So I’ve been parsing through the internet to find info on this battery technology as there are some used Toshiba SCIB units available on e-bay. There's a lot to like of LTO technology if you can overcome some of the hurdles. The hurdles seem to be price, BMS, space, and odd voltage attributes. Physical space to store the batteries isn't an issue for me, and while price for used LTO cells are expensive, I believe that their exceptionally long life make them fairly affordable spread out over time.
These particular cells have an on board BMS but it seems no one has figured out how to get it to balance the cells, so if you want cell balancing then you'd need to get an external BMS for every 24 cell battery (1.1kW). In a 40 kw battery bank that would amount to 36 separate BMS. So my question is, are BMSs necessary with this technology and if not, how would I be able to operate my system without one, and what downsides would there be. I guess I'm wondering what are the options here?
The other thing that seems to be a negative is that these batteries have unusual voltage attributes. It looks like there is 48v MagnaSine 4000W inverter that can handle the voltage range of the batteries, but I'm not seeing any other inverters that can both reach the upper and lower ranges. Is being stuck with this inverter a deal breaker? It's a pricey inverter, but it seems that installing a couple of these would allow me to use shop tools and water pumps. Are there any thoughts to this particular inverter or use of inverters with LTO batteries.
Lastly, I'm just hoping to learn more about working on these cells. I'm not very experienced with working with electricity or storage, so I'd like to know if I'm biting off more than I can chew by building a 40kw/h battery bank with these cells. Thanks for any input.
These particular cells have an on board BMS but it seems no one has figured out how to get it to balance the cells, so if you want cell balancing then you'd need to get an external BMS for every 24 cell battery (1.1kW). In a 40 kw battery bank that would amount to 36 separate BMS. So my question is, are BMSs necessary with this technology and if not, how would I be able to operate my system without one, and what downsides would there be. I guess I'm wondering what are the options here?
The other thing that seems to be a negative is that these batteries have unusual voltage attributes. It looks like there is 48v MagnaSine 4000W inverter that can handle the voltage range of the batteries, but I'm not seeing any other inverters that can both reach the upper and lower ranges. Is being stuck with this inverter a deal breaker? It's a pricey inverter, but it seems that installing a couple of these would allow me to use shop tools and water pumps. Are there any thoughts to this particular inverter or use of inverters with LTO batteries.
Lastly, I'm just hoping to learn more about working on these cells. I'm not very experienced with working with electricity or storage, so I'd like to know if I'm biting off more than I can chew by building a 40kw/h battery bank with these cells. Thanks for any input.