Hj guys has anyone got any feedback of doing this? 

 

I currently have a bl3.6 (which is a rebranded Greenrich) but the prices of the greenrich up5000 is so good at the moment I'm thinking of increasing my battery capacity.

 

The price of the bl3.6 is the same as the up5000. 

 

 

Thanks for any advice...

 

@Sam79

What I would try and do is the following:

1)Install PBmsTools on PC

2)on bl3.6 battery, connect your PC USB/RS232 cable to the RS232 port (assumption is that the bl3.6 has the same port layout as the UP5000). That is from left to right, RS484, CAN, RS232, RS485,RS485 ports. You may need to get such a cable, unless your PC is old like mine and still has an old school 9 pin serial port, in which case you can make up your own cable - use and old telephone cable, cut of the one end and solder a 9 pin (DB-9) to it. 

3) Run PBmsTools, connect to the comms port, and if you get a response, look at the BMS version & BMS Firmware version. (For in case, as it may work adding the new UP5000 one without checking this)

4) Now do the same for the other battery to confirm they both respond. (showing all the cell info etc.) Make a note of the BMS version as before.

5) Once you have gone past 4), you can try and connect your batteries in parallel. (basically, + to +, - to -, and and the supplied link cable between the second RS484 port on the bl3.6 to the 3rd RS484 port on the UP5000, setup bl3.6 as master (it's original dip setting) and AP5000 as Slave 1 dip settings - Remember the reset each battery if you change the dip settings.

6) Another assumption is that you are using either 1st RS484 or CAN port on bl3.6 as comms port link to your inverter (ignore is you are running using Bvolts)

7) you may need to tell your inverter it now has 70 + 100 Ah worth of batteries, depending on type if inverter you have.

'8) I would increase the charging and discharging current allowed to 35A & 70A? depending on max discharge rate of those batteries combined. 

9) I would actually make the newest battery as the master

10) If the batteries don't "see" each other after the parallel exercise, then try and upgrade the firmware of the batteries. Look for Pace BMS firmware - that's if the batteries passed test 3), but afaik, these Greenrich use Pace BMS.

Good luck!

I do not think that it would work, I see that The Power Forum Store list the 3.68kWh Kodak for just under R15k and I think that it is a good price.