I wasted a lot of money following your utube for beginners

[dustystars]

Maybe you should let people know there are full battery pack kits out there before telling us what we need to build one from scratch. I wasted $1750 on 4 lithium batteries before I found out you can purchase a entire pre built power pack for$1,950 fr o m big batteries.com

 

[ghostwriter66]

I will say that I have seen a ton of ppl on this forum tell folks to PLEASE let us know what you are thinking about purchasing BEFORE you do in order to make sure you are getting the best deal...

I would be very curious if you could post the link to where you got the $1750 LiFePO4s and the one at bigbatteries.com you are speaking about because I cannot find a www.bigbatteries.com ......

 

[Wreckclues]

I will say that I have seen a ton of ppl on this forum tell folks to PLEASE let us know what you are thinking about purchasing BEFORE you do in order to make sure you are getting the best deal...

I would be very curious if you could post the link to where you got the $1750 LiFePO4s and the one at bigbatteries.com you are speaking about because I cannot find a www.bigbatteries.com ......

Will just did a video featuring their 24V Powerwall model

Home

Big Battery offers the best Lithium-Ion powered batteries at the best cost and are applicable to solar, RV, golf carts, industrial machinery, and more!

bigbattery.com

 

[cotrailhead]

Wow. I make decisions to spend money and then blame others for my decision. You did a certain amount of research, pulled the trigger then did more research. I did the same but never thought that was someone else’s fault. Interesting perspective.

 

[dustystars]

I will say that I have seen a ton of ppl on this forum tell folks to PLEASE let us know what you are thinking about purchasing BEFORE you do in order to make sure you are getting the best deal...

I would be very curious if you could post the link to where you got the $1750 LiFePO4s and the one at bigbatteries.com you are speaking about because I cannot find a www.bigbatteries.com ......

Batteries I got off of ebay. Just bigbatteries.com no www and scrole down page

 

[Dzl]

Is this post directed at Will or directed at this forum in general or both? In either case, you should be doing your own research and your own due diligence when making big purchases like this, and own your decision when make one.

Will does a great job of simplifying and making accessible somewhat complex topics, but his videos should be the starting point for your learning/research/design not the only research you do before buying.

 

[nosys70]

it is just a disguised ad for the same site. troller

 

[Steve_S]

Sounds to me like someone got excited and subsequently emotionally UP of forging ahead and doing things and parked the logical, common sense non-emotional brain, aside temporarily and now having regrets. My emotional UP'ness which disconnected my logical brain cost me $3500 USD and it did not take much effort once I got too excited to buy...

Have since self implemented a 3 day cooling period BEFORE I by a damned thing now and always rechecking "The Plan". One must always remember: "If you fail to plan, plan to fail" well at least putting the wallet on a diet.

 

[ghostwriter66]

Batteries I got off of ebay. Just bigbatteries.com no www and scrole down page

Maybe its just me but when I go to bigbatteries.com there is NO URL or site ...

 

[ghostwriter66]

Sounds to me like someone got excited and subsequently emotionally UP of forging ahead and doing things and parked the logical, common sense non-emotional brain, aside temporarily and now having regrets. My emotional UP'ness which disconnected my logical brain cost me $3500 USD and it did not take much effort once I got too excited to buy...

Have since self implemented a 3 day cooling period BEFORE I by a damned thing now and always rechecking "The Plan". One must always remember: "If you fail to plan, plan to fail" well at least putting the wallet on a diet.

YES @Steve_S but the issue is that YOU have caused me to buy stuff I really didn't need because my 3-DAY cooling off period is more like 3-hours and allot of the stuff that you post just seems to cool to pass up .. LOL .. BTW I ordered one of those 50A 3-50V power supplies from Alibaba the other night that you listed ... should be here in a few weeks ... cheers ..

 

[ghostwriter66]

it is just a disguised ad for the same site. troller

Well if it is he is spelling the URL incorrectly ... LOL

 

[offgriddle]

I watch Will's videos then do what I want to anyway!

But seriously, Will's information is solid. Please be aware that solar technology is a VERY deep and ever changing field that requires one's due diligence of research, knowledge of basic electricity and tools and sometimes trial and error in order to successfully achieve your DIY objective.

There are also professional vendors available that are happy to help you with your system.

 

[Steve_S]

YES @Steve_S but the issue is that YOU have caused me to buy stuff I really didn't need because my 3-DAY cooling off period is more like 3-hours and allot of the stuff that you post just seems to cool to pass up .. LOL .. BTW I ordered one of those 50A 3-50V power supplies from Alibaba the other night that you listed ... should be here in a few weeks ... cheers ..

My Goodness your excitable with flashy blingy goodies LOL... OK, so am I but I've had a few more decades to learn to throttle that and still at times it's hard. Mine finally shipped out this morning, things are slowly starting to catch up. BTW, I didn't cause you to do anything, your in control of yourself (but if the company is willing to spend it, why not) just don't do it with your personal cash.

 

[LarryC]

I am never sure if I am getting the best deal or doing it right, but I know I got to start somewhere and it all is a learning experience and always know that there will be better as time goes by, and just hope I got it right.

 

[offgriddle]

I am never sure if I am getting the best deal or doing it right, but I know I got to start somewhere and it all is a learning experience and always know that there will be better as time goes by, and just hope I got it right.

You'll catch on an catch up. Because I am a mere mortal, I have to keep it simple, be very methodical, study, watch for Will's informative posts and videos and read the daily diy trials and tribulations shared carefully by those with proficient technical writing skills. I also do not let myself be discouraged by the sunami of anacronyms and jargon employed by some of our beloved techie chest beaters! 73's

 

[Bob B]

Maybe you should let people know there are full battery pack kits out there before telling us what we need to build one from scratch. I wasted $1750 on 4 lithium batteries before I found out you can purchase a entire pre built power pack for$1,950 fr o m big batteries.com

If you built 4 lithium batteries for $1750 .... it doesn't sound like you wasted your money.

I ordered some cells back in January that was a great deal at the time .... now there are better deals available. The ladscape is constantly changing.

 

[Mac6792]

I'm pretty sure the Op's post was sarcastic. If not then I don't get what the complaint is. For 200 bucks more it could pre-built?

 

[Dzl]

I'm pretty sure the Op's post was sarcastic. If not then I don't get what the complaint is. For 200 bucks more it could pre-built?

Hard to say without OP giving more info. $200 seems like a reasonable maybe even low upcharge for a prebuilt with BMS and enclosure.

 

[Stupid Monkey]

And how does the quality compare?

I looked at various pre built options before buy new, grade A cells and building my own. Some of the pre built stuff has mismatched cells, old cells etc ....

Will vids and this forum are THE BEST source of information available that I've found anyway - gave me the confidence to give a DIY powerwall a build as the pre built ones did not appeal.

 

[Steve_S]

Case in Point, the ShunBin "Prebuilt Pack" 24V/400AH which cost me $3000 USD, then another 400 or so to FIX IT. Made up of 16 mixed 174AH cells using a Series/parallel internally to ghost out the weak cells. See link in my signature for extended info on that. In reality it's 350AH as it sits now, I will more than likely break it up into two 175AH packs and eliminate the ghosting, unfortunately, I may have to get a couple of replacement 174AH cells which may be tricky, as they are uncommon.

Now I have 16, 280AH cells coming from XUBA (link in signature to thread) to make up two 24V/280AH packs. With Shipping they are $2400 USD delivered to my door with busbars & bolts as well... BMS for each pack $150 (using Chargery BMS8T-300A) and one 150A fuse for $25 ea.
so for $2750 I will have 24V 560AH (13Kwh)

 

[DThames]

I chuckle when Will says, "Super cheap" and know it all depends on your prospective. I would rather spend $100 on parts and make something that I understand (and can repair) than to spend $100 for something off the shelf with quality that I am not sure of. Under no conditions would I say I wasted my money on self built projects when something equal could be had for the same price. Maybe I wasted my time, but the money on the parts was well spent. The education was also worth something.

 

[dustystars]

Is this post directed at Will or directed at this forum in general or both? In either case, you should be doing your own research and your own due diligence when making big purchases like this, and own your decision when make one.

Will does a great job of simplifying and making accessible somewhat complex topics, but his videos should be the starting point for your learning/research/design not the only research you do before buying.

I posted this because if you are going to tell someone how to build a setup you should let them know that there are Easter ways using kits instead of scratch and I came on this forum for some useful help not comments and if you have nothing useful to add then mind your own. business you negative comments are not helpful

 

[Dzl]

I'm sorry if you feel misled, or if you feel like people are being negative (I may have been a bit blunt maybe even a bit defensive).

Its worth noting that the name of this forum is DIY (Do it yourself) Solar. And I truly don't mean to be rude, but the most basic minimal amount of research would've turned up scores of prebuilt LFP batteries, and a bit more research might've turned up a good deal on a prebuilt pack. They have been discussed many times on this forum. And there are a ton for sale on Aliexpress, as well as places like techdirect and probably ebay.

In either case, this is a DIY forum, members here are not customer service reps or sales reps, we are just people, and most of us like the DIY aspect so that tends to be the focus. And from my recollection Will generally mentions in his videos on DIY LFP packs that building your own pack is not necessarily for beginners. Maybe I'm taking your comment the wrong way, but it feels like you came here blaming Will/us for a purchase that you now regret due to lack of research, if this was not your intent my apologies, its hard to gauge tone/meaning on the internet.

Perhaps you should start a thread on the prebuilt battery pack you found so others that might be in a similar situation to you will know about this option. It may be a valuable contribution to the forum and our shared knowledge.

On another note, what makes you regret your decision? You paid $200 less than the prebuilt pack, that's a fair price, the $200 extra for prebuilt is fair also, but you have no idea the quality of components they use in it. If I were in your shoes, I don't think I'd be dissapointed in what I purchased.

 

[Will Prowse]

Oh man, interesting thread here. Yeah, I am just as lost as you guys are at times. The price will change by the hour. I have had prices change an hour before I post my video, and people are upset that it is higher/lower than my video stated. It is hard to keep up with.

Sometimes I will buy 10x watt meters/adapter/bms etc, and they work perfect. Then one person will complain that it failed, and be mad at me. It really is difficult to find consistency here. I think the market is still maturing, and we are all learning what to look for, what to test.

Whether you see a battery in my video or not, test it yourself. We should all be doing capacity tests. That will give you the best idea of the health of your cells. Just because it says "grade A" doesn't mean they are grade a cells :D

And yes, expense is relative. And battery addiction is a real thing. I have so many batteries at this point, and I still want to find some unknown cells to build a nice, beautiful LiFePO4 bank.

I am spoiled rotten with my fortune cells. I use them all the time, and they are so strong. I used a fuel driver impact gun last night to tighten the terminals down without issue. They use the cells in underground mining equipment and subways. I know there are cheaper cells, but I like to use higher quality, vibration tolerant cells. The cheap CATL terminals do not look that nice. I saw one person complain of them falling off on them, and dacian has said they are spot welded on. They are lightweight though.

 

[JoeHam]

I am never sure if I am getting the best deal or doing it right, but I know I got to start somewhere and it all is a learning experience and always know that there will be better as time goes by, and just hope I got it right.

Sounds like life in general to me ! ?