4173Wh (330Ah) Lithium Battery Box -- How I Done It --

[Dellmassive]

4173Wh (330Ah) Lithium Battery Box -- How I Done It --​

its that time again. . . battery box build time.

but this time i need MORE POWER,

were off camping for a 4/5dayer at the racing track - But the weather is not looking so good.

that means Solar will be poor for the recharge. . . . . and with me not having my van to connect to the DC-DC chsarger.

looks like im going to have to take as much capacity in as smaller space as possible.


++++++++++++

for this build im going to use the Anker 757 - https://amzn.to/3NQYtf1


which is a 1229Wh beast with a built in 1500w inverter. . . . plus USB and 12v etc etc

MAIN FEATURES:​

• Type of Battery LiFePO4
• Battery Capacity 1229Wh/ 384000mAh
• Lifecycle 3000+ cycles to 80% capacity

RECHARGE INFORMATION:​

• Input Voltage 220-240V
• Total Input Power 1000W (AC Direct)
• EST Recharge Time with 1.5hrs (1000W)
• Use Ports While Recharging - Yes
• Direct AC Input - Yes
• # of DC Input 1
• DC Adapter - Yes
• EST DC Adapter Recharge Time 13.8 hrs (120W Car Charger)
• DC Input Size XT-60
• Solar Input Power 11-30V ⎓ 10A (300W Max)
• EST Solar Recharge Time 4.5 hrs (300W) 6.7 hrs (200W) 13.3 hrs (100W)
• Solar Panel Compatible - Yes
• MPPT Support - Yes

OUTPUT INFORMATION:​

• AC Rated Power 1500W
• AC Surge Power 2400W
• Maximum Output 1828W
• AC Total Output 1500W
• # of Output Ports 9
• AC auto shut-off Power Save Mode On (2hr)
• # of USB-A Output 4
• USB-A Rated Power (per port) 5V=2.4A (12W Max)
• USB-A Total Output 48W
• # of USB-C Output 2
• USB-C Rated Power (per port) 5V=3A; 9V=3A; 15V=3A; 20V=3A (60W Max) 5V⎓3A/9V⎓3A/15V⎓3A/20V⎓3A/20V⎓5A (100W Max)
• USB-C Total Output 160W
• USB auto shut-off - Yes
• # of Car Outlet 1
• Car Outlet Rated Power (per port) 10.8~14V=10A (120W Max)

then im going to add in so extra battery power to feed into the Anker 757. . . .


the biggest battery i have around me atm is the Roamer 230Sb Gen3 - Roamer - Premium LiFePO4 Leisure Batteries for off grid




Nominal Capacity;
230Ah (2944Wh)

Nominal Voltage: 12.8V

Max Charge Voltage: 14.6V

Recommended Charge Voltage: 14.2V

Recommended Float Voltage: 13.5V

Max Cont. Discharge: 250A

Peak Discharge (10s): 500A


+++++++++++++++++++

right so onto the build.. .


I've got the battery here . . . . but will need a box to protect it and lug about.


.

I've got a Magnuson Heavy Duty Toolbox spare in the shed that will work . . .

like this one. . . i got mine from B&Q the other year,



but apparently they have moved over to ERBAUER now, - Erbauer Connecx Modular Storage Polypropylene (PP) Toolbox (L)564mm (H)310mm | DIY at B&Q

as @VanDamMan recently found out when he was procuring the bits for his battery box build. . .


+




+++++++

with the box sorted it was time to make up a fused block and connections.

it was easier for me to butcher one of my 100ah battery boxes that was spare after selling the battery. . . . .

but decided to swap out the fuse block to one that had both the POS and NEG




.

i went for this fuse block,

and moved over the 50A Andersons. . .



..

the battery terminal were the same for the ROAMER, so i left that was they were,

i also decided to remove the VICTRON SMART SHUT out the setup, as the ROAMER BMS is very capable.



dropping the battery in was a challenge. . . it was a couple of MM`s to big.

so a very tight squeeze.




++

next up as a opening under the lid lip for the SB50 fly leads to exit.

i used a cone cutter to make a hole. . . .



then hacksawed out a slot for the cables to fit into to hole. . .




.

next up was so foam protection. . . . to stop the battery moving about in the box.

i had this foam spare from a pelican case. . . . that seemed to fit the bill.





carrying on with protection it was time to cover the battery terminals. . .


i had these terminal covers to hand.

so removing the cables one at a time and sliding the cover on . . . we have protected terminals.





that that then . . . job done. .

the battery box no has two fused SB50 Anderson connectors

the idea being that one will feed the Anker to charge it, . . . so an effective OUTPUT

and one will connect to the solar for incoming sun power, . . so an effective INPUT.

both are fused at 60A MIDI fuses, as the SD50 is rated at 50A. - and the battery is capable of 250/500A power delivery. - so fusing is very important as always.



.




.

 

[Dellmassive]

next up is testing and commissioning. . . .

this will be the layout.

the battery box with the Anker 757 on top.




separately I've made up a SB50 Anderson to an XT60 link cable.


this will allow me to connect to the battery box SB50 to feed power into the Anker 757 via its XT60 input.

the input on the Anker is 12-30voc/10A.


with the battery box being around 12.8v or so we can expect to see the 120W charge power - as if was connected tyo the car when driving being plugged into a 12v socket.





.

next up is a way of charging the box us from solar.

to do this i grabbed a Victron 75/15 - https://amzn.to/3XIaZ3P

out the shed that was already configured with SB50 Andersons and MC4 solar.




the MPPT is set to the standard Lifepo4 charge profile. . . and can be programmed and monitored from the phone via the APP.



dropping the awesome Renogy 200W solar suitcase - https://amzn.to/44k56vx

next to the setup we are ready to . . .







.

checking the stats,

the Roamer was at 84% charged . . .



and the solar was bringing in, 91W and feeding 6.60A into our setup.





..

after that i decided to drop in another panel to get more solar yeild.

i added in to LENSUN 200W fold panel. .

and added in in series with the 200W Renogy suitcase. . . .

so effectively have 400W now. . .




this ment that i need to swap out the MPPT to aswell,

i would normally go with a 100/30 for 400W . . .

but because its cloudy today, ill never get that power,

so ill use a smaller 100/20. . . that will be fine, and with a cloudy day and 400w i doubt ill get more that 20A from the setup.



so the modified solar looks like this. . .



that worked well , , ,

now showing 158W and 12.4a going into the battery box. . .





the Anker 757 is showing a steady 121W incoming charge from the battery box.



.


and the solar is in tern feeding the battery box.


+++++++++++++


now i just need to make sure that the whole setup will last the long weekend.

we`ll have three compressor fridges, camp lighting, loads of USB charge stuff, plus cameras and other tech to charge up.

etc etc etc.


ill fully charge the Anker and the ROAMER before we leave.

and add the solar in as soon as we arrive. . .


only time will tell if it enough to last.





++++++++++++++++++

TBC . . . .

 

[Dellmassive]

-- UPDATE --

so how did it go . . . .

we had a weekend at Brands. . .



for some of this . . .



this . .




and this . . .






.


as for the camp . . we had the power boxes in the back of the van . .



but the sun was a bit iffy . . .




..

and by the next day the Anker was down to 17% . . . .




...


hold on - what?

the Anker should be fully charged from the battery box !

i sussed out a iffy Anderson link lead to the Anker was the problem.

luckily i took two with me,




.....

charging sorted we carried on - - - -





the weather was much better the following day . . . giving us some much needed sun,






by the end of the day we were fully charged again . . .




the 200w Renogy suitcase and victron mppt done a grand job,




which kept the beer and food fridges cold and the camp lights and USB chargers running. . .



Nice . . . . .








.

 

[Dellmassive]

now were back . . .

im fully charging the battery box with twin 30A victron chargers . . .





which gives us a 60A charge rate. . . .



with both chargers flat out pushing 30A . . . . each,



with this high power we need to keep an eye on the temps of the cables and connections. . .

the Anderson connectors are rated for 50A,

but the 10AWG silicone cable starts to get warm around 30A . . .

and the fuses in the fuse block start to get warm, as do all the connection points.

so foam out and monitor . . . . .



.

battery fully recharged, and iffy Anderson to XT60 replaced.

were all good and ready for the next mission.

.








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