Inq720
Odysseus, expert on the Siren's call
I wanted to thank this forum for all the support. Especially Michael B. Caro for his infinite patience in my first purchase with China during extended shipping delays and of course Will for all his great video tutorials. NO way could I have done this without those. Here are my almost final results for a Lishen 272 Ah 12V battery to be used as the sole house battery in a small sailboat. It will mostly power marine electronics, lights, USB powered items, a small refrigerator, microwave and possibly an Inverter hot plate. Most of these items, I have tested and reviewed on this forum in case people are interested.
Standard series configuration with compression boards and Overkill Solar BMS.
As I am very concerned about the large short-circuit currents with dropped tools in a busy heeling boat, I went to extensive lengths to protect from any accidents. Here, 3D printed top caps that shield the buss-bars and isolate the tension rods from the cell posts. Kind of like the cosmetic plastic engine covers over modern V8 BMW's and Mercedes.
More 3D printed plastic brackets to support the various parts on the electronics side. I also decided to make the 150 Amp circuit breaker part of the battery so that I could encase the unprotected positive terminal in plastic and thus the only exposed short risk is through the circuit breaker. Also note the positive and negative terminal are orthogonal so loosened cables can't rotate into each other and short.
The only thing left is to make a box.
Again thank you for the great learning experience. My total outlay was about $650. To get a turn-key solution, I'd be closer to $3000 than $2000 and this way, I know enough to diagnose, fix and replace cells or other parts. I also feel indoctrinated in the "LiFePO4" charging strategies versus the AGM typical of the boating industry and look forward to this being a family heirloom passed down to children instead of swapped out every three or four years.
Standard series configuration with compression boards and Overkill Solar BMS.
As I am very concerned about the large short-circuit currents with dropped tools in a busy heeling boat, I went to extensive lengths to protect from any accidents. Here, 3D printed top caps that shield the buss-bars and isolate the tension rods from the cell posts. Kind of like the cosmetic plastic engine covers over modern V8 BMW's and Mercedes.
More 3D printed plastic brackets to support the various parts on the electronics side. I also decided to make the 150 Amp circuit breaker part of the battery so that I could encase the unprotected positive terminal in plastic and thus the only exposed short risk is through the circuit breaker. Also note the positive and negative terminal are orthogonal so loosened cables can't rotate into each other and short.
The only thing left is to make a box.
Again thank you for the great learning experience. My total outlay was about $650. To get a turn-key solution, I'd be closer to $3000 than $2000 and this way, I know enough to diagnose, fix and replace cells or other parts. I also feel indoctrinated in the "LiFePO4" charging strategies versus the AGM typical of the boating industry and look forward to this being a family heirloom passed down to children instead of swapped out every three or four years.
