Overkill Solar vs. XiaoXiang app. Is the Overkill really that much better?

[@markbrettnell3503]

HOLY CRAP!!!!!! Someone finally made a simple and straight forward program that works. Very impressed with Overkill Solar!!👍👍👍👏👏

[@stiffmeister0hYeah]

I hat the XiaoWhatever it just picks a battery pack before I can click anything

[@remix381]

Outstanding as always!!! Thank you sir for listening to your viewers and giving us exceptional step by step instructions. I my opinion you are the best channel on KZbin when it comes to DIY solar. Thank you sir

[@alanblyde8502]

Andy you explain things in a standup comedy way that appeals to us all great work 🤙🇦🇺

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thanks a lot, Alan!

[@KevIsOffGrid]

Yes! Great that you can critique your own testing in specific conditions compared to real life. I had also found better balance on "charge balance" but you had made a convincing tests before. Appreciate the honesty :)

[@dirk_p]

Thank you, i have installed IT immediately. Works fine and the navigation between my 4x 12v batteries ist much more easy than with the xiaoxiang App and as always, a lot of Essential knowledge to remember👍

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thank you.

[@mikecreamer8308]

Im glad you cleared up and corrected the charge balance function question! Nice work as always.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

The Overkill is not ideal in this situation. It really should balance either way, regardless if charge standby or discharging if the start voltage has triggered.

[@mikecreamer8308]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia does the jk do that?

[@laurenhoward8397]

“SW switch circuit enable” tells the BMS if you have a hardwired on/off switch installed. If no switch is connected, turn this setting off. (Because if there is no continuity between the two pins of the switch circuit, the BMS will think it should be OFF.)

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Ah, right. Thanks for the explanation.

[@willrobertson826]

yes some of the jbd use jumpers and some i ordered with wire pigtail for switch very handy with16 bms s very redundant not really 125 kw battery

[@BillJohnston-y7o]

Glad I read the comments. On my bms with this turned off my voltage was messed up on the other side of the BMS. Thank you 10 times. Thank you for this comment, you saved me from pulling out the few hairs I have left.

[@BillJohnston-y7o]

Thank You, Again. You have no idea how much stress I was having with this problem. Thank you laurenhoward.

[@Labeeman]

I have switched to the Overkill app too, it is easier to use than the XiaoXiang app due to the connection issues as I have 12 BMS to check.

[@cgutowski471]

This looks and works identical to the XiaoxiangBMS app on iOS just a few different colors.

[@petertrebing6875]

I agree! I see almost no difference to this Xiaoxiang BMS app on IOS.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thanks, good to know. I don't use iOS so it's very different to me.

[@imag555]

thanks Andy "you're killing it" as always

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thanks Joe. These apps are a bit of overkill sometimes, right? 😁

[@imag555]

@Off-Grid Garage well , I hope that one day someone would come out with the perfect app and that we wouldn't have to switch all the time from one to the other. BTW I have a JBD BMS that as version 3.1 and the overkill app see it logs to it but doesn't recognize the version. I'm able to see the settings but I can't see all the other good information . Not a perfect world. Thanks again , I really enjoy watching you're videos Andy!

[@MiniCmaX]

Hi Andi, best hint about Overkill BMS app. Best app ever seen, provides detailed data of my 200 Ah LiFePo4 Liontron!

[@john_in_phoenix]

Switch circuit enable = they have a plug on the BMS that can be used to turn the BMS on and off. The way the balancing works is not intuitive. With only balance on charge turned off, as you have noticed, it burns off (very slowly) any cell above the set voltage. Only balance on charge will try to burn off any cell 5 millivolts higher than the others, between 3.4v and the end of charge (again, very slowly). It works well with the default setting if you have top balanced, since really it only needs to keep up with the difference of the self discharge rate of your cells. FYI, forgot to tell you, really good job with the video on the Seplos BMS. Their programmers have obviously never used the BMS.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Yeah, I've got this switch. Apparently it only disables discharging. The balance function is not nice in the Overkill BMS, no. It should just balance every time the balance start voltage is hit and cells are farther apart than the set deviation voltage. Charge balance is so from the Li-ion times... I had to laugh load reading your last sentence. That is what I feel too. I will make two more videos about the Seplos BMS and then move on. Also their engineers don't seem to understand the need to even consider any changes in their software design...🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[@offgridwithpojectham]

Looks like the Overkill solved your balancing issue with the bottom shelf. Nice! Good to know it’s the BMS not the battery!

[@bildad1234]

No the cells were in the very flat part of the charge/discharge curve at 3.29v per cell so you won't see much deviation. Plus he mentioned that the overkill bms will only balance with a charge current and that it didn't change the delta of the bottom shelf battery.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Yes, ON is right. We cannot tell at 52V.

[@showme360]

Maybe what we are seeing in the Seplos software is the chinese structure of the information set to their prefered educational style. Where as here in the west we are tort differently about how things are structured. As for styling well that is a personel choice! Excellent video though and very useful. Your channel Andy is proving very successful and may it continue.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thanks a lot for your kind feedback. That is a good point, I didn't thing about the possibility of cultural differences being the base for the different design.

[@NedKLee]

The Overkill Solar App combined with the SFK kits.......paradise. I'm a huge fan of the SFK kits, not so much the SFK app. Started using the Overkill app 3 weeks ago, my batteries have never been better.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Yeah, I checked out the the SFK app as well and didn't really like it. But the Overkill app is nice, right? I like that we can go back and forward between different batteries easily.

[@NedKLee]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia Andy, the Overkill App has allowed me to fine tune the SFK BMS, I appreciate your recommendation very much.

[@rahsomali]

That’s cool they’d don’t limit the app. Thank you for the video

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

It seems it does not work with all BMSes, as some have reported. But most will work.

[@bbrown_sc]

11:45 The behavior I've noticed for the "Cell 10% - 100% Capacity Voltage" are just a SOC starting point used for initialization or when writing parameters back to the BMS. Once the voltage gets to "Cell full Voltage" the SOC resets to 100% then measures the current in and out for the SOC values until it gets back to "Cell full Voltage" then resets back to 100% (similar to the Smart Shunt behavior). 12:36 "Bal. only when charging" - I've left this off. I find with with my setup (I have 2 of these) the cell deviation is greatest when charging especially when you get to the knee of the curve. 150mA passive balancer isn't enough to do much good because the time when the deviation is largest is not very long (~10-15 min.). Conversely, the time the battery is idle (once the charge current drops off during absorption or during float) there's a lot more time (sometimes hours) to do the balancing even when my loads are high (e.g. charging an EV). The charge controller(s) are directly supplying the loads of the inverters. The battery is fully charged and doing nothing until the sun goes down here in sunny California, so there's a lot more time to do balancing. 14:36 You say the Overkill balancer didn't balance the battery from the Heltec deviation of 180-200mV, yet earlier in the video at 3:39 shows the deviation ~4 mV. How did it get there if not for the balancer in the Overkill BMS? By having "Balance only when charging" turned on? What's you conclusion of the OverKill vs. Heltec BMSs ability to deal with the 180-200mV deviation of the bottom battery? The "SW switch circuit enable" is to enable or disable the external switch. The external switch is only used to disable battery discharging. It doesn't turn off the BMS. The Overkill manual is very good IMO, maybe you can review that : )

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Interesting comment Brian, thanks a lot. I would recommend 'Bal. only when charging' to be off as well. What I found though is in real world scenario, the current never goes to zero, especially if you have some larger loads connected which will be powered by solar once the battery is full but there are still a few hundred mA going in and out of the battery at this point which prevents the balancer to start. If there are only small loads or no loads, yes, the current through the BMS is 0 and it starts balancing. My float voltage of 3.35V is already below the knee and is not good for balancing any more. I only balance at 3.45V when absorbing (hence my fixed absorption time of 1h and not a tail current set). The voltage shown at 3:39 is well in the flat area of the curve and does not show any deviation at this point. The cells will spread if the voltage goes beyond 3.4V. I haven't had enough time to test the balancing of the Overkill yet and rarely fully charging my battery. I probably need more solar....

[@imag555]

Definitely the Overkill app is the winner. After using it for a day and a half , it's a no brainer. They put so much more information on one page. Also the save config option is vital if yo uhh use more then one BMS on your system.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

I like it too!

[@Brad656]

Awesome Andy, I’ve been waiting for you to do this vid.

[@ToddLarsen]

Oooo, I can't wait to try the Overkill app. Pardon my language but I fucking hate the xiaoxiang app. Thank you for sharing, and as always keep building 👍

[@martink9785]

What would be really great is a BMS app with a widget or at least ability to display important info in notifications pulldown

[@davidcox8961]

I have the Overkill BMS but I don't use the balancer. I bought an active balancer. The Flying Capacitors. It works much better. Troy at Overkill suggested to me to turn off the passive balancer. I enjoy you videos Andy. Keep em comin. I even learn stuff from you. Cheers !

[@stiffmeister0hYeah]

what is the flying capacitors?

[@Granty400]

My Xiaoxiang app looks very similar to the overkill app, I don’t know if that’s because I’m using an iPhone and not android? Keep up the good work.

[@thestoicloser]

I love this Guy he is the best. Thanks for everything Andy ....

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thanks a lot, love you too!

[@evil17]

Another great episode & info Andy. Cheers

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thank you.

[@gumpster6]

Great review of the app. Seems like it's very user-friendly (and older folk friendly).

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Yep, for us older guys 😄

[@yooper423]

Thanks Andy! I am using JBD BMSs in my RV Batteries and I hate the way the XioXiang BMS times out if you don't quickly choose one device. Also, the XioXiang App does have a way to choose a different device without leaving the App...sort of. If you open the menu then click the name of the current BMS at the top, that will bring you to the device list again. Hit the refresh button and you should be able to choose a different BMS. However, as this App likes to do, sometimes it just doesn't do what it should, so you may have to UNLINK the current BMS to get a new one to load. Thanks for all you do!

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thanks for the tip, Dennis. Good stuff! I didn't know that...

[@yooper423]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia As often happens, I stumbled across it accidentally.

[@marlomontanaro3233]

I like the newer Overkill app better. But I do have an observation.... I FOUND PETER! He's also doing a video in the background, in the window! Peter Spat!

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

I think it was Andy2. Saw him lingering around a few times, looking for a cold drink maybe.

[@zeropointbalance7366]

Ah, the curse of charge balancing…. I have a Daly and they enforce charge balancing. I think that setting is leftover from pre-LIFEPO4. On the JBD that setting was turned on from factory - but it can be turned off. This is what I have learned from my struggled with this setting. (thanks for all your videos!) In general, you want to balance while charging. So what is the problem with this ‘charge balancing’ setting? If your battery is out of balance, 2 things can happen that will frustrate your balancing: 1. You get a high voltage disconnect and your current drops to zero until you reconnect: No balancing while HVD. But it should be balancing while HVD! Because it is out of balance. 2. So you lower the voltage a bit and you will now go into absorption, hopefully without HVD. Current starts to drop. And your BMS will start to show zero current for some threshold ! You see this in many of your videos. (My Dalys were 1.5A, 2A and 1.8A, My JBD was 0.8A). That means balancing stops whenever you are below this threshold **even though the current is not actually zero!!**. That is the curse. Are BMS manufacturers aware of this? I don’t get it. End result: You have a very short balance window (time). To balance properly you need the balancer operational at **lower charge currents** and the ‘charge balance’ setting will prevent you from doing so with many BMSs, since they will show a small current as 0. If you are lucky enough to have a BMS that will show small currents you will never see that problem. A bit of a warning of how small of a current you need to be able to show on BMS: For a passive balancer the current (after absorption) will drop to the **actual** (approx.) rating of the balancer - while balancing….. So your 120mA passive balancer may drop battery charge current to 120mA (give or take)after absorption until you are balanced. Note: the current will drop to the actual **average** current of your passive balancer, often 25% of the one shown on data sheet. (My 30mA Daly actually is 7mA average). So your 120mA may actually measure out as ~30mA average - and you may observe the charge current dropping to 30mA give or take, on your charging power supply until you are balanced. (actually 30mA+BMS supply current so probably ~40mA). That small current will stay there until you are balanced, then it will drop to whatever your BMS uses (5-15mA? typical). As you can see I have been playing with my Daly….. (If you have an active balancer the charge current into battery while balancing is a bit more complicated (lower than balancer rating) so it also is important that the active balancer keeps running at low currents). Ah, the curse of charge balancing…. I have a Daly and they enforce charge balancing. I think that setting is leftover from pre-LIFEPO4. On the JBD that setting was turned on from factory - but it can be turned off. This is what I have learned of why I struggled with this setting. In general, you want to balance while charging. So what is the problem with this ‘charge balancing’ setting? If your battery is out of balance, 2 things can happen that will frustrate your balancing: 1. You get a high voltage disconnect and your current drops to zero until you reconnect: No balancing while HVD. But it should be balancing while HVD! Because it is out of balance. 2. So you lower the voltage a bit and you will now go into absorption, hopefully without HVD. Current starts to drop. And your BMS will start to show zero current for some threshold ! You see this in many of your videos. (My Dalys were 1.5A, 2A and 1.8A, My JBD was 0.8A). That means balancing stops whenever you are below this threshold **even though the current is not actually zero!!**. That is the curse. Are BMS manufacturers aware of this? I don’t get it. Why would Daly force you to use charge balancing? End result: You have a very short balance window (time). To balance properly you need the balancer operational at **lower charge currents** and the ‘charge balance’ setting will prevent you from doing so with many BMSs, since they will show a small current as 0. If you are lucky enough to have a BMS that will show small currents you will never see that problem. A bit of a warning of how small of a current you need to be able to show on BMS: For a passive balancer the current (after absorption) will drop to the **actual** (approx.) rating of the balancer - while balancing….. So your 120mA passive balancer may drop battery charge current to 120mA (give or take)after absorption until you are balanced. Note: the current will drop to the actual **average** current of your passive balancer, often 25% of the one shown on data sheet. (My 30mA Daly actually is 7mA average). So your 120mA may actually measure out as ~30mA average - and you may observe the charge current dropping to 30mA give or take, on your charging power supply until you are balanced. (actually 30mA+BMS supply current so probably ~40mA). That small current will stay there until you are balanced, then it will drop to whatever your BMS uses (5-15mA? typical). As you can see I have been playing with my Daly….. (If you have an active balancer the charge current into battery while balancing is a bit more complicated (lower than balancer rating) so it also is important that the active balancer keeps running at low currents).

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Balancing should always work, regardless if charging/discharging or just standby. As soon as the start voltage is met and the deviation is larger as set, it should kick in. Charge balance is definitely something from the Li-ion age as it will work there with a more linear charge curve.

[@celorenzo]

I most certainly agree, your channel is Very informative and entertaining too. Thank you sir from a yank in California.

[@pierreequalsawesome]

I could be wrong but I believe the SW switch circuit toggle will engage the optional physical on/off switch for the unit.

[@1uncleric]

Hi Andy, thank you for great videos. Do you know if there is any way to improve bluetooth range of JK BMS? its non existent comparing to JBD bms. Maybe soldering some antenas would help? 😂

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

No, there might be BT boosters or so... not sure. But the range of the JK is really not great. Could be because they're using a metal case around the PCB and the BT is stuck inside. Other BMS have this as a lose PCB on the outside.

[@davidcox8961]

the sw is where you hook up a switch to turn off the BMS. Talk to Overkill if you have questions. They are very helpful.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thanks David. I have a switch connected so the function should be on.

[@Der_Hannes]

Nice shot, Andy! And totaly worth a whole video about that App comparsion! I really like it when things are structured and you can feel that someone has put so much effort into that! (Is this a german thing?!?) The nice ability of calibration reminds me of the really bad current- and SOC-accuracy and the totaly useless calibration option of the "heißgeliebten" JK BMS... that makes me really very sad again :(

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thanks Hannes. Yeah, none of my many BMS are doing a great job with the SOC calculation. The JK is no exception in that.

[@howzchannel9843]

What's the best way to reset the BMS if it shuts off when overcharge or undercharge tripped?

[@anthonyrstrawbridge]

Nice interesting break from rendering the pork fat into lard. Ice is rotting here but maybe enough for another pike fishing evening. I make great pork fried pike papusas with cabbage and gravy. ✌️♥️👍

[@MarkPrince1317]

Hey Andy XiaoXian have New app it's more easy and have auto balance and more calibration parameters try it Thank you Andy and best regards from Philippines 🇵🇭☕☕☕ you are always the best 👍

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

I'll have a look, thanks for the tip. All the best to the Philippines!

[@xandaumgv]

Sw switch enable isnt equal to switch function on xiaoxiang? Its enable the switch on the bms to turn on or off to the discharge bms, works fine for my ebike to use a tiny switch.

[@rcinfla9017]

To get a cell above 3.45v you pretty much need charging current. True, if you have been charging the cell it may stay above 3.45v for a while after charging stops but it will decay down below 3.45v in time. Question is if during charging you have a BMS overvoltage shutdown due to a cell exceeding high cell limit, does bleed balancing continue after charging shutdown to help drop the overvoltage faster to allow BMS to reset charging active again. In this case you might need charge balancing off unless firmware has an override to do a bleed dump on overvoltage cell regardless of charge balancing is ON or OFF.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

It won't continue to balance as there is no current any more. I'm usually advising to keep charge balance off for exactly that reason, otherwise you're in deadlock. On the other hand, with charge balance off, the BMS may never balance if there is still a few hundred mA going in and out all the time. I noticed this with larger loads connected and solar supplying the power to it while absorbing. The battery current will never be 0A, it is just to rough and the load is moving a bit all the time which causes the battery to either deliver or receive a tiny bit of power until the MPPT has caught up. Ideally, the balancer should just work all the time if the start voltage is met and the deviation is larger than set.

[@termikina]

Gran vídeo como siempre, llevo un tiempo construyendo mi banco de baterías LiFePO4 para mi Motorhome y veo tus vídeos con gran interés. Desconocía esta aplicación alternativa y me gusta mucho como han organizado los parámetros de configuración, siendo mucho más organizada e intuitiva. La única duda que tengo es que estas aplicaciones continuen siendo compatibles con las distintas versiones de Android e iOS de ahí que también es de valorar que podamos configurar y monitorearlo con una pantalla física.

[@Davelightuptheworld]

xiaxiang app stays on all the time on my handy .. how can i do it the same with the overkill app ? Wow nice! i can now calibrate my Ampere that comes in & out without the UART Communication module !

[@Silvije2]

in case your battery cells are not top balanced, like mine as I just added it to system without top balancing with hopes they would balance over time, bms shuts down charging due to one cell overvoltage and if "charge balance" is activated balancing stops, so I deactivated it so cells could balance... last batch was from docan power

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

It should be deactivated. I really thought the BMS balances regardless of charging, discharging or if in standby.

[@keithcress1335]

Hardware settings are trips that are simple hardware comparators that are not based on software running on a microcontroller. They're "codeless". They are set by software that alters the comparison voltage references going to the hardware comparators. This makes them adjustable but they still do not run thru the micro controller. They will still operate even if the micro crashes. They will all operate faster than the micro can. They are typically used for things like short circuits that come with major magnetic events that could spontaneously crash the micro that should be detecting and acting on the very same event.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thanks for the inside, Keith. So what triggers these settings if not the micro controller? A second controller? The settings must be stored somewhere...

[@keithcress1335]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia Hi Andy A hardware comparitor triggers the action. A comparitor is just a an opamp with one side looking at the unknow (the current shunt watching the current). The other input to the opamp is the reference that the current input is compared to. If the measured current exceeds the reference the opamp trips shutting off all the MOSFETs that allow current thru the BMS. In the case of these hardware comparitors the micro is only our access to setting this reference. Once set the micro never needs to mess with it again and a micro crash doesn't change it.

[@OffGridandOutdoors]

So Andy ... At least this time which would be your BMS of choice? Overkill, Heltec or Seplos

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

I really like the Seplos BMS tbh. Even the software is not there yet but it seems to be the most robust BMS so far. If you have only one battery, I would recommend the JK-BMS.

[@OffGridandOutdoors]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia thx I have 3 overkill on my 24v x 3 battery pack system. No comms I have 2 Heltec on a 48v x 2 battery pack system. No comms I was thinking of using 2 Seplos Mason 304Ah 16s2p for an upcoming Schneider XW pro system I might build. Again no battery to battery or inverter comms. I'd rater use Heltec, I like them. But didn't know if there were advantages to the Seplos bms. I really like the box.

[@ahmedbencoussa3095]

Hello, I tried to load the new parameters , but some of them are not written on the BMS JBD, like the activation of the balance configuration and the NTC enabled . Any reason ?

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

They might be in the wrong order. Try to change them one by one to see which one fails.

[@ahmedbencoussa3095]

What do you mean ? I mean writing the parameters on the BMS does not work properly.

[@paulbarrette2557]

The xiaoxiang software on IPhone is the SAME as the Overkill solar one. Couple of small cosmetic changes but 99% (if not 100%) the same. Not worth the change on IPhone in my opinion (Oh. and it does NOT select a random BMS on startup) And finally, those last settings (hardware xyz) DO NOT exist on the IPhone version of the xiaoxiang application. Cheers Andy!

[@ltcmdrdata4611]

Yes, you are right. It´s 99% the same, BUT if you want to change the settings, you need to upgrade to the Pro version and they charge you €9,99. The Overkill Solar App is completely for free.

[@paulbarrette2557]

@@ltcmdrdata4611 Yess 100% which I did :-(… It been a while though

[@ltcmdrdata4611]

@@paulbarrette2557 Don´t worry, me too.

[@paulbarrette2557]

@@ltcmdrdata4611 Bah! Done worst moves than this one in my life. I actually like the look of the IPhone version more than the JBD version

[@ltcmdrdata4611]

@@paulbarrette2557 Learning by doing . . . same here.

[@davelazarick9899]

Hey all. Great video Andy. I'm new to the LIF battery world. It was great to be able to follow your line by line identification tutorial on the overkill app. Question: I seem to have a newer version with Level 2 and Level 3 protections. Will you be addressing those parameters in an upcoming video or are they a bit of overkill....hahahahahahaha. Sorry, I couldn't resisit.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Hi Dave, thanks for your suggestion. My app is up to date on Android but I cannot recall having seen these changes. I'll have another look tonight...

[@artypete]

Thanks Andy! I learned two things from your vid today 😁

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Two? Well, better than nothing 😁 Thanks, Peter.

[@georgef7754]

I don't think I saw the JK on the list. Does it work with JK? About to purchase a JK for a 14S Nissan leaf setup.

[@john_in_phoenix]

No, JK uses a different chip.

[@IanSHarrison]

I believe then Hardware protection are setting some thresholds for hardware implemented protection circuits on the BMS to kick and protect battery should the software protection fails (like BMS software has crashed). Not tested, this is just a hypothesis, but makes sense.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

What is the trigger though if it is still set by the software?

[@IanSHarrison]

And that is a good question, I suspect it is a hardware comparator that triggers the protection with software setting the reference through a ADC. Would work provided the software boots up correctly to set the ADC (which they do seem to be reliable at doing... at least Jaibaida I used).

[@paulcurtis5496]

Like# 7 - This winter BS is killing me… crushing solar production, and a cloud passes by, panels cool down in 30 seconds and the full Arizona sun and I Over-Volt. So I have to drive from work to Taj-Ma-Haul and throw the disconnect for the panels, power off the Growatt 12K, Power the Growatt back up and turn the solar back on and pray to God for no more clouds! Really, really REALLY need to make a voltage regulator and bleed off the extra to the battery heating matts…

[@wayne8113]

Thanks Andy, Cool

[@kentjonsson4777]

Also the Charge/Discharge buttons behave very strange. When I push one of them, when I look at the monitor both charges, one to ON and the other to OFF. I can't get both to ON using the Overkill app. And on the Overkill app the switches never changes from OFF to ON, they always shows OFF.

[@Dan-LS]

About SW switch. I have a JBD 200A and it has a wire to a switch that I can put in the battery box, so I can turn on on off discharge.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

This is just for the discharge, right? Similar to what the DALY BMSes have

[@Dan-LS]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia yes, only discharge. Still possible to charge.

[@davidoldkitten2660]

i been using the overkill app for awhile now i like it./... the xiaoxiang is junk half the time it don't work....

[@frankmeilinger6846]

With the newest update from today it's working now on my Android 13!

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thanks for letting us know! Downloading as well now...

[@beest1992]

so.. new to this, is there a bms that can work with both 24v and 48v system? prefer jk if possible do to Andy´s vids ;)

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Hello and welcome. So any BMS with 8s-16s will work for both systems. Got the links on my website. Have a look at the JK-BMS (as you mentioned), there are some which can do 8s-24s, so they will work perfectly for 24V and 48V systems. off-grid-garage.com/battery-management-systems-bms/

[@rogerlittlejohn475]

Tried to connect to my JK bms but app could not find it. phone was sitting within inches of the bms?

[@eingeordnet]

JK is NOT JBD...

[@Josh-b3c]

Also in The old app you can edit the manufacturer of the battery and the date manufacturer say if you made it yourself and you just put new cells in there and you want to put date as today not when the BMS was manufactured and you can put your name in there cuz you made it not them

[@john_in_phoenix]

You can also change these (and more) using their PC software.

[@evil17]

I like this idea, it would be nice to have an additional note provision made so you could enter additional dated notes concerning any issues, replacements or adjustments to system or BMS.

[@HengTrang-q1l]

Hi Andy can you help me setup parameters for overkill solar app 24v

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Sure, what batteries do you have?

[@johnjamce1146]

i got a new jbd bms with builtin bluetooth but the bluetooth dose not show can i connect a external bluetooth from jbd in the UART port on the bms

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Yes, that should work but I haven't tested it. Usually the blue light of the BT module turns on once it is connected to a mobile.

[@jonathoncain2300]

I have a jbd bms that is acting strange it is not registering load current it see the charging current but under load it ahows nothing. It was working when the battery was put away now it doesn't. Have you every see this happen?

[@dhruvsood2379]

If I disable charging from XiaoXiang app (using the app login credentials), I can enable it by using other app without logging in. Is there any way to avoid this?

[@inqonthat1463]

Thanks for your video... I was trying to make heads or tails out of X and was glad to see that Overkill had come out with one. The first I heard of it here on your vid. I haven't read all the comments and it has probably already been mentioned... (1) the missing configurations at the end of your vid seem to be available now on the newest Overkill app. (2) Although where my boat is now, is safe, the idea that I might have it at a marina and someone with this app can simply be within BT range and hook up to it and damage the battery if not the whole boat by dink'n with the settings, concerns me. Do you have any suggestions to remedy this?

[@eingeordnet]

I tried the app on my JBDSs. It doesn't ask for the set password and allows parameter settings without, what seems to be a serious security issue. On my newer 4S 100A JBD with integrated Bluetooth it doesn't read voltages, temperatures and the different temperature sensors what makes it useless. After a few connections it crashed the system on the latter - it doesn't connect to the overkill app and doesn't react in the Xiaoxiang app any longer - NOT GOOD! And: activating automatic updates is NOT a good idea since updates in these times often make things worse!

[@matthewsalatino6209]

I tried the Overkill app it doesn’t seem to work with my Basen Green batteries. I notice that there is a bug with the Xiaoxiang app: when I turn off charging or discharging for a battery, it shuts off both. I can not just turn off one or the other.

[@frankmeilinger6846]

My Android 13 phone is not working with the new Overkill app, but my old Android 9 phone is working. The "old" Xiaoxiang app works on both Android versions. Maybe the Overkill app is not yet Android 13 ready?

[@frankmeilinger6846]

I just want to let you know that Overkill Solar support got back to me and confirmed that Android 13 is not working for now. There is no ETA but they are working on it.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Great information. Thanks a lot, Frank!

[@frankmeilinger6846]

With the newest update from today it's working now on my Android 13!

[@davidpatrick1813]

Could SW be referencing Sine Wave?

[@eingeordnet]

Yes, but not in this case and context ;-)

[@diysolaradventures7894]

Will the over kill bms app work with Daly bms?

[@john_in_phoenix]

No uses a different chip

[@diysolaradventures7894]

@@john_in_phoenix oh okay yeah I tried it and didn't get a response

[@TomH-tm9je]

I tried the overkill app and I like it better than the xiaoxiang app. I think I was using the older app not the one with the nice looking speedometer at the top like you mentioned. Mine is the one with the elephant. However, there’s one thing I am missing. It does not show an estimated TIME to charge nor an estimated time to discharge based on current status. Am I missing something obvious?

[@josee.torres764]

Andy....Good Evening from the Hot island of Puerto Rico. I have a question for you. Is there any way that a parameter on the Overkill BMS, get change from yesterday to today without any "apparent" cause? I'm pretty sure that the answer is NO... But I looking at any "celestial intervene" that cound be making the changes. Otherwise I will be on my way to physically disconnect the Bluetooth from the BMS. I'm under the impression that someone is connecting to the BMS, and make changes during the day, while I'm working all day outside. Any comments are more than welcome 😁. From the 🔥🥵 (110 heat index) Puerto Rico, Sincerely, José 23:51 7/1/2023

[@kentjonsson4777]

I have a problem with Overkill app. iPhone 13Pro, iOS 13.6.1. When I start the app I can see the BMS. I choose it, it jumps to the Home Screen and says Getting BMS Data. But it only shows the BMS name and Manufacturer, all other fields syas NA. If I change the name of the BMS at the top row, the name totally disappears. It's only the app version info showing. Last update field is empty. But if I go to Settings, it reads all the data, I can change them, I can write to the BMS. But once I go ack to the Home Screen it is as empty as before. I have downloaded the app again, I have hard resented the iPhone with no difference.

[@whatmattersmost6725]

THANK YOU!!!! SO MUCH MORE INFO!!!!

[@osmelvento4416]

I have a problem to change the password in XiaoxiangBMS for use other apps. How can I use other apps changing password?

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Some passwords will only work for the app, but are not saved in the BMS. Try to use the default password with another app.

[@osmelvento4416]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia that’s the problem. Can’t use other app. No able to see functions. If you know about an app to use in iOS, please tell me a name !?

[@diysolaradventures7894]

Hey Andy do u remember the site u use to look up lithium cells I got some scratch and dent 277ah cells in today I would like to look up

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

The GobelPower website with the QR Decoder: www.gobelpower.com/lifepo4_decoder.html

[@diysolaradventures7894]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia okay thanks

[@balanwyt]

Looks and runs better than the xiaoxiang app on my IOS device but not connecting on my androids. What am I missing?

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Others have reported this as well. Android 13 is currently not supported.

[@ascotthortersqu6622]

The Xiaoxiang app v1.2.37 build 7484 has identically functions. 🙂

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Is that an older app you've mentioned? The newest one has version 3.1.1026

[@ascotthortersqu6622]

I think, its the latest version. But as I mentioned, it is the IOS version which I claimed to be equal so it might be different from yours. It is called “XiaoxiangBMS“ Greetings from Gelsenkirchen 😊

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

@@ascotthortersqu6622 Ah, iOS... 😉

[@sjsmith801]

I'm using the overkill bms app and it never fully connects. I want to try the xiaoxiang app but I can't locate the download for the correct android, full settings capable app anymore. Anyone have a link? I used to download it from overkill.

[@reedreal]

Thank you very much, this solved my problem

[@alltron66]

How do you get it to work on JBD-AP21s001-L21s-150A-B ?? I can connect to it but home screen has not data just version of bms. Setting pages does seem to read data but thats it. Have reset BMS, removed power etc but still no joy.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thanks Richard. Does the BMS work with the Xiao Xiang app?

[@alltron66]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia Yes works with Xiao Xiang app fine. I have a 24v volt one the same and it works with overkill just not the 48v one has problems.

[@clarencewiles963]

Thumbs up 👍

[@ashishagrawal4068]

Sir kindly make on the video JBD BMS CAN Analyst tool

[@TheTimshady337]

Has anyone had problems calibrating the current settings. One bms reads 2 ot 4 tines higher than actual and calibrating doesn't seem to be activating

[@cskeise]

💙👊😎

[@TrevorFraserAU]

You didn't mention the JK BMS,.off to go give it a try... 😁

[@TrevorFraserAU]

Um, nope...

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Hence, I didn't mentioned it. Neither the Heltec... 😁

[@Alterproll]

The Overkill Solar app doesn't really work with my JBD-AP21S002 bms.

[@alltron66]

Yes I am having same issue. Does not work on JBD-AP21s001-L21s-150A-B

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

That is so strange. Seems just this BMS has issues with the app...

[@butchwilliams7637]

Thanks. I like it.🐸

[@Dutch_off_grid_homesteading]

Heya, the xiaoxiang app is pretty nice I like it a lot

[@bigfoot_101]

PV connected directly to BMS ... without MPPT. Andy - wouldn't it be interesting to se how one or more parallel PV modules perform without MPPT. The PV voltage just have to be 0.7V or more above battery voltage. Theoretical the BMS would automatic take care of enable and disable charging .. just like the electrodacus SBMS does.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

That would be a very dangerous setup! With a MPPT in between you have the two step safety. If the MPPT fails, the BMS will catch it and disconnect the battery. You always have these two. I know some people use only a MPPT and not a BMS, but that is not recommended and far too dangerous.

[@carlosgaspar74]

Am I the only one curious about the miner? 🤔😅 Video soon Andy?

[@dtvking]

I'm sorry to say, but I have 3 ANT BMS's and cannot get the Overkill Apt to connect to any of the BMS's and tried it from different mobiles!

[@francisdoll1253]

I tried too,ANT BMS doesn't work with Overkill app.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

But they work with the Xiau Xiang app?

[@dtvking]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia I will give it a go when I'm home from work. I've only used the VBMS app.

[@francisdoll1253]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia No,xiaoxiang app doesn't work too with ANT.The App detect's the signal but fails to connect.

[@dtvking]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia No, again tried 3 other mobiles with 3 ANT BMS'S.

[@theboov3110]

Overkill App fantastic! Thanks Andy. But it looks like that the SOC is determine by the voltage according to the settings (100%…10%) and not by counting the amps. I have made a compact 1,2kWh silent generator ( aka solar generator) with build-in inverter, charger and JBD BMS. After not using the silent gen for some weeks, the voltage drops somewhat and also the SOC drops 10..15%?? When charging the unit only asks a few amps to reach 100% SOC. Curious if others have the same experience. BR Peter

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

SOC reading or calculation sucks in many BMSes. All of my BMSes show it differently. If it really uses the voltage to determine SOC, that makes it pretty useless.

[@torresdelpaine8888]

Question: I purchased a 12S BMS from a company in China to use on an eSkate battery that I built using Molicel P42A lithium batteries (12S6P). I have installed the BMS, and the manufacturer recommends in their literature using the XiaoXiang BMS App. So I installed the app, and it connects to my battery, but the app has a “Soft-Lock” that prevents me from being able to use some important features like voltage balancing for the p-packs. I reached out to the manufacturer and app developer in China, but I get no responses, and am basically ignored. Anyways, my BMS is a “smart BMS” and otherwise works fine for determining voltage, current, and basic pack information, but I can’t access features that I should get like balancing, and voltage and current calibration. Thoughts on how this works, or other ideas on what I should do? Is this a better alternate app that will allow the same features? Why does XiaoXiang require me to create an account and register? Is the app now unsupported? I am using this with an iPhone OS, and I know you refer to Android. Thoughts?

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

What app does the BMS manufacturer recommend?

[@torresdelpaine8888]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia XiaoXiang. But as already stated, I get no response from neither the manufacturer, or XiaoXiang. And my access to settings, balancing, and other options, is extremely limited.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

@@torresdelpaine8888 Can you see the bluetooth BMS in the list of available devices to connect to?

[@torresdelpaine8888]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia Yes, I can connect perfectly. Super fast. Get the main info, but the main screen on the XiaoXiong app says “Soft-Lock” and any balancing or voltage / current calibration remains unavailable to use.

[@ifyoucantjointhem]

Hardware parameters would be set to protect hardware such as max terminal operating voltage, CB voltage, relay or solid state device operating voltage, etc. If you are using quality components I wouldn't be concerned about doing away with this "feature"

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

So is this if the other parameters fail? I mean we have set a 110A overcurrent disconnect already. What would a 670A disconnect do? It should not come that far...

[@DanBurgaud]

8:00 Event trigger counter is very useful. On boats, we use the Bilge Counter to know if the hull has leaks or bad plumbing. Suck JK does not have this

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Yeah, that's the only downside of the JK app, the missing diagnostics.

[@dalesymington]

thanks

[@flatfoot]

Does it work with JK?

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

No, JK has it's own app. Even better than this one. Or maybe the same... but it's good!

[@joesmith1142]

Can you please redo this video exactly the same but in Fahrenheit please? This Celsius conversion thing really hurts my brain. It looks like the latest verson of the Overkill app now has those extra parameters you were mentioning in the XiaoXiang app at the bottom of the settings page, labeled 'level 2 protections'.

[@ruan2587]

Does anyone know how to disable the temperature protection on the JBD BMS? Disabling the temperature sensors does not disable the protection, only hides the sensor reading.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Can you set it to a high value so it does not trigger?

[@ruan2587]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia That will be the next step yes. The reason why I want to disable it completely, I am getting this intermittent over temperature during discharge alarm when the power inverter the battery is connected to switches over into UPS/backup mode. It trips immediately doesn't even consider the delay. However, the temperature only display like 27degreeC. The over temp parameters are on the default 75/65/5s settings. Strange thing is I can't seem to have it to trip when the app is connected to the BMS to monitor what the app logs during the alarm, it only seem to trip when the app is not connected. So am trying to either disable it completely or set the temperature high. My guess it is some sort of glitched reading (due to the temperature that is displayed is far below the actual alarm levels and ignores the 5s delay). Very confusing, but thanks anyway!

[@PierredeVilliersLife]

🎉🎉🎉🎉