EG4 PowerPro batteries out doors in cold weather any issues?

[muaddib721]

Anyone have there EG4 Power Pro batteries installed outside your home and are experiencing extremely cold weather? Wondering if you are having issues. Personally I would never put them outside even though they are rated for it. It's freezing outside my house for the past two days but I have my batteries in my garage and so far the temperature has only gotten to 55F. Love these batteries but want to know if the heaters in them are working as advertised.

 

[Brucey]

Anyone have there EG4 Power Pro batteries installed outside your home and are experiencing extremely cold weather? Wondering if you are having issues. Personally I would never put them outside even though they are rated for it. It's freezing outside my house for the past two days but I have my batteries in my garage and so far the temperature has only gotten to 55F. Love these batteries but want to know if the heaters in them are working as advertised.

From my understanding battery heaters are only trying to get them above freezing, they aren't trying to hit 70s etc.

 

[muaddib721]

From my understanding battery heaters are only trying to get them above freezing, they aren't trying to hit 70s etc.

Very true and I'm trying to make sure that they work as advertised.... I wasn't asking if they kept the batteries at 70F. If you read my post I say that I keep my batteries in my garage and I was just pointing out that I don't have to worry about that due to the 55F in my garage. The question is for freezing temps with batteries outside... I guess I needed to clarify that.

 

[myles]

My question is how much power do the heaters use?

Use case: off grid cabin. Powered off when not in use. But when arriving at the cabin it's -40F. Will the heaters heat to above freezing then let the batteries take charge? Or will the room need to be preheated externally first. Propane burner or otherwise.

Thoughts?

 

[SenileOldGit]

I use a hot water cylinder jacket to keep my batteries warm in the Winter, dirt cheap, tie it around the batteries with string, easy to remove and store rolled up when the weather is warmer. I use two heated per mats between my three batteries, about 15W each, if I need to heat the batteries up. I use D Link Wi Fi Smart sockets, so I can turn on the heated pads without having to even get out of bed and open the inverter shed door.
Right now, 7.45am and with one inch of snow outside, my 3 Pylontech US5000 batteries are at 19C. They were that temperature at 6pm last night, and since midnight, when I went to bed, they have been giving out only around 300W, so not enough to supply much heat during the night, when it must have been freezing for some time, since we have snow, so the hot water cylinder jackets must be working well!

 

[Jbird2000]

Mine are in my insulated but unheated garage. Goes down to 38 some days. I put them in an insulated box. no issues after 1 winter

 

[myles]

Mine are in my insulated but unheated garage. Goes down to 38 some days. I put them in an insulated box. no issues after 1 winter

You put the power pro batteries in an insulated box or diy cells?

 

[OffGridForGood]

Heating battery packs, with their own energy in an off-grid cabin situation:
I see a problem.
You are away for extended time period, and don't want to use the battery energy for self heating while away.
You let the batteries go cold. This will be okay as long as they are not charging or discharging.
Then at -40 and you want to use the self-heating function, but you should not be discharing with the batteries at this temp. So self-heating is not a great solution.

Option: set thermostat for the cells to self heat if they drop below freezing temp, set a range to operate between freezing and a few degrees above freezing. let the heater cycle. - but now you need reliable PV to recharge the batteries and if we are talking about a cold place, we likely also have snow cover/short days, that could mean the PV is not providing any (or much) energy per day to keep the batteries from discharging. With snow or exended periods of poor weather (like December 2023) the batteries could self discharge to a point where they shut down, meaning no more heating. Battery temps drop and no more charging or discharging until they are warmed up again. But now, with no reserve energy the batteries need external heating of some type - warm weather or alternative heating source.

Other improvements to the option: nearly vertical PV to be sure they are not buried in snow, large ESS in a single well insulated heat controlled box. Remote monitoring - if you could control the heating and charging remotely, informed by weather forecast, you could make decisions on how low you let the battery SOC go, having some idea of when to expect solar to be available.

Some of these issues with LFP at low temps is why I have been working with a few Sodium batteries, to see if these work better.

 

[myles]

I think best bet is full shut down when leaving including power off batteries. Then upon arrival. Start generator and heat up the building via woodstove and electric heater in the battery room till they warm up then proceed to use batteries as normal. They are in the heated space when using the camp.

They would freeze when camp is shutdown.

Does anyone know the characteristics of the batteries? Will the display power on when freezing then auto turn on/allow charge discharge via the BMS when the internal temp is warmed up?

Trying to make this simple as possible for my uncle. His current off grid system looks like a rats nest. Converting to something a lot simpler. All in one unit with two power pros.

 

[Brucey]

For a pack that's been at -40 I'd prob give it a full day to defrost and come up to ambient, the temperature sensors which are external to the cells will not reflect the reality of the core temps.

 

[myles]

I'll call signature solar tomorrow and ask the questions

 

[nc73]

I won't touch another EG4 with a 10ft pole

 

[Rumast21]

I use a hot water cylinder jacket to keep my batteries warm in the Winter, dirt cheap, tie it around the batteries with string, easy to remove and store rolled up when the weather is warmer. I use two heated per mats between my three batteries, about 15W each, if I need to heat the batteries up. I use D Link Wi Fi Smart sockets, so I can turn on the heated pads without having to even get out of bed and open the inverter shed door.
Right now, 7.45am and with one inch of snow outside, my 3 Pylontech US5000 batteries are at 19C. They were that temperature at 6pm last night, and since midnight, when I went to bed, they have been giving out only around 300W, so not enough to supply much heat during the night, when it must have been freezing for some time, since we have snow, so the hot water cylinder jackets must be working well!

Sounds like a really neat setup. Can you share more info on the type of heated pads you used?

 

[BenCour]

I won't touch another EG4 with a 10ft pole

Batteries or inverter or both ?

 

[SenileOldGit]

Sounds like a really neat setup. Can you share more info on the type of heated pads you used?

I got the pads from Ebay, the seller hasn't got any left in stock, but this is what it looks like - 240V, with a slider to adjust the heat between Low, Medium and High (I think). It's 45cm x 45cm - perfect for Pylontech US5000 batteries.