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Server Rack Battery vs DIY

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steviep19

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Dec 26, 2019
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I don't understand the statement or even recommendations that buying a server rack battery is about the same price as building your own DIY battery.

With the long cycle life of Lifepo4, I think it ultimately comes down to the supporting components that make the difference. As long as you keep the batteries withing the proper voltage they'll last past any of the other parts.

In a DIY system, the BMS breaks, or a something comes loose you swap it out or tighten it. In a server rack battery, you pray the company you bought your server rack battery from is still in business, you fight with them for a replacement, or you ship it back to them and get it back months later. You cannot open it up, because it breaks your warranty. If they are no longer in business, you're harvesting the cells, then building a DIY battery anyways.

Also, due to the exceptionally long life of Lifepo4 there's deals to be found on used cells, just like buying a used car will save you money.

I currently have purchased:
1. 4 x Used BYD 24v battery packs from Batteryhookup April-2020 for about $1200 - I'm still getting about 100ah out of each, but these were purchased knowing they are heavily degraded. I picked them up from their warehouse. They're an awesome company. 200ah@48v
2. 32 x 200ah cells purchased from Alibaba in Jan-2021 for $2177 400ah@48v
3. 32 x 100ah cells purchased from Aliexpress March-2022 for $1249 200ah@48v
4. 30 x 280ah cells June-2022 for $2400 from Craigslist, then 2 x 280ah cells from ebay for $300. Found someone selling these cells locally he was going to use for RV project, but then it got to be too much for him. Two of the cells had shipping damage, so I didn't buy those and bought replacements on ebay. They're not matched, but they have been working great for the 6 months I've had them. 560ah@48v

I paid a significant less amount for the used batteries, but in both scenario's "new" from china and used DIY pricing is much better than the server rack battery. Even after purchasing a BMS & Wiring.

The SOK 48v 100ah battery is currently $1600 * 13 = $20,800
Used average of what I paid per 100ah: $7326 / 1360ah * 100 = $540 per 100ah

The racking from Home depot, bus bars, BMS's, Fuses, and Wiring didn't cost me $13,474, and I have a very modular, serviceable system.

I'm genuinely curious as to why someone chose Server rack batteries, other that they look better or they were easier to setup.
 
I chose server rack (4 x Lifepower4 20kWh) because it was easy to setup, compact and rolls easy in the cart. Covered busbars that came with the rack also make it safe. Price didn't really matter to me since it's for emergency backup use only and was more kWh than something like two Ecoflow Delta Pros or two Bluetti AC500 and ultimately cheaper than getting those systems and adding additional batteries specifically for their systems.
 
I think a lot of it is people want the plug and play system systems with all the bells and whistles
diy can be challenging depending on skill level and some don’t want to put the time in
as far as getting the most Ah for the dollar diy is by far the way to go and more serviceable due to the fact that you built the unit so you can repair it also
some go with rack batteries to get UL listings for insurance purposes
their is just a lot of variables going in to the equation
 
I look at batteries as, even expensive solar-type batteries, as consumables. I don't believe I'm going to get 10 years out of my server rack batteries. They will likely degrade in 5 years or else something a lot better will come along. There is so much money in storage research now, in ten years I expect the economics will change as much as they have in the last few years..
 
mvonw,

That's a great point. I never thought about it that way. We're still in the early days of battery storage at this level. I would hope my DIY batteries are still working at the 10 year mark though.... lol Especially because the first batteries are already 2 years old.
 
steviep19 said:
mvonw,

That's a great point. I never thought about it that way. We're still in the early days of battery storage at this level. I would hope my DIY batteries are still working at the 10 year mark though.... lol Especially because the first batteries are already 2 years old.
Click to expand...
What do I know? I said no to investing in crypto years ago because I thought it was a Ponzi scheme that was going to collapse..
 
This seems like asking why some people buy new vehicles when a used one would get you from point A to point B. Or maybe a why buy a bbq pit or new kitchen cabinets when you could build them yourself? Why go out to eat when it's WAY cheaper to fix meals at home? The list is endless. There are myriad factors but I think the big ones are cost, time, and skillset, but maybe not in that order. Money is not always the primary factor with any decision. I build a lot of stuff around the ranch rather than buy it because I have the skills, I often can repurpose the materials, I can build it exactly how I want it, and frankly, I enjoy doing it. It also saves money (usually), but that's not the driving factor. Those same reasons can likely all be applied to building your own batteries. But I bought my batteries instead. I did so because the money wasn't a major factor, I didn't really have the extra time, but mostly it just wasn't a project that interested me. I'm 100% in support of anyone who wants to take on building their batteries, or building their own home for that matter. I also get why a lot of people don't want to take on those projects. Every person's situation is different.
 
I did both, first bought a couple server racks to get my solar up and running,
then as I learned from others, and got my courage up, ordered 280Ah cells on Alibaba's (pay and pray) system and built my first DIY rack battery.
Let it run a few months and checked all cells were withing 3-millivolts so ordered more cells and built my second DIY rack battery. Repeat, cells stayed within a few millivolts of each other, so...
Now have my third set of cells on order, will be in by end of Feb.
I like to learn by doing, and take things one step at a time, and test/see if it works well. No problems so I built more. Not everyone is going to be comfortable to build their own battery, or be patient enough to wait for the cells. To each their own I say.
Cost-wise, the 280Ah cells cost about $1900 USD shipped, a BMS with active Balancer is about $70, through-wall battery terminals in 200A are $30, and a decent 2P 125A DC rated breaker for the battery is another $30, some wire and build your own case or set it up open on a shelf if you like. $750/100Ah approx cost. about half the cost of a factory finished rack battery in a nice case, perhaps more easily serviced. I like what I have learned doing my own. Like ET Cowboy, I like to build stuff becase I can more than becase of the money, the more I build the more I understand. If these last 10 years they did me well.
 
OffGridForGood said:
I did both, first bought a couple server racks to get my solar up and running,
then as I learned from others, and got my courage up, ordered 280Ah cells on Alibaba's (pay and pray) system and built my first DIY rack battery.
Let it run a few months and checked all cells were withing 3-millivolts so ordered more cells and built my second DIY rack battery. Repeat, cells stayed within a few millivolts of each other, so...
Now have my third set of cells on order, will be in by end of Feb.
I like to learn by doing, and take things one step at a time, and test/see if it works well. No problems so I built more. Not everyone is going to be comfortable to build their own battery, or be patient enough to wait for the cells. To each their own I say.
Cost-wise, the 280Ah cells cost about $1900 USD shipped, a BMS with active Balancer is about $70, through-wall battery terminals in 200A are $30, and a decent 2P 125A DC rated breaker for the battery is another $30, some wire and build your own case or set it up open on a shelf if you like. $750/100Ah approx cost. about half the cost of a factory finished rack battery in a nice case, perhaps more easily serviced. I like what I have learned doing my own. Like ET Cowboy, I like to build stuff becase I can more than becase of the money, the more I build the more I understand. If these last 10 years they did me well.
Click to expand...

I just did pricing.

You save 21% if you diy using 280ah cells vs eg4 server rack batteries.

What are you paying for the cells that saves you 50%?
 
Checkthisout said:
I just did pricing.

You save 21% if you diy using 280ah cells vs eg4 server rack batteries.

What are you paying for the cells that saves you 50%?
Click to expand...
That's close to what I came up with as well. I can't see investing the time and effort to only save 20%. Although I have to admit @OffGridForGood now has me wanting to build some just for the hell of it. I hate it when that happens. :sneaky:
 
Zwy said:
Using his 280 Ah figures plus $100 for wiring and misc comes to $7.71 per Ah for DIY, the cheapest EG4 comes to $14.24 per Ah
Click to expand...
Just doing some numbers from Will's links and adding the $100 for wiring etc. for high quality cells vs something like the EG4 batteries I come up with $258 per kWh for the DIY and $278 per kWh for the EG4. If you just price the cells it's $236 per kWh. I know you can get B grade cells for way cheaper but I can't see me ever going that direction. I think it all comes back to personal preference, time, skills, and interest.

Will did a video on this subject about a year ago -

 
houseofancients said:
just to give my 2 cents :

16 304AH Cells : 2067 delivered
1 x seplos mason 280 kit ( including cables ) : 680 delivered

total cost for 15,2 KWh : 2747
so 180, 72/ KWh
Click to expand...

And that's with a very expensive Selpos container... if you build a box with wood, threaded rods and a 3rd party BMS, the costs look even more appealing.

Based on your 304Ah numbers:

16 304 Ah Cells: 2067 delivered
BMS: 60
Misc (wood, threaded rod, cabling, screws, battery posts, etc): 100 (that's on the high side)

total cost for 15.2 kWh: $2,227
so $146.1 / kWh (or 14.6 cents per Watt hour)
 
Xhumeka said:
And that's with a very expensive Selpos container... if you build a box with wood, threaded rods and a 3rd party BMS, the costs look even more appealing.

Based on your 304Ah numbers:

16 304 Ah Cells: 2067 delivered
BMS: 60
Misc (wood, threaded rod, cabling, screws, battery posts, etc): 100 (that's on the high side)

total cost for 15.2 kWh: $2,227
so $146.1 / kWh (or 14.6 cents per Watt hour)
Click to expand...
maybe so, bu tit includes everything one needs, to the right specs ( so 200a bms, copper, fuse ) , looks good and is modular..
i build this thing in under an hour, and my time is valuable too
 
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