This site is now in read-only archive mode. Please move all discussion, and create a new account at the new Victron Community site.
Hi I’m looking at getting a server rack for Pylontec batteries I’m looking to get 2 US5000 batteries with possible space for two more as an expansion option. I have no idea what size server cabinet that I need.
I think I’ve seen something about it being 600mm wide by 600mm deep cabinet but I have no idea what the height is supposed to be for 4 US5000, any help around this is much appreciated.
Useful to note, 1U is 1.75 inches. So a US5000 measuring 6.34 inches high would need 3.62U. And as 'U's come in whole numbers, that's 4U. Whether you want to leave space in-between each battery depends on your environment and your installer's advice. All the best!
hello
i have 3 US5000 in one 16he rack, the US5000 is 4he and i left a space of 1he open between each US5000 and the top and bottom
if you are going to fill it with 4 US5000, then you would need 21he with the same spacing, you should not stack them directly!
also take care that you support the units from the rear, the racks ears are designed to hold them in place not to carry the weight!
@duivert thank you are you able to tell me what this is in U size as that’s what they seem to be termed over here. Are you saying the front is supported already I just need to support the back end of the battery so that the front hasn’t got all the weight?
1HE is 1U its the same!
there heavy (40kg each) so yes support the back
I made some brackets on the lef and right sides in my rack where the battery get supported
Anyone know to get a good U21 server cabinet in the UK? One with mesh front and back as I’m not sure how much these batteries will heat up.
I'm exactly in the same position as you Dazza, have 2 US5000 batteries but thinking of doubling capacity. Seen one cabinet but its a hefty £750, which seems excessive. think we need U19 or U21 min for 4 batteries. They don't seem to give off much heat even when working hard. In fact my worry is the opposite as kept in unheated outbuilding currently, and hearing they don't like low temps, hence thinking of housing together in a cabinet. Dont mind doing some DIY support work to a right sized cabinet as they will need to take 160kg of batteries.
Appreciate anyones ideas??
Option then to import cheap rate during winter months plus decent storage amount in the summer.
I'm using an 18U open rack from Startech (280£, up to 544kg) with Digitus rails (28£ each, up to 100kg each).
Fits for 4xUS5000 (19,6 kWh) or 2xUS5000 + 3xUS3000C (20,1 kWh).
Costs: slightly below 400£
I bought a Samson SRK16 16U rack from Juno Records (juno.co.uk) for £115.22. It can handle 200Kg of total load or 150Kg if you use the included casters. I've currently got 3 x US5000 batteries installed as well as a network switch and patch panel but I could have fitted a fourth battery if I wanted to. The space between modules is about 20mm and I have supported the back of each module with a rack mount support kit from network-cabs.co.uk ( product code ADRMSB-150 £14.34ea ). I also got a cable management bar from the same company to support the battery and data cables (product ref ADCLBS-50 £6.60 ea )
HTH
You might look here: https://www.thomann.de/de/flyht_pro_alle_racks.html
"HE" means (DE: HöhenEinheit) or Unitheight.
Or go to your local music/guitar/pa-shop and ask for 19" flight-cases.
@solar sam I used the pylontech brackets in the end they are stackable I’m gonna get a 4th US5000 at some point so I can comfortably not use peak cost units form my energy company, I have constructed a box warmer with PIR insulation board and a reptile bulb with fan to warm the box when the temp drops to 20 degrees so battery temp ranges from 20 - 34 degrees. Minimal energy used to keep it warm I would prefer not to have used it as it’s not ascetically pleasing but need to keep it warm due to an external garage from the house but it does the job.
The other thing to note is that the US5000 can only be stacked 3 units high with the Pylontech brackets according to the manual. That’s why I opted for the Samson server rack. That and the fact the Pylontech brackets were so expensive compared to the cost of my rack.
Good to see your setup come together.
Cheers mate think they are very reserved on the stacking I’m gonna do 4 in a stack brackets are well built but I’ll deal with the consequences of a broken bracket then I’ll look at a rack which was my option before as the build would look so good but people wanted silly money for them.
The cover is only for the winter the top and all four sides just lift up to ventilation all around apart from the bottom.
possibly might get another Shelly to do a thermal alarm but it’s wired to thermal sensor to the GX so I can see battery and box temp on the VRM
I think you're probably right about Pylontech being cautious and I've not personally seen the brackets in person so can't judge how strong they are. But just bear in mind that the bottom module in a stack of 4 will have something like 120Kg of weight on the top of it and 160Kg of weight on the bottom so take care not to cause any crushing of the module enclosure.
Also, when you come to register your batteries with Pylontech in order to get the extended warranty, they ask for a photo of your installation so probably best not to send them a photo of a stack of 4 modules. ;)
Personally I'm finding that three US5000 modules is plenty to power my household all day, especially now that I've switched to Intelligent Octopus Go with at least 6 hours of off-peak electricity at 7.5p/kWh and potentially some additional adhoc charging slots at other times. Those extra 2 hours of off-peak grid really do make a surprising difference and are probably equivalent to another quarter of a US5000 battery module. What really simplifies things is the fact that I now get 15p/kWh for export at all times so my strategy is simply to fill the battery every night to 100% without needing to leave any space for predicted solar PV energy. Then if I am lucky enough to get decent solar production, I can just export it without worrying about conversion efficiency losses etc. I also don’t need to think about dumping home battery energy into our EV because that is never going to be better than just charging from the grid at 7.5p. The only wrinkle I need to resolve is to ensure that the adhoc charging slots don’t cause inadvertent discharge of my home battery into the EV but I have some ideas to solve that using Home Assistant.
My advice would be to hold off adding a fourth battery until you have the data to be sure that it’s worth the cost.
Yes will more than likely take a pic of the stack and register the four one but I may get a rack and stack them in there I spent a lot of time on wiring and ascetics just peed I had to hide it all so I’ll keep a look out but think I want a glass door so I can heat the inside still and still look at my handiwork lol
@Craig Chamberlain so after hard thought and wanting to make the install nice I’m going to be pulling the trigger on a 20U Data cabinet later and will move all the garage network equipment in that as well as it’s going to be 300mm higher than the pylontechs rack it should have enough room for that and supports upto 800kg so should be good for 4 US5000 I’ll just move the heat light into the rack and hope there is enough space for everything lol
One tip I'll suggest although I'm sure you already know. If you anticipate adding a 4th battery module then install your existing modues towards the bottom of the rack so that you can easily add the new one, which will probably have later firmware, at the top to become the new master module. You need to have the module with the newest firmware as master and that means having it at the top or the little link port cables will be a bit too short.
I also wouldn't be surprised if such a thing exists as a server rack heater module that you could maybe install at the bottom of the rack, below the first battery so you can take advantage of convection.
Last thoughts are to be careful of condensation as that's the last thing you need around lithium batteries and electricity in general. I'm currently insulating my garage and it's incredible how much condensation occurs where you have cold steel cladding exposed to the air inside. I'm gradually adding 150mm of mineral wool to the walls plus a vapour barrier to prevent the moist air hitting the cladding. Hopefully by heating from the inside your rack will stay dry though.
some great tips here many thanks...Tried looking up Juno records, for that rack and could not find the Samson SRK16 one.
Looks like it's out of stock at present unfortunately but here is the page:
https://www.juno.co.uk/products/samson-srk16-16-space-universal-studio-equipment/586846-01/
Thanks have saved it as favourites for when its back in stock, solid sides as well. Just need to fit a front and rear and that's some protection straight away.
Yes it doesn't have a front panel but for my purposes I didn't care about that as it's in an under stairs cupboard and fits perfectly under one of the treads so can be pushed back out of harm's way. I've also got the cable tidy bars on the front to attach and route the cables so it forms a rudimentary bumper to protect the DIP switches etc.
I finally pulled the trigger and ordered https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/30243-lms-data-cab-fe-20u-66na/specifications/#content
a lot more that @Craig Chamberlain but I got tired of waiting for a good secondhand one with the size I wanted and that wouldn’t cost the earth settled on this one still no idea if it’s good or not as I’ve not got it yet
that looks great Daza, did you have to order shelves as extras or does it come with some. Seems almost the same as some I've seen for £750
Cheers but not seen it in the flesh yet, Yes ordered 5 shelves and a power surge plug for the sever rack so I could put my network switch in there to, also ordered extra screws but the shelves come with screws so not needed, all in about 4 odd.
Even the eBay ones where coming in hot for second hand that I would have to hire a van to pick them up.
so true @Craig Chamberlain ive just got my flood sensor to go in the rack trying to think at which level to put it I.
Either top or middle of the pack so I can make sure there is no condensation happening, just got to hope that the cables reach the batteries as only point seems from the middle base of the rack.
Ive got big some big glands that I can core out and put some of my damp poof paint on and then fit the glands which should make it long enough to get to the top battery, yeah I’m hoping for those years too.
Been reading how our batteries certainly dont like temperatures below freezing and must stay above. Mine are in an unheated workshop, although double brick and insulated its only got a couple of freezers to add heat so not much. measured temps of cases and only 1 degree above room temp which is in itself almost ambient. Took a short term tip from another forum and put a decent cylinder jacket around them to help slow down and temp plunges and preserve any self heat generated. will remove in sping.
ohh and the inverter which also gives off some heat.
Mine hasn‘t Gone to zero, and that’s a single brick building, although I have the insulated box which works a treat but looks ugly the garage has only dropped to 9 degrees, The box is at a toasty 20 odd degrees, the positive cable is 12 degrees and the Negative cable is always the same temp as the garage and the batteries internal temp is 26/27 degrees on charge it’s 30 degrees I monitor everything.
Outside temp is 7 degrees my server is kicking out 17 degrees only thing that I’m not measuring it the temp of the Victron which I would like to do as I’ve now got a shelly flood sensor with temp sensor built in so I want that in the rack. And I’ll be putting the infrared bulb in the rack too, yes I’m going to loss a lot of heat and have the bulb working almost 24/7 in the winter on a 60watt bulb may buy another bulb so I have a straight swap when it blows.
I may see if I can use the thermostat that I have wired in the Victron to measure the victrons temp. So I should have the temp controlled that the batteries should never reach 5 degrees with all of the measurements but looks like they will be a lot higher than that.
@solar sam @Craig Chamberlain I’ve finally got the rack and installed the shelve, great thing is on wheels and has elephant feet so you can level out and put firmly in place. Batteries in tomorrow once I’ve wired the quatro loan unit up.
@Craig Chamberlain I’m after a bit of advice, took longer to wire the cabinet than expected which leads me to my question finding it hard heating the rack with the 60watt infrared. it doesn’t appear to be transferring any heat but it looks like it is keeping the temp consistent. I’ve just ordered a 150w infrared bulb, but what do you think should I just get a server rack heater?
yeah I’m going to blank the lower ones, now just to find a small good one with temp cutoff.
Just an idea :)
100 watts will hopefully be fine, especially if you block some vents and maybe even attach some of that silver foil bubble wrap to the inside of the rack body. Or even better, a multifoil insulation product.
I would seriously consider capturing multiplus waste heat as well though. :)
Just used a L-profile as a 19” substitute. Connects all front-panels inline and keeps them in place. Added rubber plates under all feet to reduce slack in the pylontech frames and prevent sliding. Very happy with all this.
,
Image Caption
Just used a L-profile as a 19” substitute to connect all us5000 frontpanels inline. And added rubber tiles under each foot to prevent slack and an occasional slipping and sliding.
Nice one.
@Arjen Geluk nice you managed to use the pylontech brackets looks good @Craig Chamberlain nope I like the look of the Pylotech batteries too lol, so heater delivered and wired up now had to get heat resistant wire for it, thanks for the idea of the thermal blanket I’ve blocked some of the vent and just put a mat over the top vents so summer I can just take it off to ventilate here is the stuff that I got. Temp started to rise the Shelly reckons the rack is 21.8 but batteries still at 14 degrees they take ages to heat up. Thermostat set to 26 degrees so hopping they at least get to 20 degrees. Will know more in a couple of hours I guess.
A really useful thread. I have had my four pylontech 5000's sitting on the floor in pairs which has been bugging me ever since I installed them. Seeing the photos above I have ordered the same cabinet. As far as temperatures go I use a repurposed Mac mini to run home assistant and this allows me to monitor the ambient and battery temps. My garage is internal with no heating and generally the battery temps seem fine. Its 7c outside currently and the batteries are at 12c. I am not planning on adding any additional heating but will monitor it just in case. I do have a couple of esp32 devices in home assistant in the garage. One measures the output from the inverter which is currently 23C. The other takes data from the mppt 450/100 out of the ve. direct connection.
@Lee Taylor glad it helped and i wouldn’t rule out that heater mate that cabinet is very well ventilated ive now got ears for my switch so that lives in there now. the batteries with all the vents blocked as the door by the glass has gaps at the top and bottom all of that and the 100watt heater mine are sitting at 20 degrees it takes an age to heat the cabinet its only luke warm inside so rather gentle heat shelly reckons the temp is higher i may have to set them to battery temp. If you go for a heater get heat resistive wire but it’s hard as hell to strip.
If you do nee any help heater wise contact https://uk.farnell.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/TopCategoriesDisplayView?catalogId=10001&langId=44&storeId=10151 they have some technical know how as well the tech helped me select to items
Now you have had some experience with yours might be able to judge if say a 20w would have done the trick.
@solar sam sorry mate short answer no it wouldn’t even touch the sides! What I’ve done now is block the vents at the lower and high parts at the top and back the only one that I have left is the one at the top in the middle but I have a cover over it that I will uncover in summer to allow more ventilation I’m still toying with the idea of putting my AC fan on there and seeing if I can use the Shelly to output at a temp range wish I bought the cold and hot thermostat now lol as that could have done it. I’ve also lined the removable panels using double sided foam tape and the the silver foiled bubble wrap insulation. Also the gap of the glass stops the temp from building up it’s 6 degrees outside according to victron and the battery temp is 24degrees I think from memory I was managing 20degrees at minus temps. Where my heater is I used cement board to block that part of the slot where the cables enter I’m going to look for some big flexi conduit at some point so I can have all the cables protected and block the entry hole further. Hope this helps
Some great advice for the server rack and heating. Really appreciate all help. Believe we are on the cusp of a huge price crash in batteries and solar products much more than we've seen in the past. We normally see the price crash at the manufacturers and it slowly filters through despite some clear attempts to hold up prices and hence profiteering in the interim.
Just checked on Alibarba and the Pylontec US 5000 currently going for £576.76
see link below if it will display. Almost tempted to market them at current margins and help the green revolution that we really need.
Think import vat would be applied but may be worth investigation into the transport costs. If price is right I would love a very large storage capacity, gives huge flexibility on off peak charging and usage.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006188139055.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.5.2dc77780FJ3ofk&algo_pvid=52ed41f9-ec1c-45a4-834c-a1e68cb841f4&algo_exp_id=52ed41f9-ec1c-45a4-834c-a1e68cb841f4-2&pdp_npi=4%40dis%21GBP%21960.60%21576.36%21%21%216000.00%21%21%40210387a117036810601642388e18c2%2112000036192373893%21sea%21UK%210%21AB&curPageLogUid=Y1MjSz2xrGSk
looks good Dazza, glad I asked the question building on your experience. have ordered up some insulating materials already and will go down some lines.
