Thanks for the update. I have the same Varicore 310 AH cells about the same time frame and ended up with about 287 AH as well. My BMS said still have 7.5 percent capacity which would have been 304 AH. I also started about 3.5v each. I can not complain. I do have a few cells that seem to charge quicker so getting a good top balance was a pain. I also had a couple that took forever to get to voltage. The resistance seemed fairly similar. So it must have been they had more capacity.?. The Daly smart BMS seemed to bring them down together but going up did not seem to do as good. I hope that does not mess me up keeping them balanced. Looking at a separate active balancer. Just think. Somewhere between 13kw and 15kw 16s. Just need about 3-4 more banks of that. ?? may take a while$$$
Hey Jim! Sounds like you got decent value. I had similar struggles initially with balancing, but I think it was my own learning curve.
I found a few things were helpful:
1) Make sure that you have solid connections with busbars/higher gauge wire when balancing.
2) Bring the entire pack up to 3.6v in parallel and hold it there until the current is at a trickle, then let it rest overnight.
3) The voltage will drop (to as low as 3.4 volts), then recharge it back up to 3.6v.
4) Let it sit for 12 hours more, then disconnect the paralleled cells and measure each voltage. They should be identical to the hundredths, and at least 3.4v each, any less and the balance is unreliable.
5) Connect in series and set the charge parameter to ABSORPTION: 54.4v. It is far more important that the cells are balanced at 3.4v than at 3.65v, as there are some cells which will spike at the extremes.
Hope this was constructive, best of luck with your set up.
Care to share your inverter info and application, etc?