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Best current turnkey 48V LiFePO batteries?

fafrd

Solar Wizard
Joined
Aug 11, 2020
Messages
4,188
The LiFePO4 forum is for DIY, so I thought it would be more appropriate to post this question here.

I’ve built a 560Ah 24V (8S) battery from cells and am happy with its performance (especially given how little I paid for the cells).

I’ve got it hooked up in a simple 1.1kW GTIL-based solar system but several friends and family members are now expressing interest in copying the system I’ve architected.

No way am I going to suggest any of those non-DIYer parties attempt to build their own battery from cells, hence my interest in getting some recommendations on the best turn-key LiFePO4 battery options/suppliers currently in the US market.

Even though I went 24V, it’ll probably make more sense for any of these other builds to go 48VDC so I’m looking for recommendations on the best current options in terms of 48V (16S) LiFePO4 batteries in the 100Ah to 300Ah range.

Lowest possible cost is not as high a priority as a reliable US-based supplier, so BattleBorn would be an option save for the fact that the highest voltage they offer is 24V (8S) and only 50Ah at that.

So a 2P2S array of 4 50Ah 24V Battleborn batteries will get me a 100Ah 48V battery costing $3200 but my guess is that there must be suppliers offering 100Ah to 300Ah 48V turnkey batteries for less than that.

As an example, here is a 150Ah 48V LiFePO4 battery claiming to be ‘assembled in the USA’ being sold for $1580 by BatteryEvo: https://batteryevo.com/48v-nec-a123-lifepo4-5kwh-120ah-battery-golf-cart-with-130a-bms-120a-breaker-led/?sku=48V With Box&gclid=CjwKCAjwy7CKBhBMEiwA0Eb7av0aZ0CzQKcWQaEfMJbdDIZIrb0sPBP426HfW_4HYBBs-vkFZuxaChoCumYQAvD_BwE

Any advice on US-based vendors that are offering quality turnkey 48V LiFePO batteries in the 100Ah to 300Ah range appreciated.
 
I have one of these in use for over a year without any problems :


No affiliation, just a satisfied customer.
 
I have one of these in use for over a year without any problems :


No affiliation, just a satisfied customer.
Hadn’t know about Signature Solar and their GYLL batteries, thanks (and precisely the reason I started this thread).

Here’s the link to the 100Ah 48V LiFePO4 offering: https://shop.signaturesolar.us/products/48v-100ah-lifepower4-battery-by-eg4

$1500 for 5kWh is not bad and a 5 year warranty on parts is attractive if the company is around long enough to back it up - how long has Signature Solar been around?

They seem very well-built and claim to be using new Grade-A cells.
 
Not sure how long they have been around but there's not a lot of US based turn key retailers.

Here is a thread I started last summer about them:


The new model costs a bit more and has some minor improvements. I think Dave Poz covers the new model as well.
 
Not sure how long they have been around but there's not a lot of US based turn key retailers.

Here is a thread I started last summer about them:


The new model costs a bit more and has some minor improvements. I think Dave Poz covers the new model as well.
Just scanned through - thanks.

From my point of view, the key aspect of any of these turn-key LiFePO4 battery vendors is whose going to be around long enough to back up their warranty (and have the business ethics to do so).

Then there is also the credibility / trust issue of who is actually using Prime Grade-A matched cells versus whose using cheaper cells because they know they can design batteries that will function passably well despite a certain level of mismatch (which can get worse with time).

All pretty new stuff and it’ll be interesting to see how these early vendors like Bigbattery, Signature Solar and BatteryEvo (TechDirect) evolve over the coming year or two.
 
I'm no fan of BatteryEvo or BigBattery but I have no direct experience so take that with a grain of salt. You may want to use the search function here on the forum to look over member experience on all these brands.

On my GYLL battery I hooked up a computer to monitor the BMS at cell level for over a month and hardly saw any BMS activity as all 16 cells stayed remarkably in balance. Looks like quality cells to me.

Also, the BMS had a manufacture date just before it shipped from China so no old stock stuff going on either FWIW.
 
I'm no fan of BatteryEvo or BigBattery but I have no direct experience so take that with a grain of salt. You may want to use the search function here on the forum to look over member experience on all these brands.
Good suggestion.
On my GYLL battery I hooked up a computer to monitor the BMS at cell level for over a month and hardly saw any BMS activity as all 16 cells stayed remarkably in balance. Looks like quality cells to me.
The ability to monitor is a major plus (and a sign of confidence). Knowing GYLL offers that capability moves them to the top of my list and makes cell-level monitoring a must-have from any other vendors I’ll consider.
Also, the BMS had a manufacture date just before it shipped from China so no old stock stuff going on either FWIW.
Another good thing to know - thanks.

Well-matched cells with cell-level monitoring capability is a major, major plus in my book (for what I’m looking for).

I went the DIY route to build a 560Ah 24V LiFePO4 battery with 16 ‘Grade A’ cells that I picked up for $1400 from China.

The cells all deliver pretty close to the rated 280Ah but they are not well-matched across the charge/discharge curve (different peaks and valleys).

I’ve got the battery tuned up so it’s working pretty well but who knows how that mismatch will evolve over time - it’s going to need monitoring at least quarterly if not monthly.

I have the time and the interest and so that is no issue at all but now I’ve got friends and family asking my help to put together a system like mine.

Lowest cost is far lower priority than easiest management for any of these copied systems that I’ll no doubt get lassoed into supporting when things go bad.

4 of my cells are perfectly matched throughout the charge/discharge curve, so I can easily see how a battery composed of truly matched cells as those that are used for EV manufacturing will need far less oversight and monitoring than a battery composed of mismatched cells like mine.

So a battery like the one you picked up from Signature Solar (GYLL) sets the new standard I’ll be looking for and again, I greatly appreciate the feedback on your experience with them.
 

These are interesting too. Will did a review a while back on the 24V. Different features than usual.
Any ideas what search terms to use to find Will’s review?

Looks like these are coming from China which would cause me to avoid them due to concerns about the ‘warranty’ being essentially worthless…
 
Any ideas what search terms to use to find Will’s review?

Looks like these are coming from China which would cause me to avoid them due to concerns about the ‘warranty’ being essentially worthless…
I agree. Just throwing it out there. If ECPC is servicing the warranty it could be OK as they seem to have a decent reputation.

Price should be in the link. ~$2k / 100Ah plus shipping. Pricey.

Will’s review:

If you really want to roll the dice with China there is the Amperetime that looks like it’s made for a cabinet but says it’s a standalone (cannot parallel).


Less features. More costly.

I know they may not be what you’re looking for exactly but they may help someone.
 
I agree. Just throwing it out there. If ECPC is servicing the warranty it could be OK as they seem to have a decent reputation.

Price should be in the link. ~$2k / 100Ah plus shipping. Pricey.

Will’s review:

If you really want to roll the dice with China there is the Amperetime that looks like it’s made for a cabinet but says it’s a standalone (cannot parallel).


Less features. More costly.

I know they may not be what you’re looking for exactly but they may help someone.
Interesting, but pricey.

I’m looking for a turnkey battery using EV-class cells and EV-class welded terminal connections (aluminum welded to aluminum).

I’d like to find a turnkey battery with connections made like this:

These are apparently from a battery built by BYD, but I have not been able to find it…
 

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I bought 3 of the GYLL 100ah 48v batteries from signature solar in March of this year and have been using them for 6 months now with absolutely no problems except that I am a computer idiot and I cannot get my computer to "see" the bms in these batteries. I am in the process of building my first DIY 300ah 48v battery and will take it down to my place in Baja soon. If all goes well with the new DIY battery I will offer my GYLL batteries for sale next June or so if anyone is interested.
 
I bought 3 of the GYLL 100ah 48v batteries from signature solar in March of this year and have been using them for 6 months now with absolutely no problems except that I am a computer idiot and I cannot get my computer to "see" the bms in these batteries. I am in the process of building my first DIY 300ah 48v battery and will take it down to my place in Baja soon. If all goes well with the new DIY battery I will offer my GYLL batteries for sale next June or so if anyone is interested.
Please PM me and tell me where you are based…
 
I’m looking for similar Turkey 48v batteries which won’t Break the bank but also has UL certification. ( required for permit approval).
Most of these batteries are still imported from China, & it’s expensive for them to go through the UL certification ( however ok if you are are using them off grid.
 
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