diy solar

diy solar

Will blasts Chargery

Cal said:
There's a reason most of the high performance BMS's have data logging capability.
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Sorry to jump into the middle of this conversation but I am new here and have not read the entire thread. The above comment explains exactly why I have been using an Orion Jr. BMS for the past 6 years on two different hybrid inverters with two different packs.

The data logging is important to me and the recent addition of a cloud connect service allows me to check on the health of my pack from anywhere in the world. I have to admit my only experience with Chargery was 10 years ago with an e bike pack that I built. Then 6 years ago when I was installing the first hybrid inverter I had no idea they made 48 volt BMSs. I went to the EV conversion marketlace looking for a BMS. I primarily use my BMS for information and mostly leave off the balancing function. It is configurable which has been important as I have migrated from LiFePO4 to NMC Nissan Leaf and expect to make another change in the next year.
 
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Will Prowse said:
What settings did you change? I still don't get the point. Why do you care about the capacitance? When has that figure changed anything in your design?

Missing data for what? Cycling bandwidth? Even though it's dynamic, it doesn't make a big difference because with LiFePO4, the voltage curve becomes quite dramatic at high and low SOC, so using normal voltage cut offs work fine. What is your goal exactly? Not sure what you are trying to control and what the point is.

And yes, static measurements because these are simple systems. There are no signal control systems or anything that we need to plot data over time. It's just a bunch of voltage sensitive switching and converting. What are you trying to optimize? If it works, then it's fine. Can you give actual examples of optimizing your system with your data logging? Have IR and capacitance really been an issue for you?

If you are running high c rates, then I would understand why you need to log this stuff. But for solar? I just don't see the point. You are trickle charging it. Changing the voltage cut offs for various SOC does not need data logging. Just watch SOC rise to what you wish to cycle to, then log highest cell voltage and set the absorption on SCC.
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Some of us are just geeks and we like to know what's happening. Probably not necessary. But I still check the oil in my car now and then. Also for me my important system is 1000 miles from my home so I like to know as much as I can so I can bring necessary equipment and suppkies. Again these are all first world problems.
 
chevymike said:
I have been really close to pulling the trigger on the Chargery but was really waiting for a review on it. Has me rethinking my plan.
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Some folks like Plug and Play .. some like to tinker ...

My boss use to hate TESLA cars and always made fun of us that drove them .. he kept saying that it was tooo complicated and this and that .. he drove Chevy's all his life and no EV would ever take a place of a real vehicle .... finally I made him drive my car (speed limit where i am at in Texas is 85MPH) ... we stayed triple digits most of the 50 miles into town ... when we got back from town all he could talk about was how much power it had and takeoff and how every piece was solid and no noise and no vibration and that it was the easiest car in the word to drive etc etc ... he said that he is in the process of getting one for his "wife" .... I tell you this long-ass story because you have to make your own decisions ... If 3 months ago someone had asked my boss about Tesla he would have said only soy-boy tree-huggers from CA drove those ... NOW if you ask him he is like "THATS THE GREATEEST CAR I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!!!!"... And honestly -- I think if Jason makes a few changes then 3 months from now Will will be saying "THIS is the best BMS out there"... Honestly - I don't need a million dollar display on a BMS -- shit - its a BMS - I normally set them and forget them and unless some warning siren goes off i figure they are doing their job ...
 
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Will Prowse said:
Yes it will give you an accurate calibration. A shunt is not complex and a resistance value will give you 100% accurate results every time. It's just a shunt, nothing special at all. You can do the calculations on your own. Or even make your own shunt if you wish. It is easy.

An SSR for inverter control or as a disconnect for high current capacitative loads? Not sure what you mean there.

I think Jason is trying to make money selling his ebike BMS to the DIY solar market. I do not know Jason and I do not give any special treatment to any company trying to sell a product. I judge products for how they function. If they can make it an ideal solution for solar batteries compared to other options, I will love it.

I used half the cells in another project and cycled them. I did not top balance them at all and it would probably take a few days to do it. My video was not a demonstration of cell balancing, but one of BMS functionality. The cell deviation voltage is still better suited for other chemistries of lithium ion battery. Not LiFePO4 at low c rates.
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SOOO I honestly don't think that Jason was going after the DIY Solar market at all -- BUT that the DIY Solar market came to him ... I had been buying Chargery things for years and I had a list of things that I had sent Jason that I wished he would do but never heard anything back ... I was just another single voice ... Then I actually ran into @Steve_S and found out that he and I were fans ... and then we ran into @Craig and it started to snowball ... pretty soon there was ppl (thus $$$) behind those suggestions that especially @Steve_S was suggesting and I think that we collectively have helped Chargery realize that this is a HUGE market and if they won't do it someone else will -- and they are doing the best they can with trying to help us ... BUT YES - their system was designed initially for E-Bikes and they do NOT hide that at all ...

Does their shunts suck - OH YES .. but are they useable for what I need for them to do -- YEP ... DO their relays cuase global warming - YEP -- so don't use them ... `1000's of relays to choose from ...
 
Bob B said:
I have followed the Chargery communications threads, but have not yet tried to bring data from the Chargery into another system. I wish there were better communications options .... and am pretty sure that is being worked on at Chargery .... but I got no answer to my question about when those options will be available.
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Totally with YOU 1000% ... my whole life is on an IPAD here at work .. I can walk by gazzillion watt generator and tap a button on my IPAD and see what the spark gap on the 14th cylinder is set at and adjust it - while eating a sandwich .... SOOOO I wish the Chargery was the same ... no reason at all in 2020 that it shouldn't be that way .. YES I have got bored and played with some communication (wifi and bluetooth) capabilities attached to the Chargery BUT come-on -- comms is a pretty big thing for most of us ... I want to be able to lay in bed and see how my batteries are while binging on BREAKING BAD ... which by the way - HOLY SHIT thats a great show - since the oil business has gone silent we have allot less generators to worry about and allot more NETFLIX bingeing out here -- watched the entire series in a week ... WOW what a show - but I digress ... PLUS if they could push their app to a computer screen then ppl would not care about the little 8-bit Atari "pong" screen ...
 
solardad said:
@Will Prowse I bought this one last year from ICGOGO https://www.ebay.com/itm/192713045620 200a version.

My ANT BMS is disconnected now so I can not check the settings but mine is similar to the one that you posted and has a stated max charge rate of only 50a. Were you able to confirm you can change the charge rate higher than 50a on yours? If so what model, link?
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I'm sorry but apparently you did not get the memo that the words - ICGOGO will ever be mentioned again ... so we have a guy out here from Louisiana that most of us can't understand speaking that cajun French-stuff -- but he makes these little dolls that he puts ppls names on he does not like and then drops them into the well head - so "SOLARDAD" - this is your first warning ...
 
Bob B said:
For that much money ... what does it do the Chargery doesn't?
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I have not reviewed the Chargery and as far as I know the Chargery was not availble when I purchase the Orion Jr. The Orion in rock solid and the bigger version is used in a lot of EV conversions. It has a lot more features than are necessary for a stationary application. The current shunt is external and the LVC, HVD and safety shutoffs are just low current 12 volt signals designed to operate Large Amperage Contactors, SSRs or relays.
 
ghostwriter66 said:
PLUS if they could push their app to a computer screen then ppl would not care about the little 8-bit Atari "pong" screen ...
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And I am either a couch potato or traveling and when my Orion craps out I will give Chargery a look and those features will probably be available on my phone by then.
 
ghostwriter66 said:
I'm sorry but apparently you did not get the memo that the words - ICGOGO will ever be mentioned again ... so we have a guy out here from Louisiana that most of us can't understand speaking that cajun French-stuff -- but he makes these little dolls that he puts ppls names on he does not like and then drops them into the well head - so "SOLARDAD" - this is your first warning ...
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I call them IcNoNo
 
FilterGuy said:
That looks like a nice unit. It uses dual-coil latching relays. I wonder what it costs. For the chargery, you would need two (The per-charge can be a regular relay.)
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1588680846041.png

The development company REC directs in his HP on business partners.
One business partner, providing whole BMS kits for marine application, offers as well some solid latching relays with a detailed spec.
 
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