Reserve battery bank to use low capacity cells

SemaJG

Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2017
Messages
42
Hi like most or you Im struggling to find a use for cells which dont make the minimum standard for inclusion in my powerwall. In my case thats 1800mAh.
Im left with over one thousand cells between 1400 and 1800mAh It struck me that they could easily be put to service in a reserve battery for use in a power cut or other outage adding about 6kwh of power per 1000 cells to the system in such a case. They would not be cycled daily like the main bank but left on standby for such an event.
No need for a bms or anything other than some switch gear to manage the changeover etc.
We have in the past year had to hire a jenny three times due to weather events.These cells are just sitting there in boxes looking a bit sad for themselves.
Very interested to hear thoughts of other users on this.

Jimmy
 
I was contemplating a 12V dc supply, with a voltage regulator , with my low capacity cells to power primarily LED lights in the household. The pack would require a simple and cheap charge controller and perhaps a single panel for charging (depending how many low amperage cells require charging) and of course a switch. No transformer etc.
 
I do that you could say. in smaller 48V 14s ready banks.

 
I am doing something similar with my B or C grade cells I am either using them for small projects or powerpacks for low drain applications.

I usually charge and maintain it with a RC charger so I dont even worry about using a BMS aside from adding a voltage monitor just to keep an eye on things.
 
You could potentially double the capacity of your powerwall without the need for the same level of maintenance at virtually no extra cost which can be called on in power outages.
I currently have hundreds of cells on a local free ads site with no takers. These cells were put through the same testing as the higher capacity keepers. Which got me thinking on how to find a use for them without bringing to the recycling center. For me at least this could be the answer to geting some return for the time spent testing them.
J
 
Back
Top