EASIEST DIY LiFePO4 BATTERY BUILD: Licitti 280Ah Battery Kit

#diy #diyproject #rvlife #rvliving #vanlife #powerstation #lifepo4battery
Find it here on Licitti's website: bit.ly/3HLqUXX
Or the 2000W Battery Box: bit.ly/3SrriB1
Use discount code: 'davidwray50' at check-out for best out-the-door price!

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

IMPORTANT NOTE: while you can connect up to FOUR of these 280Ah battery kits is PARALLEL, I'm advised by LICITTI that you can only connect up to TWO of them in SERIES...so the maximum system voltage you can create with this product is going to be 24V (and not 48V as I speculated in my closing comments).

[@flyingskwerl-Outdoor_Adventure]

What about in series? For 12v Anyone know?

[@MommasBoy-ul8nj]

What would be the charge time at maximum solar input?

[@ndudman8]

do they offer 240V for EU market as well ?

[@dtex8386]

This looks like a super cheap way to get 280Ah of capacity. Curious, once built, will this fit in a Group 24 Battery Box?

[@OP-fd4lh]

Can I use the Renogy Rover MPPTs for charging the Licciti 280 Ah prismatic battery ?

[@rand8355]

High price of shipping (from US warehouse) and payment by paypal only? Hmmm

[@HuntingPoker]

why the company doesnt put it together and than sell it??

[@LiquidTurbo]

It’s cool to see a company offering this kind of thing. I’m looking forward to future products from this company.

[@lisahurst1940]

Great directions and super helpful! Thanks for including the links of where to find this stuff as well! First time viewer and this is just what I was looking for. You did such a great job of showing step by step and having great camera shots and extra info for all of us. So many times people fly thru and don’t show each step of film each segment. Thank you!

[@silentmarine4993]

Thanks for all your work, opinions and knowledge! I know I appreciate it.

[@Fatpumpumlovah2]

1... you have to turn the container upside down for cold refridgerant to come out 2... ice water is not low enough temp to shut it off.

[@MustafaAlbayati-ru4qz]

I wanted to comment the same thing. 👍

[@wrxs1781]

Good revue, I will investigate this product further.

[@77gmcnut]

I have the smaller Licitti box with a Redodo LiFePO4 and I'm very impressed by the overall value. The idea of four of these units you're reviewing here to create a 48V battery bank with over 14KH capacity for a tad over $2K is worth investigating. BTW props on the music from the golden age of cartoons.

[@DYT-jx4jp]

Agree with your comment near the end, for me as a newbie it would be great intro/first built your own one. I learned a bunch. Thanks for the video/review!!

[@jsanmart666]

I love that cartoon tune, great job!

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

It's a classic!

[@Forgehammer]

Seems like a great product, and not too terribly complicated. Great video!

[@Dareall13Cd]

Hello, I currently have the Licitti 1000w battery box with 4, Lifepo4 prismatic cells rated @ 3.2v for a total of rating of 14.4v for 310ahs. It does not have a Bms. Would it be possible to use the BMS you’re using on your 2000w battery box with my 1000w battery box? If yes, does Licitti sell that BMS separately? What brand of BMS is it and where can I buy it? Thank you

[@herbertcharles8606]

Great video, you should take off your ring when building batteries, you could short out something or get a good burn.

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

That's an excellent point, in general! But in my case, I use a silicone ring, so it's a non-issue for me...still worth pointing out though!.

[@StevefromOhio1972]

Hi David, Those look like some real nice cells and a nice kit, That's a lot of watt hours when all assembled. These boxes are such a good idea. The only downside, as mentioned before, is the solar charging is capped at around 275 watts. That would be okay with a 100ah battery but is really inadequate when you're packing 280 ah. You could, of course, buy one or two of the battery pack kits and add your own solar charger and inverter, as you have stated. If these boxes sell well, maybe they come out with an even a bigger one? Maybe on wheels, who knows? A 5000+wh kit with a 3000watt inverter and a bigger, more robust solar charger. Add a few more AC and DC outlets too. Sounds like a good idea to me. Thanks for another wonderful and informative video David. Stay warm in your workshop, these temperatures are no joke. Let's hope the groundhog doesn't see his shadow in a few weeks. I'm ready for spring. Take care, Steve.

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

Yeah that low solar input capacity is problematic if you need to rely on solar. But the battery kit would also be fantastic paired with your own Inverter and CC. Oh and I will also say that if you want to be able to move it around, 3.5KWh is just about as heavy as you're going to want in a single pack. It's a BEAST.

[@kappytime]

I think you might be off on your solar input calculations. By just wiring my solar panels in series, I can input around 800 watts into my Ecoflow Delta rated at 13A. The inputs in this video are 20A - I can't find the full specs but I bet their good for at least 1000W input, if not more.

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

@@kappytimeyeah, at first glance, it's tempting to assume that since it says it has a 20A cap on solar, you could just multiply that by the max voltage input and you'd get 1000W+...but that's actually not how it works. You'll never get the max Current at the max Voltage. And as it turns out, the charge controller used in the 2000W AC Batter Box does actually top out at between 265-270W. It actually says that on the charge controller (if you open the case and take a look), and my test results also confirmed it.

[@pchris6662]

I just got one of these units. One nice thing…it has an extra 50A black Anderson connector direct to the batt that can easily take the output of a second solar controller (provide your own) and you can get another 20…40 charging amps in to supplement the internal 20A mppt solar. Also use it as an external Ac/DC charging input. I think it’s a pretty flexible little unit and nobody touches the price/KWHr as far as I can tell.

[@thedownwardmachine]

The most appealing part of the kit is the modularity and repairability. When a component fails, I will be able to diagnose it and replace the part and not have to chuck the whole thing in the trash. I can also swap out the battery as needs and technology change.

[@jasonbroom7147]

The unassuming way you present information undoubtedly makes your content quite a bit more consummable to viewers who are not already well-versed in products like this. I follow this space a fair amount and I've got to say that this battery kit from Licitti is priced very competitively, given what you have when it's finished. Presuming the BMS is suitable for 4S connections, four of these kits used to build a 48v, 280AH (14.3Kwh) battery for just $2,000 is excellent. Compare that to the commercially available products and you'll find that this is a very good value. Those voltages are quite low - those cells are at a very low SOC.

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

Thanks Jason! And yeah that starting voltage was pretty low...but to be fair, they were sitting in the box in my freezing garage fro a couple of weeks before I could get to them, so I'm sure that was a contributing factor.

[@wesleycroom9645]

To get your water down as low as you need it add salt to the water. Ice in water will be above the temp you need to test.

[@JeffBreyer]

That is a heck of a deal. Thanks for sharing!

[@Zbee167]

This is great! Thanks for sharing.

[@johnperry5960]

Thanks for the video, great review. I have the other Licitti box, I also purchased 304 amp hour batteries from Sun fun kits which I plan on using in that box. I had contacted Mike at Licitti and he said that they would fit and sent me the PDF instructions for setting up the batteries with a bms. Hopefully in the near future I have the time to set it up. I have been eyeballing this new unit and the batteries also

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

Cool! I love the SFK stuff too...on the expensive side...But seriously excellent stuff.

[@everwake242]

Nice and thorough review, would have been an instant buy if it had low temp protection and/or heating

[@shelley131]

Excellent kit and presentation. Hooks were almost set until you mentioned the solar input. Not enough to fully charge the unit if below 50% in a day. Thank you for your effort and informative videos.

[@user-qz8ej3nq2n]

I just ordered a PECRON 500 watt car charger. There are others out there that are 800 watt car charger. They are very simple setup. When driving easy to top off or charge in a day from 95% depleted. Check them out. Read reviews. Decide if this is what you want. My Licitti 2000 watt 280ah battery cell build is for use in my vehicle. Also have 400 watt folding solar panel. But being in interior Alaska I do not expect more than 65% max input because of angle of sun this far north. Licitti also sells 40amp ac charger and a 30amp ac charger with variable charge rates for different battery types.

[@TimRoyalPastortim]

Good review... looking at this solution and checked out someone else as well. They got the low temp to kick out. Ice water may or may not be cold enough.

[@mikehughesdesigns]

Shipping is aa bit pricey...

[@Mike89138]

Your videos have been so helpful. Thank you! This company has some really cool products.

[@user-qz8ej3nq2n]

Just got my 280AH cells and kit. My BMS is different from yours. They have restructure the B M S. The negative busbar is no longer next to the #2 negative wire but on opposite side on the BMS, upper corner. Therefore had to reverse the negative end panel so the markings are now on the inside of battery box. Had to mark this end panel manually to identify it as the negative end panel. The 5P wire is now attached to the BMS right next to the heavy #2 negative wire. Just below that are two separate temperature wires mounted. The B+ (red wire), the number 2 white wire, the B- wire (black wire), and the two temperature wires now all run straight down the cells making their respective connections. There is NO crisscrossing across the top of the cells. The number 1 and number 3 white wires run just above the top of the BMS then make a left turn to connect to their respective connections. This new layout makes for a very clean and orderly arrangement of wires atop of the battery cells. The other group of wires were already mounted to a small circuit board and given its own space to hang out down back end of the BMS. There were no new instructions given to reflect any of the changes of this new layout. It came with the old set of instructions. I did insert a sheet of battery insulation between the cells. I used Barley Paper with adhesive on one side. An Amazon purchase.

[@Bamabrute85]

More solar input and more ac outlets and this thing would be a game changer. Still a cool unit though.

[@maarwopi]

there is one very important thing. you have to put a separator sheet between cells in this setup. it is just a must. otherwise, well done

[@alexcain7788]

Not sure that battery is safe when constructed with the parts supplied. Usually In aluminum prismatic batteries the battery case is connected to the positive terminal. That means if the very thin plastic coating is penetrated you will have a short between two cells. Most prismatic batteries have either barley paper, plastic sheeting, or resin board separators placed between the serial cells to prevent accidental shorts. I ddn't see that in the parts layout, nor in the construction. I personally would not use that kit without the separators.

[@user-qz8ej3nq2n]

Thank you for your comment. I have now ordered sticky back barley paper to use as separator between battery cells in the Licitti battery kit which I have already ordered. Much appreciated you sharing your knowledge.😅

[@budmartin3344]

Great video.

[@sia3540]

How long does it take for them to ship the batteries?

[@__WJK__]

Excellent Qs!

[@ibenglish]

I have a grid tie solaredge based system without batteries(yet)! Looking to expand in a year or so and add maybe the EG4 18000k and more panels with batteries. Electrical rates in Oregon just went up 14% 😳.Would this be a solution for my needs when I upgrade? I do have a well pump and central air which will be replaced by Solar mini splits very soon. Great tear down and explanations in this video and this looks like a great option for someone like myself who prefers DIY over just off the shelf plug and play. 👍🏻

[@__WJK__]

While I like the price point of the DIY kits, I wish more companies would offer 30A RV outputs with their DIY kits :'(

[@dunerinaz]

$946 for a 3.5kw power station is a steal

[@danrothwell]

$213 shipping for the kit. lol

[@flyingskwerl-Outdoor_Adventure]

That is the cali warehouse shipping fee, quicker. I opted for the over seas, $9.00. We’ll see how soon it comes in. Could just be a money grab for impatient buyers.

[@Aaronrdavis903]

Do you by chance have the measurements of the batteries? Or the measurements after you put it together (length x width x height)

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

Without taking the terminal tabs into account that actual dimensions are: 13" x 7" x 9" (very slightly rounding up). In millimeters: 330 x 176 x 228

[@ItsEverythingElse]

This appears to be much smaller than pre-built 280A batteries. I can't find dimensions on their web site.

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

I actually have a pre-built 300Ah battery in an ABS enclosure with built-in heating from SFK (SunFunKits) and it's roughly the same size as this 280Ah Kit (roughly)...but it's also 3x the cost.

[@jamesdavenport4583]

Can the licitti battery box be fitted with a RV 30 amp outlet?

[@garyganser2451]

Rookie question. Can I start a car with a dead battery from these? Since car batteries quote 750 CCA, I am assuming not.

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

Correct. They're great for charging a car battery...but not jump-starting (generally). Some power station include this capability, but they have a special high-current discharge circuit specifically for that purpose.

[@kbjerke]

Nice! Sure would like a dozen of those cells!! They would completely solve my energy storage issues. Thanks for the video!! 👍

[@ItsEverythingElse]

Low temperature protection is for charging, not discharging. Look at the specs.

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

That's why I tested with the charger attached. And there's only 1 temp lead...and it did not respond to cold. So I stand by my conclusions.

[@MerlinspopTBH]

Cold temp sensor may be on the board itself, since the entire unit would be subject to cold. Hot needs to sensed on the cells.

[@AvisGrant-mu1hc]

Will the DIY battery fit the 1000w Licitti?

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

It won't. A bit too big in at least a couple of the dimensions.

[@beachykeen95]

awesome

[@ItsEverythingElse]

$138 shipping, gotta factor that in. You can get pre-built 280Ah for less from Bezos.

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

Oh snap! Yeah that's steep.

[@Zbee167]

WOW!

[@flyingskwerl-Outdoor_Adventure]

That cost is for us warehouse shipping, and quicker delivery. I opted for the over seas shipping, $9.00 . So I may need to wait a bit. Or they still may send it out of their Cali warehouse. Maybe a bit of a money grab. I have no proof, but we’ll see how quickly I receive my 2000 box and 280ah battery kit. I will update when it comes in.

[@jonathanbeardsley9646]

Have you found dimensions?

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

I just looked them up for you. Without taking the terminal tabs into account that actual dimensions are: 13" x 7" x 9" (very slightly rounding up). In millimeters: 330 x 176 x 228

[@thefpvlife7785]

2nd recommendation. For pennies more add a low temp wire. Geeeeze

[@user-McGiver]

do we really need to get a degree to be able to do that?...