latest ones that make them incompatible with earlier versions. Not sure if its major changes in the protocol used for slave-master parallel communication or what.

@Solar Moose I also noticed that the LCD on the new ones never shuts off... it is on all the time while the BMS is powered on which is not ideal. There is definitly software that can allow-us to update firmware but weather AOLithium will go that route is an unknown.

 

[Solar Moose]

For what its worth, I just recieved 4 more units and the DIP blocks are red..

From what I can tell there have been 3 variants of the BMS shipped wihtout any specific versioning changes in labels or documentation...documentation

1. A) MARK 1 - The original with the Blue DIP block, data-rich LCD homescreen and RJ11 port for inverter connection (CAN only), BMS Made by Shenzhen Daren High Tech
2. B) MARK 2 - Blue DIP Block, Basic LCD homescreen with battery icon and RJ45 port for inverter connection (CAN/RS485), BMS made by Shenzhen Kesheng Power Technology
3. C) MARK 3 - Red DIP Block, data-rich LCD homescreen (same as Mark-1) and RJ45 port for inverters (CAN/RS485), BMS origin TBD

I have 2 Mark-2's I purchase December 2023 and did a quick test to see if they communicate with the Mark-3's and no luck yet, There is something different about the latest ones that make them incompatible with earlier versions. Not sure if its major changes in the protocol used for slave-master parallel communication or what.

@Solar Moose I also noticed that the LCD on the new ones never shuts off... it is on all the time while the BMS is powered on which is not ideal. There is definitly software that can allow-us to update firmware but weather AOLithium will go that route is an unknown.

Only one of my six display stays on. The other 5 go back to off, but I wish that interval was longer. I got an email from AOLithium saying that there isn’t a way to change those settings (in the field).
I also online chat/sent a message about the US site FAQ’s that say there is a PC monitoring sw available, so I asked them for a link. I expect to get a reply in the morning as someone in China replies.
I like the displays I have compared to the pictures in the manuals, as mine show max and min cell voltages on the bottom line.

 

[edharveybc]

Same problem here - ordered four units last year (Mark 2) and just received two more (Mark 3). While they each present as a group within the same generation and communicate with the inverter, the two versions will not share data to present as one group of 6 to the inverter.

I've reached out to aolithium support for more info.

 

[Detritalgeo]

For what its worth, I just recieved 4 more units and the DIP blocks are red..

From what I can tell there have been 3 variants of the BMS shipped wihtout any specific versioning changes in labels or documentation...documentation

1. A) MARK 1 - The original with the Blue DIP block, data-rich LCD homescreen and RJ11 port for inverter connection (CAN only), BMS Made by Shenzhen Daren High Tech
2. B) MARK 2 - Blue DIP Block, Basic LCD homescreen with battery icon and RJ45 port for inverter connection (CAN/RS485), BMS made by Shenzhen Kesheng Power Technology
3. C) MARK 3 - Red DIP Block, data-rich LCD homescreen (same as Mark-1) and RJ45 port for inverters (CAN/RS485), BMS origin TBD

I have 2 Mark-2's I purchase December 2023 and did a quick test to see if they communicate with the Mark-3's and no luck yet, There is something different about the latest ones that make them incompatible with earlier versions. Not sure if its major changes in the protocol used for slave-master parallel communication or what

Only one of my six display stays on. The other 5 go back to off, but I wish that interval was longer. I got an email from AOLithium saying that there isn’t a way to change those settings (in the field).
I also online chat/sent a message about the US site FAQ’s that say there is a PC monitoring sw available, so I asked them for a link. I expect to get a reply in the morning as someone in China replies.
I like the displays I have compared to the pictures in the manuals, as mine show max and min cell voltages on the bottom line.

I could perhaps help there... AOlithium told be corporate decides not to hand out the monitoring software for legal/safety reasons. It seems the software is full admin access to everything so could really do some damage in untrained hands I was told.. But it's the only way to run a firmware update ...

 

[Solar Moose]

They just replied and said, no they don’t have sw for monitoring, so faq’s are wrong.
So who does firmware updates?
I’m not a fan of 3.5V being the equalisation threshold, would like it at 3.45V.
But I am new to LiFePo4 so watching lots of off-grid garage “Andy” and Lots of DIYSolar Power with “Will”

 

[edharveybc]

I could perhaps help there... AOlithium told be corporate decides not to hand out the monitoring software for legal/safety reasons. It seems the software is full admin access to everything so could really do some damage in untrained hands I was told.. But it's the only way to run a firmware update ...

If even one person has gotten their hands on the software they could post it on a Drive / GitHub and share it with the rest of us.

 

[Detritalgeo]

I discovered that Bemory and CERRNSS use what looks to be the same BMS as the Mark-2 version of the AOlithium pack. I was also able to get the BMS datasheet from AOlithium for the Mark-2 BMS. It is maid be Shenzhen Kesheng. The software for the other batteries can be obtained and the interface is the same as the one shown in the datasheet.

So between the software, the datasheet and the owners manual of the other packs it can be figured out.

Here is the datasheet...

 

[Kremer]

Still top balancing one of mine, the others are much better. Wondering how yours are doing after a few cycles Kremer?

Pretty good. I just took them offline for a few days to balance again. For fun I bought a NEEY 4A active balancer that I’m going to install on one.