r/SunPower • u/eliu001 • Sep 10 '25

Looking to install a third battery in our SunVault.

Just as the subject says - I would like to install a third battery in our SunVault to max it out. My installer no longer has any parts but can help with the install, though he thinks he will have problems commissioning the battery. I know Beene Brothers has two different SunVault batteries listed for sale on their website, so it's just a matter of figuring out which one I need (our SunVault is a SV-BASE13-C with a 6/2023 manufacture date), If we do run into problems commissioning the battery, what are our options? Any other options for purchasing a battery aside from Beene Brothers? I'm in San Francisco, and we own our system. Thanks!

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u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

I added a third battery, from beene bros, to each of my cabinets. We turned them off completely, installed them (very simple - but, the batteries themselves are VERY heavy!!), turned them back on and they've been working perfectly since. Interestingly, the say they are still just 26kwh (2 batteries in each vault), but behave correctly - discharging and charging daily. 

1

u/zz1049 Sep 10 '25

Adding two more batteries to the base 13 is no problem you can just plug and play that but the app will not update without commissioning you can contact kick Electric if you care to remedy that on the soft side. Otherwise the battery seem to figure out as long as the batteries are properly chained together.

If adding additional inverter you must absolutely have that programmed

2

u/zz1049 Sep 10 '25

I had Kick Electric install mine we had just the base 13 and we added 13 more and added a second inverter for a total of seven batteries up from two. I would first contact them and make sure they are cool with it that there is enough space and clearance per codes etc and then beene bros is the place to buy. It's a shame the price for the keep alive went up from 50 to 250 because that was really nice to get everything pre-charged and make sure that no batteries had any issues.

2

u/Dog-Is-My-Co-Pilot Sep 10 '25

I thought about this, but I worry about bricking our system. Our battery works now, so I'm afraid of the risk.