Due to the limited space I have available in a compartment bay of my RV, I have to stack my batteries as shown below. I am trying to understand the best way to separate the batteries (if I separate them at all).

I am installing (4) SOK 206Ah batteries, that weigh around 48 lbs. each and have metal cases. I would like some opinions regarding what I should place between the batteries

A - Bottom, sitting on the floor of the compartment
B - Between the top and the bottom batteries
C - Between the batteries

The options I am thinking is either 1/16" to 1/2" adhesive neoprene sponge foam padding. My thoughts are, too much padding would allow movement between the batteries. Too little padding may cause damage.

I would love some thoughts and/or suggestions.
You will need to think about insulating the floor of the compartment before you install the batteries.
I would put something in between, just to keep them from rubbing the paint off and causing any metal to metal contact. I'd want something in there to keep them from rubbing.

From what I have read, the SOK's can be positioned on their sides.

What did you read and where? I would be extremely cautious even considering it. There are quite a few horror stories that can be found in this forum related to putting prismatic cells on their sides. The SOK batteries use prismatic cells.

What about staggering them so they can be stacked standing up? You would of course have to secure them to ensure they dont slide forward into the terminals of the ones they sit on.

Another suggestion, lifepo4 is considered safe for habitable space. what about putting them inside and wiring them down to the main bus connects? Not sure how definitive it is:

12-Slot Outdoor Insulated Battery Rack - Fits SOK & EG4 Batteries

This new SOK 12-slot rack has built-in slots for heaters and/or AC units, allowing for easy control of the temperature inside the rack. With a sturdy design, it is easy to attach inverters on the outside for easier installation. Specifications: Outdoor rated enclosure (NEMA 4) that holds up...

Can the battery be installed on its side?'

Absolutely! With no acid or venting, this battery can be installed in any configuration except for upside-down (terminals facing down).

Not sure how definitive it is:

12-Slot Outdoor Insulated Battery Rack - Fits SOK & EG4 Batteries

This new SOK 12-slot rack has built-in slots for heaters and/or AC units, allowing for easy control of the temperature inside the rack. With a sturdy design, it is easy to attach inverters on the outside for easier installation. Specifications: Outdoor rated enclosure (NEMA 4) that holds up...

Can the battery be installed on its side?'

Absolutely! With no acid or venting, this battery can be installed in any configuration except for upside-down (terminals facing down).

I can tell you right now that information is likely incorrect. some prismatic mfgs say you can install their batteries on their sides, but are very specific to say which side you may lay them on, as laying them certain ways will starve the internal material of electrolyte.

That being said, these cells have been known to leak electrolyte. Even though it is not "acid", it is still a toxic and dangerous substance for humans to come into contact with. Be very cautious and try to find authoritative sources. CurrentConnected is not authoritative.

According to the SOK Facebook group - their official support method - any orientation except terminals down. Apparently, it's asked a ridiculous number of times.

They do not make the cells, they assemble them into battery packs. It may be that SOK believes that, or that whomever is responding to their facebook page believes that, but that does not make it true or accurate. There has been plenty of discussion on this forum about this very subject. There have been plenty of horror stories about this very subject, including coming from @Will Prowse himself. I urge Op to use due diligence and dig deeper.

While there is ample evidence of the potential for prismatic cells to leak (Lishen/big battery), has there ever been a documented case with SOK batteries?

SOK is not a cell manufacturer. they use prismatic cells just like big battery used. Whether those issues were isolated only to Lishen cells, I cannot speak to. Whether SOK does or does not use Lishen branded cells, i cannot speak to. Personally, I would not want to find out as a guinea pig. Can any of the cell manufacturers provide long term tested documentation that their cells do not leak over the projected life span of their batteries when placed on their sides (authoritative evidence)? When I have seen it verified through documented testing, I will no longer caution others against it, and might be willing to do so should the need arise myself. Until then, buyer beware.

Winding Vs Stacking, Which Technology Works Best For Lithium-Ion Batteries?

In the lithium-ion battery cell assembly process, there are two main technologies: winding and stacking.

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These two technologies set up are always related to the below key technical points: Battery cell space utilization, battery cell cycle life, cell manufacturing efficiency and manufacturing investment.

Overview

1. What is Winding Technology?

2. What is Stacking Technology?

3. What technology was used in the lithium-ion battery cell you saw on the market?

4. What are the benefits of lithium-ion battery cell that formed by stacking process?

5. What is the development direction of cylindrical cell, prismatic cell and pouch cell from current scene?

6. How do you comment on these two technical routes if by manufacturing efficiency and yield efficiency?

1. What is Winding Technology?

After slitting the cathode roll, separator and anode roll, the winding process is to winding them by a fixed winding needle in sequence and extruding them into a cylindrical or square shape, then placing them inside a square or cylindrical metal shell. The size of the slitted rolls, the number of coils and other parameters are determined according to the design capacity of the battery cell.

2. What is Stacking Technology?

The stacking process is to cut the cathode and anode sheets into the required size, then stack the cathode sheets, separator and anode sheets into small cell unit, and then stack the small cell unit to form the final single cell.

3. What technology was used in the lithium-ion battery cell you saw on the market?

Pouch cell: Two technology are both adopted, it depends on the cell manufacturer.
Blade cell: Designed and produced by stacking process.
Prismatic cell: Both stacking and winding processes can be used. At present, the main technology direction in China is mainly winding and is transiting to stacking.
Cylindrical cell: As a mature product, it always with the winding process.

4. What are the benefits of lithium-ion battery cell that formed by stacking process?

Lithium-ion cell products formed by stacking have a higher energy density, a more stable internal structure, a higher level of safety, and a longer life span.

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' Higher energy density
From the inside of the cell, the winding corner of the winding process has radians, and the space utilization rate is lower. The stacking process can make full use of the battery space, and the energy density of the cell formed under the same volume of cell design is higher.

' More stable internal structure
During the use of the battery, the insertion of lithium ions will cause both the cathode and anode plates to expand, and the internal stress of the inner and outer layers at the corners of the winding will be inconsistent, and the winding battery will undergo wavy deformation, which will cause the interface of the battery to deteriorate and the current distribution unevenness accelerates the instability of the internal structure of the battery.

Although the stacking process will expand during the repeated use of the battery, in general, the expansion force of each layer is similar, so the interface can be kept flat.

' Higher level of safety
The plates at both ends of the winding are bent, the coating material will be greatly bent and deformed, and powder dropping and burrs will easily occur at the bending place. The tension on the plates piece and the separator is prone to unevenness and wrinkles. The expansion and contraction of the plates piece and the stretching of the separator will cause the deformation of the battery cell. The stacking battery cell is evenly stressed, and from this perspective, the battery safety is higher.

' Longer life span
The stacked battery cell has more tabs, the shorter the electron transmission distance, and the smaller the resistance, so the internal resistance of the stacked battery cell can be reduced, and the heat generated by the battery cell is small. The winding is prone to deformation, expansion and other problems, which affect the attenuation performance of the battery.

5. What is the development direction of cylindrical cell, prismatic cell and pouch cell from current scene?

' Cylindrical: big cylindrical is more and more popular, standardized winding process. The manufacturing speed of a single cell needs to be improved, so can widen the use scenario.

' Pouch cell: Adopting stacking process is becoming a trend and overwhelming.

' Prismatic cell: If the existing size is maintained, continuing to use winding (coiling) is a reasonable option; but after developing into a square shell stacking transition size, and becoming a short blade and a long blade, the stacking process will naturally be adopted.

For consumer batteries, compared with battery capacity and performance, manufacturers pay more attention to the improvement of efficiency, so there is a large demand for winding technology; but for power batteries, large modules and large cells will be the trend in the future. The stacking process can better play the advantages of large-scale batteries, and it has advantages over winding in terms of safety, energy density, and process control.

6. How do you comment on these two technical routes if by manufacturing efficiency and yield efficiency?

' The most potential is winding large cylindrical. The most important process is to introduce dry electrodes around mature processes. We could expect a lot in near future.

' Stacking is the fastest growing: With the continuous innovation of tier-1 cell manufacturer stacking technology and the continuous follow-up of power battery companies, Chinese battery companies are all moving towards the super stacking + blade battery solution design, this section has the greatest potential.

' Winding is in the direction of stable development: Square shell winding maintains the status, and we have also seen that this route was the largest capacity construction in terms of the original production.

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