mr_hypno
Member
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2017
- Messages
- 40
Hello all! Finally getting around to my build thread.
I Started messing with batteries last year(summer 2017), and my humble beginnings started with whatever I could get my hands on. So free lawnmower and heavy truck batteries was my go to. I built up a 48V bank that eventually had about 5KWHs on the AC side and ran a Reliable brand 1500w inverter (it eventually got killed and I tried anotger 3500w with no luck and theyhavebeen replaced with an MPP PIP1648MSX). Eventually adding 2.6KW of solar panels (just leaning up against my garage). After getting the basics down I went on the hunt for 18650s.
After many months I tapped out every local source of free or cheap lap top packs. I had just enough good cells to make an initial 4s120p pack (1500-2800mah). I hate soldering with a passion so I decided to do a spot weld build. In the mean timeI aquired a sweet gift that a buddy found for me! A Magnum 12v inverter that could handle up to 20v input. So after building the packs I began to play with mylithium ion setup. It worked great and put out about 3.5KWHs. I still use this system to this day. Ive had to tear apart 1 pack because it was slowly getting unbalanced from the others after a year of faithful service.
So after getting used to the basics of running that system I decided to do a little more investing in good quality 18650s through Alarm Hookup and Power2Spare on ebay. I finally aquired enough cells to do something with but wasnt satasfied with making large packs, especially my spot welded ones with no cell protection. In the mean time I dabbled in large format cells and bought some Nissan Leaf modules. These kept me satisfied for a while but the expense of them drove me away from buying more.I sat idle with 1000 tested cells just kind of in limbo what to do with them. Then I caught a glimpse of Glenn Andrew Lockey's cartridge wall. That was my que to get moving on a build. Without dragging you guys down with a bunch of useless build crap, ill get to the point.
The system uses cartridges of 6 18650 spot welded and then placed in a 4 slot holder that is fused at 5 amps per slot to each bus bar. The system works greatand is quick to expand with the only soldering being the joints from the 4 slot holders to the bus bars. Then its just a matter of capacity matching each 6 cell cartridge. So far I have soldered 3 units high and have filled 11 of the 12 slots. Ill have to extend my bus bars to allow for more cell holders to be installed.I haven't done a full capacity test yet but will eventually. Im guessing its about 11-12KWHs on the AC side with my Nissan Leaf stack in parallel.I still have yet to use a BMS on any system I have used and I know I should invest in one! For now im going to use my little volt meters to keep an eye on everything. They have been staying very well balanced.
Im not very good at this whole forum thing so ill be uploading pics from my phone in the next post. This could get messy!
Thanks and happy powerwalling!
I Started messing with batteries last year(summer 2017), and my humble beginnings started with whatever I could get my hands on. So free lawnmower and heavy truck batteries was my go to. I built up a 48V bank that eventually had about 5KWHs on the AC side and ran a Reliable brand 1500w inverter (it eventually got killed and I tried anotger 3500w with no luck and theyhavebeen replaced with an MPP PIP1648MSX). Eventually adding 2.6KW of solar panels (just leaning up against my garage). After getting the basics down I went on the hunt for 18650s.
After many months I tapped out every local source of free or cheap lap top packs. I had just enough good cells to make an initial 4s120p pack (1500-2800mah). I hate soldering with a passion so I decided to do a spot weld build. In the mean timeI aquired a sweet gift that a buddy found for me! A Magnum 12v inverter that could handle up to 20v input. So after building the packs I began to play with mylithium ion setup. It worked great and put out about 3.5KWHs. I still use this system to this day. Ive had to tear apart 1 pack because it was slowly getting unbalanced from the others after a year of faithful service.
So after getting used to the basics of running that system I decided to do a little more investing in good quality 18650s through Alarm Hookup and Power2Spare on ebay. I finally aquired enough cells to do something with but wasnt satasfied with making large packs, especially my spot welded ones with no cell protection. In the mean time I dabbled in large format cells and bought some Nissan Leaf modules. These kept me satisfied for a while but the expense of them drove me away from buying more.I sat idle with 1000 tested cells just kind of in limbo what to do with them. Then I caught a glimpse of Glenn Andrew Lockey's cartridge wall. That was my que to get moving on a build. Without dragging you guys down with a bunch of useless build crap, ill get to the point.
The system uses cartridges of 6 18650 spot welded and then placed in a 4 slot holder that is fused at 5 amps per slot to each bus bar. The system works greatand is quick to expand with the only soldering being the joints from the 4 slot holders to the bus bars. Then its just a matter of capacity matching each 6 cell cartridge. So far I have soldered 3 units high and have filled 11 of the 12 slots. Ill have to extend my bus bars to allow for more cell holders to be installed.I haven't done a full capacity test yet but will eventually. Im guessing its about 11-12KWHs on the AC side with my Nissan Leaf stack in parallel.I still have yet to use a BMS on any system I have used and I know I should invest in one! For now im going to use my little volt meters to keep an eye on everything. They have been staying very well balanced.
Im not very good at this whole forum thing so ill be uploading pics from my phone in the next post. This could get messy!
Thanks and happy powerwalling!