Battery for Sol-ark

[Troubleshooter]

I am undecided on the battery for my 12k Sol-ark. I want to make sure I am not missing other potential solutions. I prefer a set-up with 2,3,4 battery units to a single larger battery bank, for redundancy. I am not as much concerned with price, as with reliability and support. Integration with Sol-ark is a plus.

I am currently looking at
(3) Fortress eFlex 5.4
or
(2) KiloVault HAB 7.5

 

[ssean]

Battery Suppliers

Sol-Ark® has an large network of solar battery partners for our hybrid inverters and support closed loop communications for optimal energy production. Learn more.

www.sol-ark.com

 

[Troubleshooter]

I've decided to go with a single eVault.

 

[kaspre]

How's that working out? Easy integration, I hope? In another thread, someone said that Fortress eFlex supported CanBus communication with Sol-Ark, but not the eVault (yet). Is that right? What price did you get on the eVault, if you don't mind saying?

I ordered a bunch of battery cells to DIY a battery array, but I do want to utilize the CanBus communication between the Sol-Ark inverter and BMS. So I'm researching which BMS support CanBus and so far it's a very short, very expensive list (Orion BMS only, afaik). Multiple Orion Jr. BMS ($626 per each of 4 batteries) could negate a lot of the savings from DIY battery project.

So now I'm reconsidering whether it might be easier to buy the E4/GYLL "LiFePOWER4" rack-mount batteries. The EVE cells I ordered + Orion BMS end up at $195/kWh plus wiring, adapters, shunts, and other materials, plus the assembly time. I'm sure that DIY project would be very interesting and I'll learn a lot, but if the GYLL batteries are $1250 for the 48V 100Ah, that's only $260/kWh and already includes the BMS and CanBus ports for plug-and-play installation.

 

[ssean]

"GYLL batteries are $1250 for the 48V 100Ah"

Where can I find these?

 

[Troubleshooter]

Bought the Fortress and the Sol-ark through CEDGreenTech, they have a location not too far from me and had the best price on both, as well as IronRigde rails.

 

[kaspre]

"GYLL batteries are $1250 for the 48V 100Ah"

Where can I find these?

Well, that’s a whole other issue. As far as I know, signature solar is the exclusive vendor, but they haven’t had them in stock for weeks and aren’t accepting backorders. I read in another thread that they might get more in 2-3 weeks, but idk. ?‍

All Products - Page 1 - Signature Solar

shop.signaturesolar.us

There are a couple of similar products with different branding (VGlory, Seplos) and are even cheaper, but I don’t know much about them yet.


Thread 'Are Vglory Batteries the same as Gyll Batteries'
https://diysolarforum.com/threads/are-vglory-batteries-the-same-as-gyll-batteries.20702/

 

[robby]

I was really thinking a lot about going with the eVault but decided on getting two eFlex batteries. I will probably be adding a third once the system is complete and I see how it is working. The prices on both are very close per KWH but the eVault is slightly cheaper. In the end I based my decision on the chances of a single point failure vs three points. Overall a very tough choice as both units have a lot of different pluses. I like the display on the eVault but prefer the BMS in the eFlex.

 

[jmzorko]

Does anyone have experience with the BigBattery LiFePo4 units (i.e. 48V KONG) with the Sol-Ark? They're claimed to be inverter agnostic, and the price is definitely a perk.

https://shopsolarkits.com/collections/deep-cycle-solar-batteries/products/48v-lifepo4-12kwh-powerwall

 

[SolarDavidguy]

BigBattery LiFePo4 units seems way over priced

 

[jmzorko]

BigBattery LiFePo4 units seems way over priced

Can you recommend some LiFeP04 batteries that are more reasonably priced, and where to get them?

Regards,

John

 

[SolarDavidguy]

Well I got my batteries from Tess electric here in mn. I paid $500 each 12v 100ah. They did have a sale on 48v 100 ah for $1300 modular . They look like GYL batteries .

 

[Gubbool]

I am currently looking at
(3) Fortress eFlex 5.4
or
(2) KiloVault HAB 7.5

I’m afraid to ask… Which unit did you decide to use?

 

[Troubleshooter]

I’m afraid to ask… Which unit did you decide to use?

I ended up with an eVault 18.5

 

[ArthurEld]

I started with 100Ah of AMG for my Sol-Ark 12K. It won't last very long but it allows me to use my Solar when the sun is shining and it gives me some uninterruptible power.
My 1000Ah of non UL LFP will only be used if the grid goes down for a long time.

 

[Gubbool]

I ended up with an eVault 18.5

I’m going with the HAB’s. But because I have found almost no any real world experiences on any Kilovault product, about this time next year I might be sad, so I’m preparing myself. However, Will didn’t beat up Kilovault’s workmanship in his video on another Kilovault unit, so…

 

[robby]

I ended up with an eVault 18.5

Very nice battery. I considered buying one instead of the 3x eFlexs but had no idea how I would get the 500lb beast into my electrical room without removing all the cells.

 

[Troubleshooter]

Very nice battery. I considered buying one instead of the 3x eFlexs but had no idea how I would get the 500lb beast into my electrical room without removing all the cells.

It was a chore, but I got it across the field and lifted into my solar shed by myself. Would have been much easier to just unload from my trailer, but it would have to sit in the element for a week before the shed was ready and I didn't want to take that risk.

 

[BlackWaterPark]

I’m going with the HAB’s. But because I have found almost no any real world experiences on any Kilovault product, about this time next year I might be sad, so I’m preparing myself. However, Will didn’t beat up Kilovault’s workmanship in his video on another Kilovault unit, so…

Have you deployed your HABs yet? I'm picking up a pair tomorrow when I drive down to the Alt-E store in Mass. They aren't the cheapest batteries in that class by any means, but I spoke at length with their techs/designers and was impressed with how well designed the units are. They use both passive and active balancing for one. I also really like how the cycle counter works, especially in regards to their warranty. It will add up all partial cycles to create singular cycles of 80%dod that are tallied. That, and for me, the Alt-E store is just 3 hours away (that's close proximity to a Mainer), and they will simply swap a unit out right there on site if one of mine ends up having issues. Been doing business there a long time and they honor their warranties and take care of their customers, so that factored in much the same way I chose my tractor and other power equipment...dealer proximity and rep counts for a lot.
The Habs will be married to a pair of Genetry Solar 6kw 240v inverters in parallel. These things are uniquely badass in the inverter market. I just couldn't justify a Solark, (or any other all-in-one for that matter) being 100% off grid (10 years now), with features I wouldn't use, obscene idle draws (plus the necessary auto transformer which eats more power), and I much prefer to keep my components separate, especially my CCs, as I heavily favour the Midnite classic line

 

[Hayek]

I have a Sol-Ark 12k, and I'm also looking at server rack battery options which support communication with my inverter. I saw the Sol-Ark list of battery partners, but these were all very expensive options. Looking elsewhere, I saw that Jakiper does list communication with Sol-Ark, and Will's favorable review makes it a contender. Are there any other brands that have been confirmed to communicate?