Seplos Mason battery kits from Frogstar

ed110220

Hi all,

does anyone have any experience or recommendations of these?

At the moment I have two Growatt ML33RTA batteries on my SPH5000 inverter with 4.8 kW of solar. The Growatt batts add up to 6 kWh, which is a bit low as we use about 10 kWh per day. The summer half of the year is generally OK, but in winter it's not enough to import cheaper electricity at night and avoid peak.

I was looking at the Seplos Mason kits from Frogstar as as they seem great value - not much more for 15 kWh as an extra 3 kWh ML33RTA!

Netexporter

The 15.5kWh Fogstar battery is  easily the best value on the market. It has a 200A Pace BMS, JK active balancing, Grade A automotive cells from EVE and automatic heating for less than £2,500. 

There's a Youtube channel called Off Grid Garage, where they pull all manner of batteries apart, including Seplos Mason, which may be of interest.

ed110220

Netexporter said:

The 15.5kWh Fogstar battery is  easily the best value on the market. It has a 200A Pace BMS, JK active balancing, Grade A automotive cells from EVE and automatic heating for less than £2,500. 

There's a Youtube channel called Off Grid Garage, where they pull all manner of batteries apart, including Seplos Mason, which may be of interest.

Thanks, I was thinking more of the kits that you assemble yourself like this one: https://www.fogstar.co.uk/collections/seplos-mason-kits/products/seplos-mason-280l-and-x16-grade-b-envision-305ah-battery-bundle, mainly because it would live in the loft and I don't think I'd ever get the ready-assembled Frogstar up there!

Netexporter

You do know that installing batteries in the roof-space is against the latest safety recommendations?

Yes, the weight of the 15.5kWh is a bit of a problem, at 140+kg. 

Solarchaser

I didn't know that, but it's a bit late for me.
My 4 sets are in the loft, though 3 are on shelves 50mm off the floor.
Individual batteries are about 5.5kg and there are 16 of them plus the case which I'd put around 20kg, so it's about 110kg or thereabouts, so 18 stone or so, a larger adult.

Definitely I'd lift the batteries up in their boxes of 4 at a time, then assemble in the loft.

ed110220

Well I've assembled the Seplos and connected it this morning. Seems to be charging normally 

ed110220

Solarchaser said:

I didn't know that, but it's a bit late for me.
My 4 sets are in the loft, though 3 are on shelves 50mm off the floor.
Individual batteries are about 5.5kg and there are 16 of them plus the case which I'd put around 20kg, so it's about 110kg or thereabouts, so 18 stone or so, a larger adult.

Definitely I'd lift the batteries up in their boxes of 4 at a time, then assemble in the loft.

I carried them up individually!

But it's definitely heavy enough (and fairly small in footprint) that you'd want to consider where to put it in regards joists etc. I put it on an extra board to spread the load even though I've boarded the loft and up against the gable rather than mid span.

ed110220

Update, it's a few months since I got the Seplos and I switched over to Octopus Go in late Dec, even though I don't have an EV. So far this year I've imported 310 kWh at a cost of £31.27 (not including SC), not much more than 10p/kWh so I'm pretty pleased. That's according the the Octopus app because I haven't had Jan's bill yet, but it should be close. 

It's got a bit addictive though, now I want to get another Seplos and a bigger inverter for ASHP!

QrizB

My kit was delivered last week and I'd planned to build it at the weekend but I've been full of cold and didn't really want to play with large amounts of stored energy when I was feeling grotty. One misplaced spanner and sparks would be flying!

This coming weekend should be better.

Grandad2b

QrizB said:

My kit was delivered last week and I'd planned to build it at the weekend but I've been full of cold and didn't really want to play with large amounts of stored energy when I was feeling grotty. One misplaced spanner and sparks would be flying!

This coming weekend should be better.

I'll be interested to know how that goes

QrizB

Today's my build day I'm currently at 2m56s in the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ-RMxj66CA

Edit 1214: Now at 5m00. Building mine upright, rather than laying te case over, as (i) I barely have space and (ii) I don't fancy trying to tip it back upright when it's 100kg+. My 315Ah batteries seem to be slightly less chonky than the ones in the video; the balance board sits flush and I can tighten the bolts without bending the plate.

Edit 1439: And we're done. It's built, it powers up, the panels are back on and I've put the (gas) kettle on for a cuppa