DIY LiFePo4 installation - Don't do what I did (maybe) . . .

rotrax said:
I dont yet know. When recieved it was at 64%. 15 minutes later, charged with the mains at home, 100%.
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So you happen to know whether it measures state of charge via a shunt, or if it's the BMS giving you that information?
Just that the charging behaviour you describe does sound quite like what can happen when you use the BMS to monitor SOC.

How many Ah is battery, out of interest?
 
Neeves said:
Few yachts are written off or are a 100% loss.

Most insurance claims will be theft or minor collisions none of which will involve the electrical systems.

Loss of a yacht as a result of fire, which I assume is the focus of the insurance industry, cannot ? be, numerically, large - the big losses are circular storms (which are not yet caused by Lithium batteries).

Maybe one's thoughts should be less alarmist - after all....
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Alarmist thoughts tend to go with insurance, surely?

It tends to involve the working assumption that one is less lucky than the odds would indicate
 
Sea Change said:
On the subject of fuses, amongst my cruising friends I have met dozens of boats with lithium installations, and I only know one who used a 'professional installer'. They installed non Bluetooth batteries and used ANL fuses. But I guess he is covered by insurance whereas the likes of Geem and myself are not.

It's not a great position to be in, is it?
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At the moment, it's a bit of a mess, to say the least. Without EU/UK standards what will insurance companies accept (or not) ?

Perhaps the OP might email his insurance company and ask them what the "professional" installer needs to fit.
 
I’ve just realised I hold several Victron “qualifications”, and all my kit is Victron aside from the battery. It doesn’t make me a professional but I’d certainly argue I’m trained to do the install.

The Victron training and exams are available on their website and well worth the time.
 
PaulRainbow said:
At the moment, it's a bit of a mess, to say the least. Without EU/UK standards what will insurance companies accept (or not) ?

Perhaps the OP might email his insurance company and ask them what the "professional" installer needs to fit.
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Sea Change said:
On the subject of fuses, amongst my cruising friends I have met dozens of boats with lithium installations, and I only know one who used a 'professional installer'. They installed non Bluetooth batteries and used ANL fuses. But I guess he is covered by insurance whereas the likes of Geem and myself are not.

It's not a great position to be in, is it?
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I am insured through Pants. I have done consultancy work on a liquid cooled lithium battery project. As a mechanical and electrical design engineer I consider myself a professional. I was told by Pant that the batteries needed professional installation. I explained my credentials and they accepted it. It helps if you install them to a relevant standard
 
Sea Change said:
So you happen to know whether it measures state of charge via a shunt, or if it's the BMS giving you that information?
Just that the charging behaviour you describe does sound quite like what can happen when you use the BMS to monitor SOC.

How many Ah is battery, out of interest?
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Look up Bluetti 180- I'm not copying the tech stuff out for you when it is readily available online.
 
ducked said:
Well, the the fair summary didn't include mention of the probability (raised above) that DIY lead acid installation is also excluded from cover. That'd be quite awkward if true, and it applies to 3rd party
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Does that mean you need an electrics survey before buying an old boat, in the same way as a gas certificate ?
 
IanCC said:
Does that mean you need an electrics survey before buying an old boat, in the same way as a gas certificate ?
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If its an old (depends on a definition of old) boat with old electrics - they probably need to be replaced anyway - no need for a survey, remove and replace (as one might with old gas fittings). We now, grudgingly, accept that we need new rigging (certificated) at 7 years to continue to enjoy an insured vessel - certificated electrics and gas are 'just' another cost. You can of course insure a vessel, excluding claims due to rigging failure.

To me, and I'm ignorant of gas certification, having an electrics survey would not be much different to a gas certification - accepting that an electrical survey might be more complex, think time consuming, so more expensive - but maybe not. It also seems difficult to believe there are not electrical surveyors as there are gas surveyors. I'd also assume that surveying is simply part of a professional's skills package, just another income stream - but maybe not. Riggers offer a rigging survey, why not electricians offering an electrical survey - my guess is (and one should never guess) its all about money - they need to cover the liability insurance (which they would need anyway to cover their own work - do they all have liability insurance, does anyone ask for sight of same.....?).

Jonathan
 
rotrax said:
Look up Bluetti 180- I'm not copying the tech stuff out for you when it is readily available online.
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I was just curious about the charging rate.
If it managed to get from 65% to full on fifteen minutes, that's a 1.4C charge rate, which is very fast.
For the 96Ah Bluetti that would be about 135A charging current, requiring 25mm² cables.
I think it's more likely that the battery was actually much closer to fully charged than it thought.
Anyway, back to the thread 🙂

(edited out typo)
 
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A quick look at the tech specs suggests the internal batteries are not running at 12V. The main specs are in Wh so be careful with any assumptions dividing this by 12 to get Ah.
 
Sea Change said:
I was just curious about the charging rate.
If it managed to get from 65% to full on fifteen minutes, that's a 1.4C charge rate, which is very fast.
For the 96Ah Bluetti that would be about 135A charging current, requiring 50mm² cables.
I think it's more likely that the battery was actually much closer to fully charged than it thought.
Anyway, back to the thread 🙂
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Why 50mm cables for 135A ? 50mm cable is rated at 345A.
 
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Tradewinds said:
Where did you pluck that from ? Not the case ( with my insurers or others in UK). Maybe it’s an Oz thing.
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Pantaneous - but it might be Australian specific, how would I know? I actually thought there was a similar restriction on rigging life in the UK.

With Pants we needed a survey, not an issue. Within a couple of years they changed their underwriters and wanted a new survey, the old one was not accepted. We had a new survey, same surveyor so cheaper - but still a cost (completely daft). I was annoyed. We were then advised that unless they received confirmation of replacement rigging we would be covered but not for loss of rig or any incidental damage caused by the rig loss. They also became restrictive with sailing overnight (and you cannot cross Bass Strait without part of the passage being 'overnight') - requiring at least one other person. I could pick up a back packer, never sailed before, that would meet requirement - completely daft. Normally we sail as a cruising couple - no issue - but domestic demands can alter that arrangement.

Jonathan
 
Neeves said:
Pantaneous - but it might be Australian specific, how would I know?

With Pants we needed a survey, not an issue. Within a couple of years they changed their underwriters and wanted a new survey, the old one was not accepted. We had a new survey, same surveyor so cheaper - but still a cost (completely daft). I was annoyed. We were then advised that unless they received confirmation of replacement rigging we would be covered but not for loss of rig or any incidental damage caused by the rig loss. They also became restrictive with sailing overnight (and you cannot cross Bass Strait without part of the passage being 'overnight') - requiring at least one other person. I could pick up a back packer, never sailed before, that would meet requirement - completely daft. Normally we sail as a cruising couple - no issue - but domestic demands can alter that arrangement.

Jonathan
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OK. Thanks for the info. The cruising world is changing - and not in a good way IMO.
 
lustyd said:
A quick look at the tech specs suggests the internal batteries are not running at 12V. The main specs are in Wh so be careful with any assumptions dividing this by 12 to get Ah.
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I hadn't thought of that. So does that mean that to get 12v out of it, it must be running a DC-DC converter?
 
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