Do these cells look too swollen?

[myersfamilyhome]

I've finally been able to pull the cells out I bought last year out of storage and build my battery banks. My concern is that there is a difference between cells. None have been hooked up and the only exposure they have had has been seasonal temp changes. Each cell is 305ah and all showing 3.30v.

Please correct me if my process below is wrong:

The only steps I have left are:
1) Compress the cells in place
2) Mount BMS
3) Connect BMS to cells & connect cells in series
4) Review configuration/configure BMS
5) Connect BMS to + & - bus bars
associated with CC's.
6) Review configuration/configure CC's
7) Connect CC's to panel arrays
8) Let CC's charge cells until BMS stops charging (I don't have an alternative to charging the cells and the bench charger is to slow to my understanding for this part).
9) Disconnect the BMS from the CC's, Cells, and disconnect the cells from each other.
10) Connect 4 cells at a time in parallel and use the bench power supply to top balance the cells to 3.65 (when the power supply shows no current is being drawn the cells are fully charged)
11) Repeat step 9 until all 16 cells have been top balanced then make sure all cells are no longer connected to one another
12) Repeat steps 3-8

* If all is good then repeat for send bank and connect in parallel

 

[Ellcon123]

They look good to me. Minor swelling quite normal. I think the consensus is to mount vertically and not on side?

 

[myersfamilyhome]

They look good to me. Minor swelling quite normal. I think the consensus is to mount vertically and not on side?

I tried all cell configurations for my 2 battery banks in this space and this was the only way I could get them to fit properly. Was I wrong in thinking that LifePO4 cells could be mounted in any arrangement?

 

[Ellcon123]

Mine are all vertical so no personal experience. Just based on thread comments. Do a forum search.

 

[Northernchateau]

If it was me I would have a piece of 1/8" close cell rubber between the cells to help spread the load out on the faces.
Also put some shrink tubing or something on those side threaded rods so that can't dig into the end of the cells.

 

[myersfamilyhome]

If it was me I would have a piece of 1/8" close cell rubber between the cells to help spread the load out on the faces.
Also put some shrink tubing or something on those side threaded rods so that can't dig into the end of the cells.

Lol there is tubing on the threaded rod already so validating the choice is much appreciated ? and I thought about accounting for rubber between cells as also an insulator but just can't afford it at the moment. The space in the rack designed was as big as I could go with materials I already had and also allows for quick removal of packs from the rack in case of hazard. In case of fire ? in my rpod my priority is humans, cats, battery packs, and solar board (CC's, SmartShunt, Inverters, Busbars, Breakers).

 

[myersfamilyhome]

They look good to me. Minor swelling quite normal. I think the consensus is to mount vertically and not on side

How can I lookup what orientation is safe/acceptable for these cells? I looked through the EVE datasheet that was provided to me but it seems everything is in there except the orientation info.

 

[Bud Martin]

So are there any electrical insulation sheets between cells?

 

[myersfamilyhome]

So are there any electrical insulation sheets between cells?

At the moment no, budget and available resources are limiting me to what I have on hand. I did do a test though with flex seal spray and a paper towel (I know odd, but thinking outside of the box because I have 3 cans of it) and found it to result in an awesome insulator so might entertain spraying 1 side of each cell if it's critical to the build.

 

[Bud Martin]

I use 11 inch x 14 inch chopping mats from dollar store cut to size for my 280Ah cells.

 

[time2roll]

Did the worst swollen go on the bottom?

 

[myersfamilyhome]

Did the worst swollen go on the bottom?

If that as a consensus is best then absolutely, I will rearrange when all is addressed in the thread. I'm reallllllly offgrid so getting into a town with a dollar store, much less down from the mountains is a planned event to travel all day with a return trip the next. But seriously thinking about flexsealing the cells.

 

[justgary]

One issue with stacking that way is that the bottom cells have about 80 pounds more on them than the top cells. That's about 15% of the desired compression force.

 

[myersfamilyhome]

One issue with stacking that way is that the bottom cells have about 80 pounds more on them than the top cells. That's about 15% of the desired compression force.

Absolutely makes sense and makes it almost impossible to distribute compression evenly

 

[myersfamilyhome]

So here are some additional questions that I'm hoping will still let me rock this configuration without concern of uneven compression or swelling.

I've tried every possible configuration of cells except the one in the pic above with no possible way to get them to fit or not enough building materials.

What can I set the BMS config to that will prevent swelling/bloating/damaging use of the cells during normal charging and consumption of power.

With a sense of humor...... please look at my pic above, and if there's any way in this crazy world to make them work in there current layout as they are, please let me know how to implement and if it's going to impact my lifespan of the cells and/or available ah/wh . I am between a rock and a hard place and really need to get these in play since my fla's are degrading fast. Thank you all for your help. It is very appreciated

 

[Quattrohead]

Is this a mobile installation ?

 

[justgary]

my fla's are degrading fast.

Where are your FLAs stored? LFP should be about 1/4 the volume of FLA for an equivalent capacity.

 

[myersfamilyhome]

Where are your FLAs stored? LFP should be about 1/4 the volume of FLA for an equivalent capacity

Because of venting and space for them the 8 deep cycle batteries are outside in battery boxes.

 

[justgary]

Because of venting and space for them the 8 deep cycle batteries are outside in battery boxes.

... and you want to keep these inside for temperature control?

How big is the shelf you show? What about moving the boots and black box below?

 

[myersfamilyhome]

Is this a mobile installation ?

Yes, we are wanting to build these banks so that they can be moved from our trailer, to our bus conversion easily when we travel but most of the time it will be parked on our 20 acres in the mountains. The current design was intended to be an easy way to disconnect each bank from the rest of the solar equipment above them so that all 3 units (2 banks, and solar equipment board) can be easily relocated to another location for use where needed or moved in case of a hazard.