Building/Buying a Server Rack Battery

[Matthewfrancislee]

Hi guys! complete newbie here . Im trying to build my own server rack battery (or look for a good server rack battery) for my house but im still in the research phase of the project.
Currently, im trying to understand what makes the popular models like EG4 Pro, SOK, Trophy and Jakiper Batteries so good by attempting to understand all of their best features.

Is there any thread/post/article that explains how to make a server rack battery from scratch down to the details and what I should be looking out for? Or what I should learn first before attempting this ?

Thank you so much

 

[Steve_S]

I don't think there is a particular thread dedicated to assembling a "Server Rack Mount" type of battery. They are all basically the same, just the format of the "box" is different. A basic guide I wrote up is available here that will give you a lot of info for battery pack assembly.
Link: https://diysolarforum.com/resources/luyuan-tech-basic-lifepo4-guide.151/

Many of the Prebuilt packs have either a locked BMS (Battery Management System) or Limited Access BMS which prevents end users from making assorted adjustments... it varies by brand but is common.

There are several "kits" such as those from SEPLOS with a box, BMS and other required goodies but when you add S&H they become pricey. Then there are kits which offer some choices, such as pick your own BMS and Wire Sizes etc like those from LUYUAN Technologies

SEPLOS Kits: (some with battery cells / some without)

Lifepo4 Battery Box DIY Supplier – Seplos Technology

Seplos is a professional Lifepo4 Battery Box DIY Kit manufacturer for energy storage solutions.

www.seplos.com

Luyuan Tech Kits: (Can be customized to suit) * Known Good Quality Vendor here.

Battery box/case, Battery box/case direct from Shenzhen Luyuan Technology Co., Ltd. in CN

Battery box/case from Shenzhen Luyuan Technology Co., Ltd.. Search High Quality Battery box/case Manufacturing and Exporting supplier on Alibaba.com.

szluyuan.en.alibaba.com

Do pay attention to the offered BMS'. Some have Passive Balancing only, this burn off voltage from Hi Cells and is pretty much useless on large capacity cells or mismatched cells. Active Balancing works by shifting power from Hi Cells to Lo Cells and does work well with large capacity cells. A general unwritten rule is 1A Active balancing per 100AH capacity. Some BMS' are compatible with Victron & Other Inverter / AIO's while others are not. Additionally some allow for the battery packs to be linked into a Smart Bank while others do not. These factors also have to be considered.

Take your time and ask questions. Provide better detail as to what you are planning and what you would like to have as an end result and that will help the membership here to help you better.

Hope it helps, Good Luck.

 

[Matthewfrancislee]

I don't think there is a particular thread dedicated to assembling a "Server Rack Mount" type of battery. They are all basically the same, just the format of the "box" is different. A basic guide I wrote up is available here that will give you a lot of info for battery pack assembly.
Link: https://diysolarforum.com/resources/luyuan-tech-basic-lifepo4-guide.151/

Many of the Prebuilt packs have either a locked BMS (Battery Management System) or Limited Access BMS which prevents end users from making assorted adjustments... it varies by brand but is common.

There are several "kits" such as those from SEPLOS with a box, BMS and other required goodies but when you add S&H they become pricey. Then there are kits which offer some choices, such as pick your own BMS and Wire Sizes etc like those from LUYUAN Technologies

SEPLOS Kits: (some with battery cells / some without)

Lifepo4 Battery Box DIY Supplier – Seplos Technology

Seplos is a professional Lifepo4 Battery Box DIY Kit manufacturer for energy storage solutions.

www.seplos.com

Luyuan Tech Kits: (Can be customized to suit) * Known Good Quality Vendor here.

Battery box/case, Battery box/case direct from Shenzhen Luyuan Technology Co., Ltd. in CN

Battery box/case from Shenzhen Luyuan Technology Co., Ltd.. Search High Quality Battery box/case Manufacturing and Exporting supplier on Alibaba.com.

szluyuan.en.alibaba.com

Do pay attention to the offered BMS'. Some have Passive Balancing only, this burn off voltage from Hi Cells and is pretty much useless on large capacity cells or mismatched cells. Active Balancing works by shifting power from Hi Cells to Lo Cells and does work well with large capacity cells. A general unwritten rule is 1A Active balancing per 100AH capacity. Some BMS' are compatible with Victron & Other Inverter / AIO's while others are not. Additionally some allow for the battery packs to be linked into a Smart Bank while others do not. These factors also have to be considered.

Take your time and ask questions. Provide better detail as to what you are planning and what you would like to have as an end result and that will help the membership here to help you better.

Hope it helps, Good Luck.

Oh Thank you so much! Ill read into this

 

[50ShadesOfDirt]

Server rack-mount battery designs ... seem to be 48v only, help the vendors achieve density, and they also stuff it with daisy-chain connections & tech, comms tech, etc. Then, it's somewhere in the neighborhood of $1500 USD on up ...

What are you looking to achieve? Just a higher density of Ah in a rack-mounted design, or would you desire to replicate many of the other features in these vendors' designs?

May not be useful to you, but it would also be possible to just buy/build standard "standalone" batteries, and play with the layout on a server rack "shelf" design, which also plugs into a rack. Takes more "U's" in the server rack, of course, as it isn't as high a density form factor. With cable design, you should be able to pull the shelf out and get at things.

Hope this helps ...

 

[Matthewfrancislee]

Good morning!

I want to try to replicate many of the useful features in those vendors designs (high density form factor, safety features, comms tech) and tailor it specifically to my needs. Currently in my PV system for example, one of my AIO devices broke down without sending me a notification or a warning (and id like to not need to check it every so often). Id like my batteries to ideally notify me if something goes wrong.

Im currently watching a few more of Wills videos about battery teardowns to understand more about the best features of these server-rack batteries haha

Server rack-mount battery designs ... seem to be 48v only, help the vendors achieve density, and they also stuff it with daisy-chain connections & tech, comms tech, etc. Then, it's somewhere in the neighborhood of $1500 USD on up ...

What are you looking to achieve? Just a higher density of Ah in a rack-mounted design, or would you desire to replicate many of the other features in these vendors' designs?

May not be useful to you, but it would also be possible to just buy/build standard "standalone" batteries, and play with the layout on a server rack "shelf" design, which also plugs into a rack. Takes more "U's" in the server rack, of course, as it isn't as high a density form factor. With cable design, you should be able to pull the shelf out and get at things.

Hope this helps ...

 

[Rednecktek]

Most of the various brands out there differ only by the design of the terminals and the sticker on the front. The only 2 exceptions I can think of are Orient Power which is a wall mount case with terminals on the bottom rather than a standard rackmount and Trophy whose big selling points are higher density/larger packs (10-15Kwh) and the built in heating function.

Other than that the Sephlos is slightly cheaper than a pre-built even after shipping but it's all on you if anything goes wrong.

 

[12VoltInstalls]

Server rack-mount battery designs ... seem to be 48v only

There’s a few 12V offerings out there. I think WP reviewed one or two recently. Per Wh they aren’t that expensive.

 

[Zwy]

Hi guys! complete newbie here . Im trying to build my own server rack battery (or look for a good server rack battery) for my house but im still in the research phase of the project.

Build your own. https://diysolarforum.com/threads/the-big-blue-box.55099/

Currently, im trying to understand what makes the popular models like EG4 Pro, SOK, Trophy and Jakiper Batteries so good by attempting to understand all of their best features.

What makes the models mentioned popular is it is easier to order a bank already assembled. As for capacity per dollar spent, not such a great deal. But it is the convenience factor, order, arrives in a box to your door and plug it in to start using it.

Is there any thread/post/article that explains how to make a server rack battery from scratch down to the details and what I should be looking out for? Or what I should learn first before attempting this ?

Thank you so much

You could build something like mine, easy enough to do with your choice of BMS such as JK or JBD. I fabricated my own busbars and nickel plated them.

Here is another build using a Hoffman box turned on it's side. https://diysolarforum.com/threads/4-mpp-lv6548-30-kw-eve-304ah-lifepo4-battery-14-kw-pv-array.32343/