Good morning folks,
My apology. You are correct, I should have followed up on this conversation. So, as the late Paul Harvey would have said: "Here's the rest of the story!"
-- I could never get the cheap, likely very low-quality BMS that came on/inside the cheap Chinese batteries to reset. And, I could get zero help from the seller.
-- But, I did order an (Overkill look-alike) BMS on AliExpress, as suggested in this Forum. Finally, about a month ago, I re-learned how to do a little soldering (it had been 30 years) and completed the tear-apart and clean up of one of the 3 failed batteries. Heeding the warnings of several of you here, I was exceedingly careful and slow and, therefore, escaped electrocuting myself. Wiring on and then zip-tieing the new BMS was relatively easy for me, it turned out, once I got the old BMS off the battery and cleaned up the wiring mess that was there
-- After taking off the failed BMS, the battery showed nearly full charge via my multimeter. I directly recharged the failed battery (sans old BMS) with a 120 volt LiFePO4 10 amp charger that came with it. Then, with a 100 amp bolt-on fuse in line as a precaution, I tested the battery with two little appliances -- a 12-volt heating pad and a 12-volt fan. It never drained much at all even after about an hour. Following the recharge and the slow-drain test, The battery held the charge for over a week. I haven't bothered to check the charge level recently, as I have been traveling.
Footnote: (a) I discovered a handwritten note inside the old battery cover that said 138.2 (I think was the number). I'm assuming that was the tested Ah capacity of the failed battery instead of the 150 Ah it was supposed to be. It is not surprising that a cheap Chinese battery would not be as advertised. (b) I also discovered the cells/battery were used/rewired as previous BMS leads were just cut off and still sticking out while the failed BMS leads were soldered onto small copper pieces and bolted onto the cells.
-- When the new Overkill-like BMS was connected, magically the battery was working again through the BMS ! ! !
So once again, thank you to all who so graciously guided this complete novice through the frustrating process of "dead" batteries and no power when in the middle of nowhere in the Arizona desert. Again and again, thank you.
Related info, FYI
(1) I have not yet hooked the "repaired" battery with the new working BMS into my system. That's because my two replacement batteries are working just fine, a total of 400 Ah of LiFePO4 capacity. I don't really need another 138 Ah of battery capacity.
(2) The eBay/PayPal warranty system works, albeit slow and difficult. I bought the warranty/insurance on two of the three failed batteries. Eventually, after a bit of a fight, I got reimbursement for the two failed batteries. With that money, I purchased a newer-technology 200 Ah LiFePO4 battery which came with a Daly BMS. It works great.
(3) Out of the clear blue, after 6 months of trying and my numerous online bad ratings of the failed batteries and the U.S. seller, I received a message from that MIA seller. He offered a 200Ah battery as a replacement for the third of the failed batteries. I assume that was because the batteries/BMS failed within the 1-year warranty the seller advertised on PayPal. I'm sure sending the replacement battery was not out of the goodness of his heart; rather to get me off his back and stop my complaints. I accepted.
(4) After worrying a while about wiring in the sellers' replacement (old technology) 200Ah battery with the new technology 200Ah battery I purchased with eBay warranty funds, I wired those two batteries to a bus bar through bolt-on 100 amp fuses and a 150 amp breaker after getting help on this Forum about safely doing that. They seem to be working just fine together. While boondocking in my RV on two successive very cloudy and rainy days, my Ali meter showed that batteries drained only to 81% and then recharged to 100% by 2:00 pm on the first sunny day. That was not conserving any power and running my 3000-watt inverter both days (off at night). I still have a problem with that inverter, which is another issue. I have ordered a replacement inverter.
My current conundrum is whether or not to wire the previously failed battery with the new Overkill-like BMS into my system? I have not yet done so because I have not yet gotten the app to load so I can check the Overkill BMS settings, and adjust if necessary?
My concern is that I assume the Daly BMS settings on the newest battery I purchased should be the same as the Overkill BMS settings on the repaired battery? I've also been pondering whether I should create two battery banks with an A-B-Both-Off switch like I once had on boats. My reasoning is this might be a safety precaution because I don't really trust the old batteries even with the new Overkill BMS. And, it might be good backup so I am never again stranded in the middle of nowhere without any power.
I have ordered two additional Overkill-like BMS units to eventually install on the remaining two "failed" batteries.
So, I still have some work to do. But, it is not rushed because my system is working OKI for now.
The "rest of the story" then is:
-- A very old dog can learn a few new tricks, even if very slowly and with considerable difficulty.
-- Dealing with batteries, solar, inverters, fuses, breakers, etc. can be very confusing, frustrating and scary for a knowledgeless novice.
-- And, keeping the system working is a never-ending challenge! Clearly, it is not a set-it-up-and-forget-it by following Will's basic solar system online video as this beginner naively and wrongly assumed when starting my system install.
My deep, heartfelt appreciation to all for your help and support. I will never be able to say that often enough.
Thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU!
jesfl
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