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2nd House
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# Posted: 31 Mar 2020 02:41pm
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Hello all...
I keep seeing Lithium Ion battery's out of Electric Vehicles.
Has anyone tried or had any success using these for off grid?
thanks
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toyota_mdt_tech
Member
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# Posted: 31 Mar 2020 03:27pm
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Creeky has done just that. And I think with great success too. I'm sure he will chime in shortly.
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Ontario lakeside
Member
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# Posted: 31 Mar 2020 04:01pm - Edited by: Ontario lakeside
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We did just that, heres a video of our setup
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfilBtej3t4&t=5s
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Nobadays
Member
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# Posted: 31 Mar 2020 05:40pm - Edited by: Nobadays
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Yup... we presently have 8kw @ 48v and 4kw more I'm getting ready to wire into the system. We live over half the year at our cabin so.... electric fridge, freezer, washing machine, microwave, TV, satellite internet and of course lighting. Love our Chevy Volt modules!
Here is a link to DIY Solar where I posted pics of our system... scroll down to see Volt modules.
Ontario Lakeside's videos are a must see!
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Brettny
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# Posted: 1 Apr 2020 06:51am
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Really depends on how much time you spend there if lithium is worth it. For us if flooded batteries last only 500 cycles we would get 13yrs out of them. Even if we get 6years out of them I'm sure lithium will be alot cheaper by then. I am still making sure any inverters, charge controllers or anything else are lithium compatible.
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monkeydeck
Member
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# Posted: 1 Apr 2020 08:47am
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the question was "Has anyone tried or had any success using these for off grid?"
the answer is yes
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Atlincabin
Member
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# Posted: 1 Apr 2020 10:20am
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Another data point: I have used three of the Volt batteries (with inverter etc.) in my airplane hangar for a couple years now. Works great except won't run heavy power tools or a welder (neither of which I use regularly). For those, I have a generator that I start every couple months.
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2nd House
Member
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# Posted: 1 Apr 2020 04:59pm
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Thanks for the help...I just need backup and enough juice to power a camper AC for a few hours until power comes back on
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2nd House
Member
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# Posted: 1 Apr 2020 05:53pm
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So getting back to this, how many Chevy Volt batteries can I series connect?
It looks like they have approximately 8.0 volts per module.
Can I series 3 to get my 24 volts?
Or better...series / parallel 6 to get my 24 volts?
Thanks for the help
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Nobadays
Member
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# Posted: 1 Apr 2020 06:25pm
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Not sure where you are getting the 8.o volts per module. If you are referring to cells (modules areca series of cells usually in 24v or 48v) they are 4.2v @ 100% The newer generation might be different voltages... that I don't know.
My modules are 12 in series which is 50.4 volts.... 48v modules as it is not recommended to charge them to 100%. Most folks charge to 48v - 48.2 volts max. I do not discharge mine below 42v as this is what is referred to as the knee.... below 42v they drop in voltage rather quickly and you can damage them if you discharge too deeply.
If you are building your own 24v modules I believe you would series 6 cells to get your 24v. You can then parallel these to get the amount of storage you need.
On this forum... Creeky is your guy. He also sells pre-made modules. HERE is Creeky 's website. Another source... one I use is "azlithium" who you can find HERE.
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2nd House
Member
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# Posted: 1 Apr 2020 07:21pm
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OK...thanks
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NorthwoodsGuy
Member
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# Posted: 1 Apr 2020 10:17pm
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I'll add to the chorus. We're at 2KwH at 48v, two years in on our system. I am thinking of adding more cells. We do fine in the summer time, but our winter visits have shown some limits. There's a lot of great knowledge on this forum. I've learned a lot here, and Creeky and toyota_mdt_tech (among many others) have been super helpful.
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Nobadays
Member
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# Posted: 2 Apr 2020 08:03am
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Northwoods...yep for us it was winter too. We easily got by with 8kw in the summer but last winter between days of gray and snow on the panels (roof mount) by the end of day 2 we were getting down to around 43v - we burn about .5v overnight- so late in the evening I would crank up the generator and charge them back up. We figure 4kw additional will take us 3 days. Actually we may not have needed them as we are going to add another 750 watts of solar attached to the front supports on our deck. Our winters here often have sun breaks between snow showers but our panels usually had snow on them... these new ones we can brush off.
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Atlincabin
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# Posted: 2 Apr 2020 09:26am
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There are some of the Volt batteries that are 24V rather than 48, possibly because of the geometry issues in the car itself. I don't know if this is still the case, but I have three of them in parallel in my system.
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Nobadays
Member
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# Posted: 2 Apr 2020 10:23am
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Atlin... I think you are right about geometry. My understanding (from my battery guy) is when they disassemble the 16kw pack they end up with some 6s modules because of the way it is built.... maybe 4 of them? I've never taken a 16kw pack apart so just going by what I've been told. I know Azlithium (He is in Chandler, about an hour from our home in AZ so have been down there a few times talking to him) almost always has a couple of 24v modules along with the 48v modules.
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Nobadays
Member
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# Posted: 2 Apr 2020 10:38am
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@2nd House I did a lot of discussing settings on another forum... a solar forum.... the thread has a lot of good information as well as links to where you can learn a lot about the Volt modules. HERE is a link to that thread. I was really green then.... still am for the most part! But, am learning after a year of using these modules.
FWI... One caution.... Schneider equipment is great stuff, BUT the Conext SW 4048 is not really lithium friendly... unless they have issued a new firmware I'm not aware of... the Schneider 60/150 SCC is sweet and with the System Control Panel you can dial in great charging parameters. Not so with the CSW 4048. The high voltage cut-off cannot be set lower than 58v (I've heard you can coax it to 57.2 but so what) and even with the charger set to cut-off at 48.2v.... it just keeps charging. I don't know why and have searched for a solution to no avail. When charging using the generator I watch it like a hawk! Creeky has had the same experience and I don't think he recommends that inverter/charger... the SCC is great. He has had good luck with the Victron equipment.
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2nd House
Member
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# Posted: 3 Apr 2020 08:19pm
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still dont know which is better...Chevy Volt or Nissan Leaf
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rachelsdad
Member
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# Posted: 4 Apr 2020 06:31am - Edited by: rachelsdad
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I just purchased 4 1 kw 24volt Volt batteries. There are 2 sellers on ebay who are very good and very inexpensive. I paid less than $200 per and they were spot on.
Creeky has had some issues getting parts from China w/the Corona issues and last time we traded emails he was not feeling well...so if he doesn't get back to you right away.
I have a Midnight Solar Magnum MS 4024 and it is perfect for the range 18-25.2 for the Volts.
I went w/the Volts as I just felt more comfortable with the packaging. Plus the chemistry is very good. They're great batteries and frankly...a heck of a lot cheaper than an equivalent lead battery bank of the same capacity. I paid less than $800, to replace my 8 x 330 x 6 volts would have cost at least double.
Creeky set me up w. harness and BMS and I'm still way ahead.
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2nd House
Member
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# Posted: 4 Apr 2020 09:44am
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Quoting: rachelsdad I just purchased 4 1 kw 24volt Volt batteries. There are 2 sellers on ebay who are very good and very inexpensive. I paid less than $200 per and they were spot on.
Would you happen to know the name of the seller on eBay where you got these batteries?
Thanks
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Nobadays
Member
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# Posted: 4 Apr 2020 02:59pm
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The only one I see on there right now with 24v... used, is the guy I gave you the link to above... azlithium. On his website they are $10.00 cheaper but I don't know if it is free shipping. HERE is a link to the Ebay page.
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rachelsdad
Member
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# Posted: 4 Apr 2020 05:10pm
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That's him. Good guy.
He gets them all the time and tests them well.
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Nobadays
Member
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# Posted: 4 Apr 2020 05:35pm
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He is... and a wealth of knowledge! He took the time to school me on settings, testing, etc. I will say I ended up being a little more conservative on my top end settings than he is, he will charge to 49.5.... I like 48.1, but I set the LBCO at 42.0 where as I think he only drops to about 44.0v. I have yet to hit the LBCO, as I will kick on the generator if the start getting close.
If you check with him he usually has Nissan Leaf modules as well. He would be the guy to give you information about the difference.... which to go with.
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2nd House
Member
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# Posted: 5 Apr 2020 09:40am
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got it...
Thanks for the help. I would like to talk to him about his opinion of Volt vs Leaf...
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monkeydeck
Member
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# Posted: 6 Apr 2020 01:28am
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i compared the two and the leaf seemed to have much greater degradation
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