New Pytes V5 battery rack shows voltage when off

[sunshine_eggo]

LOL... that's a really nice find.

 

[fwunder]

I am trying to not be the angry old man. Pytes response to this issue has been abysmal. More to follow...

 

[fwunder]

Well, after more than a week of back and forth emails and a strongly worded letter I was given a FedEx tracking number for replacement power board @ 3 AM this morning. The strongly worded letter included the attached link and screen capture of comments. Pytes may manufacture a great product, but their support process sucks. More to follow.

Oh, I have to say my vendor ( Current Connected ) has been both involved and supportive through this process. Kudos to them.

 

[fwunder]

From management after I stated I could find nothing in Pytes documentation regarding battery disconnect requirement:

There is a recommendation for a circuit breaker in the latest version of our V5 manual (V1.5), but it's possible an older version manual was included with your battery packages. Either way, I am working to add more information about this topic in our documentation and integration instructions.

Ya know, I remember when I was an arrogant, had an answer for everything, Technical Director some 35 years ago. Anyway, as this is apparently Pytes new integration recommendation, I will be adding a battery disconnect. Snotty nose kids!

 

[fwunder]

Just to followup and close this ticket..

I received the replacement power board today via FedEx - surprised they didn't throw it at the end of my driveway in the ditch like they usual do!

It was very well packaged.

Replacement was simple and integrated back into bank was piece of cake, except for the lifting. Anyway, all is good now. Pytes did come through with their promised warranty fix, I added the recommended disconnect and I'm happy.

That is all....

 

[JFELLIS]

I just stumbled onto this thread and want to add my experience. I purchased 4 Pyrex v5 batteries in the spring of 2024 for my Victron 10kw inverter system.. After setting it up I noticed one battery that failed to shut down. NAZ solar contacted Pytes and I supplied the same information as the OP. They sent a new power board and I installed it. At that time I was told that I had probably started the system incorrectly and that the inrush to the capacitors of the large inverter was the problem. NAZ insisted that there was a pre-charge resistor in the batteries and I had somehow not started the bank correctly.
A few months later, I had an issue with a second battery not shutting down. At this time I called Pytes directly and they sent me a new power board. I explained what I had been told by NAZ and they responded that currently there is NOT a pre-charge resistor in the battery. my system has 2 500 amp breakers between the batteries and the inverter. I was starting my system with the breakers off. Then starting the batteries and finally turning the breakers on. The inverter was off this whole time. However, an inrush occurs to the capacitors even though the inverter is OFF. That is what damaged the battery power board.
There are a few solutions. I chose to fix the problem by putting a blue sea battery switch and a resistor in the system that bypasses the breakers and allows the capacitors to charge slowly. I now turn on the batteries. Then turn on the blue sea switch allowing pre-charging to occur. And finally turn off the blue sea switch and then turn on the breakers.
There are a few very good videos online showing how to do this with or without a light bulb in the pre-charge circuit. I have had no problems since. Pytes and NAZ both worked with me. I only wish NAZ had gone to Pytes and checked this earlier. Pytes did say they were considering adding a resistor in future builds. I do not know if this has occurred.

 

[fwunder]

Wow! That's really interesting! Your experience was almost identical to mine. In my case, however, it was Pytes themselves who insisted I did not start the system correctly - by not having a breaker or disconnect between batteries and inverter(s). That kinda pissed me off. It took me over two weeks and lots of emails to get a new power board. That kinda pissed me off too.

I specifically asked a Product Manager what he suggested as startup procedure when I repaired the battery, as I had followed what was in the user manual and shown in official Pytes V5 video. I was under the assumption the batteries had pre-charge circuitry. His comment:

We recommend installing a circuit breaker or disconnect between the battery bank and your inverters. Please start up all of the batteries together as a group, before powering up the inverter, as outlined in the procedure below. This will allow any start up current surge from the inverters to be split equally amongst the batteries. Keep the breaker/disconnect turned off (open circuit) until all the batteries have started and are in standby mode. Once the batteries are turned on and in standby (Run LED blinking green) you can close the breaker/disconnect and then turn on the inverters.

Like you, I did add a ( Victron ) disconnect switch and purchased a pre-charge resistor. I strongly suggested they remove or edit the youtube videos showing recommended startup and include the above instructions with shipping batteries. I do not believe the young product manager likes me.

These are not cheap batteries. I was disappointed in my experience with Pytes and, frankly, do not trust my batteries at the time of this writing. It's a new install for me and I am monitoring the batteries like a hawk via VRM. Of course, any little oddity in charging or discharging has me wondering if there is an issue with the batteries.

 

[Oldphile]

I just stumbled onto this thread and want to add my experience. I purchased 4 Pyrex v5 batteries in the spring of 2024 for my Victron 10kw inverter system.. After setting it up I noticed one battery that failed to shut down. NAZ solar contacted Pytes and I supplied the same information as the OP. They sent a new power board and I installed it. At that time I was told that I had probably started the system incorrectly and that the inrush to the capacitors of the large inverter was the problem. NAZ insisted that there was a pre-charge resistor in the batteries and I had somehow not started the bank correctly.
A few months later, I had an issue with a second battery not shutting down. At this time I called Pytes directly and they sent me a new power board. I explained what I had been told by NAZ and they responded that currently there is NOT a pre-charge resistor in the battery. my system has 2 500 amp breakers between the batteries and the inverter. I was starting my system with the breakers off. Then starting the batteries and finally turning the breakers on. The inverter was off this whole time. However, an inrush occurs to the capacitors even though the inverter is OFF. That is what damaged the battery power board.
There are a few solutions. I chose to fix the problem by putting a blue sea battery switch and a resistor in the system that bypasses the breakers and allows the capacitors to charge slowly. I now turn on the batteries. Then turn on the blue sea switch allowing pre-charging to occur. And finally turn off the blue sea switch and then turn on the breakers.
There are a few very good videos online showing how to do this with or without a light bulb in the pre-charge circuit. I have had no problems since. Pytes and NAZ both worked with me. I only wish NAZ had gone to Pytes and checked this earlier. Pytes did say they were considering adding a resistor in future builds. I do not know if this has occurred.

That's very concerning. Your start up procedure is consistent with the Sol-Ark manual. Also, Pytes has published multiple videos, including Sol-Ark videos, showing start up procedure without introducing an external precharge resistor.

How did you notice that one battery failed to shutdown? I've never turned mine off since they were first installed.

 

[fwunder]

That's very concerning. Your start up procedure is consistent with the Sol-Ark manual. Also, Pytes has published multiple videos, including Sol-Ark videos, showing start up procedure without introducing an external precharge resistor.

How did you notice that one battery failed to shutdown? I've never turned mine off since they were first installed.

In my case it was during original install. With everything off, I began to connect positive lead to bus bar and saw spark. I immediately stopped and investigated, finding voltage ( 52+ ) on master battery. According to Pytes, that spark is what damaged the power board. Of course, now I measure voltage everywhere before hooking anything up.

 

[Oldphile]

Wow! That's really interesting! Your experience was almost identical to mine. In my case, however, it was Pytes themselves who insisted I did not start the system correctly - by not having a breaker or disconnect between batteries and inverter(s). That kinda pissed me off. It took me over two weeks and lots of emails to get a new power board. That kinda pissed me off too.

I specifically asked a Product Manager what he suggested as startup procedure when I repaired the battery, as I had followed what was in the user manual and shown in official Pytes V5 video. I was under the assumption the batteries had pre-charge circuitry. His comment:



Like you, I did add a ( Victron ) disconnect switch and purchased a pre-charge resistor. I strongly suggested they remove or edit the youtube videos showing recommended startup and include the above instructions with shipping batteries. I do not believe the young product manager likes me.

These are not cheap batteries. I was disappointed in my experience with Pytes and, frankly, do not trust my batteries at the time of this writing. It's a new install for me and I am monitoring the batteries like a hawk via VRM. Of course, any little oddity in charging or discharging has me wondering if there is an issue with the batteries.

So, they're relying on the current limiting capability of the BMS to precharge the inverter capacitors? I would think that four batteries delivering 400 amp should be adequate to charge the capacitors without failing.

 

[Cris_Han]

Wow! That's really interesting! Your experience was almost identical to mine. In my case, however, it was Pytes themselves who insisted I did not start the system correctly - by not having a breaker or disconnect between batteries and inverter(s). That kinda pissed me off. It took me over two weeks and lots of emails to get a new power board. That kinda pissed me off too.

I specifically asked a Product Manager what he suggested as startup procedure when I repaired the battery, as I had followed what was in the user manual and shown in official Pytes V5 video. I was under the assumption the batteries had pre-charge circuitry. His comment:



Like you, I did add a ( Victron ) disconnect switch and purchased a pre-charge resistor. I strongly suggested they remove or edit the youtube videos showing recommended startup and include the above instructions with shipping batteries. I do not believe the young product manager likes me.

These are not cheap batteries. I was disappointed in my experience with Pytes and, frankly, do not trust my batteries at the time of this writing. It's a new install for me and I am monitoring the batteries like a hawk via VRM. Of course, any little oddity in charging or discharging has me wondering if there is an issue with the batteries.

Hello, I am Cris, the manager of product department at PYTES. I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience our service has caused you. I acknowledge that our documentation was not detailed enough, and I see that you’ve spent considerable time researching related materials to clarify the confusion—this was certainly not our intention.

To address this, we have already added tags to batteries shipped after March, specifying the necessary circuit breakers and pre-charge resistors for installation. Additionally, our second-generation V5 product now integrates pre-charging and circuit breakers to eliminate potential risks caused by inrush currents from Victron inverters' internal capacitors.

Should you encounter any further issues, please don’t hesitate to contact our technical support team—we will promptly provide you with a thorough explanation. Once again, I deeply apologize for the trouble caused, and we are committed to continuously improving our service standards.

 

[fwunder]

Thank you Cris for taking the time and interest in this issue. It does show commitment.

I am, however, just a bit confused with your clarification :

To address this, we have already added tags to batteries shipped after March, specifying the necessary circuit breakers and pre-charge resistors for installation.

The addition of *and pre-charge resistor* is over and above what I was previously told by PYTES. The instructions I noted above only included a "breaker/disconnect" in the startup procedure. Although I understand it to be best practice, your reply was the first time I have heard PYTES officially mention pre-charge resistor.

I also find it interesting that any new batteries will include pre-charging and circuit breakers as I assumed, based on official documentation/videos, that pre-charge circuitry was included in the V5s I purchased. My mistake for not asking for clarification, I guess.

Nevertheless, thanks again for following up with an official PYTES response and I hope to get many years out of my installation.

 

[Oldphile]

eliminate potential risks caused by inrush currents from Victron inverters' internal capacitors.

Does this also apply to Sol-Ark inverters?
I checked all the documentation on the Pytes download center. None of the installation documents have been updated since 2024.