MilBay of Australia LiFePO4 battery representative Q&A

@westbranch Milbay chose total system control with remote management capabilities as anything less would have been a compromise. Milbay LiFePO4 2.4kWh power storage modules are the result of more than 10 years development since commercialisation began around 2002 and incorporate the well proven developments in management technology as our Chinese hi tech manufacturer holds many patents in this sector.

The scope for Milbay Power storage solutions is not limited to household use so future proofing for emerging integrations and backwards compatibility was a criteria for our power storage project team.

Our battery management system has been proven over many years of infield deployment to deliver predicted and reliable outcomes.
Cell balancing for Milbay liFePO4 storage modules begins at production level Quality Assurance. Each cell is then managed within the 2.4kWh battery module, Current is delivered to the storage module from the charge controller then the battery module BMS takes over control in an intelligent manner constantly monitoring, adjusting and caring for the LiFePO4 cells.

The Milbay modular design provides consistency in every aspect of the overall power storage solution. The precision built metal cabinets that house the module's internal components evolved through development and in field evaluation. The module design incorporates  many safety and reliability aspects to delivery a no maintenance long lasting power storage system for the 21st century.

@westbranch you are thinking of basic non intelligent systems being built by individuals not commercially available production solutions.
The question of top or bottom balance is that our management system caters to both, The information is provided in the storage user manual that end users receive but it is not really relevant to the majority as the Milbay solution is a set and forget system. The reason Milbay undertook to development of such a user and installer friendly solution was so that years of technical knowledge are not required by end users to make purchase decisions. Questions about 3.6 or 3.65V only confuses the consumer and has little relevance in overall solution design or long term performance. 

Top charge is just one of the many design considerations incorporated into Milbay battery storage modules however what remains paramount and relevant is capacity, recharge current and discharge current.
Milbay guarantee the capacity and charge current and discharge currents are relevant only to the solar installer.

@westbranch If you are a solar installer or distributor then please contact Milbay sales@milbay.com.au and we will be happy to answer proprietary technical questions in a confidential environment.

Milbay Australia do not supply our 2.4kWh battery modules to the public, Australian purchase is via the Solar component distribution or solar installer supply chain.

@PNjunction maybe you have confused small scale Lithium ion products like those from the Milbay personal transport product line and the Milbay Solar Storage product line. Milbay utilise Lithium Ion 18650 technology for small or mobile solutions, for larger capacity transport like our 7.2kWh 5kW 72 Volt UTV, electric chariots (aka Segway) and fixed storage solutions Milbay exclusively use LiFePO4 solutions. 
I have not heard the MB-572UTV electric 4WD described as a toy before  Maybe you have not looked at the dimensions of the UTV as it is a full sized vehicle which out performs combustion equivalents in the UTV/ATV class. http://www.milbay.com.au/CustomerViews/UTV 

The challenge that Milbay Australia team set themselves was to deliver a user friendly solar storage solution that would meet the current and future needs of Australian households which Milbay have delivered and released as the Milbay LiFePO4 2.4kWh 48V  modular storage.
The criteria was
Safety.
Easy user interface and monitoring.
Easy installation.
Long life.
A redundant modular design.
10 year warranty to match most inverters.
Backwards compatibility with existing installations
Compatibility with intelligent Hybrid inverters.
Remote management ability.

All these criteria have been met successfully with the release of the Modular 2.4kWh 48V solar storage product line. In February/March Milbay will release a modular LiFePO4 solution for 12V systems.

There are many forum topics already in which hobby enthusiast debate the finer details of LiFePO4 chemistry generally.

Perhaps an explanation as to why particular technical information is being sought may provide some scope or relevance for more specific answers.

Some consumers may indeed wish to build their own solutions and accept their own level of risk, however for the vast majority of consumers a commercially available purpose built LiFePO4 solution such as the Milbay modular design that is ready for installation is most desireable.


Neale Gray
Milbay Australia 

 There seems there is some interest in the hoverboard battery failure story which is understandable given the huge media coverage.
I looked for a forum topic but could only find recreational vehicles so maybe this post should go there ?

Firstly Milbay Australia had NO exposure to the "hoverboard disaster" as we are professionals in compliance and quality assurance as well as self balance technology so the eventual outcome was easy to predict.

I was just as amazed as everybody else when otherwise responsible corporate retailers seemed to forget about quality assurance, safety and compliance. I believe it resulted from a lack of technical expertise in the procurement departments of the retailers. Milbay had actually contacted some of the retailers now involved in recalls however it appears they went it alone or for the lowest price. 

There are completely different quality levels available at every aspect of a product manufacture and in the new borderless consumer paradigm this was ignored as a level of the supply chain was removed and consumers traded direct with local chinese suppliers who simply delivered a cheaper and cheaper price as was requested by the consumer. Laying blame is difficult however it was at the Chinese end of the "hoverboard" supply chain where the financial pain was felt most.

In short: a device that sells for less than the price of a reliable Lithium Ion battery system will obviously not have a safe and reliable battery which is the heart of all these devices.

Consumer pressure pushed the device into very low price low quality and the low cost versions appeared about September 2015.

In a race to the bottom and a disregard for quality assurance and compliance the rest of the story will continue to unfold, in china however the hoverboard is finished and the financial survivors have already released the next new self balance product which is a skateboard platform and single (unicycle style) wheel, this time feet at the front and back. I wonder will any lessons have been learnt as there is version that uses the same 36V Li battery pack as the hoverboard. This battery pack is as safe as any lithium battery pack if built to correct standards which is very easy to achieve in a simple small 150Wh 18650 cell battery pack as many on this forum would be aware.

Neale Gray
Milbay Australia

Below is Milbay Australia LiFePO4 2.4kWh 48V power storage module available NOW.
More information http://www.milbay.com.au/Li/SolarHome


Below is a 48kWh (useable) LifePO4 storage solution using LiFePO4 2.4kWh storage modules with remote management station.