I just sent them an email with a heads-up.
Thanks for the tip.
did you install an âenfluriâ meter, like a Victron VM-3P75CT ?
No, everything sits behind the victrons, so they provide their own internal measurements, for which they are c10/26 certified.
hey @bernieke: Did you have the inspection today?
Yes, I need to increase my fuses to 200A. Which also means bigger fuse holders (NH1 instead of NH00) and a new enclosure for them and new bus bar.
But everything else was okay. The inspector even put the inspection âon holdâ so I wouldnât need to pay a second time.
Great !
What company did you use?
Vincotte, they were the cheapest as they have an offer for battery + solar + ev charger for 180 euro.
Is it because Victron advises 200A for a Multiplus 5000/48?
Donât you then have to go to 70mm² cables?
Yes, he looked in the manual, and the manual recommends 200A, so thatâs what he wants to see.
The 50mm2 is rated for 195A at 40C in open air, and the cable is rated up to 90C, so that seems alright to me.
I will however need to exchange my NH00 holders for NH1 holders (even the NH0 3P holder only goes up to 160A), as well as a new enclosure big enough to fit them, and make room for that enclosure. And off course the NH1 use M10 connections, so Iâll need to put on new terminal lugs as well.
So once it all comes in Iâll have another weekend working on that.
Where did you find those certificates? I canât find one for the Yixiang box (only one with product name âprotection boardâ and that doesnât inspire much confidence). I have EVE MB31 cells, and also for those Iâm not able to find (correct) certificates; the supplier (nkon) neither. The JK BMS is hopefully ok with this document. Zonnepanelensuper also donât list any certificate, Iâll try calling them and ask directly.
Anyways, if you assemble the cells yourself, technically the whole system needs its own CE certificate; which only you can make and take responsibility for; not completely impossible imo, but very difficult and possibly very costly (if you do testing) to do it 100% correct. If you donât intend to sell such battery packs, I donât see any benefit in doing so, especially if the sub components do have conformity, since any fault claim will end up at your desk anyway.
But with that weâve entered legal/insurance hot water.
I got them from zonnepanelensuper, but I guess chances you get this box AREI certified are extremely slim.
SGS test report EVE MB31 accucellen 23-08-2024.pdf (787,3 KB)
CE certificaat Yixiang accubehuizing 16kWh.pdf (1,5 MB)
CE certificaat JK BMS.pdf (999,6 KB)
Only the CE certificaat JK BMS is an actual CE certificate, the others are just test reports which are interesting, but of no legal use for the AREI inspector. AFAIK they require: a CE certificate/sticker + serial number on the outside of your battery box and additionally (if itâs a though one) same stuff for your individual battery cells.
Although I have heard from most people that they got their DIY batteries approved, but yeah, no guarantees and dependent on the inspector itself.
Yes, I need to increase my fuses to 200A. Which also means bigger fuse holders (NH1 instead of NH00) and a new enclosure for them and new bus bar.
But everything else was okay. The inspector even put the inspection âon holdâ so I wouldnât need to pay a second time.
Hmm, that seems a little strange to me. A fuse is the to protect you (and the cables) and should be the weakest link in the chain. If you choose to have it weaker than the maximum recommended strength, the only risk is a blown fuse. (of course the interrupt rating of the fuses must be high enough)
For example, I have a cable going to my shed (5G10mm²) that - with 230V AC - may be fused with 63A according to the AREI. I have chosen a fuse of 32A (our grid connection is 32A at the moment, so no need in going bigger).
It is a maximum or recommended value for such a fuse, but lower than the maximum should be ok. I would love to know the reasoning of the inspector for this.
I have the same reasoning. But I didnât want to antagonize the guy and question him on it. I think he and the colleague he called just went with victrons recommendation plus implementations theyâve seen in the past.
HI Bernieke, do you happen to have fuses near the positive terminals of the battery, or was that not necessary? If not, did they say anything about it during the inspection? I received cables from the manufacturer with some kind of SurLok connectors. I canât find these connectors anywhere to buy, so I canât make new, shorter cables to place the fuses as close as possible to the battery. Now Iâm thinking about cutting the cables I received from the manufacturer, but Iâm not sure if thatâs okay. They are about 1 m each, so I thought that I could also place them in a conduit or duct to the busbar and put the fuses there, but Iâm concerned that might not be allowed according to AREI regulations. Could you perhaps also share photos of how you connected the cables to the battery terminals?
My batteries have 250A DC MCCBs of their own. So Iâve actually double fused them⌠(Considering the potentially very large short circuit currents lithium batteries are capable of I wanted to play it safe.)
But, provided the cables arenât too long, they shouldnât care if the fuses arenât in the first 20cm.
I think they would only care if you put the batteries in another room or building from the inverters for instance. (If even then. By now Iâm pretty sure I know a lot more about both the involved electrical theory and the AREI rules than they do. I doubt your inspector would even be aware of that 20cm rule⌠Keep in mind 99.9% of their work is regular house inspections!)
Of course it probably also depends on who you get for the inspection. I think, if they would follow the exact letter of the law in its most stringent interpretation, no inspection would pass that has separate batteries and inverters, only installations with CE certificates for the whole would pass.
I can only suggest to do as I did and mail them a photo of your installation in advance to warn them. So they can send someone who actually wants to do this. My inspector told me that the person originally assigned didnât want to do it. And then he still had to call a colleague for advice.
Thanks for the detailed explanation, sometimes you read all sorts of things here and there about tye strict rules regarding cables, fuses, etc., and then you start to get a bit confused. I would really appreciate it if you could share with me where you bought the cables, fuses(250A the one I need but I can only find T-class or Mega), busbars, crimping tool, thermal imaging camera, fuse holders, and enclosures, and what your experiences with them are.
BTW your installation looks well done for someone who did it for the first time, especially considering that you only received one remark from the inspector.
Cables: Venta Cable RZ1-K flexible Libre de HalĂłgenos 1X50 mm2 0,6/1 KV EXZHELLENT GENERAL CABLE - Ilumitec (also for the 3x10 I got the same RZ1-K series).
Fuses & holders: Mersen - Y223006 - Zekeringhouder PP 3P voor zekeringen NH 1 - schroefmontage & Mersen - P218766 - Meszekering Grootte: 1 gG 500V 200A
Busbars: the first busbars I cut from a 500x10x40mm bar I got from aliexpress, but I couldnât find a 60mm wide one there for the new NH1 holders, so that one I got from https://zinn-giesserei-goehler.com (I mailed them with the exact format I needed)
Crimping tool: VEVOR Hydraulic Crimping Tool with 9 Sets of Dies AWG12-2/0 Copper And Aluminum Terminal Battery Lug Crimper, with a Cutting Pliers, Gloves, 5pcs Copper Ring Connectors, 8pcs Heat Shrink Sleeves | VEVOR EU (worked really well with the Klauke 106R series terminal lugs I used).
Thermal imaging camera: tooltop t256 from aliexpress.
The first enclosures came from aliexpress, the latest one for the upgraded NH1 fuses is this one: INSTALLATIE GRIJS 460X380X180MM IP65
Thanks, Iâm rather proud of what I accomplished myself as well 
Good luck with yours!
Ah, and as you might notice in the picture, I mounted everything on betonplex (âSolid Johnâ brand, highest grade) + fermacell (a fireproof plasterboard), although I doubt he noticed or caredâŚ
Thanks a lot man. Does Cebeo also sell to regular customers? How much did the fuses and their holders cost you? And did you use a thermal imaging camera, or wasnât it really necessary?