I've been running an installation with two 24V 328Ah batteries in parallel along with two multiplus 3000/24-70 inverters set up for split phase. The system has worked well for over five years with ten Lion Energy 12.8V UT1300s arranged in series/parallel, but I'm starting to face problems as the batteries age. They're struggling to stay balanced, and I can't drain them below 28-30% without one of the batteries shutting down, which disrupts the whole system. I've attempted to balance the batteries individually before putting them back into the system, but nothing seems to work. I think it's time to transition to native 24V batteries, and I'm looking into Wattcycle 24V 314Ah batteries. I plan to connect these to a Victron Power-in alongside my existing Lynx distributors that manage a 3900W solar array and DC-DC charger inputs. I'm not concerned about the charge side since the two inverters will output around 130A total, and everything's wired with 4/0. The current system uses a 150A BMS (five batteries), while the new ones have a 300A BMS (two batteries), all through a 300A fuse, and so far, the existing setup has been problem-free. Is there anything I'm overlooking here?
1 Answer
Have you thought about using external balancers for your current setup? It might squeeze a few extra years out of those batteries for not too much cash.
I considered that, but for around $2300, I’d rather switch to a native 24V system, gain 20% more capacity, and potentially recoup some of that cost by selling off the old Lions, especially since they have a lifetime warranty.