The 100 Balance BMS with 1A Active Balancer and Wifi. A true JK Competitor?

In this comprehensive test and review, I'm sharing my experience with the 100Balance BMS. I saw this online and wanted it in my garage for testing. This Daly-style BMS has a 1A active balancer, Bluetooth and Wifi, RS485 and CAN communication for your inverter and it can handle 100A. First thing which came to my mind was: 'Do we have a JK competitor here?' All the specs and features looked good, but once I started testing it, it quickly came clear, that there is only on BMS-King...

100Balance BMS with BT, Wifi and touch display:

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[BobHannent]

There's something very symbolic about Andy dismantling the BMS on camera while he describes its flaws. He dismantled it practically, while dismantling them commercially.

[stefanandr]

Great video, which I first saw after I purchaed it. The good news is that I just installed the 100A version from the 100 balance BMS, and got the latest firmware update from July and as far as I can tell the problems described in the video around the balancing seems to work now. So I am very happy with it. Only issue I can find is that the font size handling in the app on the iPhone could be better.

[mzmatze]

Beer! Thank you Andy. Interesting to see, that you still grand this BMS two frogs. Personally, I would give this BMS just one, since it seems to fail at it's very basic tasks. :D

[trevortrevortsr]

Andy, I learned something while tinkering today - When you put a small fan on the passive balancer resistors the rate at which they bleed balance vastly improves - I mean 2 or 3 fold - I guess surface mounting resistors run hot and their resistance really ramps up making them bleed far less - I expected some improvement but it was way beyond expectation - easily capable of keeping large 100a cells in balance - I used a small 5 v fan.

[hendersonsobers]

I completely agree with your assessment Andy. I've been using the Daly BMS for a while now with the wifi and it works great. This new BMS seems to be a carbon copy of the bigger Dalys with a few minor differences. Daly has a new S series BMS which is supposed to be high current...can do up to 500A discharge and 250A charge. Would love to see your review on that one if you ever get your hands on one. One of the things I find Daly has missed in previous BMS generations and this new 100 series as well, is a high voltage and low voltage recovery setting similar to what the JK has. I think if Daly could incorporate that feature into their products, work out a few bugs and improve their documentation, they could increase their competitiveness.

[maritzm]

Thanks Andy - great video again. Request: Can you do an overview of the EarthGuard unit. We don't have these in South Africa but I think it would be a great addition.

[Raphael_Hofmann]

I love, how you put everything back into the package 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[dominicmaddox]

Planning my 62Kwh build and 100 balance was really trying to sell me some of these. I had NO idea the "100A" model was actually a 50A BMS - based on this video the software is so illogical as if programmed by someone who isn't even in the battery industry, cannot take the risk with them now. Looks like I'll be messaging JKBMS and placing my order soon. Note* JKBMS is still developing their revised 51.2v kit which I would love to see you have a look at when its ready. Once again, thanks for the invaluable info Andy.

[ElieHarfouche]

Great review, thanks Andy. I've noticed for a while now that Dally has been presenting itself as the best and most expensive, but your review revealed the reality of their problems and misleading information. I completely agree with your assessment, especially regarding the 2 frogs. Thanks again!

[Fergo]

Good job! I have a 21p Nissan powerwall down here in Australia. It’s good to see other builds.

[savvasgerm]

Andy!!! einen großen Dankeschön für deine Videos . Einfach super!!!

[landixus]

beer :) I have bought one of the 100bms balance 40a, will see what the balance 7 month after your video. And yes the cables are hell to short!

[shawnd]

Just bought this. You need a USB cable to adjust the voltage and what warnings/alerts come on. They come on way too early giving you a red 'error' light even though everything is fine. Other that that I'm super happy with he product. All in one BMS with 1ah balancer and temperature meters. All for $50 for a 60amp model. Likely going to replace my old Daly with this.

[kickgas]

Hi Andy, I'm sorry that this is off the subject but, will you be reviewing the EEL Battery battery box with the JK BMS? Thanks.

[FutureSystem]

Thanks Andy, as always, love your work.
(Still watching the video, but at this stage it looks like yet again, it’s JK for the win. Mine have never missed a beat.)

[QINOU]

Hello Andy,
Firstly, your video was well done, and I appreciate your insights. However, I'd like to address a few points from my perspective:
The 100BALANCE BMS is a low-voltage product, and its USB data cable is not intended for connecting to high-voltage devices. Therefore, when you connect the USB to high-voltage equipment, it can lead to mishaps. The user manual clearly states that the USB is meant for connecting to a PC for battery data viewing, not for linking to other devices. If you require additional testing functionalities, it's essential to communicate with the supplier for customization. This is not a flaw in the product but rather a matter of product positioning. The misunderstanding in the video arose due to a lack of communication with the supplier.
The target market for the 100BALANCE BMS series is pack factories. Their operational model involves customizing output lines according to projects and keeping suitable spare output lines. Therefore, the length of output lines can be customized by users themselves or by requesting the manufacturer to extend them, but this naturally comes with increased costs.
While charging and discharging currents can be made consistent, it would require increasing the gauge of the output lines.
100BALANCE BMS is a new brand, and compatibility with inverter interface protocols is currently in progress. New software is planned for release in April. Please continue to stay updated!
Version 1.1 has addressed the issue of whether the active equalization module can function during overvoltage protection. Even if overvoltage protection is activated, the BMS will continue to balance under appropriate conditions.
In conclusion, this brand has accumulated many years of expertise, with its technical development almost parallel to that of established brands. The only difference lies in the timing of market entry. Being a later entrant has allowed 100BALANCE BMS to avoid certain flaws present in other BMS systems and incorporate additional technologies. These include cloud platforms, Wi-Fi capabilities, direct parallel connection, built-in Bluetooth modules, and the ability to operate in both series and parallel configurations, thus better meeting the needs of customers. I believe this is a promising product that will continue to evolve in the future.

[MrHoolign]

i love these review videos Andy! Keep it up, this channel is my FAV! SPAT

[excillisbank]

Superbe vidéo technique ANDY's comme toujours des bonnes explications et des tests réels ! merci. (je suis un peu occupé et en voyage, mais toujours fidèle à la chaine) 😉

[EF-Electrics]

Love watching your informative reviews, I'm quite sceptic about 1:05, I mean really. I would have mentioned the latest Seplos V3.0 BMS which thanks to the latest firmware updates it has an optimal active balancing features. (they're the real winners = JK & Seplos).

[SwichMad]

Its good practice to use a laptop on battery power o ly when connecting to inverters, BMS's, protection relays or any other equipment that can crate a path to ground.
We had it with victron where it blew the usb port on the laptop becuase it was powered by the inverter itself. We also had a 1.2MW central inverter can bus fried by connecting to the diagnostic port while the laptop was plugged in.
Since then, I carry a small inverter in the van to have completely separate 230V suplly for the laptop.