diy solar

diy solar

Off-grid since 8 years: now upgrading the system

Alternatives Battery bank

  • 4 Battle born 12 V 100 AMP

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  • Chinese DIY

    Votes: 2 50.0%
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  • Total voters
    4

Eliopoli

New Member
Joined
Nov 28, 2019
Messages
1
eliopoli off grid system 2.png
Hello Community!!!
We are a homestead located in South West NS, Canada. Since 2012 we live completely off-grid in our home sheltered dome. Our electricity is entirely produced with PV and wind plus a backup generator (we start it 2-3 time per year).
For hot water we use solar and we cook and heat using wood only.
Main consumption are:
  • the fridge (no freezer 8 Amp)
  • some TV during the night (4 amp)
  • Notebook with external monitor (2-8 AMP depending from luminosity)
  • Shuflow Water pump (2 amp)
  • Solar hot water (2 amp)
  • Air circulation (2 amp)
  • LED lights (> 1 amp)
Currently I'm considering upgrading our 7 years old Surette S-600 (nominal a capability of 44 Kw/H) to LiFePO4 Deep Cycle Battery.
We have 16 of them in a 24 V system. The bank is connected to a an Magnum MS-PAE Series inverter (see schema below).

Eliopoli Off Grid System.png
We are looking for a solution with minimal maintenance that can be hosted in our not-heated barn. In winter here we reach -4 F outside. The battery bank is protected inside a insulated box.
 
LifePo is the way to go IMO. I just purchased a 24V/400AH ShunBin pack to go along side my bank of Rolls S-550's (they ain't dead yet ! LOL) for $4K CAD and only $98 due on delivery for taxes. NOTE this is a Value Pack, there is a thread running on these here. https://diysolarforum.com/threads/shunbin-battery-packs-12v-24v-100ah-and-up.1304/

Alternately BattleBorn will do what you want as will SimpliPhi (pro install ?) and a few other commercial ones that are well known. These of course cost Big Bux. Rolls is coming out with their own LifePO but they seem quite $$$ for what they are... IMO rolls waited too long to get into the game.

DIY is fine too, if your up to it and then you can pick out what best suits you and your needs today and leaves things open for tomorrow too. Stick to reputable vendors and brands and you'll be golden ! Go bargain basement and you risk getting it up the Wazoo ! You can "upcycle" EV or other storage batteries that are now coming onto the used marketplace such as the Samsung or BYD packs (sit down before you see shipping cost from USA)… IF you wanted to get Tesla Packs and DIY a setup from that look here: https://kilowattpack.ca/search?q=tesla <--- French site in Montreal. I inquired about them prior to my purchasing the ShunBin pack and this is the response I got (Oct.31)
QUESTIONS:
I am looking to build a replacement power bank for my offgrid solar system, which is currently using 8x Rolls Surette S550’s FLA’s and they have to retire finally ! I came across this listing below for 2 Tesla S Packs configured to 48V. I would like to know if I can switch these over to 24VDC as all my hardware such as the Inverter is 24VDC. Additionally, do you carry a BMS which can be used for these as well ?

Can you please advise as to availability & options if any ? Our time frame to purchase is ASAP pending on your responses. As I am near Pembroke Ontario, it’s not a huge leap to drive out there to pickup if that is an option.

ANSWER:

Hi Syteve, the Tesla packs we have are actually 2x24V, so would be a good match for your setup, you can simply put them in parallel instead of series.
Unfortunately, our packs don't come with a BMS (there is a small internal BMS, but should be plugged to a main BMS for long term usage)
You can do a DIY BMS or some exist on the market, but Lithium is a bit more complicated than AGM.
https://www.orionbms.com/products/orion-bms-standard
https://www.orionbms.com/manuals/pdf/tesla_modules.pdf
https://hilleater.ca/blog/energus-tiny-bms/
https://hilleater.ca/bms/
Hope this helps, sorry for the late reply.

A note on "Made in China". Some folks just blabber on politically.... reality is the Chinese Government is seriously cracking down on sheister's because it is hurting the "China Brand" in general and they are chucking them into their jails. (No furtling about with lawyer's either). Unfortunately there are still many out there playing on the edge and selling off-product or B Series 2nd tier stuff. But the big genuine vendors are good and no problems with them. Due Diligence is required on your part but there are many here who have had good experiences with manufacturers and vendors and you can read about that too.

Hope that helps.
 
I have experienced great service and support from the people at Fortress power, I installed 4 units so far... comes in nice sturdy cabinet with good casters on the bottom
 
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