BUILDING my own LITHIUM BATTERY from SCRATCH!

[@pewpew2400]

'If I bought a battery and it looked like that I would be pretty happy' - just as i was looking at it thinking it looked like a bomb HAHAHA!! nice work boys, thanks for another vid :)

[@dale4330]

My build of 4 catyl cells is now over 6 years old. The guys who built the Winston cells must be up to at least 12 years now. Good on you T1 terry who pioneered this so long ago. Thanks goes to Will Prouse who has been freely showing people how to do this for many years too. His forum is awesome if you want to learn more. It really isn't hard.

[@yeetusj8152]

I’ve watched alot of battery builds but man this is a good one. Explained it well so anyone without battery knowledge would be able to assemble it aswell. Keep it up great vid

[@Clynikal]

Kapton tape mate! Also windscreen sealant for waterproofing. Great video, great build. One of the best videos I’ve seen in a while.

[@-PORK-CHOP-]

Good job Mate with one oversight, the location of the BMS will pretty much guarantee it's premature failure, ideally the BMS should be on top of the batteries with nothing around it so it can dissipate heat, firstly putting tape over the BMS will restrict it's ability to dissipate heat at that point causing a hot spot for the components under that part of the heatsink, , second jamming foam up against it will be the death of the BMS as it will constantly overheat, and keep lowering it's ability to take or give out power, with eventual failure of the BMS. Best method is to insulate the top of the batteries then place BMS on top with an airgap to the top of the casing, if going on the side, it also needs airflow around it to keep it happy, or it will fail, other than that you did a good job with the right components.

[@braydenpleydell9789]

Unless there pulling close to 100A for long periods of time, these BMSs dont get very warm since there so efficient, so location wont effect it in this cirmunstance.

[@whiteunicornDR659]

No chance of this overheating. Great work! 👍

[@toufic1987]

Well done mate...geez your video really makes it alot easier and simpler to understand how it all works well done...its made me wanna build my own one now.

[@peteraust1968]

These videos are exactly what your Chanel is all about. 4wding, travelling, maintainence and doing it all in a way that us average blokes can understand and afford. Most of us are limited financially and these vids are a godsend as they show that you don’t have to be made of money to have 1/2 decent gear. Thanks boys. Well done. Cheers….. Pete

[@AussieArvos]

Thanks Pete! Means alot mate!

[@seanfrench4395]

Awesome guys. I’ve been looking into what battery to get for my canopy setup. Now you have got me thinking of making my own.

[@AndrewHacking]

Great video! Something to consider for the bus bars is to ensure the holes are elongated to allow some sliding as the cells expand and contract through charging and discharging. This swelling is unavoidable and due to both heat and the physics of the atomic size of the lithium atoms when they migrate within the cell through the charging and discharging cycles.

[@sparkletornado5890]

NIce build. Top tip is to connect the balance leads and then check the voltage before plugging it into the BMS. If you get the order wrong it may not work or worse can damage the BMS if you short them.

[@HammerRocks]

Good one fellas. You made it look simple. I hope you do a long term review in the future of your handy work. 👍

[@AussieArvos]

Thanks hammerrocks!

[@nathan100tz]

Good to know about the eve cells and daly bms as I've been contemplating building a 600-800Ah battery for my touring truck.

[@ChrisZBr0wn]

I built my own too. 150ah of LEV60 cells and twin 200A BMS’s with Bluetooth. I can output 400a easy to run my 4kw inverter.

[@adamcarson1516]

The terminal bolts are supposed to be torqued down, I would probably loctite them as well as I’m sure you’re going to travel down corrugated roads… throw those Phillips head screws away !.. bus bars could vibrate loose and create a hot connection / make a fire

[@TorqHub]

Great run down on piecing together your own battery mate! There's definitely scope for more capacity in that case I reckon! The ATG slimline appears to be the same case and has 200aH in there. Food for thought if you're feelin' froggy and thinking about a v2.0 lol

[@Pneumaticcannon]

Nice work mate. Good work insulating the cells from each other and mounting it in the case. Few things to note, wear eye protection and use insulated tools. Arc flash and molten metal can take your eyes out. Depending you may need to balance the cells before constructing the battery also.. lifepo4 has a very flat voltage curve so may read the same voltage but not be the same state of charge. The BMS might not be able to balance the battery fast enough and will cutout early and lose access to some capacity.

[@Dirt-Diggler]

@Pneumaticcannon especially the Daly ! Very slow to balance cells, mine are all EVE280, all within 1mv when assembled and the Daly couldn't even keep them balanced 😞 never saw more than 200ma on the balance leads, before I got a better BMS I used to top balance the pack manually once a year.

[@-PORK-CHOP-]

@@Dirt-Diggler Did you go with a JK BMS to replace the DALY ?

[@Dirt-Diggler]

@-PORK-CHOP- yes in all 3 packs, Ive had 2 of them just about year so far and they are still fine, I went with the 2A balance versions.

[@The_ElunduExpeditionProject]

Absolutely brilliant! I am going to look into building my own 200ah battery for my custom buildout. 💯💯

[@OzFPVflyer]

Just bought my own cells at 280Ah and a 200Amp JK BMS and ready to build with lots of extras including a 300 amp shunt. Happy days. Just ordered 2 stickers to place on my battery boys. Cheers from WA

[@AussieArvos]

Thanks mate! Really appreciate the support!

[@sfvirgo]

good job tapin over the cooling fan

[@FarqueKnowsWhere]

Looking at lithium battery prices, fark, then saw this video, might have a go at building my own. Good easy to understand tutorial, no babblin on. Like to see a 6-12 month update.

[@mrrberger]

Knackers! Staino Bus Bar? Thermoblock on Daly cooling? Limp wrist torque on the connectors?The conductive resistance of stainless steel (6x10-7) to copper (1.8x10-8) is like 33 to 1 so heat gain in the bars will effect resistance 10x times more. The bus bars will grow in length and start the loosening process. Torque specification for full load by life cycles is 10x what your stale twistie turn achieved, the resistance will go up just like the flames when you're half way through dead dingo dongers track. Oh dont count on the grey tape to hold as any summer outback adventure using batteries half hard and prior to the daly shutting down will soften that tape into random toilet snot. Do some, just some research and relaunch the Vlog, not this Flog. He said "Seems too simple" will go on the coroners report just before died by the Dunning-Kruger effect.

[@RayJohnson1980]

If you want more if about cells and bmses suggest a look at the off grid garage

[@brunosperka6933]

Shouldn't the BMS also have thermal management- hot and cold limits?

[@hila2k2]

Love the Arvo Kings battery setup!

[@scott_edwards23]

You read my mind when you whipped out the Aussie Arvos sticker to cover the kings sticker, then a fridge with VB cans. great ep. Cheers boys

[@shaddonaghue]

That is pretty awesome, i bet its satisfying to see it all work so well , and no doubt for years to come. Thanks for the video and some ideas 🤔

[@williamfrance-]

You guys did the math on the DIY busbar’s CCC, right? Bit concerned at how thin they look to be pulling that kind of current if they’re aly or steel given the higher resistivity than copper. Would love to see a video showing some testing under load, particularly the heat dissipation as we get into the hotter months later this year.

[@AussieArvos]

Yeah they were alot thicker then the ones provided!

[@putnamehereholdmadoodle]

​@AussieArvos i wouldnt be showing beer guzzling patrol drivers how to speed run a melt down.

[@rossturner3650]

I did think that packing the battery in insulation could come back to bite him with the summer temps you get. But under the tray it'll be permanently shaded so it's not like it's baking inside an enclosed cab

[@4x4touring47]

@@putnamehereholdmadoodle I understand the patrol drivers bit . . . . but whats with the beer guzzling . . . carmon mate 🙂

[@putnamehereholdmadoodle]

@@4x4touring47 lol

[@AlexSwan]

Looks good, except no temperature sensors. What about high and low temp protection?

[@merinofarmeragriculturewor4623]

Awesome as guys iv done this 3 years ago & it worked good as

[@BDL090754]

Excellent video lads, You have done this really well. Thank you very much, very helpful.

[@braydenpleydell9789]

Awesome work guys! That battery will last you a long time

[@mrskinnyman675]

Was literally sitting there waiting for an upload, what a Sunday lol. Good job fellas.

[@AussieArvos]

Thanks mate!

[@lloydkennedy7433]

Wow, that was pretty simple. Looking forward to a Ultra Slim 200ah DIY to put behind my rear 4B seat.

[@fatmanoverlanding]

You can tell a lot of research went into this, as you made it all look simple. Isn't it great when a plan comes together? Great work gents. 👍

[@wilso7235]

Nice guys you’ve done 👍 I love the Victron gear as well , it’s all Bluetooth including the solar controllers

[@BeeBeorn]

Nice. The Ctek charger in lithium mode is maximized to 20Amp charging ( as a alternator protection). So you can sell the smartpass...

[@voodoocruiser2543]

Nice one. Also, you're in my spot on the Bridal Track there haha Enjoy, it's a stunner.

[@apboxes1]

Love to see it guys!

[@RobertsAdventure]

Nice job, when you said build your own battery I reckoned it would be a bit sus' but it came out great. Parts selection is key as always, thanks for another cool project!!

[@4bnewb969]

Great video. Interesting, I’ve learnt something The big take-out from this is how much mark-up there is on off-the-shelf lithium batteries Cheers

[@Jack_makes808]

Part of the cost is the insurance they provide if the battery explodes

[@Tufflucks]

Awesome work fellas! Might have to look into this myself 👌🏼

[@adamblundell6402]

Guys what an awesome video. Really makes you wonder why big brands charge so much. This sort of stuff is amazing to see. Showing everyone diy way's to have cool shit at the fraction of the price. Awesome work guys

[@fallowdeertv2511]

Well I hope like he'll you read these comments. Just remember, that bms has no cold temp cutoff, so don't go charging it with your dcdc if the cell temps are 0°C, you will more than likely do damage to the cells, you need to check. The bms will function at -20, doesnt mean the cells like charge that cold. I also would have liked some glue on the terminal bolts, if they come loose, you will see some very high temps pulling 90amps and melt things, then they catch on fire. Busbars need to be torqued also, resistance is important for cell balancing. All the best.

[@scottcovo]

One thing that may be worth looking at is what you used to pack it in to the casing, is it unaffected by temperature? Batteries do heat up. Will the packing shrink? If so it will be bouncing around freely.

[@sadteeto]

that bms really deserve more thermal than it currently have, but good news the temperature sensor inside the BMS could save it from total failure under hot days or sustained load from charging or discharging with overheating protection, otherwise amazing build!

[@3daddict154]

Great vid the only thing i would have done different is use proper Kapton tape first including over the exposed terminals you covered with the foam rubber. Then the cloth tape as you did. this battery will last you a long time i'm sure i have made a few of my own and they are going strong years later.

[@m-hadventures]

I did the same for my battery a couple of years before lithium was so cheap. Depending on the cells you get, you can easily get a bigger BMS too! Mine is 100Ah with a 200A BMS, and was about the same price as a kings battery at the time

[@mick00000000002]

Too long I wait. God bless mate my friend 🧡

[@Motormischief]

Good stuff mate, your buss bars and bms connections and mounting look better than the original I reckon, as for heat inside and around the bms i wouldnt worry as they have over temp shut off and same for freezing temps, would be cool to know what their specifications are for that.

[@johnnykkkk]

Great work boys ...those Daly bms are great would of loved to see you add the Bluetooth Daly doogle then you can completely monitor cells bms change settings etc but great work 😅

[@frmtrkr]

ABSOLUTELY the best video you have done.after watching this, when my current battery dies,this video will be my go to,to build one.your work is outstanding.well done.keep the vids coming. is it cold there? liam allwrapped up in winter stuff. u need to make aussiearvo beanies,and sell em 😀👍

[@AussieArvos]

Definitely cold!! ❄️ Thanks mate!

[@Lee-astrololee]

Liam & Patrick, you always present interesting segments on your videos. Interested to know how big of an ampage could you potentially go to, i.e. 400ah etc, or do you need some sort of certification in order to do this? Cheers

[@MattysWorkshop]

Gday, bloody awesome, I honestly didn’t know this could be done, top job mate, cheers

[@JimmyLLL]

Forgot to top balance the cells before assembling.

[@Searay68]

Big mistake I thought too…

[@chrisjanes15]

Great video guys! Made it seem so simple and well explained, will defs have a crack myself one day.

[@swishswish386]

Brilliant……and….. I learnt something but it didn’t feel like actual learning 👍👍👍👍

[@gelology5514]

Fark did ya use steel for the bus bars cos i wouldnt do that they might work ok but under load wont be too good and you will get electrolysis between the connections

[@fredalbrecht1908]

You need to top balance those cells first. Measuring 3.2V is no indication of their initial charge state. Without doing the balance you will never get your actual capacity once in 4s configuration. A workaround is to install an external balancer but these are often low amperage balancers. The Daly BMS takes loooong - if at all - to get the cells balanced.

[@Murls]

What a ripper video, you have inspired me to make one, thanks

[@AussieArvos]

Awesome to hear mate! Cheers

[@JackosBT]

Love watching yous have a crack everything legends, keep it up

[@tysonbourke8388]

My only question is everyone says you have to top balance the cells. So basically charge all the cells to make capacity to make sure each cell is performing to the best of its ability. I am building a similar battery was wondering if you guys did this if not how’s the battery performing?

[@jonnewton5929]

Great idea, just no warranty or insurance if anything should go wrong. Cheers lads.

[@levikender4820]

How do you know they didn’t get a warranty on the cells?

[@julianmcgregor7949]

Why would this effect insurance over the Kings battery?

[@mattb.2359]

well, there is a warranty, its just on the individual components.

[@mattb.2359]

@@julianmcgregor7949 the old Kings battery is dead. Its only being used for the case for the new one.

[@putnamehereholdmadoodle]

​@@levikender4820car insurance will be voided lol.

[@Dirt-Diggler]

Good vid BUT Daly isn't a great BMS IMHO, I've had 3 and upgraded all of them to JK on every build, don't get me wrong they work OK but they are very slow to balance, the temp cut off often doesn't work, the column counter looses track of the charge level and IME the app crashes regularly, definitely a beginner spec BMS, there are way better out there 👍 Prismatic cells seem to be more robust that pouch cells IME 🤔

[@einfelder8262]

I didn't see a temperature probe - could have bad consequences.

[@offgriddreaming5403]

Daly are rubbish!

[@RyanKemp-w9i]

Great info Have you considered encasing battery in Ali case to waterproof it for sure

[@DesertTuna]

The yellow heat proof tape is one layer thick for ya next battery build or if ya find its running to hot that's what they use

[@hedleypepper1838]

These LIFPO4 cells are still really REALLY expensive. Since I started seeing these on youtube prices at private consumer leven have barely dropped. However. Cost per KWH at cell level is now under $80 US and I believe fast approaching $50. So that would be the cost for all four of your EVE cells. There are massive profits for Distributors selling cells to end users or even the manufacturers selling pre made batteries. Hopefully this will change and we will be able to buy cells at a better price 🙏

[@christopherrose6107]

Hi what battery charger do you recommend to charge this set up ,thanks Chris

[@crustyjusty7]

Good effort. Probably would have used Sikaflex or mastic. That silicon is acetic cure which can actually cause corrosion.

[@777coles]

Great video mate but as a builder of a 200amp for my Ute 12v and 2 x 48V for my house you have missed a critical step. The cells needed to be top balanced in parallel to 3.65v prior to building them in series. Just food for thought. This ensures maximum longevity and balance in the cells

[@Michael_hampton]

Hi mate love the build so cool, what size inverter are you using? If you have a vid on what your using can you link it. Cheers mate

[@pauldean5458]

Hey mate good build. Wondering if its possible to put 2 of those batteries once built together for mor capacity. Also do you know of any place that sells battery cases. Cheers

[@jazzyman9182]

Great video! This will be what I'll do when my lead crystal eventually dies (still going fine after 6 years I think)

[@djnmv]

I hope the Kings case is sealed well around the terminals that go through its lid?

[@jamesmoore2527]

Did you put in a temperature probe to keep eye on it and is there protection to stop charging below 5c as this can damaged the cells

[@bonezed]

well done blokes!

[@einfelder8262]

Great idea to use the existing case, but your BMS has no temperature input from the individual cells, meaning if a cell goes bad the BMS can't shut it down and you'll only know when it catches fire.

[@johnt.848]

I believe the supplied bus bars are nickel plated copper, not plain steel.

[@petermunster9383]

how did you determine the homebuilt bus bars would take the series current ?

[@adamwainwright9658]

Awesome, I wanna build one now 😅👌

[@static_7742]

Mate the ksp backtracks go so well with building batteries :)

[@jedics1]

With zero experience and youtube I built my own off grid solar system 5 years ago for only $7500 providing 80% of my power which paid itself off over a year ago making it an instant no brainer to do with all the sun we get. I got a quote for someone else to build it for me and they said it would cost me 20 grand minimum. Since then it has only gotten easier and cheaper to do making it accessible to way more people. One of the few wins in an economy where the consumer is usually the looser, unless you get a company to do it for you then you still loose big.

[@kennethjonasson6983]

Great video guys !

[@AussieArvos]

Thanks Kenneth!

[@tshopguy]

Nice work guys! Braver than me lol. What inverter are you using? Tempted to get a kings 3000w but also don't want my car to turn into a giant bonfire! I wouldn't touch their dcdc chargers ever with their failure rate so got a redarc one but yeah not paying 3k for an inverter either!

[@andrewt3952]

Gday mate. I can recommend the allsparks 2700w inverter. I’ve had one one for my house for last 18 months. Cost $670 from memory. Really good bit of kit. Runs everything I can throw at in my house, including tools and coffee machines

[@JohnJohn-um5wi]

A young fella doing sh t properly. Good work mate. Plus you have given me a lithium supplier I didn't now about, who's just down the road. So thanks very much :)

[@jasonwooler801]

Good on you boys. Rippa ep.

[@johndorrington3461]

Epic video I've already popped over to the linked shop. Think I'll have a crack at a 330Ah one for $1000 its great value!

[@BenHogan-p1k]

Just purchased 8 grade A cells each at 280ah direct from China manufacturer plus 2 x JK BMS, 2 x battery boxes and all the bits and bobs. 2 x 280ah batteries for my caravan delivered to my doorstep in South Australia for $1400. Easy to deal with

[@thejackaroo4WDcampingchannel]

Had you bought the King's 120ah battery the lid is screwed on by 8 screws

[@DougAskin]

Makes sense to rebuild the old one than buy a new one, save some $$$ and plus you get to understand what they are and how it works. I don't know much about LiFe batteries, but with LiPo batteries they can catch fire if they're left fully charged for too long, my DJI drone batteries discharge themselves after a week or so

[@Dave_Gurman]

Before assembly, did you check the voltage of each cell and top balance each cell. Connecting mismatched cells together is a bad ideal due in rush current into the lower voltage cells and doesn't help longevity. I personally wouldn't build my own battery due to liability.

[@danielpas368]

Did you just put tape over a BMS fan? or was that black part decorative?

[@mitchelllower8340]

awesome information thank you

[@123hoffie]

Hoping you used neutral cure silicone🤔

[@stev01965]

I worked it out it wasnt cheaper but u got more amps and better quality cells I spose new kings 100 amp $399 What u made with parts $22.50 + $359 + $63.47 = 444.97 plus u need a case with would cost a little as well. but still a great video mite have ago at making my own now

[@BenHogan-p1k]

I’ve purchased 2 x 280ah, 2 x JK BMS, two battery boxes with all the bits and pieces delivered to my doorstep from China for $1400 AUD. Wired in parallel for for 560ah in caravan 12v setup.

[@4evaMrsBrentWeston1]

I'm interested to buy one... gr8 work...

[@unclejohn5012]

Word of caution. I really hope you boys fully charged each cell before hand individually otherwise they will be imbalanced even if they "are the same voltage" when tested.

[@richardedwards8648]

The BMS helps with cell balance when charging

[@unclejohn5012]

@@richardedwards8648 Only by so much. Especially since the Daly they have doesn't have active balancing. Also lithium iron phosphate has a relatively flat discharge curve meaning it's harder to know the actual percentage just via voltage alone.

[@stevenloynds3691]

Personally I would of glued the BMS with nothing touching it to the inner wall of batt case so there is a gap between the BMS to the actual batteries. Mate if you open any battery do they pack it out with foam "no" 🤔 there is a reason for that, even the og battery had internal open space...I feel that is going to be a problem causing heat....good one for having go....hope I'm wrong....SikaFlex probably would of been better then silicone too....yeah mate I would seriously consider reopen and find another way to secure components then packaging with foam.

[@putnamehereholdmadoodle]

Yes amatures showing amatures how to implode there cars.

[@Cl4rky]

+1 on sikaflex instead of dogshit $5 bunnos silicon

[@unclejohn5012]

You would be surprised at the amount of battery's that ARE packed out by foam. As for silicone, they should have used something like Kaufuter electronics silicone as it's non acidic. Unfortunately they obviously don't dabble in electronics as a fair bit more testing and setup should have occured before putting the batterys into a pack.

[@Dirt-Diggler]

@unclejohn5012 they could have just watched one of the many many YT videos showing how to build a battery properly, there is this huge resource out there stopping people building badly designed and built stuff, amazes me people with YT channels don't actually seem to watch YT 🤔

[@AdmissionGaming]

Hey Liam, does the bms do temperature protection too?

[@IamHerbie]

I’d buy one of those from you mate, good job

[@PeterEmery]

Nicely done, looks like it's pretty secure in that sealed case. Proper job.

[@farmerdaniel1]

What induction cooker and inverter do you run off that battery ?