r/diySolar

DEWALT ToughSystem 2.0 15.3 Deep Half Tool Box

Dumfume 150Ah Max Lithium LiFePO4 Battery

Blue Sea Terminal Mount 4 Way, 100A, 5024

Eaton Terminal Stud Fuse Block 30A, 80A fuses

Powerwerx PanelPole2

Powerwerx PanelPlateSB1

PD3.0 & QC3.0 USB Port With Voltmeter & Switch

I wanted the system to be as compact as possible and little less red than the Packout builds. Currently the Anderson SB plug is using the cable from my charger and is fuse at 30A accordingly. I will be ordering an 6AWG cable and plug so I can bump the output to be a to connect a 600w inverter. I have made cables with the PowerPole plugs for my solar charger, a cigarette outlet, and my portable refrigerator.

I also included pics of the tools I used for the build.

Looking to purchase a 10kWh Wallpro for $1k because it's the cheapest 10kWh system I can find atm, and am looking to connect it to my existing 3.6kWh Ecoflow Delta Pro Portable Power Station

My first question is whether this is possible/safe. My second question is how much electrical wiring will it take? I don't see a standard 120V AC electrical outlet, DC outlet like what the Ecoflow receives as input, or a convenient spot to install either.

I would like to raise awareness about an issue affecting many Anker SOLIX Solarbank 2 and Solarbank 3 users.

Anker has started to support local Modbus TCP / LAN control for newer SOLIX devices through its official Home Assistant integration. The official integration advertises local communication, no cloud dependency and support for newer devices such as Solarbank 4 E5000 Pro and Solarbank Max AC. [1](https://www.akkudoktor.net/t/solarprojekt/7986/11)

Unfortunately, Solarbank 2 and Solarbank 3 users appear to be left out. In the openHAB community it has already been stated that older Solarbank generations such as SB2/SB3 currently do not expose Modbus on the Anker firmware side, so local integrations cannot support them without Anker enabling the required firmware support.

This is very disappointing for users who bought SB2 or SB3 systems recently. These are not ancient products from a customer perspective. Many people invested in:

- Solarbank 2 / Solarbank 3 units

- expansion batteries

- Anker Smart Meter

- Shelly meters

- PV modules

- Home Assistant / openHAB / evcc integrations

- installation hardware and electrical work

The main problem is zero-export regulation.

Cloud-based control is simply too slow for precise zero-export operation. If measurements and setpoints have to go through the cloud, the control loop is delayed. That makes the regulation much worse than what the hardware should be capable of. Fast local control would allow much better response times and more stable operation.

This is especially relevant for users who want to integrate their system into Home Assistant, openHAB, evcc, Node-RED or a local energy management system.

The community has already built unofficial integrations, but these remain cloud dependent. The popular Home Assistant custom integration for Anker Solix explicitly states that the API cloud is mandatory and not optional. It also documents limitations caused by cloud update intervals.

What we are asking Anker for is reasonable:

- Enable local Modbus TCP or a documented LAN API for Solarbank 2 and Solarbank 3

- Allow local reading of PV power, battery SOC, AC output and smart meter values

- Allow local setting of output power and operating mode

- Make zero-export regulation possible without cloud delay

- Do not classify recently purchased SB2/SB3 systems as legacy devices

Anker already showed that local control is the right direction with newer products. Now the company should not leave SB2 and SB3 customers behind.

If you own a Solarbank 2 or Solarbank 3 and care about local control, Home Assistant, openHAB or proper zero-export regulation, please make your voice heard — politely, technically and persistently.

This is not about attacking Anker. It is about asking Anker to protect customer trust and extend useful product life.

My installers just put this on my meter box, however they printed a manual label that says "AND GENERATOR" on it. I tried looking for a more proper sticker that says all 4 but can't seem to find one anywhere?

Upgrading from 18 kWh to 27 kWh storage completely changed how much of our own solar we actually use

We’re in the San Francisco Bay Area, California.

When we first installed our system, we started with 10 kW rooftop solar and 18 kWh of Sigenergy SigenStor battery storage. On paper, it looked like more than enough.

After running the system for a little over a month, the energy data told a different story.

During the day, our 10 kW solar array easily covered the entire household load. It also fully charged the 18 kWh battery by the afternoon. After that, we were still exporting around 10 kWh back to the grid almost every sunny day.

The problem didn’t show up until the evening.

Once our EV came home and started charging, the same 18 kWh battery had to power both the house and the car. That extra demand drained the battery much faster than we expected, and we ended up importing electricity from the grid during peak hours.

Instead of adding more solar panels, we decided to expand the battery.

We simply added one Sigen BAT 9.0 module, increasing total storage from 18 kWh to 27 kWh.

The difference has been surprisingly noticeable:

* Much higher self-consumption of our own solar energy

* Less electricity exported to the grid during the day

* More stored solar available for EV charging at night

* Lower peak-hour grid imports

* Better overall energy independence

One thing I really like about the Sigenergy SigenStor platform is its modular design. Expanding the system was straightforward—we didn’t have to replace the original battery or redesign the system.

Looking ahead, if we add more high-power appliances (or even another EV), we’ll probably add another BAT 9.0 (9 kWh) or BAT 6.0 (6 kWh) module.

With AI workloads, electric vehicles, heat pumps, and increasing household electricity demand, I honestly think home battery storage is becoming less of a luxury and more of a necessity.

Has anyone else here found that adding battery capacity delivered a bigger improvement than adding more solar panels?

I have 2 LiFePo4 100ah, 24v batteries connected in parallel. One is slowly losing capacity and only charging to about 85% now. It seems like it stops charging when the other battery is full. I even tried to connect it by itself and it didn't seem to charge any further, though I didn't have it connected for long.

Both batteries are pretty new, only a few months old.

What could be causing this and what can I do about it? Should I just try to charge them individually?

Lots of posts about plug in solar so I captured some info from June 2 that may help some.

Contract installed grid tie solar purchase price $12500

5 SEG 440 watt panels with Enphase IQ8AC micros.

Iron Ridge mounting rails

Gateway, disconnects, hardware, and permits.

The system generated 13.2KwH on this hot june. Panels face SSW

DIY plug in solar, I'll list component prices.

6 400watt bifacial in 3s2p on wooden ground mount $750

60amp MPPT $160

48v 100ah server rack batteries $800 each

Apsystems EV1-LV micro $300

PV wire, MCBs, conduit $100

Around $2000

System generated 10.34KwH. I can continously discharge thanks to the battery.

Things to keep in mind:

The enphase micros are 240v so it'll absorb your high load appliances.

Without net metering your 120v plug in solar will only benefit what your loads will absorb. The rest will be sent to the grid with zero incentives generated.

The jank is only here for first charge(I got lazy and the cells were actually decently balanced from the seller, and Ive monitoring it the entire time, bite me) and the separators are all fish paper. They are eve MB31 cells and a 300amp JKBMS. I do not plan to have a load of 300a basically any ever, but well, it’s here.

So for context: I started out with a very janky setup of 4 EVE MB31’s using a JK BMS and AIMS power 12/1500 inverter. Use case is glamping with mini fridge, fans, air mattress pumps, coffee maker, etc.

I had wired it with stranded copper 2/0 which I think may have been overkill but was advised by an overly cautious electrician friend to be safe > sorry. Working with such thick wiring was absolutely miserable and I could not get anything to look even remotely neat.

Fast forward: I’ve obtained 4 more MB31 cells and had intended to run 24/1500 using 6awg but my partner has convinced me there is a good use case for keeping it 12v. His example is a 12v mini fridge, phone charging, 12v camping lights. Essentially avoiding the power loss of converting to AC. He also has a 12v solar panel already.

My hesitation: I already bought the 6awg wiring and connectors and I’m under the impression that if I do (2) 12v batteries in parallel that I will need a second BMS. He has 4awg that I can use but I’m worried that’s not thick enough for 1500w at 12v and I really don’t want to wire with 2awg or thicker.

My questions:
Is 4awg safe for 12/1500?
Would you spend 330$ on a 24/1500 victron and then 50$ on a 24 to 12 converter or buy another BMS, thicker wire, and thicker fittings?

Also any other advice is welcome. I don’t mind spending money for good future use cases. I also might want to power some home appliances in a power outage some day.
Pics of my current unfinished setup / components. I also have power switches and breakers not pictured.

Surprisingly, I couldn't find a dedicated discussion about the little blue chinese YJSS, ...also YJSS, YJHSS, YJ-PWM controllers, HQST, etc., with different amperage ratings. Considering how widely this controller (and what appear to be identical clones) is sold on Amazon, AliExpress, eBay and other marketplaces—and how many videos about it exist in English, Spanish and Asian languages—I expected there would already be a thread about how these controllers actually behave.

I've been testing my YJSS60 PWM charge controller over the last few days because I wanted to verify whether it actually follows a proper 3-stage charging profile as stated in the instructions and advertising.

My test setup:

• alternating power source 50 W solar panel, bench supply, DC booster

• 12 V / 12 Ah AGM battery

• Battery discharged to about 12.3 V resting voltage before each test

• Voltage measured directly at the battery terminals with a calibrated multimeter

• Voltmeter one time between source and YJSS and one time between YJSS and battery

According to the operating manual:

• "B1 =sealed battery – "Equalization" 14.4 V

• "B2 =gel battery – "Equalization" 14.2 V

• "B3 =flooded battery – "Equalization" 14.6 V

• "3-stage PWM charging"

Possible additional settings on the device, depending on the selected battery type:

• B1: "Float" (referred to as CV setting in some instruction manuals): 13.0 to 15.0V – "Discharge reconnect": 11.5 to 13V – "Discharge stop": 9.5 to 11V

• B2: "Float": 12.6V (fixed) – "Discharge reconnect": 10.5 to 11.7V – "Discharge stop": 9.0 to 10.5V

• B3: "Float": 14.6V (fixed) – "Discharge reconnect": 12.5 to 13.5V – "Discharge stop": 12.5 to 11.8V

However, the observed behavior of the charge controller is as follows:

With Float/CV set to 13.7 V, the controller always stops charging around 13.7 V. It never rose to the 14.4 V "equalization" level.

If I change the Float/CV setting to higher values ​​during the charging process, charging immediately continues up to the newly selected value, with the current gradually tapering off once that level is reached.

This gives the impression that the "Float" parameter actually acts as an active limit for the constant voltage (CV) rather than as a true float charge voltage.

The B1/B2/B3 settings—along with their specified "Equalization" values—seem to have little to no effect.

I did not observe my device switching back to "float" mode (trickle charging). According to an AI, the "boost" phase typically lasts only 1–2 hours—occurring either every 30 days or following a deep discharge. Furthermore, manufacturers often completely disable this function for sealed batteries (AGM/GEL) for safety reasons (AI told)

I therefore wonder if different firmware or hardware versions are being sold under the same "YJSS" model name.

Has anyone else tested YJSS controllers?

If so:

• Does your controller actually switch down automatically from, say, the B1 "Equalization" setting (14.4 V) to the "Float" setting (13.7 V)?

• Or does menu item #2 on these units actually correspond to the constant voltage limit?

I spent a little while accruing the gear needed to utilise the SSE orientation of my ManCave.

I used 8 x 470w Jinko panels and 2 x 2250w 4MPPT microinverters to bring installed power to 3.76kwh.

I added a bidirectional RCBO to my sheds CU rather than rely solely on "plug-in".

I am delighted with the result and my next step will be figuring out a cost effective way to add an AC coupled battery.

I want to ensure maximum power usage and my house's daily load over the year averages about 14kwh per day so offsetting and battery will I ope ,allow me to cover a lot of my own usage even with my relatively small array.