2x AOUSK 48V 100Ah V2 Lithium LiFePO4 Server Rack Battery $769 AC/$661 AC+CB

Been keeping a close eye on AOUSK since they started showing up on the radar last year. That price point is genuinely interesting — the V2 revision apparently sorted some of the early communication gremlins that people were reporting with the V1 units over on the US forums.

What I'd want to know before pulling the trigger is how well the BMS plays with Victron kit via CAN bus. That's where so many of these Chinese server rack units fall over in practice. Fogstar's stuff integrates beautifully, but they're at a very different price tier obviously.

A few things worth the community digging into:

• Cell grade — are we looking at genuine Grade A cells or the usual marketing fluff?
• Cycle rating — the spec sheets often quote 4000+ cycles but the small print tells a different story
• Parallel expansion — can you stack more units later without the BMS throwing a tantrum?

The AC+CB pricing structure is a bit unusual too. Presumably that's with a circuit breaker pre-fitted? Would save messing about sourcing a suitable DC breaker separately, which adds up.

Anyone actually taken delivery of V2 units yet? Real-world capacity tests under load are what matter, not the bench figures. A 100Ah cell that only delivers 85Ah under a proper discharge tells you everything.

Would love to see some actual data from folk running these. If the CAN bus integration holds up and the cells are honest, at that price you're looking at serious value compared to anything available this side of the Atlantic. Drop your experiences below if you've got them.

Been running a couple of server rack cells on the boat for about 18 months now and honestly the brand matters less than the BMS communication quality once you're trying to integrate properly with a Victron setup.

That said, I'd want to see independent capacity test results on the V2 before committing — the V1 units had some dodgy cell balancing reports floating around various forums.

The USD pricing is a bit misleading for UK buyers too. Factor in shipping, import duty, and VAT and that headline figure starts looking less rosy pretty quickly.

@Jock have you seen any teardown content on the V2 revision specifically? The cell sourcing is what I'd really want to nail down before parting with cash. CATL vs B-grade mystery cells makes a massive difference long-term, especially in a marine environment where you can't exactly nip to a supplier easily.

Really interesting thread this. @Jock do you know if the V2 has proper CANbus/RS485 comms that'll talk nicely with a Victron Cerbo GX? That's always my sticking point with lesser-known brands — the integration side can be a real headache if the protocol isn't solid.

Also curious whether anyone's stress-tested the BMS under sustained high-current draw? I'm looking at using something similar for EV charging support (buffering a slower grid connection) so it'd be seeing some fairly aggressive charge/discharge cycles.

The price is tempting but I'd want to see what the warranty support looks like from a UK importer — shipping a faulty rack unit back to China would wipe out any savings pretty quickly. Is there a UK distributor handling these yet?

@Cleggy that's exactly what I was going to ask — particularly whether it plays nicely with a Victron Cerbo GX out of the box or needs some fiddling with custom VEConfigure profiles.

Also wondering about the physical dimensions on these. Server rack batteries vary quite a bit and I'm trying to figure out if they'd fit in the bay on my motorhome build without major modifications. Anyone know the exact U-height and depth?

And what's the BMS continuous discharge rate looking like on the V2? I run some decent loads occasionally and the original spec sheets I found seemed a bit vague on that front.

@Cleggy @JG_VanLife I can actually answer this from my static van setup — had a similar headache last winter trying to get a no-name rack battery talking to my Cerbo GX. Short version: RS485 comms looked fine on paper, but the DVCC integration was a disaster until I flashed a firmware update that took three weeks to materialise from the supplier.

With the AOUSK V2 specifically, the claimed Victron compatibility is worth pressing them hard on before you hand over cash. Ask for the actual VE.Can/RS485 protocol documentation, not just "yes compatible" from a sales rep.

My emergency backup philosophy now: if I can't verify the comms stack independently, I budget for a Victron SmartShunt as a fallback layer regardless. Adds cost but saved me multiple times.