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APEXIUM (APEX) DIY 280 BOX - EXCELLENT VIDEO

ghostwriter66

"Here - Hold my Beer"
Joined
Nov 13, 2019
Messages
1,964
Location
EE from LAX CA -work in SouthTX for giant evil Oil
I have been remiss in THANKING YouTuber DADvinci for what i think is the BEST DIY instructional video that I have seen in a very long time ... The video can be found at
... We have probably done about 50 of these boxes so far with zero issues (that wasn't our fault) ...

ONE word of warning is we totally DON'T use the washers that come with the kit -- the nut has serrated edges and I want those to bite down onto the busbar and not some washer that is eventually going to loosen up ....

We did decide to go ahead and use the aluminum bus bars -- why not -- its not like we are pushing 100A or anything ...

ALSO - while there are lots of videos on the APEX BMS, its NOT the easiest BMS to use sometime ... of course I have became a JK-BMS (latest model) fanatic so i am biased ...

BUT if you are going to put one of these kits together .. please take a look at the video ... it will save you quite a bit of heartache ...

NOW to be honest --we have switched to the Yixiang DIY Battery Box that comes about 80% assembled and this is the one that we are sticking with for the time being ... We put together quite a few of these boxes a year for work -- last year about 100 - and anything that can save us time is saving us money ... Also they have a great customer service .. (as does Jenny Wu at DOCAN)

PLUS the Yixiang DIY Battery Box has the JK-BMS ... out thanks for Youtube OFF-GRID Garage for leading us that way ...
 
I started looking at DIY boxes last week and knowing you've dealt with a lot of them makes me pretty confident of which ones I'm getting 🍻
 
I have been remiss in THANKING YouTuber DADvinci for what i think is the BEST DIY instructional video that I have seen in a very long time ... The video can be found at
... We have probably done about 50 of these boxes so far with zero issues (that wasn't our fault) ...

ONE word of warning is we totally DON'T use the washers that come with the kit -- the nut has serrated edges and I want those to bite down onto the busbar and not some washer that is eventually going to loosen up ....

We did decide to go ahead and use the aluminum bus bars -- why not -- its not like we are pushing 100A or anything ...

ALSO - while there are lots of videos on the APEX BMS, its NOT the easiest BMS to use sometime ... of course I have became a JK-BMS (latest model) fanatic so i am biased ...

BUT if you are going to put one of these kits together .. please take a look at the video ... it will save you quite a bit of heartache ...

NOW to be honest --we have switched to the Yixiang DIY Battery Box that comes about 80% assembled and this is the one that we are sticking with for the time being ... We put together quite a few of these boxes a year for work -- last year about 100 - and anything that can save us time is saving us money ... Also they have a great customer service .. (as does Jenny Wu at DOCAN)

PLUS the Yixiang DIY Battery Box has the JK-BMS ... out thanks for Youtube OFF-GRID Garage for leading us that way ...
I am looking at building a few batteries for my home and have a question that you may be able to answer... can the cases be used in a vertical position as I have to little room for a horizontal install.. and it seems that I cant find any wall hangers / vertical boxes in stock in the US...
 
You can stack them upto 4 high and I have also run them upright.
As convenient and tempting as it is, I'm very leery of using my Yixiang in a vertical position. Most, if not, all of these DIY boxes aren't really designed for vertical use. The two, bottom-most cells on each bank would experience a huge amount of downward compression.

I've spoken to UpNorth about it and he agreed and recommended not doing it despite Yixiang saying it's okay.
 
As convenient and tempting as it is, I'm very leery of using my Yixiang in a vertical position. Most, if not, all of these DIY boxes aren't really designed for vertical use. The two, bottom-most cells on each bank would experience a huge amount of downward compression.

I've spoken to UpNorth about it and he agreed and recommended not doing it despite Yixiang saying it's okay.
Most if the vertical boxes have a separating middle plate, to even the weight. Indeed most bottom cells could get too much pressure.
 
Yep. That's the only I would attempt it. Unfortunately, the Yixiang box doesn't have a middle plate/divider nor a provision for one. You could fab something, no doubt. I'm too lazy. I'll let someone else figure it out.😁
 
These vertical boxes are being sold in Oz assembled with EVE Mb30/31 cells and inverter JKBMS

Not aware of the internal cell arrangement.
 
I went with the Apexium due to availability, as the warehouse is local to me and I needed to get everything assembled by year end. How are people handling the breaker omission? Supposedly they added one, but I haven't even cracked mine open yet so I don't know what's included.
 
I went with the Apexium due to availability, as the warehouse is local to me and I needed to get everything assembled by year end. How are people handling the breaker omission? Supposedly they added one, but I haven't even cracked mine open yet so I don't know what's included.
If you do see if they added a breaker, can you post up a couple pics?

For me, my hacktastic solution was to mount a double pole 125A MCB on a DIN rail held by a couple of the front faceplate screws. Works fine, but it's not super aesthetically pleasing. I really just wanted it for disconnect/pack isolation without having to turn the BMS off. Each of my packs runs to a T-Class fuse.
 
I'll definitely share. I'm trying to get the batteries top balanced now before I put them in the box. I didn't do the math on how long it would take to charge them all using parallel strings on a normal household circuit. Waiting on BMS now so I can switch to series, but I'll crack open the Apexium box this week.
 
I went with the Apexium due to availability, as the warehouse is local to me and I needed to get everything assembled by year end. How are people handling the breaker omission? Supposedly they added one, but I haven't even cracked mine open yet so I don't know what's included.
Did you buy from their website and did local pickup?
 
If you do see if they added a breaker, can you post up a couple pics?

For me, my hacktastic solution was to mount a double pole 125A MCB on a DIN rail held by a couple of the front faceplate screws. Works fine, but it's not super aesthetically pleasing. I really just wanted it for disconnect/pack isolation without having to turn the BMS off. Each of my packs runs to a T-Class fuse.
No breaker, just an internal fuse. But this box does have a power switch. I'm going to mount an external breaker for each pack, along with a t-class fuse and disconnect switch for the entire 3P string. Now that I have nearly everything except the amphenol connectors and lug crimper, I'm debating whether to add some heating pads. It doesn't normally get very cold here (Houston region), but on the off chance we ever have another winter storm I'll kick myself if I don't put heat in these. Once they go together my intention is to never disassemble them again.

Anyone know how to power a heating pad with this BMS, or is a separate sensor needed for the pads?
 

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