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diy solar

Unpleasant surprise

UpsideofDownsizing

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Jun 18, 2021
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20210618_101329.jpgA few days ago I woke up to this surprise. One of my 48v Chevy Volt batteries split. The picture of the entire battery bank shows that the outside cell on each battery is showing a bit of bulge. The system is still running as usual. We've never had the system go down because of running the batteries too low. Low cut off is set at 42v. Fully charged is 49.1. I thought I would ask your thoughts on my situation.20210618_101321.jpg
 
Doesn't GM do more to support the compression when installed int the car? I thought there were steel plates at each end of the pack to support those threaded rods that are only pulling on plastic.

I don't know what to say about the one pack that popped, but I'd say you should better/more evenly compress those packs.
 
Thank you for your response. The metal plates that are located on either end of each module are indeed in place. I am looking at alternative methods for compressing the individual plates.
 
I'm 18650 but this is one of those topics that seems to be unclear. Pouch cells seem to need compression... but while 'some' compression seems advised - it doesn't mean that pouch cells are immune to failure.

Do you think the cells are just at a stage of failing? or do you think compression/lack-of-compression allowed it? or maybe somewhere in between?

I does seem like these need to be replaced.
 
I'm 18650 but this is one of those topics that seems to be unclear. Pouch cells seem to need compression... but while 'some' compression seems advised - it doesn't mean that pouch cells are immune to failure.

Do you think the cells are just at a stage of failing? or do you think compression/lack-of-compression allowed it? or maybe somewhere in between?

I does seem like these need to be replaced.
The individual modules are performing as expected. I think additional compression support will help mitigate future distortion. The battery bank did come from a 2013 ( Gen 1) Chevy Volt and as such will of course eventually require replacement. We are fortunate to be in a situation where the daily discharge is nowhere near the preset discharge shut off of 42.5 volts. I'm now researching methods of adjustable compression which would help the individual cells hold their shape.
 
I see. I've got strapping material ( non metallic ) that I could use to recreate that original banding. Thanks for the advice! I'll post more pics when done.
 
I used a webbing to compress/stabilize the batteries. I was going to replicate the original location of the OEM banding but decided to add an additional strap to each battery to hopefully provide a more even compression. See pic. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread. I really appreciate the input!
 

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