Luyuan battery case

[Alarchist]

Those that have added heaters, where did you put them? On the bottom or center side seems like the only options for heater pads? As with all other premade boxes doesnt look like theres anywhere you could insulate unless you go outside the box. Though putting the epoxy fiberglass sheets in between a heating pad and the metal case would probably help a lot in prevent thermal transfer loss there at least.

I looked at the DC heat pads and have the heat function on the BMS but gave up on the idea due to the hassle for each box at 24v. As I'd made an insulated box to house my 3 batteries, which are outside in a steel chest, i just bought a single 30w plant heating pad and slipped it in-between the boxes, it works well to keep them 15°-18°c unless charging or warmer outside.
Amazon heat mat

 

[S Davis]

One thing to keep in mind is the batteries will charge and discharge differently if they are at different temperatures, this can affect battery cycles from warmer batteries to colder. I have two 280ah that run about a 3c difference in temperature, over a year the lower temperature battery has 10 less cycles on it.

 

[HRTKD]

One thing to keep in mind is the batteries will charge and discharge differently if they are at different temperatures, this can affect battery cycles from warmer batteries to colder. I have two 280ah that run about a 3c difference in temperature, over a year the lower temperature battery has 10 less cycles on it.

Good point. That's why the warming system for my 16s battery is broken into two zones. Each 8s set of cells is an independent zone that has it's own temperature sensor and warming pads.

 

[S Davis]

These are the two, one runs 10c the other about 13c. I need to add a second temp controller, I had one burn out so put both on one temperature controller, just need to add the second one back.

 

[HRTKD]

It could be a calibration issue with the temperature sensors.

 

[S Davis]

No I’ve checked, the warmer battery has the sensor and mounted behind it is my four camera mdvr that puts out a little heat. These batteries are in different compartments with space between them.

 

[Alarchist]

One thing to keep in mind is the batteries will charge and discharge differently if they are at different temperatures, this can affect battery cycles from warmer batteries to colder. I have two 280ah that run about a 3c difference in temperature, over a year the lower temperature battery has 10 less cycles on it.

I find with a single heat pad in-between all three battery boxes together inside the insulated battery chest, the lower two are the same temp and the top battery is only 1°c warmer.

 

[S Davis]

I find with a single heat pad in-between all three battery boxes together inside the insulated battery chest, the lower two are the same temp and the top battery is only 1°c warmer.

That will make them charge and discharge different, it will probably take a while. It took mine about a year for the warmer battery to gain 10 cycles on the colder one. It will affect charging and discharge on a cell level as well depending on temperature differential between cells. I am of the opinion that a heated battery box/cabinet is the best way to go and heat the air around the battery and circulate the air with a fan, this way all the batteries and cells are at the same temperature.

 

[Alarchist]

Hmm, I checked on VRM out of interest. My batteries have been running like this for 14 months, the two lower batteries are showing 125 + 126 cycles, the top generally 1°C warmer battery is showing fewer cycles at 119, (7 cycle diff in 14 Months) so opposite to your situation. Maybe something else is going on like accuracy or JK algorithm inconsistencies? Either way I'm not really worried with such a small delta, and after 3.15% of the rated 4000 cycles for my cells in 14 months, or equivalent to 108 cycles a year so 37 years to go! Or more likely calendar ageing in 10+ years, I'm not sure 1-3°C will matter!?

 

[JJJJ]

Here is a top view of Amys 12v case. Needed to go back to the basics for mounting the Bms and configuring the wiring. Also drilled a hole for the switch.

 

[Martijn]

And to add, the busbars now have shorter heat shrink. I just installed 48 cells the last few days plus have the latest version of the box. Arrived just Tuesday. The crossover busbar now is tinned.

Amy looked at the video and made improvements after I put the video out, plus Steve had his input.

My crossover busbar isn't tinned yet, I'll guess I have to put some paste under it.

Alternatively, does anyone have a (flexible) tinned version on AliExpress for that busbar?

 

[Martijn]

Anyone put a 16 box in the vertical orientation?

 

[Zwy]

My crossover busbar isn't tinned yet, I'll guess I have to put some paste under it.

Alternatively, does anyone have a (flexible) tinned version on AliExpress for that busbar?

You can make one, just buy some bar stock and nickel plate it.

 

[Zwy]

And I also show plating in a jar.

 

[Martijn]

The 35mm2 wires you get with the 16S case, are they good for the specified 200A? Has anyone tried? (I got the 200A set, with the 200A breaker and so on)

Asking cause Victron says 70mm2 cables (length < 5meter) for their 5000VA ampere inverter, which does 9000W peak power, which is only 180A at 50V, so cable sizing appears to be very different.

 

[Martijn]

You can make one, just buy some bar stock and nickel plate it.

I've got some bar, but I'd rather have something flexible, as the top might not be entirely flat compared to the other cell.

 

[Zwy]

The 35mm2 wires you get with the 16S case, are they good for the specified 200A? Has anyone tried? (I got the 200A set, with the 200A breaker and so on)

I didn't ever plan on pulling 200A but did check the wire and it is silicone with at least 105C temp rating.

Asking cause Victron says 70mm2 cables (length < 5meter) for their 5000VA ampere inverter, which does 9000W peak power, which is only 180A at 50V, so cable sizing appears to be very different.

It all depends on the cable insulation rating. Having said that, I had trouble with the EG4 100A MPPT which had 14AWG wire internally with 105C insulation but it seemed the wire or connector was a failure point.

 

[Steve_S]

The High Voltage Silicone 4-AWG wire provided (From Cell to BMS & from BMS to Terminal _AND_ from cell to Greaker to Terminal) can handle the 200A (just look at how super fine the strands are) and these are pretty short distances a max of 20cm for the longest one. DO USE the Ferules !!!

* Do note that a BMS should never actually hit MAX Amps and stay there, only for short duration bursts. A 200A BMS is capable of handling 200A but it is better to use it as Derated to 150A for continuous. Also if you have packs in Parallel they divide & share load/charge between the number of packs.

Many make assumptions about the wire while not really understanding the differences when it comes to High Performance Silicone wire compared to regular fine strand with conventional jacket.

BMS Harness Sense/Balance wires are 20 or 22AWG pending on BMS and that is fine for low volt/low amp (4V/2A) handling (handles a bit more actually).

TIP: Always Derate the BMS to leave a margin, most especially if it is a FET Based BMS. A BMS that uses Relays/Contactors is different and pending on quality of Relay/Contactor you can go to spec.

 

[740GLE]

The High Voltage Silicone 4-AWG wire provided (From Cell to BMS & from BMS to Terminal _AND_ from cell to Greaker to Terminal) can handle the 200A (just look at how super fine the strands are) and these are pretty short distances a max of 20cm for the longest one. DO USE the Ferules !!!

* Do note that a BMS should never actually hit MAX Amps and stay there, only for short duration bursts. A 200A BMS is capable of handling 200A but it is better to use it as Derated to 150A for continuous. Also if you have packs in Parallel they divide & share load/charge between the number of packs.

Many make assumptions about the wire while not really understanding the differences when it comes to High Performance Silicone wire compared to regular fine strand with conventional jacket.

BMS Harness Sense/Balance wires are 20 or 22AWG pending on BMS and that is fine for low volt/low amp (4V/2A) handling (handles a bit more actually).

TIP: Always Derate the BMS to leave a margin, most especially if it is a FET Based BMS. A BMS that uses Relays/Contactors is different and pending on quality of Relay/Contactor you can go to spec.

I second that derating is key for quality designed systems.

I’d much rather have “200a” BMS per battery with some 4awg silicone wiring but know that I have a 150a fuse, and yet my max possible draw is under the 150a which split between two banks is about 75a per battery.

Can each battery handle 200a, maybe, but I will do may hardest to keep current under 100a.

 

[hankcurt]

The last of my four Luyuan battery boxes has been delivered, so I thought I would put the time-line on here for anyone who is curious.

On Dec 27, 2024 I ordered 4 16s battery boxes with screen and JK BMS, and made my payment that day.
On January 13, 2025 Amy from Luyuan notified me that my order had been sent to the shipping company in China.
On February 8th Amy notified me that the shipment had reached the port in the USA.
By February 13th UPS had received my boxes and started updating tracking information.
On February 15th UPS delivered 3 of the 4 boxes, and updated their information to say the delivery was complete. The boxes were labeled "1 of 4", "2 of 4" and "4 of 4" by UPS, so I knew they had gotten all 4 boxes delivered to them. I told Amy that one box had gone missing. She suggested waiting a few days because she sees the larger boxes often don't get delivered together.
On February 18th the final box showed up.

So the duration from ordering to receiving the shipment, it was 53 days, with 36 of those days being the shipping from Shenzen, China to Nebraska.

The one irritating thing to be aware of is that Alibaba will automatically confirm your shipment was received 15 days after it was shipped from China. As the buyer, you can extend this by 15 days if it has not arrived, as long as you do so before the first 15 days are up. Then, if it still has not arrived, you have to ask the seller to extend it for another 15 days. Once the delivery is confirmed, Alibaba releases the payment to the seller.

As others have said, Luyuan does a good job protecting the battery boxes from shipping damage. They have foam all around and plastic corner reinforcement. The only damage I had was from the box containing the bus bars bouncing around inside the battery case and slightly bending one of the BMS mount stand-offs. This could be prevented by putting a small square of foam between the stand-offs so that the cardboard box won't get hung up on the stand-offs.

Overall, I'm very happy with this purchase experience so far. Obviously, I still have to assemble my batteries into the case and verify everything works.

 

[Martijn]

The High Voltage Silicone 4-AWG wire provided (From Cell to BMS & from BMS to Terminal _AND_ from cell to Greaker to Terminal) can handle the 200A (just look at how super fine the strands are) and these are pretty short distances a max of 20cm for the longest one. DO USE the Ferules !!!

* Do note that a BMS should never actually hit MAX Amps and stay there, only for short duration bursts. A 200A BMS is capable of handling 200A but it is better to use it as Derated to 150A for continuous. Also if you have packs in Parallel they divide & share load/charge between the number of packs.

Many make assumptions about the wire while not really understanding the differences when it comes to High Performance Silicone wire compared to regular fine strand with conventional jacket.

Yes, I ordered the 200A BMS but don't expect it to run 200A continuesly (it should be able to handle 350A for short burst, according to the spec, JK BMS). I use welding cable for all other connections which are fine stranded as well, but I guess that's the conventional wire then

Should the ferule be crimped ( I have a 6-sided die crimper ) before going into the cage of the breaker?

Thanks.

 

[Zwy]

I ordered on Dec 4th but there was a slight delay of a week building the box as she had some questions and I had not checked messages on Alibaba. Order shipped on the 21st and arrived in CA on January 23rd. Delivered to my door on the 29th. Must have been a fast ship.

 

[Steve_S]

Should the ferule be crimped ( I have a 6-sided die crimper ) before going into the cage of the breaker?

Amy has used Two Types of Ferules. A Thicker & Thinner one. The thicker ones should be crimped first as they need more "crush" when tightened in and may not unless you really reef on the screws. I believe she is only using the thinner ones now. The thinner ones can be crushed in the breaker which forms it into a D-shape with a couple of retaining divots/dimples. I have both because I got some before anyone else when she was setting up these kits and then I got more case kits afterwards...

A note on the Silicone wire VS Welding cable.
The silicone-jacketed wire uses the finest tinned strands available, even thinner than a hair. Therefore, considerably more strands make up the wire, which allows it to carry more juice. It's also a lot more expensive than welding cable.

Welding Wire has various grades and even Royal Excelene from Southwire has "Very Fine" strands for a high strand count (one of the best common welding cables avail BTW) is quite a bit thicker than what you see in the Silicone wire. I used to use Royal Excelene and never had issues, even during my Thrash Testing which pushed everything to the Specification Edges. I have since switched to KALAS FlexWhip Welding wire which uses even finer strands (and more) in a segmented format / configuration making them tougher & able to handle even more continuous power. This stuff is truly amazing and very well priced as well (US Made btw).

EXAMPLE: 2/0 Gauge: Flexwhip has (2886) strands, their Toughflex welding cable has (1235) strands. Royal Excelene 2/0 has (1254) strands.

 

[Martijn]

Amy has used Two Types of Ferules. A Thicker & Thinner one. The thicker ones should be crimped first as they need more "crush" when tightened in and may not unless you really reef on the screws. I believe she is only using the thinner ones now. The thinner ones can be crushed in the breaker which forms it into a D-shape with a couple of retaining divots/dimples. I have both because I got some before anyone else when she was setting up these kits and then I got more case kits afterwards...

From the looks of it, I have the thin ferules, thanks you.

About cable, okiedokie, I'll get some 70mm2 from battery to bus bar and from MP2s to bus bar as per spec. Obviously can't have all 3 MP2s run at full power at the same time from the battery, but that won't happen, will enter a max wattage in the settings and so on.

 

[Banjoman]

Anyone put a 16 box in the vertical orientation?

Also curious.. wanting to save room in the garage and mount on a sill plate and strap to the wall (15/32” plywood with Hardie backer)