Trying to fix my setup but this stuff is a rabbit hole of information and I just need a sanity check since I don't know what I'm doing but I'm trying to do my due diligence.

I'm replacing our lead acid batteries since they no longer function for more than 30 minutes after 3 years of use but particularly after the recent Eskom mess it'd last 5-6 hours fine in the beginning but it was crippled by the end of it with the constant discharge-charge cycles (I believe). They are connected to a 24v Solarwise Pure Sine Wave Inverter like this one 2500VA/2200W 24V Pure Sine Wave Inverter - Solarwize (solarwizeafrica.co.za). For longevity it seems that now changing to a lithium ion set up would be cheaper in the long run.

I've been trying to research the best options in a very limited budget (<20K) and from what I've gathered it seems that my best option would be to use a Mercer, Freedom Won, or Hubble auxiliary battery since they have their own BMS systems and it's the most plug and play. We used 2x12v @ 200ah in the past and it would easily last 7-8 hours during load shedding, I'm sure it could last longer but I never did a full test. So I'm considering just using 2x12v @ 100ah with a lithium ion setup.

For Freedom Won they only sell 12v auxiliary batteries and for Hubble the only 24v option I could find is about 6k more expensive so I thought it's better to go for 12v. There shouldn't be a huge difference between 24v alone vs 12v in series from what I've research but correct me if I'm wrong. Couldn't personally find anything by Mercer that was in stock.

On every Hubble page it says I need to connect the batteries with external cell balancers. I looked up some and the HA-02 were available from Ecopec. But I just wanted to confirm if they are necessary? I found this video that said the internal BMS system should allow the batteries to work fine since the batteries should be fully charged most of the time (Maintaining a 24V+ Battery Bank with a Victron 12V Battery Balancer - YouTube)

Is this a reasonable set up? And most importantly, is it safe?

 

 

On 2022/08/02 at 12:23 PM, MuneebK said:

Trying to fix my setup but this stuff is a rabbit hole of information and I just need a sanity check since I don't know what I'm doing but I'm trying to do my due diligence.

I'm replacing our lead acid batteries since they no longer function for more than 30 minutes after 3 years of use but particularly after the recent Eskom mess it'd last 5-6 hours fine in the beginning but it was crippled by the end of it with the constant discharge-charge cycles (I believe). They are connected to a 24v Solarwise Pure Sine Wave Inverter like this one 2500VA/2200W 24V Pure Sine Wave Inverter - Solarwize (solarwizeafrica.co.za). For longevity it seems that now changing to a lithium ion set up would be cheaper in the long run.

I've been trying to research the best options in a very limited budget (<20K) and from what I've gathered it seems that my best option would be to use a Mercer, Freedom Won, or Hubble auxiliary battery since they have their own BMS systems and it's the most plug and play. We used 2x12v @ 200ah in the past and it would easily last 7-8 hours during load shedding, I'm sure it could last longer but I never did a full test. So I'm considering just using 2x12v @ 100ah with a lithium ion setup.

For Freedom Won they only sell 12v auxiliary batteries and for Hubble the only 24v option I could find is about 6k more expensive so I thought it's better to go for 12v. There shouldn't be a huge difference between 24v alone vs 12v in series from what I've research but correct me if I'm wrong. Couldn't personally find anything by Mercer that was in stock.

On every Hubble page it says I need to connect the batteries with external cell balancers. I looked up some and the HA-02 were available from Ecopec. But I just wanted to confirm if they are necessary? I found this video that said the internal BMS system should allow the batteries to work fine since the batteries should be fully charged most of the time (Maintaining a 24V+ Battery Bank with a Victron 12V Battery Balancer - YouTube)

Is this a reasonable set up? And most importantly, is it safe?

 

 

The Victron Balancer is fine for lead acid but not for lithium. The start of balancing is too high and rate is too low. Rather get the balancer sold by Hubble if you intend using the Hubble S-120 12V batteries.

Ecopec has a some bad reviews on Hello Peter, I would be wary of ordering from them

These guys have great 12v drop in replacements, just not sure about stock, but won't harm to ask. And the price is good. 😀

12v Lithium Click Here

On 2022/09/08 at 8:59 AM, WannabeSolarSparky said:

These guys have great 12v drop in replacements, just not sure about stock, but won't harm to ask. And the price is good. 😀

12v Lithium Click Here

The reviews on these have been extremely poor. Would like to see some from people who have had success with them as they tick all the boxes for me.

On 2022/09/10 at 7:55 AM, DenBeech said:

The reviews on these have been extremely poor. Would like to see some from people who have had success with them as they tick all the boxes for me.

Not sure where these bad reviews are. All the people I know that cared to give their impressions on the Hubble S-100/S-120 were great. Mine included. I am getting 1.5kWh from each battery loaded at about 300W on a 24V system. The 2 also are staying in step and never vary more than 0.1V between them. Bought mine in Nov 2021 and added 2 x Mecer 200Ah in July as a 2nd owner to give them a 3rd life after the seller put in a Synsynk 5.5kW and the 4 x Mecer were just standing in the garage.

This seems like non owners of heat pumps that heard that heat pumps make too much noise but never do people complain that an aircon is too noise to install. Measurement right below the heat pump inside the room where it is mounted.

 

Edited September 18, 20223 yr by Scorp007

1 hour ago, Scorp007 said:

Not sure where these bad reviews are. All the people I know that cared to give their impressions on the Hubble S-100/S-120 were great. Mine included. I am getting 1.5kWh from each battery loaded at about 300W on a 24V system. The 2 also are staying in step and never vary more than 0.1V between them. Bought mine in Nov 2021 and added 2 x Mecer 200Ah in July as a 2nd owner to give them a 3rd life after the seller put in a Synsynk 5.5kW and the 4 x Mecer were just standing in the garage.

This seems like non owners of heat pumps that heard that heat pumps make too much noise but never do people complain that an aircon is too noise to install. Measurement right below the heat pump inside the room where it is mounted.

 

The comment referred to the CFE-1280S!

I really like the Hubble S-120S and will probably go with two of them to replace my Omnipower 240ah AGM's. 

2 minutes ago, DenBeech said:

The comment referred to the CFE-1280S!

I really like the Hubble S-120S and will probably go with two of them to replace my Omnipower 240ah AGM's. 

Thanks for clarification. I only saw a reference to drop in replacement in the topic comments.

On 2022/09/08 at 8:49 AM, Madscot said:

Ecopec has a some bad reviews on Hello Peter, I would be wary of ordering from them

That is putting it politely.

Someone recommended this battery a few months ago. Haven't bought or tried it, but might be worth looking into. Apparently for around R1000 more you can get a 200ah instead of 100ah, as its a "2nd life po4" battery.

https://loadshedbuddy.co.za/product/mecer-200ah-12v-lithium-ion-battery-with-2nd-life-po4-chemistry/

Just a suggestion…. Why don’t you consider a Dyness 5Kva. They hover around 20k and are brilliant. Waaaaay better than Mecer. I’ve gone down the Mecer rabbit hole and it’s nasty