What's better, lots of small Lithium Batteries or a few large Lithium batteries?

[Offgridder8888]

Hi guys I will have about 3x550 watt solar panels =1650 watts total and I'm in the tropics at the equqtor. I want to have 4800 watt hours of lithium batteries. I originally wanted to just get 2x 24Vx100AH lithium batteries but the local battery supplier only has 12Vx14AH batteries in stock, so I would need 28 of those batteries to get the 4800 watt hours I want. Are there any advantages or disadvantages to using 28 of the smaller batteries (12Vx14AH) vs just 2 of the bigger (24Vx100AH) batteries. Price is about the same. I figure with the 28 batteries, if a few of them were to be defective, it would be much easier and more affordable to replace than the bigger lithium batteries. Are there any upsides to having the bigger batteries?


I'm in a 3rd world country so trying to import the 24V x 100AH lithium batteries would be a logistical nightmare that I have yet to solve. It would be much easier to buy the smaller batteries here.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[sparkyv]

I would go for the 2 x 24/100ah if at all possible. Reason being keeping the 28 batteries balanced could be an issue, more chances of a defective battery, and you don't have to deal with a Battery mgmt system (BMS). I do know what its like getting supplies to islands and that sucks. Keep looking for suppliers that may ship to you. Good luck.

 

[Don B. Cilly]

Are imports from China restricted in your country?
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[Shimmy]

Knowing what country you are in likely would help. The reliability with the 14Ah batteries is going to be tough. Can you order cells (or batteries) from your local supplier; can he deal with the import challenges?

 

[Offgridder8888]

Most logistic services refuse to ship Lithium batteries

 

[sergea]

What ever your choice is, be sure you can serie and/or parallel them. Not all batteries support series/parallel connection.

 

[Don B. Cilly]

Most logistic services refuse to ship Lithium batteries

So they do here, but LiFePO4 isn't really prone to self-combustion, and they do take that into account.
For example, Amazon will not ship a phone battery to this island, but it will ship an LFP cell.

It will also ship a phone here with a combustible (Lithium-cobalt) battery in it, which can catch fire if it's connected to something (like a phone) but not really if it's not... which just shows - quite well - the absurdity of some regulations.
Maybe ask.
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[sparkyv]

Are imports from China restricted in your country?
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lol, everything comes from China.

 

[time2roll]

If the system is 24 volts I would get the 24v format. Yes I believe larger is better to be easier to manage and connect everything.
I would hold out and order what works best instead of compromising with what is on the shelf.
Check if the local supplier can use his supply channel to order.

 

[sergea]

Most logistic services refuse to ship Lithium batteries

On which island are you staying ?

 

[rmaddy]

A 2P arrangement of 24V 100Ah batteries only needs 2 wires and 4 lugs to connect everything together.

A 2S14P arrangement of 12V 14Ah batteries requires 42 wires and 84 lugs and a pair of bus bars capable of handling 15 connections each to connect everything together. Keeping that many batteries balanced will be a lot of work with a lot of chances for issues. And this all assumes the 12V 14Ah batteries even support being put in series. 14 batteries in parallel is a nightmare.

Find a way to get the higher capacity batteries. Even 4 12V 100Ah batteries would be a major improvement over 28 12V 14Ah batteries. But again, if you end up getting 12V batteries instead of 24V batteries, do make sure that they support being put in series.