The JK app allows you to calibrate the overall battery V. So measure the V and then calibrate higher.
JKBMS Inverter Edition Problems/Issues | No Support / Help to fix major issues. - DO NOT BUY ! Warning (as of Oct.12.2024)
- Thread starter Steve_S
- Start date
SolarReaper
New Member
Your Vol. Cell RCV and SOC-100% Vol. are different on the two screenshots?
As is the Continued charge Current settings, and the various temperature cut off settings.
i was just pointed to this thread, sorry havent had a chance to read all 56 pages yet. is this still a do not buy BMS?
i currently have one running and it seems to be doing ok, but if there are serious issues, i still have time to return it via amazon.
thanks!
i currently have one running and it seems to be doing ok, but if there are serious issues, i still have time to return it via amazon.
thanks!
The issues are largely resolved in the latest firmware, 15.38. There are no safety issues and BMS performs its core function fine. The issue was the promise of a BMS that was supposed to communicate with your inverter in closed loop. For that to work effectively it needs to maintain the state of charge, and it will rapidly lose accuracy if you don't fully charge frequently. Even 1-2 days and I will see a divergence of anywhere between 5-15% against something I do trust (shunt) for state of charge.
Otherwise, I don't think there's a reason not to use it. As someone else noted though, if you don't need closed loop comms with your inverter, there's a cheaper version of the JK that works fine. I have a couple of those as well.
What do you mean closed loop? My bms does talk to the inverter via can, but not sure closed or open loop.
I do have some questions about some of the settings on it, can't seem to get my battery fully charged, one of the cells will hit my over voltage before the rest get a chance to balance, and it cuts off the charging
Closed loop is talking to your inverter over CAN or RS485. The inverter and BMS communicate, charging is governed by the BMS.
Open loop is using voltage based control. So for me, even though I could have the BMS communicate with my inverters, I decided not to do that after a bunch of testing. I have a target bulk voltage - 55.6V, absorb at 55.2 for 1 hour, and float at 53.6. (Since my system is in continuous use, I don't 'float' much, I'm either charging or discharging).
New android app on Andy's google drive https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1uFhOtuyyUoMLVW3ow3IAklJLhkZXiARh
Vavauan Polynesian
New Member
and also a latest video on his channel - review of NEW hardware version of JK inverter BMS (v 19 !)
with a NEW advanced screen ! That looks promising, I would wait for that to be available to purchase and would purchase directly from the manufacturer. (not from resellers). But, unfortunately, the new version of the app (5.0.1) only supports android phones on arm64v8 processors and anyway does not work on my v8-based phone.... I don't know may be we need to buy a newest phone as well to make it work... Or better the developers say which phone they are tested the app on, so we buy that phone without guessing....
Vavauan Polynesian
New Member
We need to find the official shop or website of JiKong themselves (not jkbms.net or .com which are reseller's) and order from them with , potentially, support available And if they would accept only wholesale orders then we possibly establish a co-operative buyers organization and collect individual orders then place a wholesale order to JiKong. How about that idea? Then to have a technical support via our own representative. A tech guy who collect questions/requests and communicate with JiKong's engineers on behalf.
update: https://jikongbms.com/ - this is looks like it ?
And if they would accept only wholesale orders then we possibly establish a co-operative buyers organization and collect individual orders then place a wholesale order to JiKong. How about that idea? Then to have a technical support via our own representative. A tech guy who collect questions/requests and communicate with JiKong's engineers on behalf.update: https://jikongbms.com/ - this is looks like it ?
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We need to find the official shop or website of JiKong themselves (not jkbms.net or .com which are reseller's) and order from them with , potentially, support available
This is, as far as I know, their official Aliexpress store:
interesting, you feel like the bms controls are inadequate? i've found it difficult to charge my pack to 100% so far due to imbalance in the cells, one of the cells hits my voltage limit while the rest are like .25v away, so it turns off charging before being able to get the other cells up to level.
Steve_S
Emperor Of Solar
Watched Andy's latest video with V19 HARDWARE - Interesting. New Screen doesn't fit current openings if upgrading from the older Large Display so it means "cutting" the case to install it... How many people will want to do that or are even capable of doing it (tools/equipment or ability). Passing mention that V14/V15 works with it (good) but ZILCH on the Firmware for the V14 & 15 so are we being ORPHANED ?
Dunno about anyone else but I'm not about to spend more on a "maybe" and replace my fleet of BMS' again... Especially not as "fix" for their problems which they haven't fixed as yet... Andy didn't mention if the SOC accuracy is even working or not etc but that will follow as he indicated he'll be doing a few vids... Oh well no rush and NO FAITH in anything forwarded by JiKong/Andy - been down this Garden Path already...
Dunno about anyone else but I'm not about to spend more on a "maybe" and replace my fleet of BMS' again... Especially not as "fix" for their problems which they haven't fixed as yet... Andy didn't mention if the SOC accuracy is even working or not etc but that will follow as he indicated he'll be doing a few vids... Oh well no rush and NO FAITH in anything forwarded by JiKong/Andy - been down this Garden Path already...
What would you replace them with though, I'm not sure there is anything better out there. JK at least does release updated firmware regularly and overall mine are working well, just having troubles getting them to go 100%, most of them hit 99% (like .05 volts off of 100% voltage), I am sure this is a config issue or an inverter issue with closed loop. I may switch them all to open loop to test out that way.
Agree 100%. Yay, I screen I barely look at. And if you watch the video, basic stuff that should've been carry over is broken in firmware. Doesn't give me much confidence.
Mine are working, and they would protect if bad things happen. But the features I hoped for, well I've given up. And I'm not spending money to replace them with new stuff.
Steve_S
Emperor Of Solar
Maybe, you did not notice but I started this thread after a lot of bull fooey with JK. I also edited their previous manual's & docs and was heavily involved like others who got cold turkey'd by "the vendors & corporate".
The firmware updates have been FARCICAL and did not correct several issues including SOC (but that's partly due to poor hardware design & crappy components that cannot register anything bveloow 3.5A in.out).
I run Open Loop (not connected to Inverter) as I do NOT use a HF All-In-One as I am component based with separate SCC, Inverter/Charger and so on. SOC Read is still important but it is woefully poor. Thank goodness that my SmartShunt handles all of that on the Charging end (most important) end of the business. From March through to October, I do hit FLOAT on average by 14:00hrs daily.
No One is PUBLICLY supporting JK products, a few vendors played games and tried to portray themselves as "the" supporters & developers. JiKong (the OEM) has never sold retail and have never ever posted firmware, phone apps, etc and in reality is unlikely to do so without someone else "fronting" that side... It won;t be HankZor or NAMI's fiends & Pals again but who, what, where, when & HOW any future support or interaction with owners/clients is unknown and unclear.
Andy is "okay" but he is NOT the be all end all he tried to project... He only does Victron <-> JK tests and nothing else cause he doesn't have anything else... If you wander through this overly long thread, you will see the full pile unfurled and how so many have struggled to sort things out and make it work, of which no more than 5% every got back to JK either directly or Andy.
While this new V19 shows "POTENTIAL" there is nothing really concrete or solid in any way to form any conclusion... There was HUGE potential for V14, then again for V15 hardware too and well now they are Orphaned partly... What is out there TODAY to replace JKBMS with built-in Active Balancing that is Closed Loop Comms Capable with Accurate SOC is minimal for people doing DIY / Home ESS. YES there ar alternates that will do so but at 5x the cost because "they own the niche" and even they are targetted for EV & Other but not ESS.
Final Note: JiKong sent a Big Box of Goodies to Andy for $0 ! He "WILL" splash a lot of love due to that.... BTDT Seen it before a few times over & over again... Temper ones self excitement when looking at his preset prejudices that coe from that...
Steve_S
Emperor Of Solar
Exactly, my fleet of 8 BMS' V15 Hardware work OK in Open Loop (as I am not running an AIO) as I an NOT dependent on the BMS reporting accurate SOC. But also from end of March to October they get to 100% almost every day and the packs are always balanced tight (I allow for 0.005mv deviation not the default 0.010mv).
hogback
Solar Enthusiast
My lot of 8 v14 have been working fine for about a year. Checked this morning before the sun hit the panels and half had a deviation of 1mV and the other half 0mV.
If my JK inverter BMS goes belly up I'll replace it with either a JBD or maybe the Overkill Solar Pathfinder. I'm running my JK BMS in open loop.
The two JBD BMS that I bought through Overkill Solar were bulletproof and never needed firmware updates (which weren't available anyhow). Balancing was good enough that I never saw issues.
The Pathfinder BMS is not one that I've seen out in the field much, even by beta testers, so the jury is still out. The latest release date is April 30th. I hope Overkill Solar survives because they were good at supporting those who bought from them.
The two JBD BMS that I bought through Overkill Solar were bulletproof and never needed firmware updates (which weren't available anyhow). Balancing was good enough that I never saw issues.
The Pathfinder BMS is not one that I've seen out in the field much, even by beta testers, so the jury is still out. The latest release date is April 30th. I hope Overkill Solar survives because they were good at supporting those who bought from them.
felipemaster
New Member
Anybody knows why i can't see charge status and charge status time in the app bluetooth? App version 5.0.1, Hardware 15, software 15.38, android 14. JK-PB2A16S15P
The BMS must have address 00 - main.
With the new charging logic at v15.38 and following settings:
RCV=3.45V(55.2V)
RCV time = 0.3h(18min)
RFV=3.4V(54.4V)
RFV time = 2h
Emerg. time = 30min (what is this??)
SOC100%=3.4V
Can you explain this graph? Why is it entering float at 2PM and only for half hour? I tried putting 60min in Emerg. time setting but it will not accept anything higher than 30min.
RCV=3.45V(55.2V)
RCV time = 0.3h(18min)
RFV=3.4V(54.4V)
RFV time = 2h
Emerg. time = 30min (what is this??)
SOC100%=3.4V
Can you explain this graph? Why is it entering float at 2PM and only for half hour? I tried putting 60min in Emerg. time setting but it will not accept anything higher than 30min.
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Without knowing what else is happening in your system, I'm guessing a bit. (The 'what else' would be what loads you have and if they are using battery or being sustained by solar), this looks like an almost normal Lifepo4 charge curve with some weird rebuik/float behavior. You peaked the first time after 12:00, went to absorb (constant voltage). Dropped below 54V (load?), and the inverter rebulked then went into float, then rebulked again. It's definitely not honoring the 2hr float timer.
Emergency time is not applicable or something you want to use unless it's...an emergency. Turning that on when you're at your low voltage cutoff will let the battery dip into potentially damaging voltages. If you were in a situation where you needed every drop of energy, this gives you the ability to bypass LV cutoff.
is there somewhere that has a list of explanations for all those abbreviations?
I'm sure there is, but I'll just type them here to make it easy:
RCV = Requested Charge Voltage
RFV = Requested Float Voltage
SOC 100% voltage = State of Charge reset to 100% (You want this higher, more like 3.48V or so). I'll see if I can screenshot mine. Andy from Off Grid Garage has a good set of videos explaining these as well.
Start here. If you search his channel you'll find several.
Here's my settings:
batmax
New Member
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2021
- Messages
- 19
do you have smart sleep on or off ?