Fire breaks out at Millvale Food & Energy Hub
Firefighters responded to a building that houses the Sprezzatura restaurant and 412 Food Rescue on Sherman Street in Millvale.
www.wtae.com
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Local Pittsburgh Solar Battery Fire
- Thread starter railcon56
- Start date
www.wtae.com
Could be cylindrical cells as well.
On
there is an image showing 1 battery slightly more intact, but I can't read the label.
The original linked article is unavailable for me due to some regio lock.
To mee this looks like simpliphi which appears to be LiFePO4
simpliphipower.com
On
The original linked article is unavailable for me due to some regio lock.
To mee this looks like simpliphi which appears to be LiFePO4
PHI 1.4™ Battery | SimpliPhi Power
Click to Download PDF Specification Sheet Click to Download PDF Product Brochure SimpliPhi Power’s PHI 1.4™ Battery utilizes the safest Lithium-Ion chemistry available, Lithium Ferro Phosphate (LFP).
simpliphipower.com
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timselectric
If I can do it, you can do it.
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Check Simpliphi batteries off the list. lol
Not sure what type of battery chemistry they are using. They claim lithium "ferro" phosphate.
Not sure what "ferro" is. They also say lithium ion.
And LFP. But the F in LFP stands for iron.
So there's definitely something weird going on.
Not sure what type of battery chemistry they are using. They claim lithium "ferro" phosphate.
Not sure what "ferro" is. They also say lithium ion.
And LFP. But the F in LFP stands for iron.
So there's definitely something weird going on.
Solar Guppy
Red Cobra Guppy
The PHI battery is not UL9540 rated as stand-a-lone. One needs the rated enclosure for that.
Good lesson for the DYI battery builders on why UL9540 matters
Good lesson for the DYI battery builders on why UL9540 matters
Ferro would be iron or LFP which is a lithium ion type battery.
Looks like a LOT of dc cabling bundled together. Odds are there was a lot of load, and the wiring failed causing a short, and the batteries dumped power into the cabling, once the system started burning, the plastic and electrolyte burns, and ya have a nice big fire.
Looking over the photo, the boxes up top are far more damaged than the batteries themselves… I know hot air rises, but wow, far more damage above the batteries than at them.
Quattrohead
Solar Wizard
I see 10+ potential problems with this setup. But of course, the power companies and haters will jump on this.
I see the Sunny Boy is still truckin though !!!
I see the Sunny Boy is still truckin though !!!
Solar Guppy
Red Cobra Guppy
Updated, it is a design flaw, see below
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Solar Guppy
Red Cobra Guppy
Updated, it is a design flaw, see below
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Quattrohead
Solar Wizard
Buss bars people… yeesh! I can’t imagine the amount of magnetic fields interacting with all those bundled DC cables like that.
Those poor batteries.
Those poor batteries.
timselectric
If I can do it, you can do it.
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2022
- Messages
- 18,527
It was a nice looking system.
Just a bad battery choice. And possibly some missing safety protection.
Just a bad battery choice. And possibly some missing safety protection.
Solar Guppy
Red Cobra Guppy
Reviewing the 4.5kw Sunny Island and the 1.4 PHI batteries there appears to be a design flaw in the installation
The Sunnyboy 4.5kw each can charge at 110 amp continuous / 140 peak, yet the PHI batteries are 28 ah maximum each so in 5p2s specified would be 140 amps continuous.
So the grid charges the batteries at 220 amp but the batteries can't handle more than 140 amp in that configuration. Add in the issue with wire length differences ( the manufacture warns against this ) would allow more current to one battery and it's a time bomb.
Someone didn't add up the pair of inverters charging ....
And to why so many battery's failed, there is likely a cascade effect. As the initial battery finally by either fire damage or OCP ( thermal trip ) is off line, the remaining batteries connected are subject to even more current.
I added the image below and the battery pair with the shortest run to the combiner ( in the box above the batteries ) clearly shows the most damage, pointing to uneven wire length as a contributing factor to the design flaw in maximum continuous current exceeded.
The Sunnyboy 4.5kw each can charge at 110 amp continuous / 140 peak, yet the PHI batteries are 28 ah maximum each so in 5p2s specified would be 140 amps continuous.
So the grid charges the batteries at 220 amp but the batteries can't handle more than 140 amp in that configuration. Add in the issue with wire length differences ( the manufacture warns against this ) would allow more current to one battery and it's a time bomb.
Someone didn't add up the pair of inverters charging ....
And to why so many battery's failed, there is likely a cascade effect. As the initial battery finally by either fire damage or OCP ( thermal trip ) is off line, the remaining batteries connected are subject to even more current.
I added the image below and the battery pair with the shortest run to the combiner ( in the box above the batteries ) clearly shows the most damage, pointing to uneven wire length as a contributing factor to the design flaw in maximum continuous current exceeded.
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Unjustly…Yeah this was a big story here. They scared a lot of people.
Likely none of this was inspected.
Huge mess, not the batteries fault.
SignatureSolarJames
Try Solar, the Grid will always take you back
interesting. would like the report
