SignatureSolarJames
Try Solar, the Grid will always take you back
pylon is pouch cell I think
Pylontech 5000 batteries GOOD or BAD??
- Thread starter FlyingScot
- Start date
Yes they are - are you saying that is good or bad?
SignatureSolarJames
Try Solar, the Grid will always take you back
just saw them being referred to as prismatic, I think it is fine if the pouch is secured from expansion and disintegration
Oh... where? In this thread did you mean?
So to conclude:
- inverters expect 16 cell LiFePO4 batteries (i.e. nominal 51.2V, not nominal 48V), and 15 cell ones do not really interface correctly with them;
- the Pylontech ones are priced as if they are 16 cell, so they are more expensive (as per figures in my previous post - Fogstar £325 per kWh, Pylontech £390 per kWh).
- inverters expect 16 cell LiFePO4 batteries (i.e. nominal 51.2V, not nominal 48V), and 15 cell ones do not really interface correctly with them;
- the Pylontech ones are priced as if they are 16 cell, so they are more expensive (as per figures in my previous post - Fogstar £325 per kWh, Pylontech £390 per kWh).
Not quite. Inverters will interface correctly with a 15 cell battery - many people on here are using Pylontech batteries. It's just they won't store as much energy (4.8kWh vs 5.12kWh for a 100Ah battery pack) and the fact that they generate a lower voltage may mean you can get less power from them depending on the characteristics of your inverter.
Some people like to pay a premium for an 'established' brand. You'll have to make your own judge on that.
The amount of energy stored is not a consideration. The only point of interest there is the cost per storable kWh.
It sounds like the primary negative point (assuming the price per kWh is the same - which is isn't) is that the charge/discharge power is less due to the voltage being lower.
So revised conclusions?
- 16 cell LiFePO4 batteries charge/discharge at a higher power than 15 cell ones, because each cell can only be charged at the same rate, and there is one more cell in series;
- the Pylontech batteries are overpriced (Fogstar £325 per kWh, Pylontech £390 per kWh).
For the Pylontech batteries to be priced the same as the Fogstar ones (assuming both brands perform similarly / are equally reliable), they should be £325 / 16 * 15 = £304. Quite a price difference. In any case, it certainly sounds like Pylontech are trying to confuse people.
steve.barnes6200@gmail
New Member
Pylontech, A word I have heard too often for my liking...
Here is my tale of woe...
Here in NZ we have few suppliers to choose from, about ten years back I chose AA Solar and built my system, who I will refer to as It, That, Them and Those ^&*&%$*.
Back in October 2023 I enquired about the Pylontech US3000c, did a bit of reading and decided to order 4 of them, with a full set of brackets and cables and a Studer VT-80 solar controller to match up nicely with my Studer XTM 4000 and the 3Kw of panels I had on my roof, I also ordered another 6 panels to bring the system up to 5Kw, all up, about $20,000.
My intentions were pure, my knowledge, more than adequate, then my delivery arrived, all good until I unpacked the last box, it contained a US 3000, not a 3000c.
I called them, they said sorry and replaced the battery with the correct one.
On connection, the number 2 battery decided to go to sleep, just one flashing green light, idle mode.
I called again, They said sorry, again, and replaced the battery under warranty.
On connection, as the new master battery the new number 2 battery went into idle mode, a few hours later the number 3 and then the 4 went into idle mode, leaving just the warranty replacement running the whole house. I am totally off grid and I started to worry about no power at all.
I called them again, they said, it's ok, they will come on line when needed because they were fully charged and just resting, just having a kip, shagged out after a long squawk, or something and I shouldn't worry, all was fine... Or was it?
A couple of days later I still had 3 "resting" batteries.
I called again, this time I got to talk to an engineer, he asked "How have you set up the XCom?"
"Xcom?" I queried.
I had read all the manuals and read the entire internet, no mention anywhere about using this XCom device.
He said, "Oh, you have to use an X Com."
The next day I jumped into the car and drove for 4 hours to pick up the device...
When I got there they had the XCom ready to go, I asked "Will this connect me to the Studer portal for remote control?"
"Ah, no. You need the XCom Lan for that."
"So, do I still need the XCom?"
They said no.
So I got back in the car with a nice shiney XCom Lan, and drove the 4 hours home.
It did nothing to help the batteries, I called again.
"No, you still need the XCom"
Grrrrrrrrrr
I ordered one...
Got it, Plugged it, used it.
Still the batteries were clinging to their perch, having a long rest, I thought.
In "good faith" they offered to sell me 3 more batteries at cost, $7000 because I had destroyed the batteries and they would not warranty them.
I put the batteries and accessories in the car and...
Called my Lawyer. Installed my old batteries.
And that is how it stands today.
An interesting point, that they refuse to take on board, is that all the batteries that failed had consecutive serial numbers, the warranty replacement one was from a different batch and remained fine.
The only thing I did wrong was on the monitoring side, I set the Xtender (XTM) to the values required by the batteries, which they told me was not necessary as the BMS in the batteries will do all that, they commited suicide instead.
The batteries, not AAsolar, shame.
Here is my tale of woe...
Here in NZ we have few suppliers to choose from, about ten years back I chose AA Solar and built my system, who I will refer to as It, That, Them and Those ^&*&%$*.
Back in October 2023 I enquired about the Pylontech US3000c, did a bit of reading and decided to order 4 of them, with a full set of brackets and cables and a Studer VT-80 solar controller to match up nicely with my Studer XTM 4000 and the 3Kw of panels I had on my roof, I also ordered another 6 panels to bring the system up to 5Kw, all up, about $20,000.
My intentions were pure, my knowledge, more than adequate, then my delivery arrived, all good until I unpacked the last box, it contained a US 3000, not a 3000c.
I called them, they said sorry and replaced the battery with the correct one.
On connection, the number 2 battery decided to go to sleep, just one flashing green light, idle mode.
I called again, They said sorry, again, and replaced the battery under warranty.
On connection, as the new master battery the new number 2 battery went into idle mode, a few hours later the number 3 and then the 4 went into idle mode, leaving just the warranty replacement running the whole house. I am totally off grid and I started to worry about no power at all.
I called them again, they said, it's ok, they will come on line when needed because they were fully charged and just resting, just having a kip, shagged out after a long squawk, or something and I shouldn't worry, all was fine... Or was it?
A couple of days later I still had 3 "resting" batteries.
I called again, this time I got to talk to an engineer, he asked "How have you set up the XCom?"
"Xcom?" I queried.
I had read all the manuals and read the entire internet, no mention anywhere about using this XCom device.
He said, "Oh, you have to use an X Com."
The next day I jumped into the car and drove for 4 hours to pick up the device...
When I got there they had the XCom ready to go, I asked "Will this connect me to the Studer portal for remote control?"
"Ah, no. You need the XCom Lan for that."
"So, do I still need the XCom?"
They said no.
So I got back in the car with a nice shiney XCom Lan, and drove the 4 hours home.
It did nothing to help the batteries, I called again.
"No, you still need the XCom"
Grrrrrrrrrr
I ordered one...
Got it, Plugged it, used it.
Still the batteries were clinging to their perch, having a long rest, I thought.
In "good faith" they offered to sell me 3 more batteries at cost, $7000 because I had destroyed the batteries and they would not warranty them.
I put the batteries and accessories in the car and...
Called my Lawyer. Installed my old batteries.
And that is how it stands today.
An interesting point, that they refuse to take on board, is that all the batteries that failed had consecutive serial numbers, the warranty replacement one was from a different batch and remained fine.
The only thing I did wrong was on the monitoring side, I set the Xtender (XTM) to the values required by the batteries, which they told me was not necessary as the BMS in the batteries will do all that, they commited suicide instead.
The batteries, not AAsolar, shame.
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