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diy solar

Server Rack Battery vs DIY

DIY with grade A 304 would be around $3700 with a luyuan style box, thats 15KW with a JK BMS, I think this will be next build.
 
Xhumeka said:
Nice... where did you end up ordering from and what was the cost?
Click to expand...

18650 battery store.

135.00 each.

www.18650batterystore.com

EVE LF304 Grade B Cells - 3.2V LiFePO4 304Ah Battery

Price is per battery Grade B Cells - Original QR code is marked up and unreadable. BRAND NEW CELLS - Capacity tested - sorted and matched. Guaranteed to pull 304Ah+ We test all cells (IR, Voltage, Capacity, Visual inspection) returning anything that does not pull above capacity or has any other...
www.18650batterystore.com www.18650batterystore.com

Ordered daly 200 amp (8S) BMS off Amazon.
 
All this talk about cost per watt and I finally added my complete bank up, including the Hoffman box https://diysolarforum.com/threads/house-system-battery-box-hoffman.32305/

Capacity 54.9Kw

Cost with 1/4" x 1" copper busbars down the sides with plastic covers, Batrium Watchmon CORE with 4 K9's, ABB shunt trip breaker and a used Hoffman 18x18 box for ABB breaker and 24V power supply for CORE and shunt trip came to $0.191 per watt.

I could have used a cheaper BMS to keep cost down. It cost $1477 for the Batrium with shipping. ABB breaker was $250. The Batrium cost $0.0314/watt.

I'm quite happy at $0.191/watt.

Edit: T fuse per battery included, those were $65 each
 
Last edited:
Checkthisout said:
18650 battery store.

135.00 each.

www.18650batterystore.com

EVE LF304 Grade B Cells - 3.2V LiFePO4 304Ah Battery

Price is per battery Grade B Cells - Original QR code is marked up and unreadable. BRAND NEW CELLS - Capacity tested - sorted and matched. Guaranteed to pull 304Ah+ We test all cells (IR, Voltage, Capacity, Visual inspection) returning anything that does not pull above capacity or has any other...
www.18650batterystore.com www.18650batterystore.com
Click to expand...

Very tempting, but since I'm not in a hurry I think I'm going to do another order from China.

I'm about to pull the trigger on an order of CATL cells from Shenzhen Hongxinda New Energy Co. described as:
-CATL 3.2V, the QR code is intact, Grade A, Brand new
-all cells will be tested prior to shipping and battery report provided showing capacities equal to or greater than 320Ah

$112 USD/cell (8 units) plus $309 shipping to Toronto Canada: $1205

If the cells pull the stated 320 Ah, it turns out to be 8,192 watt hours which equates to 14.7 cents per watt hour (for cells only, no housing)
 
Xhumeka said:
Very tempting, but since I'm not in a hurry I think I'm going to do another order from China.

I'm about to pull the trigger on an order of CATL cells from Shenzhen Hongxinda New Energy Co. described as:
-CATL 3.2V, the QR code is intact, Grade A, Brand new
-all cells will be tested prior to shipping and battery report provided showing capacities equal to or greater than 320Ah

$112 USD/cell (8 units) plus $309 shipping to Toronto Canada: $1205

If the cells pull the stated 320 Ah, it turns out to be 8,192 watt hours which equates to 14.7 cents per watt hour (for cells only, no housing)
Click to expand...

Yeah so plus BMS and peripherals.
 
Xhumeka said:
Very tempting, but since I'm not in a hurry I think I'm going to do another order from China.

I'm about to pull the trigger on an order of CATL cells from Shenzhen Hongxinda New Energy Co. described as:
-CATL 3.2V, the QR code is intact, Grade A, Brand new
-all cells will be tested prior to shipping and battery report provided showing capacities equal to or greater than 320Ah

$112 USD/cell (8 units) plus $309 shipping to Toronto Canada: $1205

If the cells pull the stated 320 Ah, it turns out to be 8,192 watt hours which equates to 14.7 cents per watt hour (for cells only, no housing)
Click to expand...

Tell them to send you a picture of the QR code first see if you can use the scanner app to make sure it can be read.
 
steviep19 said:
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.
Click to expand...
Great post, ... I wish I saw this after two company battery problems ... build my own may very well be in the horizon.
 
Xhumeka said:
I'm about to pull the trigger on an order of CATL cells from Shenzhen Hongxinda New Energy Co. described as:
-CATL 3.2V, the QR code is intact, Grade A, Brand new
-all cells will be tested prior to shipping and battery report provided showing capacities equal to or greater than 320Ah
Click to expand...

I placed my order of 8 cells last night, shipping was actually a bit cheaper than originally quoted, the final bill was:

3.2V CATL "grade A" battery (capacity test of 320Ah) : $112/PCS*8=$896
The price of DDP by sea to Toronto Canada is $275
Total $896+$275=$1171 USD

I'll report back when I receive the cells and what I think of them after running my own capacity tests.
 
SolaroSsaurius said:
Thank you very much for the detailed information.
I'll cross your breakers' reference # and confirm that they are all non polarized, as those prices seem quite interesting.

Again, thanks!!
Click to expand...
Wondering if you ever tracked down the Breakers, and could confirm if these are bi-directional or not?
I double checked the cost on the 250A 2P was $46CAD (about 33USD) plus some shipping costs.
 
OffGridForGood said:
Wondering if you ever tracked down the Breakers, and could confirm if these are bi-directional or not?
I double checked the cost on the 250A 2P was $46CAD (about 33USD) plus some shipping costs.
Click to expand...
Hi.
Due to close family health issues I'm not having the spare time to do any proper investigation at the moment, though I'm extremely interested in all this

Regards
 
DIY vs server rack is a debate I had on a personal level a couple of years ago. The convenience factor for server rack was compelling. The DIY route is less expensive, but does require a learning curve.

Ultimately I went DIY. There were a number of reasons, a number personal preference:

1. I like to know how things work. The process of building my own batteries required a lot of learning and especially patience. There was some trial and error as I got mine in a configuration and framework that met my needs. In my case I placed them in a frame with a strong cover for protection.

2. Component flexibility. If a better BMS becomes available, a DIY will enable one to swap out parts as desired. On the same note, if a component fails I can replace it.

3. The satisfaction of building something myself.

I know the future will likely be more plug and play. If I decide to get a server rack in the future I will have a very good idea how it works based on what I have learned so far.
 
I think the biggest thing for the server racks is that you would need to get 3 of them and make sure they all play well with each other vs a single one if you diy using some 280-304 cells. I"m assuming most people are buying 3 5kw batts for a typical setup.
 
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