Andrewm2002
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I have 15 Calb CA100 cells coming from China. Should I balance them before use or let them run a conservative charge regime for a while 1st?
When to bottom balance new cells
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BMS or no BMS?
Andrewm2002
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No BMS. Plan on running between 90-10% and discharging over around 4 hours. In a system with 2kw of panels and a 48vdc mini-split heat pump.
I would run a bms. I used to go without a bms, but now they are cheap and pretty powerful. And dare I say, dependable. Then you wont have to worry about anything. Just hook up bms and you are done. No need to bottom balance
If they are used or mismatched cells (even with a bms), they need bottom balance and set upper limit voltage when smallest capacity cell hits 3.65v during charging.
But if cells are new and you use bms, no work involved. Just hook it up and you are good.
But if cells are new and you use bms, no work involved. Just hook it up and you are good.
Andrewm2002
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Thanks for the replies Will. I guess my concern with BMS is not knowing what I'm getting. I'm looking at a Daly 120A common port on aliexpress. Whatever I add I just want to make sure I'm not adding more risks as it will be mounted inside the house. I will have it all in a electrical enclosure that is vented to the outdoors.
I would be cautious with hitting the Calb batteries too hard without a little more testing. I have an almost identical set up that I received over a week ago directly from China. My equipment includes a Hybrid AC/DC 12000 btu mini split air conditioner with MPPT solar controller, 10pcs of 320watt panels and 16 Calb 100ah batteries. I wanted to test a new supplier on Alibaba and the batteries before a larger purchase.
The cells arrived with all between 3.15 and 3.20 volts and appeared to have all been from the same batch. I was impressed until I created 12volt packs and started testing a 12 to 24 volt DC freezer I had also purchased. The cells seem to have had sharp varying degrees of capacity on the fairly small load. I have not tested them further as of yet but, I will bottom balance them before proceeding any further in my testing. I hope a good bottom balance and a few cycles with top balancing will bring them all up to similar levels.
May I ask for you to keep me posted on the progress with your project? Im very interested to know how your system works and would very much like to compare notes.
Thanks all
The cells arrived with all between 3.15 and 3.20 volts and appeared to have all been from the same batch. I was impressed until I created 12volt packs and started testing a 12 to 24 volt DC freezer I had also purchased. The cells seem to have had sharp varying degrees of capacity on the fairly small load. I have not tested them further as of yet but, I will bottom balance them before proceeding any further in my testing. I hope a good bottom balance and a few cycles with top balancing will bring them all up to similar levels.
May I ask for you to keep me posted on the progress with your project? Im very interested to know how your system works and would very much like to compare notes.
Thanks all
Andrewm2002
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Which supplier did you order the batteries and A/C from? My batteries are from Changsha Deligreen Power Co., Ltd. and the A/C is from Ningbo Haishu Cooling New Energy Co., Ltd. I couldn't get the official Calb store on Alibaba to reply to me.
My system will consist of 6 ground mounted Longi 365W Perc Mono panels, Victron MPPT, Victron Battery Protect, Morningstar GFDI, Daly 120A BMS, and a Amazon special battery monitor. My unit is a 24,000BTU. Now I'm wondering if I didn't order enough solar panels.
My A/C is still on the boat so it will be a while before I have anything running. I should get the concrete poured this week. I'll posts updates. Please let me know how your's turns out.
I purchased the Calb CA100 batteries from Hunan AUK New Energy Co., Ltd. and the Air conditioner came from Taizhou Airgreen Imp & Exp Co., Ltd. Both suppliers were pretty good and I don't have any real complaints. Im sure you know as well as I how difficult it can bet when purchasing from China.
On the battery side, I still need to test them much more thoroughly. Im more familiar with the 18650 lithium-ion size and type and ignorant with the larger LiFePO4.
At this point, I have the Aircon installed and working on AC power only. Everything is working well and its blowing cold air. Since I am here in the Philippines, its a very welcome thing. I still need to get the solar side of things up and running so my next step is to get the PV in place and see how the system works on Solar panels only. Im even more interested to know how well it will work with the PV and commercial power contributing concurrently. The battery back-up will be the final addition.
Is your heat pump a hybrid or purely off grid? If I may ask, where are you located?
On the battery side, I still need to test them much more thoroughly. Im more familiar with the 18650 lithium-ion size and type and ignorant with the larger LiFePO4.
At this point, I have the Aircon installed and working on AC power only. Everything is working well and its blowing cold air. Since I am here in the Philippines, its a very welcome thing. I still need to get the solar side of things up and running so my next step is to get the PV in place and see how the system works on Solar panels only. Im even more interested to know how well it will work with the PV and commercial power contributing concurrently. The battery back-up will be the final addition.
Is your heat pump a hybrid or purely off grid? If I may ask, where are you located?
Andrewm2002
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Purely off grid. I'll run it as a supplement to the central heating/cooling. Because it can only be operated by solar I should be able to claim full tax credit on the heat pump. I'm in South Carolina, USA.
Will you install the system or is it required to be preformed by a contractor for the tax credit? Also, were you surprised by any taxes and/or tariffs due after landing in the US? I have heard some real horror stories about charges that were unexpected at arrival.
In the next day or two, I plan to get my aircon running completely on solar power. I ordered twice the recommended number of panels because the humidity and heat here are obsescene. In retrospect, I wish I had opted for the 24000 BTU unit as insulation, preventing air infiltration and low-e glass are not used in this neck of the woods. I am very interested to know just how many watts it will take vs. what the data sheets says it should take to operate. I will certainly share that data.
In the next day or two, I plan to get my aircon running completely on solar power. I ordered twice the recommended number of panels because the humidity and heat here are obsescene. In retrospect, I wish I had opted for the 24000 BTU unit as insulation, preventing air infiltration and low-e glass are not used in this neck of the woods. I am very interested to know just how many watts it will take vs. what the data sheets says it should take to operate. I will certainly share that data.
Andrewm2002
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I'll install the system myself. I can claim all the incentives as long as the equipment has the correct certifications and I pull a construction permit. There were no surprise taxes on the batteries. They came express via Fedex. I've read that express shipments seem to get less scrutiny. We'll see how it goes with the A/C unit in 2 weeks. My understanding is that if it's under $2500 and for personal use, they usually don't bother with additional taxes/tariffs. I found a great deal on Hanwha panels from China, but I believe they would be subject to the anti-dumping tariff. Shipping probably would have been too expensive to justify it anyways.
I too am concerned about the actual consumption of the heat pump. The advertised values vary a good bit. I'm hoping for 1000w (maintaining the set temp, not running 100%)
