Harvesting A123 / 26650 cels from used battery bank to build a DYI Powerbank

[Paul.Barrette]

I would like for some of you to chime in here....

I'm thinking of buying 12 of these banks: https://i.ebayimg.com/thumbs/images/g/4WoAAOSw~ZJbg~~B/s-l225.jpg

These banks have 96 of the following USED cels: https://www.batteryspace.com/a123-l...r26650m1b---un38-3-passed-and-iec-listed.aspx

They are LiFePo4

I would have a total 1152 cels and they would cost me a total of 400 USD

I would like to rip the packs a part and test each cel.

I would reconfigure the entire bank as 64P16s.

I would need 1024 good cels giving me 147Ah at 48 volts.

Thinking of putting a Batrium cel balancer and a 48 volt split phase MPP all in one box when I am done with the new battery bank

Any thoughts??? a part from telling me that this will be a long process.

 

[zorlig]

Don't forget to add all the other pieces you need to the cost. Why would you do this?

 

[Paul.Barrette]

Oh for sure... just the cables will cost me a lot... I konow I will need more

I am doing this to 'replace' a gas generator fed panel I use when we lose electricity here in Canada.

When I lose electricity, I switch a special breaker to flip from grid to an external source (generator in this case), start up a 3500 watt generator that powers up the essentials of my house. It powers: My well pump (240 volt), freezer, kitchen lights and receptacles, fridge and air ex-changer. I do not need heat since I heat my house using a wood heater stove

I would like to have this panel run all the time on battery with the cells I described above. The MPP would charge the batteries via solar and also get whatever is missing off grid tie if needed. Finally, I would like to be able to attach a smaller generator to the MPP to charge the batteries in the event of a prolonged outage.

 

[zorlig]

Sorry I mean, why would you want to build a battery pack using used cells like this, taking all the time to do it when you can buy some of the big LIPOs new from China and build it in a day? If you look around the board that is what most people are doing. What I'm wondering is if after adding up all the extra costs from doing the small cells, what is the margin that makes this worthwhile for you?

 

[Paul.Barrette]

600$ USD per 100 Ah roughly for new cels vs 160$ here + the cost of nickel strips and copper wire... let's say 200$

A third of the price + it's better for the environment