Looking at getting the Solis S6 Pro hybrid inverter 6Kw, but now I need to find a decent priced and quality battery, I have seen a lot of people using the Volta Stage 1 and Stage 2 batteries, but I don't see these on the "supported" battery list. I can get this battery a decent price so don't know what to do?

Edited August 30, 20232 yr by Greglsh

7 minutes ago, Greglsh said:

Looking at getting the Solis S6 Pro hybrid inverter 6Kw, but now I need to find a decent priced and quality battery, I have seen a lot of people using the Volta Stage 1 and Stage 2 batteries, but I don't see these on the "supported" battery list. I can get this battery a decent price so don't know what to do?

You might recall what Charles from Solis support indicated the outcome if you connect a non supported battery under Products - Solis. 

16 minutes ago, Scorp007 said:

You might recall what Charles from Solis support indicated the outcome if you connect a non supported battery under Products - Solis. 

Yes I do, that is what I am trying to avoid, I know this is a "newish" inverter and they said they were testing new battery makes all the time. I wonder if they will add the Volta batteries anytime soon?

All really depends on what battery. A lot of the batteries use the Pylontech CANbus protocol & RS485 Protocol. The Sunsynk Battery supported lost will tell you exactly who is who in the zoo. 

8 hours ago, Greglsh said:

You might recall what Charles from Solis support indicated the outcome if you connect a non supported battery under Products - Solis. 

I would like to understand how an unsupported battery affects the inverter. @Charles - Solis

2 hours ago, FixAMess said:

I would like to understand how an unsupported battery affects the inverter. @Charles - Solis

I am curious about this too and how it will affect the warranty.

 

What about DIY batteries?

Try to find out which bms the volta battery uses. Like Steve said. Most commercial batteries use common bms's 

I found a data sheet and on this it shows support for Solis brand so why would the S6 be different? Problem is is this an official data sheet.

Datasheet-Volta-Stage-1-S.pdf

 

EDIT: Who manufactures these Volta battery's or is the main importer of them n SA does anybody know?

Edited August 31, 20232 yr by Greglsh

19 minutes ago, Greglsh said:

I found a data sheet and on this it shows support for Solis brand so why would the S6 be different? Problem is is this an official data sheet.

Datasheet-Volta-Stage-1-S.pdf 1.17 MB · 2 downloads

 

EDIT: Who manufactures these Volta battery's or is the main importer of them n SA does anybody know?

Marketing by battery supplier? 

Inverter suppliers cannot follow all the marketing hype? 

Also under one brand some inverters might be covered but not all newer models? 

Think of car oils that would list different makes. Then a ceramic lined block is made that needs some special oil. Rather stick to the car/inverter brand information as they are in control of the warranty. 

4 minutes ago, Scorp007 said:

Marketing by battery supplier? 

Inverter suppliers cannot follow all the marketing hype? 

Also under one brand some inverters might be covered but not all newer models? 

Think of car oils that would list different makes. Then a ceramic lined block is made that needs some special oil. Rather stick to the car/inverter brand information as they are in control of the warranty. 

That is why I said is this an "official" data sheet or an advert. I can't seem to find anything else. Maybe @Charles - Solis can give us more info on if the Volta (stage1,2,3) is supported or will be supported soon!

I'm also looking at upgrading my 3KW Off-grid Growatt to a Solis S6 5KW Hybrid, and finding a supported battery is a bit of a headache.

I see Hubble now states on their website that they are Solis Supported (think a Hubble AM5 will be great because of 1C rating and unlimited cycle warranty, but a bit pricey). https://www.hubblelithium.co.za/

Other "budget" battery I can find is the Dyness A48100, but this one with a 0.5C (0.75C peak) rating which is not ideal (but the price is good). Interesting that the BX51100 is not on the list (wonder if BX58100 is not maybe a mistake since I cannot find it with Google). The Pylontech UP5000 and ShotoSCD10-box batteries have similar specs.

Will be really nice to see localy assembled/branded batteries like the LBSA, Mageneto and Cyclone supported by Solis.

Edited September 1, 20232 yr by johanpre

On 2023/08/31 at 6:07 AM, FixAMess said:

I would like to understand how an unsupported battery affects the inverter. @Charles - Solis

I think it's reasonable for both manufacturers to insist that their warranty only applies when the equipment is used correctly with another piece of equipment that they have certified and that they know will perform as required.

I recall some years ago I worked at in an IT team where were running a database on a version of linux that was not certified by the database vendor. We said "oh come on! What's the REAL difference here. There isn't any thing that really makes a difference." They dug their heels in and said that they hadn't tested with that particular distribution and so sorry, no support unless we ran on Redhat. We didn't like Redhat (despite our arguing that the two were the same thing by any reasonable measure).

We were right: The database ran without problems. They were right: Why should they allow their database to be run on any old operating system at any old version number that somebody felt like installing, when they hadn't run their standard set of tests and checked that performance benchmarks were met. 

As a customer you want to avoid that situation because if things go wrong the Linux guy will say they've never heard of that database, and the database guys will say they told you so, and you are left with stuff that doesn't work and with no support. Or you have to be like we were: Confident (arrogant?) enough that we could deal with whatever came. I've been in that position with a battery manufacturer, and unless you have a lot of technical knowledge you don't have much defence. And even then they can say that the inverter was not approved or was not configured properly.

The end of this tale was me getting a Freedom Won LiTe. First of all both manufacturers approved of the other. Secondly, the technician who installed that battery didn't have to set anything. He just plugged the comms cable in and the BMS took control, set everything on the inverter the way that it wanted, and I can't override those settings if I try The BMS just puts everything back the way it was. This took seconds, and the system has run without hiccups ever since.

So for a non-technical person like me, this is a good situation. It is also good for the installer. It is certainly the case that other batteries are cheaper, but (and I know this from experience), they don't all give the same level of effortless integration.

So I was speaking to Svolt SA about their batteries and whether they might be supplying some cells for the DIY market and we got onto the topic of these Solis S6 inverters and I believe the Svolt batteries work with the Solis S6 inverters - it was tested at the Kragdag.

 

Pricing on the Svolt batteries is also phenomenal! If I was not doing DIY batteries I would likely buy some Svolt batteries for myself. Cheaper than what I could DIY a battery for. So something to consider as well.

Only thing is, we have no clue how the Svolt batteries will hold up long term as they are still new to the market but

 

31 minutes ago, Bobster. said:

I think it's reasonable for both manufacturers to insist that their warranty only applies when the equipment is used correctly with another piece of equipment that they have certified and that they know will perform as required.

I recall some years ago I worked at in an IT team where were running a database on a version of linux that was not certified by the database vendor. We said "oh come on! What's the REAL difference here. There isn't any thing that really makes a difference." They dug their heels in and said that they hadn't tested with that particular distribution and so sorry, no support unless we ran on Redhat. We didn't like Redhat (despite our arguing that the two were the same thing by any reasonable measure).

We were right: The database ran without problems. They were right: Why should they allow their database to be run on any old operating system at any old version number that somebody felt like installing, when they hadn't run their standard set of tests and checked that performance benchmarks were met. 

As a customer you want to avoid that situation because if things go wrong the Linux guy will say they've never heard of that database, and the database guys will say they told you so, and you are left with stuff that doesn't work and with no support. Or you have to be like we were: Confident (arrogant?) enough that we could deal with whatever came. I've been in that position with a battery manufacturer, and unless you have a lot of technical knowledge you don't have much defence. And even then they can say that the inverter was not approved or was not configured properly.

The end of this tale was me getting a Freedom Won LiTe. First of all both manufacturers approved of the other. Secondly, the technician who installed that battery didn't have to set anything. He just plugged the comms cable in and the BMS took control, set everything on the inverter the way that it wanted, and I can't override those settings if I try The BMS just puts everything back the way it was. This took seconds, and the system has run without hiccups ever since.

So for a non-technical person like me, this is a good situation. It is also good for the installer. It is certainly the case that other batteries are cheaper, but (and I know this from experience), they don't all give the same level of effortless integration.

 

I get what you are saying and where you are coming from and I can understand the lack of support from Solis if the battery is not on their compatibility list - although with it affecting the warranty that is a little different to not getting support if you experience issues with a certain combo.

I am still curious as to how the warranty would be affected if one were to use a battery which is not on the compatible list and if one were to use a DIY battery.

49 minutes ago, PsyCLown said:

So I was speaking to Svolt SA about their batteries and whether they might be supplying some cells for the DIY market and we got onto the topic of these Solis S6 inverters and I believe the Svolt batteries work with the Solis S6 inverters - it was tested at the Kragdag.

 

Pricing on the Svolt batteries is also phenomenal! If I was not doing DIY batteries I would likely buy some Svolt batteries for myself. Cheaper than what I could DIY a battery for. So something to consider as well.

Only thing is, we have no clue how the Svolt batteries will hold up long term as they are still new to the market but

 

 

I get what you are saying and where you are coming from and I can understand the lack of support from Solis if the battery is not on their compatibility list - although with it affecting the warranty that is a little different to not getting support if you experience issues with a certain combo.

I am still curious as to how the warranty would be affected if one were to use a battery which is not on the compatible list and if one were to use a DIY battery.

Compare it to some car manufacturers insisting you only buy their windscreens to retain a warranty on the whole car. Makes no sense but you have to accept it. 🤔🤔

7 minutes ago, Scorp007 said:

Compare it to some car manufacturers insisting you only buy their windscreens to retain a warranty on the whole car. Makes no sense but you have to accept it. 🤔🤔

Yeah, it is something we need to live with unfortunately.

If we know how it affects the warranty, it helps the purchaser make an informed decision though. The way @Charles - Solis worded it previously sounds as if there will still be a warranty in place although perhaps some exclusions.

25 minutes ago, PsyCLown said:

Yeah, it is something we need to live with unfortunately.

If we know how it affects the warranty, it helps the purchaser make an informed decision though. The way @Charles - Solis worded it previously sounds as if there will still be a warranty in place although perhaps some exclusions.

The inverters warranty will be compromised if it is used with incompatible batteries. Solis will also not be able to support the combination. 

This statement is very vague. 

7 minutes ago, Scorp007 said:

The inverters warranty will be compromised if it is used with incompatible batteries. Solis will also not be able to support the combination. 

This statement is very vague. 

Indeed, the word compromised instead of void makes me think that there would still be some warranty.

1 hour ago, PsyCLown said:

Indeed, the word compromised instead of void makes me think that there would still be some warranty.

I just see so many escape goats being looked for. 

If you are looking for a 1c or bigger battery and approved by Solis, I can strongly recommend a Greenrich battery. With its 1.5c rating and warranty specs it is hard to find a worthy competitor and not expensive at all !!

I don't really see why using a particular brand of battery should void an inverter's warranty as long as they are the correct voltage. The inverter and battery communicate via the BMS, or if not, the battery is just operating by voltage, but in either case the inverter is always in control of the battery. 

The main issue usually relates to the BMS comms and if the inverter manufacturer has validated a particular battery works with their inverter. As mentioned above by others, many batteries support the Pylontech BMS protocol and if they do, will work fine with the Solis. 

 

 

I don't really see why using a particular brand of battery should void an inverter's warranty as long as they are the correct voltage. The inverter and battery communicate via the BMS, or if not, the battery is just operating by voltage, but in either case the inverter is always in control of the battery. 

The main issue usually relates to the BMS comms and if the inverter manufacturer has validated a particular battery works with their inverter. As mentioned above by others, many batteries support the Pylontech BMS protocol and if they do, will work fine with the Solis. 

 

And for what its worth, the Voltas do seem to use the Pylontech protocol. Don’t have any experience with the Solis though.