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Server Rack LiFePO4 batteries. Where to find UK stock?

Hi,

I have been looking at the Pylon US5000 rack mount battery. Has anybody managed to get hold of one, and what inverter are you using on it?

I already have solar panels installed, so am looking for recommendations for an AC coupled inverter that would work with these batteries.

Any comments/suggestions welcomed.

Thanks,

Graham.
 
I was in a similar position as yourself last month. I spent around 3 weeks trying to find Pylontech stock without any luck. Being in the UK it's slim pickings as you likely already know.


When I couldn't find anything I started to look at other options. I narrowed the alternatives down to -:

SOK Battery 48V100Ah Server Rack Battery​

www.europe.sokbattery.com

SOK Battery 48V100Ah Server Rack Battery | SOK Battery Europe

EU - Pre-order. Will be in stock in 27-May. All pre-order can enjoy - €50 discount. Contact cusotmer service to get the refund.UK - Out of stock. If pre order waiting time is too long, orders could be cancelled on request for a full 100% refund anytime prior to when the order has been shipped...
www.europe.sokbattery.com www.europe.sokbattery.com

Quoted £1784 per battery delivered DDP to the UK.

16 x EVE 280ah Cells + Seplos Mason DIY case

MASON DIY Unit (suitable EVE 280Ah cell)BOX stack type without cells

High quality MASON DIY Unit (suitable EVE 280Ah cell)BOX stack type without cells from China, China's leading Seplos DIY Kits product market, With strict quality control Seplos DIY Kits factories, Producing high quality MASON DIY Unit (suitable EVE 280Ah cell)BOX stack type without cells products.
www.seplos.com

Fully Matched 4pcs 3.2v Eve Genuine Grade A 280ah Lifepo4 (lfp) Cells Battery 6000 Cycles With New Terminals - Buy 12v Deep Cycle Battery new Model Cycle solar Energy Product on Alibaba.com

Fully Matched 4pcs 3.2v Eve Genuine Grade A 280ah Lifepo4 (lfp) Cells Battery 6000 Cycles With New Terminals - Buy 12v Deep Cycle Battery new Model Cycle solar Energy Product on Alibaba.com
www.alibaba.com

17 X EVE 280Ah cells 16s + 1 spare: £2552.45 DDP.
Seplos Case + 2 x 50mm parallel cables + 2 x 50mm battery cables: £648.87 DDP.

I also tried EG4 but they were unable to arrange adequate shipping to the UK.

In the end I went with the EVE cells and a DIY Seplos Mason case. I've saved near 50% of what I would have spent on Pylontech batteries and I'll have 14.3KWH - 200A to play with for just £3201.32 delivered. I could have perhaps negotiated a better deal, but being typically British I did not want to appear rude. :)

I'd recommend Henry at Seplos and Amy Wan at Luyan (As would many others) if you did go down this route.
 
Last edited:
danmc said:
I was in a similar position as yourself last month. I spent around 3 weeks trying to find Pylontech stock without any luck. Being in the UK it's slim pickings as you likely already know.


When I couldn't find anything I started to look at other options. I narrowed the alternatives down to -:

SOK Battery 48V100Ah Server Rack Battery​

www.europe.sokbattery.com

SOK Battery 48V100Ah Server Rack Battery | SOK Battery Europe

EU - Pre-order. Will be in stock in 27-May. All pre-order can enjoy - €50 discount. Contact cusotmer service to get the refund.UK - Out of stock. If pre order waiting time is too long, orders could be cancelled on request for a full 100% refund anytime prior to when the order has been shipped...
www.europe.sokbattery.com www.europe.sokbattery.com

Quoted £1784 per battery delivered DDP to the UK.

16 x EVE 280ah Cells + Seplos Mason DIY case

MASON DIY Unit (suitable EVE 280Ah cell)BOX stack type without cells

High quality MASON DIY Unit (suitable EVE 280Ah cell)BOX stack type without cells from China, China's leading Seplos DIY Kits product market, With strict quality control Seplos DIY Kits factories, Producing high quality MASON DIY Unit (suitable EVE 280Ah cell)BOX stack type without cells products.
www.seplos.com

Fully Matched 4pcs 3.2v Eve Genuine Grade A 280ah Lifepo4 (lfp) Cells Battery 6000 Cycles With New Terminals - Buy 12v Deep Cycle Battery new Model Cycle solar Energy Product on Alibaba.com

Fully Matched 4pcs 3.2v Eve Genuine Grade A 280ah Lifepo4 (lfp) Cells Battery 6000 Cycles With New Terminals - Buy 12v Deep Cycle Battery new Model Cycle solar Energy Product on Alibaba.com
www.alibaba.com

17 X EVE 280Ah cells 16s + 1 spare: £2552.45 DDP.
Seplos Case + 2 x 50mm parallel cables + 2 x 50mm battery cables: £648.87 DDP.

I also tried EG4 but they were unable to arrange adequate shipping to the UK.

In the end I went with the EVE cells and a DIY Seplos Mason case. I've saved near 50% of what I would have spent on Pylontech batteries and I'll have 14.3KWH - 200A to play with for just £3201.32 delivered. I could have perhaps negotiated a better deal, but being typically British I did not want to appear rude. :)

I'd recommend Henry at Seplos and Amy Wan at Luyan (As would many others) if you did go down this route.
Click to expand...
Hi @danmc,

Thanks for the reply.


You are a bit more hands on than me, as I would not feel comfortable assembling the bateries from kit. I don't mind a bit of black box connecting but that's about it.


Just out of interest, what inverter are you using to connect to the batteries? I am just thinking about future proofing and would like to be able to programmmatically force a discharge (e.g. send excess electricity back to the grid) as part of a 'P2P' setup.

Thanks,
Graham.
 
grahamwillsher said:
Hi @danmc,

Thanks for the reply.


You are a bit more hands on than me, as I would not feel comfortable assembling the bateries from kit. I don't mind a bit of black box connecting but that's about it.


Just out of interest, what inverter are you using to connect to the batteries? I am just thinking about future proofing and would like to be able to programmmatically force a discharge (e.g. send excess electricity back to the grid) as part of a 'P2P' setup.

Thanks,
Graham.
Click to expand...

Yeah I know what you mean, I was in two minds myself to be honest about whether I'd be able to put it together, but I watched the video below and saw there wasn't that much to it. No soldering or anything like that, and everything you will need to build it is included. Also There's a few people on here who have bought the kit, and it was actually commissioned by a DiySolarForum member, @sergea . So I'm hopeful If I do get stuck, someone on here will be good enough to point me in the right direction. My only concerns really are the sheer size of it and having all my eggs in one basket. My hope is this will see me through the next 5 years or so, at which point battery technology and most importantly battery prices will have hopefully improved.



I'm going to use a Victron Multiplus II Inverter/Charger. I too want to future proof myself as much as possible and the Multiplus ticks all the boxes. It's expensive, but massively configurable. For example I currently do not want to feed back to the grid, at all. I plan on mining crypto with any excess energy, but that may change if the feed in tariffs improve. If that does happen the Multiplus is so configurable it's a relatively simple task to switch it to feed back to the grid. No need to massively reconfigure my system or buy any new hardware. It can also be DC or AC coupled dependent on your needs. It's basically the Swiss Army Knife of inverters. There may be hardware out there that can do the same thing, the EG4 6500EX for example, but Victron are proven to be reliable and they have a massive community, meaning there's loads of support and information out there. Also it's a bit like buying a VW car in the UK. It will hold its value should you ever need to sell the equipment down the line for some reason.

www.victronenergy.com

MultiPlus-II - Victron Energy

The MultiPlus-II is ideally suited for professional marine, yachting, vehicle and land based off-grid applications. Learn more now.
www.victronenergy.com www.victronenergy.com
 
Last edited:
danmc said:
17 X EVE 280Ah cells 16s + 1 spare: £2552.45 DDP.
Seplos Case + 2 x 50mm parallel cables + 2 x 50mm battery cables: £648.87 DDP.

I also tried EG4 but they were unable to arrange adequate shipping to the UK.

In the end I went with the EVE cells and a DIY Seplos Mason case. I've saved near 50% of what I would have spent on Pylontech batteries and I'll have 14.3KWH - 200A to play with for just £3201.32 delivered. I could have perhaps negotiated a better deal, but being typically British I did not want to appear rude. :)

I'd recommend Henry at Seplos and Amy Wan at Luyan (As would many others) if you did go down this route.
Click to expand...

How long did delivery take of the Mason case? I noticed EU sellers of "grade B" EVE cells for about the same price as what you got. I'm still trying to get my head around what kind of inverter and charger I need. I bought 6kw of PV panels this spring, after the war started, as I felt like prices were still last years and probably electricity prices would sky rocket (and that's what's set to happen next year with the regulated prices of electricity in Slovakia, predicted at least 100% increase).
I don't want to grid tie at all right now, I am thinking I can just use manual transfer switches if some days in winter there won't be enough power from the sun, and in the other months extra energy will go to heating water-- finally I won't feel bad to use the inflatable jaccuzi every day. ;-)
 
I'm still waiting for the Mason. I was expecting a 2 month or so wait when I ordered though, and I factored that into the build. So far it's only been around 4 weeks.

I went down the Victron route in the end, which will be massively configurable and hopefully very reliable, but was also extremely expensive. If I were to do it again on a budget knowing what I know now my choice of battery cells and case wouldn't change, but I would probably look at going down another route for the inverter. Maybe a Sunny Island and a couple of Sunny Boys or a DEYE https://www.deyeinverter.com/product/hybrid-inverter-1/sun3-6-5ksg01-03lp1eu.html

The manual transfer switch I'm going to use is a Hager sf263-3250615561008. I looked at the automatic transfer switches, but their apparent quality didn't fill me with much confidence. An MCB in a consumer unit seemed to be the sensible way to go. Although I may look at the auto transfer switches again at some point if I decide to add an inverter in series with my Multiplus to up the KW as @Off-Grid-Garage did (below), so I can automatically switch my AC-IN back to the grid when my battery bank has been depleted.

 
Last edited:
danmc said:
I was in a similar position as yourself last month. I spent around 3 weeks trying to find Pylontech stock without any luck. Being in the UK it's slim pickings as you likely already know.


When I couldn't find anything I started to look at other options. I narrowed the alternatives down to -:

SOK Battery 48V100Ah Server Rack Battery​

www.europe.sokbattery.com

SOK Battery 48V100Ah Server Rack Battery | SOK Battery Europe

EU - Pre-order. Will be in stock in 27-May. All pre-order can enjoy - €50 discount. Contact cusotmer service to get the refund.UK - Out of stock. If pre order waiting time is too long, orders could be cancelled on request for a full 100% refund anytime prior to when the order has been shipped...
www.europe.sokbattery.com www.europe.sokbattery.com

Quoted £1784 per battery delivered DDP to the UK.

16 x EVE 280ah Cells + Seplos Mason DIY case

MASON DIY Unit (suitable EVE 280Ah cell)BOX stack type without cells

High quality MASON DIY Unit (suitable EVE 280Ah cell)BOX stack type without cells from China, China's leading Seplos DIY Kits product market, With strict quality control Seplos DIY Kits factories, Producing high quality MASON DIY Unit (suitable EVE 280Ah cell)BOX stack type without cells products.
www.seplos.com

Fully Matched 4pcs 3.2v Eve Genuine Grade A 280ah Lifepo4 (lfp) Cells Battery 6000 Cycles With New Terminals - Buy 12v Deep Cycle Battery new Model Cycle solar Energy Product on Alibaba.com

Fully Matched 4pcs 3.2v Eve Genuine Grade A 280ah Lifepo4 (lfp) Cells Battery 6000 Cycles With New Terminals - Buy 12v Deep Cycle Battery new Model Cycle solar Energy Product on Alibaba.com
www.alibaba.com

17 X EVE 280Ah cells 16s + 1 spare: £2552.45 DDP.
Seplos Case + 2 x 50mm parallel cables + 2 x 50mm battery cables: £648.87 DDP.

I also tried EG4 but they were unable to arrange adequate shipping to the UK.

In the end I went with the EVE cells and a DIY Seplos Mason case. I've saved near 50% of what I would have spent on Pylontech batteries and I'll have 14.3KWH - 200A to play with for just £3201.32 delivered. I could have perhaps negotiated a better deal, but being typically British I did not want to appear rude. :)

I'd recommend Henry at Seplos and Amy Wan at Luyan (As would many others) if you did go down this route.
Click to expand...
this is a great solution, I would like to go this way myself.
where did you end up getting the cells please? I see that the Luuyan sell them in packs of 4 but like yourself, I would prefer to have one spare.
 
Welsh Darkness said:
this is a great solution, I would like to go this way myself.
where did you end up getting the cells please? I see that the Luuyan sell them in packs of 4 but like yourself, I would prefer to have one spare.
Click to expand...

I bought them from @Amy Wan at Luyuan. She came highly recommended. The cells haven't arrived yet, but I've no complaints so far.

If you're struggling to get anything back from Seplos via Alibabe try henry@seplos.com. His comms are excellent.

Also I'm not sure if it would be an option, but it's worth asking Amy if the Seplos case and the batteries could be shipped together if Seplos deliver the case to Luyuan rather than yourself. I only saw after I'd alsready placed my order that other people have done this. Let me know how you get on, dependent on how this order goes i may be placing another in the not too distant future and it would be good to save a bit on shipping and have everything arrive at the same time.
 
The same battery as the EG4LL with the LCD screen is now available in the UK under the brand name e4LiFe.uk.
The bad news is, the exchange rate for the British Pound vs US Dollar has slumped to record lows in 2022 which means the battery is not nearly as competitive as in the USA but when comparing costs with similar like for like server 5kWh batteries like the Plyontech and other brands, they are all in the same ball park, bar a few hundred quid here and there.

e4LiFe Server Rack Batteries.png
 
drh said:
The same battery as the EG4LL with the LCD screen is now available in the UK under the brand name e4LiFe.uk.
The bad news is, the exchange rate for the British Pound vs US Dollar has slumped to record lows in 2022 which means the battery is not nearly as competitive as in the USA but when comparing costs with similar like for like server 5kWh batteries like the Plyontech and other brands, they are all in the same ball park, bar a few hundred quid here and there.

View attachment 112133
Click to expand...

Us Brits always seem to get shafted. If it isn't the exchange rate it's import taxes.
 
  • Like
Reactions: drh
BigDean said:
Looks interesting. Anyone have any experience of these?
Click to expand...
If you scroll down (or look on youtube) Will has reviewed them - summary good battery (but expensive at the time - less now) BUT inadequate cables which may or may not be an issue , I only need 2 batteries
 
dmsims said:
If you scroll down (or look on youtube) Will has reviewed them - summary good battery (but expensive at the time - less now) BUT inadequate cables which may or may not be an issue , I only need 2 batteries
Click to expand...
I checked that out, but he didn’t seem to test it fully (capacity and comma) as he was hung up on the cost and cables. The cost in the U.K. appears to be as good as it gets at £1499. They include a rack and a bit of discount if you buy multiple. Interesting.
 
grahamwillsher said:
Hi,

I have been looking at the Pylon US5000 rack mount battery. Has anybody managed to get hold of one, and what inverter are you using on it?

I already have solar panels installed, so am looking for recommendations for an AC coupled inverter that would work with these batteries.

Any comments/suggestions welcomed.

Thanks,

Graham.
Click to expand...
An update on things.

I have purchased a Victron Multiplus II GX (wanted the GX so that I could use the MQTT stuff out of the box to link into my Home Assistant setup). Placed the order on 23rd December and it arrived on the 28th December as promised. I also ordered 3 Pylontech US5000, this was a completely different matter, as the company I originally ordered them from were let down numerous times by their suppliers and after waiting for 5 weeks no show, so I cancelled the order. I then placed the same order with another supplier on Mondy morning and the batteries were delviered on Tuesday morning. I have ordered an 18U 19" rack with additional rack rails (was also recommended to have the rails by the sales guy who said that when their racks have been purchased for holding batteries it is recommended to have the rails as the batteries are 39Kg in weight) The rack should arrive on Monday 30th January, with the order being placed on the previous Tuesday. My original Solar installer is back on site on Wednesday 1st February to finalise what additional equipment is required and discuss what things need/can be done prior his return to finish the battery install, to get things to work. Looking at a 45 day lead time on the G99 paperwork.

I will update when things have moved on again.

Graham.
 
None of the Victron Multiplus are ENA certified in an ongoing fiasco, it may well change!

Where did you get the rack?
 
30p/kWh is pretty damn good. My DIY battery worked out at 20p and I can definitely see the benefit of premade and server rack form factor for just 10p/kWh more.
 
danmc said:
Genuine question. Why would you buy one of these over a Pylontech US5000 which is only around £150 more for the same capacity?
Click to expand...
I think you answered your own question. £150 is a lot of money. If the quality is not a lot different then the question becomes why spend the extra?
 
danmc said:
Genuine question. Why would you buy one of these over a Pylontech US5000 which is only around £150 more for the same capacity?
Click to expand...

One answer is that if you DIY Pylontech you havre no warranty
 
ShaneC said:
I think you answered your own question. £150 is a lot of money. If the quality is not a lot different then the question becomes why spend the extra?
Click to expand...

Not really. If Pylontech's quality and inverter support was superior I would gladly pay the extra £150, possibly more to save the headaches and for the extra functionality.

That's why I asked, it wasn't a loaded question, I was genuinely curious.
 
dmsims said:
One answer is that if you DIY Pylontech you havre no warranty
Click to expand...

I did see those threads after asking the question.Was a surprising read given Pylontech's ubiquitousness. I would have expected better.
 
danmc said:
I did see those threads after asking the question.Was a surprising read given Pylontech's ubiquitousness. I would have expected better.
Click to expand...
5. Exclusions of Warranty To the extent permitted by law, Pylontech excludes all liability for the Product to the extent that any damage or defect has been caused or contributed to by the following:

6. Storage, installation, commissioning, modification or repair of the Product that has been performed by a person other than Pylontech or a Pylontech’s certified installer
 
Quick update.
Victron MultiplusII-GX and 3 x US5000 Pylontech batteries installed and running as of 4th May 2023.
Just waiting for a console cable for the Pylontech batteries so that I can get individual information from each battery, as the Victron sees the batteries as a single storage unit, then I can feed this information into my Home assistant setup.
I have imported 3.5kWh from the grid since that time, so quite happy with the results so far.
 

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grahamwillsher said:
Quick update.
Victron MultiplusII-GX and 3 x US5000 Pylontech batteries installed and running as of 4th May 2023.
Just waiting for a console cable for the Pylontech batteries so that I can get individual information from each battery, as the Victron sees the batteries as a single storage unit, then I can feed this information into my Home assistant setup.
I have imported 3.5kWh from the grid since that time, so quite happy with the results so far.
Click to expand...
Where did you buy the server rack?
Also do you have solar or just batteries?
 
danmc said:
Not really. If Pylontech's quality and inverter support was superior I would gladly pay the extra £150, possibly more to save the headaches and for the extra functionality.

That's why I asked, it wasn't a loaded question, I was genuinely curious.
Click to expand...
Don't forget also that the Pylontech US5000 is only 15 cell and hence 4.8kWh, rather than most other 16 cell / 5.1kWh battery racks
 
grahamwillsher said:
Quick update.
Victron MultiplusII-GX and 3 x US5000 Pylontech batteries installed and running as of 4th May 2023.
Just waiting for a console cable for the Pylontech batteries so that I can get individual information from each battery, as the Victron sees the batteries as a single storage unit, then I can feed this information into my Home assistant setup.
I have imported 3.5kWh from the grid since that time, so quite happy with the results so far.
Click to expand...
Pylontech Console cable now installed. I can now get data from each battery and cell individually. This is achieved by connecting from a USB port on my thin client running Home Assistant, and using Node Red (in Home Assistant) to carry out all of the communications/logic then using MQTT to send the data back to Home Assistant.

Have currently got my system configured so that I force discharge my batteries from 16:00 - 19:00 (limiting to 25% of the stored capacity) - to take advantage of the premium rates paid for exported Electricty at that time, then via the Victron inverter schedule a charging of the batteries from 02:00 - 05:00 to capitalise on the cheaper priced Electricty import rates.

Still early days with my configuration, so no doubt a few tweaks here and there to get things working how they should. All in all happy so far.

For the period 16th May - 6th June I imported 1.1kWh of Electricity from the grid as I was using stored electricity during the periods when solar was not available. My usage profile will probably change as I take advantage of the premium rates paid for exported electricity and the reduced rates for consuming electricty within certain timeframes.
 
Still awaiting order completion frogstar server rack battery's - battery look good build but as to how bms work each outer and the Victron system will have to be a later up date as all cables are missing from the order made back April 2023 and cap it all mist the G99 test date with dno so may not paper work this year dno think you time wasting we now in dog house with them
 
One of my Pylontechs has developed a fault, I think it's a problem with the BMS board but sourcing a new one is proving pretty much impossible.
I still have 3 good Pylontechs so reluctant to part with them but Fogstar/Seplos sound like good value and quality.
My question is, has anyone tried mixing Seplos with Pylontech ?
 
Pylontech is 15s, seplos 16s..

Slightly different voltages.
I suppose if you hook them up to a busbar, it should be fine as the bms's will protect the batteries I suppose, don't expect them to communicate with eachother
 
houseofancients said:
Pylontech is 15s, seplos 16s..

Slightly different voltages.
I suppose if you hook them up to a busbar, it should be fine as the bms's will protect the batteries I suppose, don't expect them to communicate with eachother
Click to expand...
Thanks for that.
I guess it's a no go if they won't communicate with each other.
I have a faulty Pylontech and was thinking of replacing it with one of the new 5.12kwh Fogstar rack batteries.
 
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