Wiring Up Eight Big Lifepo4 Batteries and Three Big Inverters!

This video shows how I wired eight 48v lifepo4 batteries and three big hybrid inverters into a midnite solar battery combiner box. I describe the things I think are important for safe long lasting connections and optimal performance.

[@Sylvan_dB]

Ray, I listen at 250% 😂 (Video Speed Controller FTW). The world needs more people with your knowledge, but most importantly your desire to "do it right." Thanks for sharing all the great information (and fun stuff like your diving).

[@Sanwizard1]

You must be from NY. I do the same using Audible. Born and raised in Queens.

[@keithbrookshire]

Thanks for the detailed explanation on the gas tight crimping. Thanks to you and an engineer friend of mine I already understood the importance of the cramps being gas tight. Until this video I thought the purpose of heat shrink was to avoid short circuits. I had no idea that it was also to avoid oxidation. I love knowing I've learned something new during the day.

[@OffGridBasement]

Everything you talk about is so logical. That makes it so easy to follow and understand. Great video!

[@jamesbsa6450]

Yay! This is exactly what I requested! Ray, it made me smile when I saw where this video was going, as these are the kinds of details you painstakingly sorted out but sorta easy to overlook since it was spread between multiple videos. Thank you very much! Only thing I felt like you could have touched on is your highly sensitive resistance tester on the connections, but you had good info on that already. 👏 Well done, looking forward to the next video!

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

That's a good idea James.

[@nalle475]

That’s a really good explanation how to do it. Thanks We need more people like you and less amateurs. Keep up the good work 👍

[@mosesarzu7670]

Iam DIY guy myself.I like how you explained about how important wire length works within the system.thank you I learn something new.keep up the work.

[@ericl5973]

Good overview. The hole on the end of the lug doesn't make too big of a deal unless in a marine environment. If crimped properly, a cold weld with a solid face wont allow moisture in between the strands. Harsh environments will commonly use tinned wire and lugs to help with corrosion. Good job on the circuit length description. Most people make all the wires the same length instead of making the circuit loops the same length. The extra unneeded length to match all wires just adds extra resistance when having circuits the same loop length balances the resistance and shares the load without the need for extra wire/resistance/cost.

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

I have been accused of being OCD by people that ARE OCD. 😂😂

[@vitijordan1979]

Your speaking speed is perfect for Spanish people like me😂😂

[@FutureSystem738]

Thanks Ray and G’day again from Oz. 🇦🇺

[@farmboycharlie6543]

New to your channel thanks for all your battery build up informational content. I've been working in aviation for 40 years and have always done the maintenance on our ni-cad batteries. They are assembled much like your DIY batteries with the insulation sheets between the cells with pure nickel bonding straps. This allows disassembly for replacement and cleaning (vented cells create a salt that requires disassembly and wash down of cells annually). We do capacity checks every three months manually monitoring cell voltage on discharge and charging. Then service water level. These LiFe look like heaven. I'm currently running 4 decommissioned aircraft batteries for my system until I up grade. You gave me the bug. Only one suggestion as we work on fully charged 24 volt batteries with marginal clearances. The go to is electrical tape you should have either heat shrink or electrical tape on your battery tools especially sockets and extension. Helps to mitigate the welding of your tools to the battery and the ensuing panic as things start toward thermal melt down. Appreciate your insight especially on cell purchases.

[@hendersonsobers396]

Nice setup Ray. Great job.

[@anthonykiszka4976]

Hi Ray, just starting to design my home power system, thanks for the great info. Years ago I rebuilt a 50KVA Exide Powerware UPS in my server room. I found that ALL the power cables had wax drops / beads at each lug, good visual for a hot connection. I am not skilled as you in the woodworking so I am likely going to use an commercial UPS battery cabinet and use CALB cells on each shelf.

[@McDIY]

Great idea about modifying the crimp dies and the carbon conductive paste by MG chemicals.

[@jeremysongs6135]

Great video again Ray Resistivity is important in cable length

[@Woodyjims-shack]

Thanks Ray👍

[@Rob_65]

Good info on the wire lugs. I've never really thought about this but you are so right: the connection needs to be air-tight to prevent corrosion. I still remember that we had to crimp cables and have them inspected before being allowed to do this in a live system. The crimps were indeed being cut open to see how they look on the inside.

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

What industry did you work in?

[@Rob_65]

@@RayBuildsCoolStuff I worked at a private company where we did different projects for external customers. A lot of those were in automotive. My main job as an electronics engineer was to develop the electronics and program the stuff. This included BMS and charger systems. It was always a challenge to keep the electronics and connectors free from "environmental wear". The battery stuff was only for small batteries, starting at single cell 2 Wh batteries but ranging up to 48V 5 kWh

[@mysticwolf2842]

I have the distinct feeling that you are either an engineer or a someone that used to teach in a university. Much of what you talked about is info that is useful in more ways than one, being a ham radip operator having gas tight fittings is very important to have as well as water tight, the carbon paste that you use i also use the same stuff for making good solid coaxial connections. We also use some stull called PENETROX WHICH IS ABOUT THE SAME THING. The nice thi g with the PENETROX is that it also seals out gases as well.

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

I am just an old country boy that swung a hammer for years. Then I told other people what to do. I do kinda like systems, patterns and getting things right. Thanks for following along and letting me know how you feel about it along the way.

[@teddycunningham7568]

@@RayBuildsCoolStuff strange how most people think university's dispense knowledge when all they do is certify to a minimum standard. I appreciate your education though experience, uncommon sense and communication skills that have been gained through training others and insisting on quality at a high level.

[@Dutch_off_grid_homesteading]

Heya, yes all you tel is true can't disacre with 1 point well done

[@richardphillips2405]

Thank you for a great video.

[@todamnbad]

More cool stuff, thanks for the videos.

[@haint7709]

Younger and smarter! 😄Nice channel Ray. Thanks for all your time and effort. On a personal note.... I like the drawl.

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

I use it just for you. ; ) Thanks for watching until the end.

[@davidsoulsby1102]

Good little video. I have a couple of explanatory points to share. The lugs with holes, these type of lugs are not for use with this type of crimper dies. They are for use with the type of die that has a nub/noble/indentor/pin that punches an indentation into the body of the lug rather than the type shown here which squashes the whole body. The hole is to allow the strands of the cable to expand lengthwise, otherwise the strands would be squashed almost to the point of cutting right through as the copper would have nowhere to expand into. so don't mix the two types of lug and crimper. The second point is about the length of leads. Each inch/centimetre has a resistance value which increase in a linear manner, 1 inch plus 1 inch you add the values together and so on. If your leads are different lengths they will be different resistances which knocks on to Ohms law and creates the problems with discharging at different rates. The caveat here is how big is the difference? I suspect the installation recommendation is to cover all bases as set ups will vary, each one being individual. It is possible to mitigate this by using a bus bar of a large CSA, run the leads to the bar as short as possible and the same lengths from battery to bar within reason. The Bus Bar should be connected to the inverters/distribution box/connection point in the middle of the bar. If your Bus Bar is of sufficient CSA the difference in resistance will be so small as to be insignificant. The benefits of doing it this way? it looks a lot nicer...lol, may be a tiny bit cheaper depending on the cost of the bar. The maths involved in calculating the actual resistance difference is simply ohms law but the math to get the physical size is difficult as all the values are not linear or even a combination of calculations, which is why I believe the reason for the installation advice is as it is. Personally if I happened to have a lump of copper bar twice the CSA as the combined leads CSA I would be happy using it. Note although the Bus Bar is used and it is 99.95 a bar of copper, the bar could be made of cable, its about how you use it electrically speaking. Hope this was of interest, the second half is not really helpful as such more of background but the lugs part is important to follow. cheers.

[@Just_An_Idea_For_Consideration]

This is one of your best videos! Very informative!

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

Thanks for that. I'm glad you liked it.

[@rickbattle5706]

That combiner box is mind blowing. You could power NYC with it. :-). Great video, great information. All makes sense and is logical. Many thanks.

[@sashaf.5176]

Thanks for sharing Ray! it would be more interesting to see you build the whole system than just see the result. as it is now you could only show pictures and comment on it in the background!!! You touch on important details that many others miss but make it more interesting by setting up a camera on a tripod and showing exactly how you do it. it is much easier than you think. good job 👍👍

[@wayne8113]

Thanks Ray

[@jimhanty8149]

Good points man…rock on…

[@chrisbritton8326]

Hi Ray, I'm your 7th like. Great video. I understand the same length cables as you talked about because I do the same on my battery builds but didn't know or heard of until now about inverter and battery mains to inverter/charger needed to be equal length. I always believe that wire connections were a over looked subject. I have seen were I could squeeze the alligator clips on a battery being charged and the voltage would change on my power supply battery charger. I did not know about equal torque on all bolted connectors for equal voltage/current/resistance. I work with a small to nothing budget. I don't complain about it, I just make it happen. I can't compete with your tools are your knowledge so I work with what I have and learn more from people, such as you that know more than me. When I connect a wire/cable most of the time it's a used jumper cables to a copper lug terminal I strip the installation at proper length add solder Flux to the wire and inside of the lug. Then I take a big screw driver with a square bit at the end and a small hammer size sledgehammer beat the lug about twice with the square screw driver. I pull on it very hard and they have never came out. I next take a small hand size touch and heat the hell out of the connector lug and add solder while the lug is pointed down and the wire is above it until it drips out of the hole in the lug. The that you don't like. I feel like this double atachment also serves as a air and moisture lock bearer. Then let it cool down and trim off the burnt insulation near the connector and add my heat shrink. I just thought I would share how I've been doing this and ask your thoughts,inputs, comments. Also do you or did add extra torque for that extension on the torque wrench? Keep more videos brother. Thank you.

[@evil17]

Hi Chris, Im sure ur connections look & perform quite reasonable, but there are a number of concerns u should probly do some more research about making some of these connections. There is a mixed school of thoughts on soldering connections and particularly when it comes to fine core welding wire cable and lug connections. In Australia we have a lot of different codes and standards than are used in the US, but fine stranded cables should really not be soldered for various reasons, a few are: because the flux/acids can affect the joint & cause oxidation, if a soldered joint becomes hot for whatever reason it can melt out the solder and thereby increase resistance/heat and loosen a connection to potentially fall out, &/or create a fire risk. A correctly rated connection lug for a given type of wire is as you say, “a overlooked subject”, as Ray has explained here, the crimping is important, & for these type cables definitely requires the right tool be used, a proper crimp should attain what is referred to as a ‘cold weld’ or ‘cold fusion’, which essentially means u have squashed the atoms of the metals so close together that they all bond, and this is air tight, adding solder can also stiffen the joint to some degree which can also weaken it. These cables carry a lot of load and a proper connection should be given the duty it deserves to make it safe and last. You made a great comment there Chris, I did not mean to criticise negatively at all, but the importance of making a good connection is a broader subject than many people give credit. Cheers

[@chrisbritton8326]

@@evil17 hello Evan. Thank you for the returned comments, information and criticism. I know this may sound weird but I'd rather have negative reviews. What I'm saying is, I can't get any better with people telling me good job, nice work. I always want to know and look to see if there's anything that I make it better. I know that I don't have the right tools and I hope soon I will. So I thought this type of connection that I made was better than a squeeze connection. After I drive that square end screw driver 2 or 3 times into the copper lug with the small sledgehammer I test it by trying to pull it out with my hands.i never been able to pull it off. Then I thought to make it even better was to solder it. I was trying to make a strong bond with solder weld. I also try to over size my wire for all projects. I like the addition safety.

[@teddycunningham7568]

@@chrisbritton8326 before I could afford o commercial crimper I made a die set from mild steel with a side grinder and hammered with sledge hammer . Was slow but effective.

[@Blaskarabas]

Your speech speed is perfect for me. Specifically knowing that English is not my native language :p I really would like to have a beer and a nice conversation with you. Let me know whenever you travel to Spain! Keep up the well done work!

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

It makes me so happy to hear this.

[@thunder19301]

Awesome system wires so thick they look like snakes

[@chuxxsss]

Ray, good information as always. You must have 4 or 5 batteries on there. I just got information my glowatt may not have warranty. Got to be careful of some sellers.

[@gumpster6]

Great info - thanks for sharing Ray.

[@sixyonex7385]

Nice setup.

[@arminlandero.]

Muchas gracias por la información.

[@unwired]

SolArk uses Deye Inverter as OEM? Deye is one of the top 48Volt inverter here in the Philippines.

[@ablejohnson]

Excellent!

[@patrickblake8983]

Based on your figures for the 1/0 connection using a 50mm die the size for the 1/0 is 53.5 mm2. If you divide the 50mm by the size of the 1/0 wire 53.5 mm2 you get the following ratio: 50/53.5=0.934579. The size for the 2/00 wire is 67.4 mm2 . f you use this ratio for the 2/00 wire you would get 67.4 * 0.934579 = 62.99 mm. This measurement is smaller than the 70mm die which you had to grind down. Love your information. Can't stop watching your videos.

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

Makes sense doesn’t it? I can’t say exactly how much I ground off but it was a good bit smaller than 70 when I was done. 😉

[@doglabdogtraining-gus.8873]

thanks for all these videos Ray, amazing the thing you do, learning every day.

[@onthelake9554]

EG4 from signature solar is suppling this inverter now . Also Megarevo . Still a Deye inverter but rebranded so we can have in the USA .

[@RussLinzmeier]

I enjoy your videos , you worry about details that I didn't know were important . I'm going to rewire my solar arrays so that all the cables are of equal length and all MC4 connectors are air tight .

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

Your solar panels are not required to have equal length cables.

[@dangoras9152]

Good information brother

[@lukefarmer5391]

Sorry I play you ar 2x playback. 😂. Great videos!

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

😂😂

[@daydog64]

Great video! Excellent info on the crimp connectors. Rather than have extra cable tucked here and there. Is there a workaround to eliminate the extra wire length? That's affordable to most folks.

[@pcruz9083]

I think the extra cable management ( basically all the paths from source to consumption points need to have the same resistance) is the downside of the individual baterry design done here. In a rack build can be saved a lot on copper but then is a lot less serviceable. If the intention is to tucked away and leave it them better to have a rack mount build all together perhaps. Anyway awesome build that is coming together nicely. Thanks for sharing.

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

I think one of the main design flaws of the rack mounted systems is the daisy chaining of the batteries. The current flows are asymmetrical and out of balance. Another problem is that in the quest to have batteries that can be lifted into the rack, they tend towards 5 kWh capacity batteries which makes scaling to large capacities more cumbersome. On top of that is the fact that it is difficult to know what the quality of the cells is and testing of the cells very difficult. I have no interest.

[@Just_An_Idea_For_Consideration]

On next video, please discuss the AC wiring going out of the inverters and into the Breaker Panels. I am interested in understanding, how multiple inverters are properly connected to the breaker panels. Do each of the AC outputs parallel to the same connector in the breaker panel? Are L1 N L2 all tied together??? No one ever discusses the AC side. How are these AC connections from each inverter kept in sync with each other? Can some of the inverters accidentally back-feed into other inverters and cause a short? What do we need to protect each inverter from over current from the other inverters??? thx

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

I have a video that explains the overall setup with the three AC panels that manage the output from the inverters, the input from the grid and the inputs from the AC coupled PV and Generator. The inverters communicate with each other for coordinating their function with one another. They also communicate with the batteries which all communicate with each other. There is a master BMS on the battery side and a master inverter on the inverter side. That is going to be covered in a future video.

[@Just_An_Idea_For_Consideration]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bWK3ep6Art-Vgrc for anyone else interested in AC side wiring distribution begins about 12:11 in this video

[@user-mx9ik4jm3g]

those anderson connectors are known fire starters . the tweco connectors used for welders are probably a better choice and readily available

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

Can you cite examples of genuine, Anderson connectors, causing fires? There are a lot of counterfeits out there that I wouldn’t dream of using. Also, they must be properly crimped. I am certain that there are a lot of potential for fires when they are not used correctly and when the connections are not made correctly. I have a video about that very thing.

[@user-mx9ik4jm3g]

@@RayBuildsCoolStuff there was a factory charging a fork . a few years ago . and tvr cars had 2 catch fire . a quick google search . will probably show some results . i would test them with a load that you would typicaly use for heat

[@smellycat249]

Could you talk about the AC unit soft starter you mentioned a few vids back please? Your videos are extremely informative, thank you.

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

I will try to do that for you.

[@mattjayne5231]

Insanely useful as always Ray. I've also run into the wire length for parallel battery problem. My planned solution to try keep the wiring clean/less excess was a massively oversized cable connecting each battery. ie 185mm cable from battery 1 to battery 2 etc. Chaining them (still parallel not series). My logic was the resistence on the large wire would be negligible in comparison to differences in battery pack internal resistances. Any thoughts/opinions on this folks?

[@ZeroDot42]

The Sunsynk is the same as Deye ,made in the same factory ,but with better software than the Deye,maybe there is Sunsynk in America .

[@onthelake9554]

Nope.

[@soungsokunthy5067]

Hi dear , can you share the project diagram to us to understand , which device need to build or how many device need ? I hope you can share . Thanks and best regard

[@tastiger91]

Good information.

[@ericanderson9004]

Surge…. If you have a strike on your house or close by, the earth ground voltage will be high and the surge protector will not do much. I speak from experience! Maybe add ground rods around your a solar shack as well. Yeah, ground and neutral needs to be bonded at the first means of disconnect, but I don’t think there is anything in code saying you can’t have ground multiple grounds around your property as long as they are all connected. Heck, the utility grounds the neutral all along the system.

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

Yes, a direct, strike or one very close by would create some serious damage. The surge protectors are not designed or capable of protecting you from that. I think the best we can do is to have multiple layers of back up power to get our critical loads protected, in case of catastrophic failure of our primary system. I have looked into lightning, arrestors and protection systems in the past, and it is a really big deal. I may look into it further in the future, but I won’t be trying to design a system of ground rods that has the potential for setting up a dangerous ground loop to overcomes something that should be addressed with a proper lightning arrestor system. I have done too many of those kinds of things in my youth. I guess we both have experiences that are trying to lead us. Lol. Thank you so much for your valuable comments.

[@typxxilps]

1:58 did you buy a different crimper this time or is it still the same. It looks like the usual ones you can find on AliExpress for about 50$ or so. Finally back in the operations room or shed below the panels you had built in spring. Looks beautifull , I mean the craftmanship in all the bits and pieces that now have come together. Great progress and I had not been aware of the usefullness of such combinerbox to equalize the total DC cable length from each battery to the inverter. Luckily we just need 1 battery and have a far lower consumption about 5000 kWh incl. EV charging but good to know how to scale cause we will need to move ahead away from Oil to heatpump and electricity as heating power due to energy price explosion. We do use wood for 4 decades but at the end we still have to get 1500 l or 400 gallons oil to burn each year and with the 3rd solar power system we hope to get a lot of the power needed for the heatpump. Outages is not an issue, just 20 minutes in 20 years when they have to do maintenance on the grid and that is usually announced in advance.

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

Same crimper. Better quality ones are available at 3-4 times the cost but I just spent another 60$ split with my friend. There are actually two identical systems I am building. This video is in her solar shed. Mine is at a similar stage. I bringing them along together. I'll me making more cables for mine tomorrow.

[@PhilippeCJR]

So you just combine all these packs to 1 connection towards the Deye? How do they discharge all correctly to 0% (or 10% if you like) ? And which of all the BMSses do you canbus connect to the Deye? (I am having a Deye 12kw 3phase hybrid + a 16xLF280K pack with Seplos 200A bms). Great video!

[@richardwilkinson4883]

Hi Ray - I am using Sunsynk inverters in the UK - these are very very closely related to the Deye inverter (made in same factory) I know you use Seplos BMS can you confirm how you established the battery link - that would be very cool. I think the Seplos emulates the Pylontec which the Deye can communicate with.....can you let me know how you did this? Cheers love you channel.

[@DanBurgaud]

Deye (Sol-Ark, SunSyc) has powerful features that are not available on other inverters.

[@ursodermatt8809]

in america only

[@sergea1138]

@@ursodermatt8809 deye is available everywhere except us

[@ursodermatt8809]

@@sergea1138 i was referring to the statement: " Deye (Sol-Ark, SunSyc) has powerful features that are not available on other inverters. " there are many inverters outside the USA that have "powerful" features. victron studer selectronic for example. so the author of that statement only considers america, which usually americans do, as if the world ends at their borders.

[@sergea1138]

@@ursodermatt8809 yep, agree ;-)

[@dananemo8430]

Ray, would you have a fusing schematics please? Great video. I had it on 1.5 but don't speak, any quicker please.

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

It is a scrawl but I will probably do a neater as-built version to release on the channel in the future.

[@classiccrypto]

Hi Ray, Thanks for your detailed videos! I have to ask what price range those inverters were at, at the time? Thanks

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

6800$ US for three, delivered to Texas.

[@Arishomestead]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience in building battery packs and solar system. I have one question: What is that white material that you put between cells? I am using rubber sheets, but it sticks togeather too much and if I need to remove any cell then it is very hard to do.

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

They are thin flexible cutting boards cut to size. I buy them through Amazon from arrow home products.

[@Arishomestead]

@@RayBuildsCoolStuff Thanks.

[@JonOffgrid]

😎👍👍

[@jcschwarb]

Ray - I appreciate this video- I have been trying to figure out how to buy or make a proper battery terminal block. I bought a copper 750 amp rated block and wonder if it would work for 10, 100 amp batteries. Not clear to me how the sheets of copper are rated.

[@Bripromo]

Hi Mike, How are your Deye inverters communicating with your lifepo4 🔋Batteries and BMS. Are they discharging and charging without any issues.?

[@eduardoperez891]

Amazing compounds how do you ensemble the all stuff with minimum details coverage.

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

Sorry, I don’t understand your translation.

[@duanehulse2037]

I know you said you can't get the ones anymore that you're using I've been looking at sungol split phase piercing wave 18000 W 48 V in burgers I haven't bought anything yet money's a major issue for everything but I don't wantna buy anything twice I don't wanna buy anymore than a 1/2 too but with my consumption there is need for Mega inverters and Mega batteries and then of course I gotta have enough panels to to cover it but there's somebody advertising on Facebook and they got a whole bunch of panels and not as big as what I was thinking of but after seeing the racks that you built on your property and I'm a solar shed She's got 6 and a 1/2 acres out there Tennessee she can spare 3 spaces 10 by 25 to to put 3 racks up one straight South 1 just slightly to the West and we're just slightly to the ei think I'm having plenty of inverters to hook up to the strings won't have to be that big I don't know tell me if I'm crazy

[@rudisoft]

Considering adding the breakers and another two lug connections at the breaker: isn't it that the wire lengths don't matter but the inner resistance of the battery to the bus bar matters most?

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

The wire lengths definitely matter. The total battery resistance also matters. I want both to be as balanced as possible to cycle the batteries evenly and equally.

[@peterking1134]

Who/how will the warranty be handled on your inverters?

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

If I need warranty service, I will handle it the same way I would on anything else. I wish I had purchased a seventh inverter as a spare but I didn’t. In any case, buying direct at a third of the cost has it’s inherent risk which I am more than willing to take.

[@808pathfinder]

So does that work with solar panels to? I have four panels in series and the positive wire is way longer than the negative,so do I need to match that as well?

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

Nope

[@Altenurgy]

Great stuff! Humless, that one of the other inverters? They appear to have some promising features and the price point is attractive. UL1741, AC and DC Coupling but I'm not sure I want to stick my neck out there when Sol-Ark has what appears to be a very established presence. Any thoughts would be appreciated. I just want to do right by my customers.

[@davepartlow6430]

🤙

[@OffGridandOutdoors]

Do you film yourself or do u have racking

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

On some videos I get help holding the phone. On others I am alone. All videos are done on my iPhone. On videos where I am alone and doing a selfie, I am actually holding the phone and looking at the back of the phone so I don’t know how it is framed until I’m done because the videos are one take from beginning to end.

[@VernSherwood1]

Who is the maker of the battery combiner box ? If one inverter goes into fault and cannot be repaired for whatever reason will you have to replace all three inverters ?

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

Midnite Solar makes the combiner. Each battery and each inverter are separately fused.

[@chrisrichardson8908]

I’m assuming you built that batter combiner sense I have not found one with all the components that you have in urs

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

I have a video about it. It comes from Midnite Solar.

[@marcinl4238]

Hi Ray. Your knowledge and experience with DIY batteries is very impressive, and I'd like to ask you if you could share some of it with me. I haven't found any info on DIY high voltage (400V) energy storage on the internet apart from a decommissioned EV battery from BMW but that's kind of a cheated DIY in my opinion as all the trouble is dealt with (BMS, Circuit breakers, etc) . I saw some commercial solutions from Huawei but no DIY. Do you plan on doing a High Voltage battery at some point? I think it would be a great project to take on - also efficiency of HV batteries is better (so I heard) and the current drawn from them is smaller making them last longer.

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

There are a few problems with high voltage DIY batteries. First and foremost is getting the rest of your system to work with it. You would need to step up and down with transformers to use more commonly available inverters and charge controllers. It can be done and there are some pioneers that argued loudly for it. The loudest of those has passed on now but the dream lives on. Another problem is that high voltage DC will kill you quick and the training required to handle it safely is not DIY compatible. I would never do a youtube video where I showed people how to work with it. It could be argued that the voltages are similar to that found in strings of PV but I'm just not going to go there with big energy storage systems. The ones we build are managed risk, but not zero risk. I would hate to get someone hurt. Low amperage is cool though.

[@zekeboz5533]

How is the BMS?

[@VernSherwood1]

Do you find the Anderson connectors have a certain amount of resistance ? They tend to get warm under load. At least they get warmer than a nut and bolt connection therefore indicating resistance. Maybe some conductive paste would help. Also would the load on the batteries get unbalanced anyway if one inverter is powering a load while the other is not ?

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

The batteries will stay balanced. They communicate with the inverters and the inverters communicate with one another. That’s an interesting idea on the anderson connectors. I should test that when the time comes.

[@tandrysek]

20 foot pounds is in metric how much ?

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

27 nm, I'm sorry I forgot to say that in the video. Thanks for asking.

[@BeortheMad]

Hi Ray, can a similar setup be realised with traction batteries? We are running an off-grid setup with multiple inverters with each their own forklift battery. It would be ideal if we could combine these but I've always been told that's a bad idea.

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

I have no experience with that.

[@devonlee3444]

Hey Ray, enjoy your videos, I am new to using Lithium cells, I am however using them for car audio applications instead. I have a bank of 200AH LifePo4 , I am going to purchase BMS from Daly, What amps BMS should i use?

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

The Daly BMS doesn't have a good reputation.

[@lukasklucka6366]

What breakers do you use?

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

AC or DC?

[@SingleFosterDad]

what is more efficient grid-tie inverter on battery or inverter

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

Please rephrase your question. I don’t understand.

[@SingleFosterDad]

I have a 48 volt lead-acid battery Bank. somtimes i connect them to my grid tie inverter and i get around 400 watts. back to the grid

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

@@SingleFosterDad what are you asking though?

[@Poebbelmann]

Thank you Ray! But I do not agree with the things you said regarding Oxygen getting into the wires. Oxygen will permeate through plastic and shrink tubes very fast and therefore the shrink tube will only be a stress relief and isolation. It will simply not keep the oxygen out.

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

How do you explain the difference between unprotected copper corrosion compared to insulated copper? You may get oxygen diffusion through plastics but it is a rate issue. Very thin plastic wraps are used to protect many of the things we depend on from humidity and oxidation, from our food to our packaged durable goods. Paint is usually some form of a latex or plastic and is measured in mils. It protects steel and other metals from corrosion literally for decades outdoors.

[@Poebbelmann]

@@RayBuildsCoolStuff The main difference might be to keep air humidity peaks (and even condension) away from the copper. Oxidation needs water and oxygen to occur. I don't say it is unnecessary to protect the copper. It will surely reduce corrosion, but not by keeping the oxygen out.

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

@@Poebbelmann Actually corrosion only needs oxygen to occur and in fact it is the oxygen in the water that causes corrosion, not the hydrogen. Consider the case of the cutting torch. The way a cutting torch works is by heating up the steel and then introducing pure oxygen. What happens next is very rapid oxidation, kind of like rusting on steroids. That's why you can't use a cutting torch to cut stainless because it won't rust well enough with it's low carbon content.

[@Poebbelmann]

@@RayBuildsCoolStuff Water is needed as a catalyst for corrosion at room temperature. You won't have any corrosion without water when the copper is not heated. My point is: the shrink tubing will not prevent that oxygen will be in contact with the copper but it will help to reduce or inhibit corrosion.

[@awesomedee5421]

Is that correct that the inverter cable lengths have to match? I thought the load dictates how much power each leg uses, and so each side of the split phase won't be balanced anyways. thus length should be the shortest possible to reduce losses from resistance/heat. I can agree that battery cable lengths should be the same idealy, but there are other factors such as battery internal resistance..

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

Here is a link to Kieth's video from Sunsynk. Victron has similar guidance. kzbin.info/www/bejne/m4jdfXmIYthngZY

[@energydreamer5347]

@@RayBuildsCoolStuff - did you speak accurately that Sunsynk is building or has built a split phase hybrid inverter that is comparable to Deye?

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

@@energydreamer5347 Deye is the factory where the sunsyk is built.

[@obtonwint5671]

Is that 48v battery bank let me know

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

Yes sir

[@richeagleton5285]

If you ever want to sell one I'll buy it

[@hoocli]

Can you share the deye supplier for those of us not in the US. Just want to know the best company to source them. Thanks

[@energydreamer5347]

I did quiet an extensive search for the Deye unit/product and it is only available in the EU version or standard by way of Alibaba dot com

[@houseofancients]

@@energydreamer5347 actually there is a deye in france, and one in austria

[@energydreamer5347]

@@houseofancients - thanks! I would need a US version or standard. I have found a resource for the the Deye EU version/standard but a little gunshy/reluctant to go though the steps to alter the EU version to work in the US. I definitely would like a Deye simply based on the fact that @Ray Builds Cool Stuff has done the due diligence and I believe it to be a quality product. The US version of the Deye is super super over priced by SolArk. Thanks again @houseofancients !!!!

[@houseofancients]

@@energydreamer5347 good luck on the split phase, maybe you can try carabian, but sol-ark has killed off any split-phase to protect their 300% upmark

[@energydreamer5347]

@@houseofancients - I have found a couple on Alibaba but the shipping is pretty stout. I am looking into Sun Gold Power right now - they have a Split Phase Hybrid Inverter for US standard.

[@garys-half-baked-offgrid-dream]

The only good thing about the UK is 240v 50Hz single phase, none of this 110v split phase rubbish.