24 minutes ago, MeepMoop said:

@GrantCPT Yes, with my first batch, I had a case of 51% -> 1% during load shedding - the difference being that one of my 2 batteries then refused to charge entirely and got stuck in an on off loop.

Here's the thread I made about it, with the resolution - Spoiler - they were replaced. 
 

 

thanks @MeepMoop

Its sad that this happens.  I really hope that they will sort out these issues.  @MeepMoop did they replace your batteries without questions?  Who did you deal with?

 

@PieterO My installer had stock of the batteries and they did the swap out for me, last I heard they were still trying to get Raystech to actually swap them on their side.

 

On 2023/03/23 at 3:02 PM, PieterO said:

@Flappie No, I did not connect anything. I believe this is automatic when the Batteries is connected to Inverter.  Probably the BMS sending it to the Inverter.   Do you see SOC?

I managed to get it right via the correct BMS cable connection. Thanks.

On 2023/03/30 at 3:51 PM, Ferdi. said:

@PieterO, have you spoken to Leon? He can update the firmware over the air. 
 

I desperately want to say yes my system is sorted but i will know in a week or 2’s time. They replaced my batteries yesterday. 

Leon also replaced my faulty battery Thursday without any hassles. Nancy update it this morning. I will test tonight. Have receive excellent service from CFE. And yes my 2 batteries run between 95 and 100 SOC. My view is that this balance all cells. I stand to be corrected.

Yes. After a significant amount of research I believe now that its better to cycle lithium ion batteries between 95% and 100% than keeping them at 100%. I believe it will prolong battery life.

 

Yeah? OK, however it still leaves us with a lot of other issues?

On 2023/03/31 at 10:30 AM, GrantCPT said:

Howzit @PieterO - mine has been functioning well since they updated about 1.5 months ago, but today I had a very weird issue - I limit by battery discharge to 25% for the morning, to handle load shedding and the inverter (Deye) is set to shut down at <15% SOC. This morning, my geyser went on and it pulled from grid as normal, and then the battery discharged instantly to 1% and started charging from the grid... you seen something like that?

I had a similar issue - see here - 

 

Good morning. I have an Luxpower SNA 5000 with 2 Raystech 5100s batterys. Myne also cycles between 100% and 90% then charge up again. Everything was fine my Discharge cutoff when the inverter shuts off was set to 40% and with 2 hour loadshedding never had to drain them less then about 50 - 55%. Now the first 4 hour loadshedding again the inverter switched off. Knowing cut is at 40% went to change the setting to 20% as we had 30 min left of loadshedding. Battery is showing Normal green light but on the inverter SOC was at 1% and battery voltage was at 51.7 volt. Measured with the multimeter the voltage is correct but the slave is abit lower then the master. 

Also my inverter settings are as follow. Charge current limit is set at 110A inverter default from BMS, AC charge current is 30A, Discharge current limit is set to 60A. I thought that can be the problem so changed it back to inverter default of 110A. No change. I am also struggling to get the batterys connected to the Smart Bess app. 

@PieterOThe link to the video connecting the batterys is Private so I can not watch it.

 

@Danie Schoeman  i have re posted it    Also if you search on YT for CFE 5100 batteries you will find it

When I got home the batterys were at 100% SOC at 53.6 volts. I changed the settings on the inverter to Lead-Acid and 200A. It does not pick up that there are 2 in Parallel but SOC dropped to 85%. What should I put the charge settings at and if in Lead-acid should I remove the communication cable between inverter and batterys?

On 2023/04/19 at 10:02 AM, Danie Schoeman said:

Good morning. I have an Luxpower SNA 5000 with 2 Raystech 5100s batterys. Myne also cycles between 100% and 90% then charge up again. Everything was fine my Discharge cutoff when the inverter shuts off was set to 40% and with 2 hour loadshedding never had to drain them less then about 50 - 55%. Now the first 4 hour loadshedding again the inverter switched off. Knowing cut is at 40% went to change the setting to 20% as we had 30 min left of loadshedding. Battery is showing Normal green light but on the inverter SOC was at 1% and battery voltage was at 51.7 volt. Measured with the multimeter the voltage is correct but the slave is abit lower then the master. 

Also my inverter settings are as follow. Charge current limit is set at 110A inverter default from BMS, AC charge current is 30A, Discharge current limit is set to 60A. I thought that can be the problem so changed it back to inverter default of 110A. No change. I am also struggling to get the batterys connected to the Smart Bess app. 

For Smart BESS . Install Smart BESS app onto smartphone and create user profile, register and then test login into the app and logout.

While connected to your home WiFi with a working Internet connection, do the following.

1. Have your home wifi password written and ready to readoff.

2.Open smart bess and login in to the app

3 . Press reset button on CFE battery for 7s to activate battery inbuilt WiFi signal . make sure its 7s otherwise it won't work.

4. On the Smart BESS interface on your phone press Config WiFi. 

5.Smart Bess will pickup the battery's inbuilt wifi (hifyling_softap) and you type in your home WiFi password in the empty row.

6.On your phone settings, go to wifi selection and chose the hiflying_softap as your wifi to use instead of your home WiFi.

7. Go back to Smart BESS and press the start button. 

8. Smart BESS will self configure a connection between your battery internal wifi and your home wifi and success is registered once you see a message on your phone screen with ID and a mac address.

9. On smart bess app press Add Battery follow prompts and voila . if battery data doesn't appear when you press "my battery" but you have added it correctly, wait a few hours or check the following day for cfe server to pickup your battery data. 

Note : Smart BESS just gives basic details about battery status eg voltage temperature,current and individual cell voltages and a SOC graph etc

...not much else to do there except probably to assist you with knowing fault code when there is a fault with battery.. and also probably just to wow a few of your friends with this "technological wizardry :)"

Thanks for the info. Battery's are fine now. I can't say anything bad about Raystech. I bought everything from a local suppler and installed myself. I am a qualified electrician and do installations however I don't advertise. But to the point contacted the suppler about my issue and they couldn't fix it they told me I need to get the batterys on the smart bess ells they can't help. Got in touch with Raystech self explained the problem. They confirmed it's firmware. Told them I am struggling to get the batterys on smart bess they assisted over the phone but still couldn't get them online. They told me they will phone me back, same day he phoned me back and told me he will come thru on Friday and update them. Friday morning phoned me confirmed a time and got here did the updates and checked the health and everything is 100%. I just had to keep them on Lead-acid and let them run down to 48 volt and then put them back to lithium mode and let them charge to calibrate the inverter with the BMS. They are running 100% now and the service I got from them is awesome and they back there product 100%. They are probably not the best but with the service I got I can't fault them. 

Hi all, been following these CFE 5100s / Raytech discussions for a while…I too have now run into the "magical" 39-40% discharge that drops to 1% suddenly a few seconds later twice now during longer (6+hrs ) load$h1tt1ng - I bought my batteries 2x CFE 5100s from SolarAdvice in Nov last year and have today 173 running days uptime but last night for the second time in a month sudden darkness as the system went offline.

Setup:

• 8kw DEYE inverter
• 2x CFE 5100s batteries setup as 30% restart 20% battery warning and 15% Shutdown. Final Battery setup will be 20kw of storage via 2 more 5.12kw batteries to be added in 2023 still.
• The system is protected by 200amp keto fuses and each board has surge protection as well - the house sits behind the inverter because A) i want clean pure sine wave power to all my plugs ,lights and screens and B) fridges and appliances with inverter type motors are all better protected that way too. Your electronics will thank you.
• I charge the batteries @40amps so roughly 2kw/h have experimented with 20amps and even 75amps - for my use case for now 40amps is my sweet spot giving me inverter head room to still run other higher draw loads when the batteries are charging.
• No solar currently, only used as a storage system to facilitate work from home and a "normal" quality of life (8.1kw solar array is being commissioned)
• 6kva diesel Genset (dedicated generator room for Genset and fuel - already wired in with manual change over) just finishing off sound isolation, ventilation and then will automate change over with the dry contact and Gen feed-in on the DEYE

The end result will be a power generation schema that is loosely termed an "island(ing)" - i will be my own isolated utility (Eskom) - I get power first from solar, prioritise storage as much as i can for self-use at night, then run loads like washing machines, driers, dishwashers etc - lastly I will dump excess power into geyers and then finally the pool because I cannot sell it back nor am i interested in doing that - if the weather is k@k i burn diesel at roughly R4.64 per kw/h and prioritise my batteries being topped up - finally my sparkie will cap off my Eskom feed so that I'm in no way connected to Eksom/ prepaid or postpaid.

I purchased the inverter, batteries, cables etc and brackets from SolarAdvice and then had a qualified electrician who does installations (more familiar with Sunsynk) install it all for me.

As noted 173 days and no issues and life has been for us at least fairly normal with not much thought to our pretty much always on-tap power - I realise that that is a very fortunate position to be in.

As for these CFE Batteries - this thread had been truely horrify to read because clearly the batteries in 99% of the case are the issue i'm sorry to say - My supplier, SolarAdvice are being very helpful - we'll do the firmware update first, otherwise a swap out for new batteries or the option of RMAing them and getting different batteries altogether from them. So I cannot complain about them and will continue to support them - They did remove CFE batteries about 2-3 months ago from their website, but will still source them if you want them and already have them and will continue to provide support/warranty - i think as a supplier I cannot fault them for their so far, no nonsense approach to this - and just like we bemoan bad suppliers and installers I think the Good ones should get praise as well.

I don’t have problems doing my own trouble shooting and so far the batteries have been tested to see if there is any low voltage issues etc.

I seem to have bypassed the app issues many people have had and can monitor the batteries just fine although the app isn't going to win any prizes - i can tell you that a volt meter and the apps values do match so its not a complete shitshow...therefore there “seems” to be - for me at least - no actual battery cell faults -the BMS might be all together another question and for me and others on here a legitimate real concern. BMS's are very important and they need to work correctly - we shouldn't have to bypass them or fool our inverters into treating them like LeadAcid to get them to work - Remember when it comes to the stored power in your batteries your inverter is essentially "dumb" the BMS is responsible for supplying your inverter with accurate/true data so that it can do the switching correctly. A poor or 'bad' BMS is actually a serious problem and i'll go as far as saying a possible safety risk - que my multiple co2 fire extinguishers mounted within the garage and at the door into the garage - i'm not paranoid - anyone who has ever had dealt with a lithium-ion fire will know what i mean.

Both batteries get to a SOC of 100 and cycle between 90-100% I know why so there is no need to rehash that - I have my own reasons for believing that that is not an entirely bad thing as LIPO and LIFePo should not sit at 100% for long periods - feel free to disagree with me - SOH is 98% (reported by the inverter) so based on the current usage they’re “degrading” within spec +/-  1% per 6 months, so mathematically i'll hit 80% over 10years in which case i would have done well - they are in use 9-12hrs per day and we currently get loadshat quite heavily… typically I’m cycling between 65-55% DoD in extended outages 4.5-6hrs and I have a base load of about 340-550watts (measured) when the house is idle(fibre, routers, fridge running 24/7 and everything else switched off but on standby - i'm not an un-plug my stuff subscriber - not knocking those who do) and a peak continues load of roughly 4.5-5kw/h for a maximum of 30min(mostly in the evening - think airfryer, microwave and 30min of a geyser cycle) if on battery alone so I don’t believe I’m putting any undue stress on the system nor on the batteries.

Cooking involving our Oven or Hob are both Gas so no electrical load to speak of there.

I really had no issues previously with these batteries and am hoping that mine is just firmware related to the BMS being stupid because voltages and so on show that there isn’t a problem and the batteries are not going into error states themselves doing weird clicking/switching or getting overheated or dropping into low voltage issues as some have experienced here - I also believe that there have definitely been bad batches of batteries and the suppliers who I feel are honest and don't want there names made k@k have done the right thing without much fan fare as it should be…also I want to add 2 more to have 20kw of storage up form the 10kw I have and before I add Solar - so like many of you i need to get this fixed - for those where suppliers and installers have left them hanging - name and shame them - they should be driven out of the industry because all they do is make everyone else look bad.

Out of interest if anyone cares i have on two or more occasions run the system at 7.5kw load on battery for more than 45min confirming that the batteries are indeed capable, at least from my not so scientific test, of being able to output 1C each continuously - i've seen speculation of 0.5c or 0.75c on the forum - i can only confirm my own experience. That also means my 40% - 1% issue didn't exist previously as i could get to my set 20% Low Alarm and trigger my 10% DoD shutdown just fine and in a controlled manner. 

Second "out of interest point" if anyone cares - I do have a critical and not critical load split but in all honesty 95% of the house is being run (safely) through the inverter - I have one separate non-essential load which is a separate outdoor DB for the pool pump, heat pump for the pool and outside plug points - this will change imminently as part of my smart breakers, loops and logic automations.

I have “smart breakers” setup with loops and logic that manage loads when they approach 5kw so for example you cannot turn on the pool pump (1.25kw) if the geyser(3.3kw) is on etc. most of this is all automated and will now be added to the essential loads circuit.

My problem is after reading this entire thread and many others are two fold -

Firstly I really feel like a lot of South Africans are being absolutely ripped off - we've long been the dumping ground for "dodgey/old or out of date electronics - we all have to dig deeper than ever to afford something which we pay taxes for (infrastructure) and then pay to use (electricity) which we cannot do because well - you all know that answer already and because of the dire need that this lack of availability of energy has plunged our country into everyone and his uncles cousin twice removed are now solar/storage experts - just to cover my own arse i'm not claiming to be one just have plenty of electronics tinkering school fees over the last 20 plus years.

Secondly I've come across more and more suppliers who flat our lie, i've come across 'fake' solar panels - Canadian and QCell - be careful out there when buying panels and make sure you're buying what is says on the sticker is all i can warn - which is why i'm still on the commissioning phase for the solar array.

Don't be over eager to get a solution put in until you've done plenty of homework and find a supplier at the very least who will answer your questions in detail. In 2022 we ran a 1kw trolley inverter for 8-9months (because we couldn't run the generator - think backwards estate rules that have now been amended) and got by even in stage 4 by the skin of our teeth with compromise no doubt, while i pieced our system together and then commissioned it in November 2022.

The costs have unfortunately by now gone up yet again and its half our poor exchange rate position and half price gouging because well people want to be able to live and work and its like getting the best schooling for your kids - we pay through our noses.

I was fortunate while i still had a reasonable income to insist on on saving up to buy A+ or A++ rated large appliances (fridge/freezer, washer, dryer, dishwasher), if you think this is marketing rubbish then good luck to you but combined you're on average getting better quality appliances with lower startup loads (quite important) and much lower continuous loads (very important), I did the exercise over 3years knowing that going off grid was my end goal and trust me thats how a largish double storey 4bedroom house idles along at 300-550watt per hour most of the day.

Gas Oven and Gas Hob also make a major contribution to not being part of my electrical energy concerns in the house.

Any help I manage to get i will post the info here in the hope it helps others - getting in touch with CFE to update the battery firmware is the first port of call - I did sms an international number I found on the group for a support WhatsApp group but that was 5 days ago and nothing so hopefully the supplier intervening will get a result.

If anyone would like some advice on what i did i'm happy to share my setup, why and how i did what i did or by pointing you in the direction of info that was helpful to me (again i'm no expert or professing to be one) - each households case and needs will differ but to be honest it can and should be a lot less complicated than it needs to be...so I hope i can help in some small way...cheers - Dino

Edited May 19, 20233 yr by TheMafiaMan - NotMuffinMan

Hi Dino, I normally don’t read long threads but i did it ( pat on the shoulder for myself) 

 

You have a very interesting setup there and would love to hear from you how you did the automation part and what you have used. Heres my number 0836454794

 

For the CFE batteries and firmware updates🤔 

I have had 2 batteries replaced within 3 months after purchase. The second set worked perfectly and I decided to get my 3rd one as winter was on the way and my fish tank heaters adds 700w to the load that would bring it to 1000w and if you do the calculation you only get 10hrs with 2 batteries. I got my 3rd battery last week Monday (8 May) it worked good (but not great) so i asked Nancy from CFE to update (they call it upgrade) my firmware. After the firmware its as if i only have 2 batteries capacity. Its a huge frustration as you pay a shit load of hard working money. 
 

Bottom line, im not so sure that a firmware update/upgrade will fix the problem. 
 

I would really like to hear from you regarding your setup on whatsapp. 

@Ferdie K when you added the 3rd battery were they all at the same SOC%? Batteries tend to ship with a SOC of +-50%. I recently added a Pylontech into my existing stack of 4 and was advised by Pylontech to charge the new battery to 100% and then add it as the new master when the rest were at 100%. The other option was to ensure they were all at a similar SOC and then to fully charge to 100% to ensure they were all balanced. The Pylontech manual recommends the following:

 

1 hour ago, JKKM said:

@Ferdie K when you added the 3rd battery were they all at the same SOC%? Batteries tend to ship with a SOC of +-50%. I recently added a Pylontech into my existing stack of 4 and was advised by Pylontech to charge the new battery to 100% and then add it as the new master when the rest were at 100%. The other option was to ensure they were all at a similar SOC and then to fully charge to 100% to ensure they were all balanced. The Pylontech manual recommends the following:

 

Good point. CFE also recommends similar in the manual. (Refers to voltage difference but implies SoC I guess). 

Hi guys. 
 

Luckily Leon balanced them for me. 
 

maybe it takes time to get full potential out of your Batteries as last night was a much better night. 

On 2023/05/18 at 7:14 AM, Ferdi. said:

Hi Dino, I normally don’t read long threads but i did it ( pat on the shoulder for myself) 

 

You have a very interesting setup there and would love to hear from you how you did the automation part and what you have used. Heres my number 0836454794

 

For the CFE batteries and firmware updates🤔 

I have had 2 batteries replaced within 3 months after purchase. The second set worked perfectly and I decided to get my 3rd one as winter was on the way and my fish tank heaters adds 700w to the load that would bring it to 1000w and if you do the calculation you only get 10hrs with 2 batteries. I got my 3rd battery last week Monday (8 May) it worked good (but not great) so i asked Nancy from CFE to update (they call it upgrade) my firmware. After the firmware its as if i only have 2 batteries capacity. Its a huge frustration as you pay a shit load of hard working money. 
 

Bottom line, im not so sure that a firmware update/upgrade will fix the problem. 
 

I would really like to hear from you regarding your setup on whatsapp. 

Thanks Ferdi I realised afterwards it was like the prelude to De Ruyter's  book  keep an eye on your Whatsapp will add you shortly - I'm still waiting on a tech from CFE to update my firmware seems expedience is not their thing - they've still not added me to a WhatsApp group so yes I'm sitting and waiting. If you have a way of getting hold of "Nancy" let me know because I would like to to do a run down test this weekend and see if it makes any difference - as I alluded to in my post my supplier have been really helpful, if I don't come right - I have to option of swapping them out for another set or just getting different ones from them altogether - so I'm not panicking as I have a way forward - never the less a bit of a pain.

On 2023/05/18 at 7:14 AM, Ferdi. said:

Hi Dino, I normally don’t read long threads but i did it ( pat on the shoulder for myself) 

 

You have a very interesting setup there and would love to hear from you how you did the automation part and what you have used. Heres my number 0836454794

 

For the CFE batteries and firmware updates🤔 

I have had 2 batteries replaced within 3 months after purchase. The second set worked perfectly and I decided to get my 3rd one as winter was on the way and my fish tank heaters adds 700w to the load that would bring it to 1000w and if you do the calculation you only get 10hrs with 2 batteries. I got my 3rd battery last week Monday (8 May) it worked good (but not great) so i asked Nancy from CFE to update (they call it upgrade) my firmware. After the firmware its as if i only have 2 batteries capacity. Its a huge frustration as you pay a shit load of hard working money. 
 

Bottom line, im not so sure that a firmware update/upgrade will fix the problem. 
 

I would really like to hear from you regarding your setup on whatsapp. 

@Ferdi, where did you buy your 3rd CFE. I'm in the market for my 3rd one after one of my current 2 has been replaced by Leon. I do't want to waste my money again on AZ Distributors at www.azd.co.za. They gave me a run around to replace my faulty battery and I had to contact CFE in China to change my battery at their main distribution centre in Gauteng. Thanks.

3 hours ago, Flappie said:

@Ferdi, where did you buy your 3rd CFE. I'm in the market for my 3rd one after one of my current 2 has been replaced by Leon. I do't want to waste my money again on AZ Distributors at www.azd.co.za. They gave me a run around to replace my faulty battery and I had to contact CFE in China to change my battery at their main distribution centre in Gauteng. Thanks.

Hi @Flappie, CNBM in Midrand. Speak to Collan 072 966 9898. Just tell him I referred you👍🏻

15 hours ago, Ferdi. said:

Hi @Flappie, CNBM in Midrand. Speak to Collan 072 966 9898. Just tell him I referred you👍🏻

@Ferdi, thank you. Also share your settings with me for the 3 batteries, charging and discharging rates. Thanks.

My batteries were updated but the SOC reading and Voltage still does not add up. I got I touch with Raysteck and they confirmed that something is not 100% and that the BMS calibration may still be out. They suggested I disconnect the batteries then connect only one at a time changing the settings to lead-acid and discharging the battery to 48V then put it back on BMS communication and SOC and let it charge up to 100%. Now it cuts off at 10% but battery voltage is at 50.2 volt. Raysteck says that 10% cut off should be around 48 volt. So I will try this over the weekend.

56 minutes ago, Flappie said:

@Ferdi, thank you. Also share your settings with me for the 3 batteries, charging and discharging rates. Thanks.

Its a pleasure. The BMS sets everything for you. If I understand correctly you can’t change the BMS unless you set it on USE. Anybody else here for input?