Inverter/Charger

[Herman]

Hi Guys

I have looking for an inverter charger that is suitable for OZ that is able to deal with 48 volt bank of Ni-Fe cells at the moment I am favoring outback VFXR 3048E as it goes up to 68 VDC input max 66.6 VDC  being the equalizing charge for the this type of battery, initially I had been looking at the Radain series but found that the Radian as it no longer complies with the AS/NZS standards and IEC.

Your thoughts would be appreciated

[MGP]

Check out Selectronics SP Pro 48v 5kw runs up to 68v DC .. Nice units i run the 24v 4.5kw at home

[Herman]

Thanks Mate on to it

[mike90045]

I use a Xantrex (Schneider Electric)  XW-6048.   It produces up to 64.5V, and survives to 68V (warning at 67V)

[Herman]

Thanks Mike on to it hopefully they are available here in OZ

[Herman]

Hi Guys

Had a look at the Selectronic SP-PRO SPMC481â€"AU Interactive Inverter/Charger seem to be the one as it is a local supplier and the reviews I have read has no complaints as well, it also suits my needs as it can cope with DC input up to 68 Volt.

Which is defiantly required for Ni-Fe cell as their equalization charge is 66.6 VDC  was going to attach a spec sheet but because i live in the Nimdin, NSW area the net here is well not the best at time especially over school breaks

[Herman]

  woo hoo Just got the ok

[Herman]

SP pro Spec sheet the one i am after is  SPMC481

[Herman]

GRR

Having Rainbow power installing the SP Pro and have one person who wants everyone to meet and see if my system is up to standard which I can understand as they are doing the job and have to look after there rep and there biggest concern is my Ni-Fe cells as they do not really understand them and think I can only use 2 KW Hrs yet when I explained to them for a 48 volt system you equalize at 66.6 V DC your absorb charge is 63.6 V DC and float 60 V DC with no harm to the cells they could not comprehend it or the fact if you flatten them you do no harm to the cells ( I think he has his head wrapped around lead acid).

So I gave them so reading to do from Thomas Edison Chang Hong and Iron Edison then he said how do you dispose of them so when i mentioned They last up to 40 years if not longer and the process of emptying the cells and flushing them out if any crap comes out then refilling them with a mixture of Distilled Water 1 kg of KOH and 100 Grams of LOH and use them again he went into raptures say it was impossible dam sales men think the know it all making something relatively simple difficult, unfortunately they are the only dealer around here that sells and install the the selectronic SP Pro sigh so I have to deal with them and they don't like MidNite MPPT  they are to interested in Sunny Boys and SMA inverter Chargers I think and they are supposed to be the innovators of solar here HA let the come here and see i have a dry compost toilet no grid feed heaps of fruit trees and a substantial veg Patch (compliment of the wife) heaps of water and a solar system that works but needs a bit of tweaking to make it more efficient and no Lantana as I Mulched it all  and pulled out most of it by hand that should hopefully shut them up

Sorry My Rant

I just want to do my bit for the local environment!

Cheers Herman still A newbie and learning sorry about any typos and still learning so back to the energy books.

[mike90045]

you mean my NiFe bank can't possibly be working ?

Bank shown below:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.209715335768594.51674.120212794718849&type=1&l=9747e4dde6

[Cniemand]

Mike et al.

What is the drawing factor in choosing NiFe batteries? Simply long life? Doesn't it also have a low efficiency in regards to charging? Care to explain a bit about Edisons? I opted (happy with) for LFP.

Cloud

[Herman]

Hi Mate

Without looking it up i'll answer as best as I can (if I have made a mistake no doubt ill be corrected)

Long life was the biggest draw and the fact you can use 80% of the power with no ill effect to the cells where as Lead Acid if you start doing that you shorten their life for memory lead acid to keep them up to speed a 200 AH bank you can use 30% and if needed on occasion 50% and they last up to 10 years if you ill treat them substantially less and replace them (cost) where as Ni-Fe work them hard and it does not hurt then if you flatten them with no ill effect to the cell, as it states in Thomas Edison's hand book and you can leave then with no charge for years with no effect to the cell yes there is a lot of speculation about their performance, but why did Exide buy the Edison Battery Company and immediately drop the making of that type of battery simple Answer is why make a battery that can last up to 15 - 85 Years you make no money as the world is governed by greed

That my short Answer :-)       

[Cniemand]

Thanks, Herman.

Near my reasoning with LFP cells. 100%DOD = 2000 cycles. 80%DOD = 3000. 70%DOD = 5000. (Although as LFP cells have only been on the market since 2008 we will see what the real world-non lab conditions come out to be. )

Also, the other factor was the lack of watering/maintainance regimen.

This 5 kWh pack cost me $2500 USD 3 years ago but I am seeing that you can start to purchase entire packs from destroyed EVs for quite cheap. A quick search shows 5 kWh worth of Tesla Model S cells for $1400USD.

Should be interesting purchasing either old or brand new from auto-makers in the near future of lithium packs for bottom prices. Luckily we have intelligent (set point programmable) equipment in our gear backs to run them.

Cloud

[mike90045]

Why the desire for NiFe ?
  Hard to kill.  Run them flat.  Overcharge till they start to warm up.  No problem, add more distilled water to top off.
I don't worry about 10 cloudy days and not being able to reach absorb for 90 minutes.

Drawbacks are internal resistance, water consumption, lower recharge efficiency.  Being un-killable and 20+ lifetime is
a major plus.

[Cniemand]

All great things, Mike.  Are they cheaper than LFP? Lithiums do not require an elaborate ABSORB process. Just an ENDAMP of 0.05C or 5 amps in my case. Once they hit that they are good-to-go. Lithiums are also nice about not caring whether you fully charge them so often or daily.

I suspect with the nature of people crashing cars that the EV market will spill a bunch of lithium packs into the RE market. In 2008 when Lithium came onto the scene it was $1000USD/kWh. I purchased my pack in 2013 at $500/kWh. Now on Ebay you can find it around $150/kWh.

When the Tesla Gigafactory starts pouring out millions of 18650 cells next year and beyond... where will we be? All good stuff for us RE folk.

Cloud

ps. Mike, your FB page and commentary to your setup is hilarious. Especially the ones with your banter to the manufacture. :-D Your battery. Your Choices. Exactly.