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Best, good, don't waste your money BMS

T

theoldwizard1

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Jul 17, 2020
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I am new to this whole LiFePO4 energy storage "game" ! I have a formal training as a EE, but that was many, MANY years ago, so I understand the "theory" but not the "practical" !

Without having to read through the dozens (hundreds) of posts here, is there any consensus on what is the "best bang for the buck" 12V and 24V BMS on the market ? How about "good" and why are they not the "best" ?
 
I don't think you will find a consensus. Much depends on how you are using the battery, what the environment is going to be, how much current, How much balance capacity do you need, what kind of communication capability do you want ...etc, etc.

There are 2 general classifications. There are the ones that internally switch the current with mosfets and there are those that switch external relays for the charge and load control. It's not a one size fits all kinda thing and is the hardest decision I had to make when setting up my pack.
 
DALY has finally stepped up and corrected allot of their issues -- so I would put many of their BMS's in the BETTER(+) category ...

Chargery is in the BEST category

Dracus (sp) is in the BEST ...

I have all three operational at this time on several systems ... all 3 do what they need to do ... Chargery and Dracus though give you the ability to do ANYTHING you want to do ... literally ... My Chargery turns on the coffee pot, lights, and starts a small A/C 30 minutes before I normally get to one of our monitoring sites ...
 
BoloMKXXVIII said:
" Chargery is in the BEST category "

But the Chargery relies on relays (traditional or SSR) which is fine in some situations, not ideal in others.
Click to expand...
Quite Correct Bolo !
Sadly mosFET based BMS' are pretty much capping around 200/250A and of course they cannot be driven to the edge of their specs and held there for any period of time as they have to be derated for long term survival.

Electro-Mech Relays/Contactors are a PITA but their fine for "some" applications. Energy Saver Relays/Contactors make much more sense in General and with a considerably lower parasitic operational draw. DCC/SSR Solid Stae is the Golden Goose because extremely low draw to operate and very efficient. DCC unlike a typical SSR, handles precharge delays loading and combines two relays into one for Common Port configuration.

Next up would be TinyBMS (amazing product) and ElectroDacus which is quite another beast and hard to get ahold of.
If Rolls Royce Quality is what is wanted then head off to OrionBMS and that tier but offer prayers to your wallet BEFORE checking their prices. Don't let the significant other see it unless they are well prepared and calm.
 
Oblivious you could be A Steve. Just not that Steve.
 
my name is not Steve but I thought the Batrium was the go. I just use active transfer balancer (20 bucks) and breakers/inverter-charger cutoff settings.
 
theoldwizard1 said:
Without having to read through the dozens (hundreds) of posts here, is there any consensus on what is the "best bang for the buck" 12V and 24V BMS on the market ? How about "good" and why are they not the "best" ?
Click to expand...

First, "why not best?": Because (1) the BMS market still has a lot of maturing to do, and more importantly (2) Its all about matching your needs/priorities/wants/design-goals to a BMS that fits your use case. There is no 'best' because what is best depends heavily on a number of variables.

That said, here is a list of 5 low to mid budget options that are popular here, 4 of 5 I would put in the decent to good category. One (Ant BMS) I am still forming an opinion on.
  1. Electrodacus SBMS0 (12v, 24v)
  2. Chargery BMS (12v, 24v, 48v)
  3. JBD Smart BMS (12v, 24v, ??) <--- This is what people are referring to when they say overkill solar
  4. Ant BMS (24v, 48v)
  5. Daly BMS (12v, 24v, 48v)
Higher end alternatives:
  1. 123smartBMS
  2. Orion Jr
  3. Batrium
  4. TinyBMS

Of these, I'm personally inclined towards the SBMS0 for many reasons, but I am less likely to recommend it than the Daly BMS or JBD Smart BMS, since I think most people asking, want something simple and all-in-one, with less of a learning curve and less complexity.
 
Last edited:
ghostwriter66 said:
I'm not THAT Steve either -- but ... am totally unfamiliar with TinyBMS ... is there a good thread on it somewhere someone can point me to?
Click to expand...

Not that I am aware of, but here is
The Website
A youtube video

I've had my eye on it for a while, I really like a lot about it, but for whatever reason never given it more than a surface level look. It looks to be good quality (better than most of what we buy), priced in the same ballpark as Chargery and SBMS0, has good and extensive english language documentation. Is a little less beginner friendly / plug and play compared with other options. Discharge / Charge limits are 150A/100A with heatsink using the builtin FETS, or 750A with external relays. Has PC and Android software, comms include bluetooth and CAN. works with 12v, 24v, and 48v systems, and can have multiple temp sensors (upto 64 I think). Looks to require some soldering. At first glance it looks to be at least as configurable/flexible as the Charger or the SBMS0.
 
Are any of you sure you are not Steve? Do you have prof? I talked to Steve on telephone so I can't be Steve. I'm not sure if I'm Other Steve or not.
 
Well, as an "Other Steve", who looked at and seriously considered TinyBMS because it has a very good rep., lot's of flexibility and the entire communications capabilities for it are a big PLUS. When I added up the cost of "everything" as most things are an add-on for 300A Capability with Relay/Contactors Times Four knowing I was going to end up with 4 Packs, it was a tad rich.

In the end, I likely spent more anyways with the Chargery, not because of Chargery as such but I got bit by the testing relays & SSR Bug and that rabbit hole cost a small pile of dough. So with 8 TE/Kilovac, Pairs of Dongya DHV's extra BMS', Deltec Shunts and more as "left overs" which will be listed into my Bargain Bin Sale at the end of the month.

TinyBMS: 401.99 € / $476.07 USD each

ProductPriceQuantity
image_small
Tiny BMS s516 - 150A/750A
Does not include any cables.		 159.00 €
image_small
USB-UART cable
 15.00 €
image_small
Wire kit for 150A BMS (silicone)
 14.99 €
image_small
Two-point temperature sensor kit
 9.00 €

Sales VAT:0.00 €
Delivery:45.00 €
Total:401.99 € / $476.07 USD
 
I'm still looking for a budget system for my old rig, a 4S DIY LiFePO4. I thought I was settled on the Daly, but I've read about a lot of problems, and another problem seems to be too many variations, hard to know which has bluetooth, etc. Also registration issues with the app, login/configuration problems. So I'm looking at Overkill also now, but seems overpriced compared to the Electrodacus which is so much more capable.

For my new rig's 8S 24V battery I'm pretty settled on the Electrodacus. It looks no more complicated than Chargery and with better documentation and UI.
 
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