Hello Mr.WilltoBuild... I think you do a very good job in your videos. I hope you decide to make more. I know its probably a lot of extra work for little reward, but I sincerely appreciate your efforts. I'm top balancing 4s with 12v bms now for a 16s system. There's a lot of sources to show me how to do that but I liked the way you explained it the most. Thank you for all the work you've put in to the channel. Good job dude! and btw. Nice shop!
We're nearing the end of a very serious cold spell just east of Bellingham, down to -5ºf one night. In preparation I insulated our batteries (3 x 200AH) and inverter/solar chargers with several inches of extruded polystyrene, the type with the highest R value (Box store). Everything is in an outside shed, a safe distance from the cabin. As temperatures dropped I monitored the temp with a bluetooth phone app. We needed heat so I ran "heat tape" (for freeze proofing plumbing) around all surfaces I could access. With temps 5-10º day and night I also borrowed our cat's heat mat and slipped it in beside the batteries. Other than the power drain our batteries have remained remarkably stable at 44ºf. Unless you're living somewhere much warmer, I don't think your insulation is sufficient.
Thanks for sharing your experience. It is definitely a fair degree warmer here (mostly above 20 even at night). Another major consideration for me was size, I just didn't want this box to be any more massive than it already is. But there are a bunch of easy ways to add insulation on the outside if need be, as well as more heat mats. I had never heard of heat tape but I absolutely love the idea. Wrapping one of those around the battery could make a big difference, thank you for sharing!
I just wanted to follow up on this. We've just had a pretty serious cold spell (couple nights down to about 5 F), and the battery box has worked flawlessly. No issues at all. Given how tight the seal is around all the removable parts it seems to be working very well I am very happy with it.
I built a plywood box insulated with PIR foam and my BMS has the option to connect heat pads that are connected by the BMS if the temperature drops below 10C. The Lifepo4 cells sit on a layer of aluminum foil bubble wrap. The aluminium spreads the heat more evenly under the cells. There are two silicon heat pads under each pack of four cells. The BMS still has low temp protection cut off.
@@TheWilltoBuild Sorry I didn't see this question. I used the 12v version of the JBD 200A BMS that has the option to attach heat pads, purchased directly from AliExpress because I'm in the UK and we don't have a UK based retailer.
I didn't know batteries had feelings. (forgive me!) An DC incandescent globe as a heat source will work to heat the box that is as well insulated. I've been toying with the idea of embedding two probes in a small sealed vial of salted water (and air) to detect freezing conditions. When salted water freezes its conductivity will drop dramatically so with the addition of a couple of really high value resistors and a FET it can turn the lamp on when it freezes and off again when the salt water in the vial melts. Mount the vial so one end is in the box and the other side is outside (i.e in a hole in the side of the box). The advantage of this is that it can run from the battery directly without relying on grid power to operate, it will draw negligible current when off and when it is on you can see it working through the vial.
I love the idea. Start off with a massive box to fit our battery bank and by the time it's lined, we can just about fit a match box inside.😁
Hello Mr.WilltoBuild... I think you do a very good job in your videos. I hope you decide to make more. I know its probably a lot of extra work for little reward, but I sincerely appreciate your efforts. I'm top balancing 4s with 12v bms now for a 16s system. There's a lot of sources to show me how to do that but I liked the way you explained it the most. Thank you for all the work you've put in to the channel. Good job dude! and btw. Nice shop!
Thank you for the incredibly kind comment! This is the reason I make videos.
We're nearing the end of a very serious cold spell just east of Bellingham, down to -5ºf one night. In preparation I insulated our batteries (3 x 200AH) and inverter/solar chargers with several inches of extruded polystyrene, the type with the highest R value (Box store). Everything is in an outside shed, a safe distance from the cabin. As temperatures dropped I monitored the temp with a bluetooth phone app. We needed heat so I ran "heat tape" (for freeze proofing plumbing) around all surfaces I could access. With temps 5-10º day and night I also borrowed our cat's heat mat and slipped it in beside the batteries. Other than the power drain our batteries have remained remarkably stable at 44ºf. Unless you're living somewhere much warmer, I don't think your insulation is sufficient.
Thanks for sharing your experience. It is definitely a fair degree warmer here (mostly above 20 even at night). Another major consideration for me was size, I just didn't want this box to be any more massive than it already is. But there are a bunch of easy ways to add insulation on the outside if need be, as well as more heat mats. I had never heard of heat tape but I absolutely love the idea. Wrapping one of those around the battery could make a big difference, thank you for sharing!
I just wanted to follow up on this. We've just had a pretty serious cold spell (couple nights down to about 5 F), and the battery box has worked flawlessly. No issues at all. Given how tight the seal is around all the removable parts it seems to be working very well I am very happy with it.
I built a plywood box insulated with PIR foam and my BMS has the option to connect heat pads that are connected by the BMS if the temperature drops below 10C. The Lifepo4 cells sit on a layer of aluminum foil bubble wrap. The aluminium spreads the heat more evenly under the cells. There are two silicon heat pads under each pack of four cells. The BMS still has low temp protection cut off.
Which BMS are you using? I love the idea of the aluminum foil to spread the heat.
So he decided to give some insights and then runaway
@@TheWilltoBuild Sorry I didn't see this question. I used the 12v version of the JBD 200A BMS that has the option to attach heat pads, purchased directly from AliExpress because I'm in the UK and we don't have a UK based retailer.
@@crushyad2939 thanks for highlighting that I had missed a question. I have now answered the question asked.
Looks Cool, thanks for sharing.
Happy new year.
I didn't know batteries had feelings. (forgive me!)
An DC incandescent globe as a heat source will work to heat the box that is as well insulated. I've been toying with the idea of embedding two probes in a small sealed vial of salted water (and air) to detect freezing conditions. When salted water freezes its conductivity will drop dramatically so with the addition of a couple of really high value resistors and a FET it can turn the lamp on when it freezes and off again when the salt water in the vial melts. Mount the vial so one end is in the box and the other side is outside (i.e in a hole in the side of the box). The advantage of this is that it can run from the battery directly without relying on grid power to operate, it will draw negligible current when off and when it is on you can see it working through the vial.
hello...at what temperatures are the batteries exposed? does the insulation work at - 20 degrees Celsius?.....
Looks great
I will be making my box soon. What terminal connectors did you use that go through the OSB to go to the inverter? Thanks!
I have 2 sets of batteries, each with bms 48V 230 Ah, can I connect them in parallel so that I have 460Ah/48V
Do you mean insulated?
Yes I did, thank you for catching that!
I have 2 sets of batteries, each with bms 48V 230 Ah, can I connect them in parallel so that I have 460Ah/48V