I tried that on Sunday, doesn’t-tick
Eg4 Lifepower4 battery is ticking on start
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Yes, it trips on any heavy load. I reported that at post # 210
robby
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I don’t remember saying they are used cells Will. I said they are grade B cells.
I do not think they are used cells.
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Maybe we need proof and a video of you saying used ...
robby
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robby
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Will my battery is the EG4LL and it has zero problems starting inverters, including mine. The problem with EG4LL is the BMS passive balancing of the cells. If I get two straight days of cloudy weather and reach less than 100% charge the cells on the third day are extremely out of balance after a full charge and reading 54.5V like my eFlexes, but some cells are at 3,67v others are at 3.4v and the same three cells are alway at 3.32V. At this point the battery is in standby and since the Sol-Ark is seeing 54.5V it has stopped charging.
To get the cells back in balance I have to turn off my Four eFlex batteries and
Turn up the Sol-Arks charge voltage to 57V. This will then start the LL charging for approx 30 seconds using 14A and then discharging 10A for 30 sez in a continuous 1-2 hour cycle. When it is done al cells read 3.56v and the pack is at 57V.
I set the Sol-Ark back to 54.5V and instantly the LL starts feeding about 14A to the inverter for the next minute. Then the whole pack is at 54.5V and the cells are all at 3.40V. I can now switch on the eFlxes and every thing is fixed until I get two Rainey days in a row again
Koldsimer
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I think the battery grade question could easily be answered by Signature Solar. Shouldn't they be able to get certificates from the manufacturer that give all the information one could ever want?
And that cell imbalance Robby mentioned is exactly what i experience.
And that cell imbalance Robby mentioned is exactly what i experience.
Koldsimer
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I believe the "heavy load" issue was that some users were experiencing their batteries cutting off and going into alarm on as little as 30a. It was disappointing because the literature at Signature said the battery was capable of 100a discharge and that seems to be the number they quote regularly. Seems the 30a "recommendation" is actually a hard limit for some users and i can see how that is problematic. I would never buy one of these batteries if i knew it would only power 1500w loads.
Quattrohead
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I am not saying what I think either, I already served 3 months in diysolarforum jail for being too opinionated.Kornbread are ya trying to get me banned
I think Will has valid concerns.
I could have sworn you specifically stated that they were used cells. I noticed that multiple posts you made are edited now:
Did you remove the term "used cells" because I remember reading that and instantly wondering where you got that information from. And the cells they use are better than the cheaper cells available. There are cells that get less cycles and those are not being used. I know you can make a battery safe with the cheap cells, I think everyone knows that. And those cells are new. But they and sok and others are using half decent cells.
Trophy battery is using catl and eve cells if you don't want the ones in the other packs.
Something no one seems to understand here is I need proof to make a video. I was going to make a video last night on these concerns but I'm still not getting the evidence I need besides the video just posted yesterday. And that setup had awful wiring and would make me look like an idiot. I need real evidence if you want me to help you. Mainly I will point out that signature solar does not have a pre charge startup procedure in their manual. And that some people are having issues.
Yes I am seeing that with multiple expensive and high quality batteries and I don't see it as a problem any longer. You get unlucky with matching sometimes. What we need for evidence is imbalance large enough where you are not pulling full capacity. Can you post your capacity test results here in the thread?
Koldsimer
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Why don't we just ask Signature directly? @SignatureSolarJames @RichardFromEG4
Are the cells used on your lifepower and LL model batteries true grade a cells? Can you provide documentation to support this?
How does the pre-charge function work in your batteries? All the details you can provide would be appreciated.
Are the cells used on your lifepower and LL model batteries true grade a cells? Can you provide documentation to support this?
How does the pre-charge function work in your batteries? All the details you can provide would be appreciated.
may be @sten can help with that. Don't want to put you under the spotlight, but you showed the issue without pre-charge on post #77 (https://diysolarforum.com/threads/eg4-lifepower4-battery-is-ticking-on-start.41681/post-561109). If you still have the inverter, it'll be much appreciated if you do the precharge process (take one for the team)
Will, my conclusion is the some or many of the basic version of SG battery is unable to handle any kind of quick Increase (Not INRUSH) current. So to precharge or to run a hot water kittle, the BMS ticks
Koldsimer
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I have not performed a full capacity test. I have ran the batteries into single digit soc and they all were within 2%. The voltage was inline with the indicated soc. Overall, i have been happy with their performance to this point. My issue was the lifepower battery not starting my inverter when every other battery i tried worked instantly.
The cell imbalance and large mv deviation is really more of an annoyance and i hope it doesn't get worse with time.
Two of my four modules show much closer overall cell balance so i guess it's really just a roll of the dice on what you get in each module.
for me to do a clean test, it'll require setting up a bench, disconnecting the Tesla battery module, move the inverter which is hell heavy. the process will take like 2 hours
SG are keeping low profile right now. i've sent them an email on Monday, they forwarded it to techs, and no response. I called them @ 6:40 am PST, their hold time is extensive with an option to call back, it's now past 8 am with no callback.
If i don't hear from them by the end of the day, i'll go thru the Credit card dispute process
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No, the capacitor charging is not controlled from the inverter, he is just showing that the inverter starts up automatically-- with no user intervention.
Start it the way he does-- with the inverter breaker closed, just closing the battery breaker and not touching anything else. Wait a minute and start your kettle.
You have another potential problem-- your wire gauge looks a little small. What size are they and how long? That could explain why it drops out around 40A (do not use inrush mode when looking at that current).
Yes there is natural variation between cells and batching 16 is difficult. Less cells in series the better chance of matching them. What we need to see is your capacity test results because that's all that matters. If you're not pulling full capacity because the cell deviation is bad, and the BMS can't keep up with it's passive dissipatative balancer, then I need to mention it in a video. But I need a .2C rate capacity test with a shunt. So post it here.
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