Lithium batteries

travelyounger · Guru

Lithium batteries

boab · Senior Member

9.5 kg seems pretty lite for a lithium most 100 amp hour lithiums are closer to 15 kg i would be a careful and do plenty of research before parting with the cash

yobarr · Guru

boab wrote:
9.5 kg seems pretty lite for a lithium most 100 amp hour lithiums are closer to 15 kg i would be a careful and do plenty of research before parting with the cash

In the van I have 6x90ah Victron Life-Po 4 lithium batteries,with total weight at around 70kg.The car has 2x90ah too,so about 24kg.Like everything in life,ultimately,you get what you pay for.Cheers

travelyounger · Guru

To Yobarr Just a few questions ,why are you using multiple batteries in van instead of say 2 x 200 amp ,are your batteries inside van our 2x120 agm batteries are mounted outside in boxes and the newer design vans have them internally is that for any reason also some say running batteries in parallel is not good for battery instead of running one on its own 1 x200 Cheers

kesa32 · Senior Member

Voltax are a bit ordinary from what lve read , Low energy developments sell Solar kings with a 5 year warranty, haven't heard much bad stuff about the brand , low energy are good to deal with and actually exist , so that's an option

I just bought a Renogy " smart " lithium 100ah battery ( $799 ) , 50a dcdc mppt charger ( $360 ) and monitor ( $39 ? ) to suit .... suits the budget , there's a tear down on the battery by will prowse on you tube which reveals a good bms etc
The monitor can let you make custom charge settings in the charger if you don't want to use the standard , it also cominicates with the bms letting you know what's going on , and other stuff l probably have to learn , hence the " smart " battery
You can add a bt module too and use your phone to check stuff , multi batteries can be parallel and linked via they're coms port and you can see what each is doing apparently .... we'll see , gets delivered this week

-- Edited by kesa32 on Sunday 26th of July 2020 10:48:18 PM

yobarr · Guru

travelyounger wrote:
To Yobarr Just a few questions ,why are you using multiple batteries in van instead of say 2 x 200 amp ,are your batteries inside van our 2x120 agm batteries are mounted outside in boxes and the newer design vans have them internally is that for any reason also some say running batteries in parallel is not good for battery instead of running one on its own 1 x200 Cheers

Hi Travelyounger (Do you have a name?) My knowledge of solar,batteries etc is limited,but the man who set my system is a good friend,and travels the world,setting up electricity systems in third world countries.He knows his stuff,and simply said that I should do as Ive done,with the batteries inside the van,over the axles,and the inverter on the other side of the van,again over the axles.To do this I had to discard the old water-wasting washing machine,and I now use a lightweight manual type washer instead.Cheers

P.S Batteries and inverter both are Victron...do it once,do it well!

-- Edited by yobarr on Monday 27th of July 2020 09:08:27 AM

Tony LEE · Guru

"Hi Travelyounger (Do you have a name?)" Pot and kettle?

yobarr · Guru

Tony LEE wrote:
"Hi Travelyounger (Do you have a name?)" Pot and kettle?

If you care to look,you will perhaps see that,unlike Travelyounger,I have supplied both my name,and my home base,in my profile.Hope this helps? Cheers.Yobarr

travelyounger · Guru

My name is John Home base is central coast nsw but traveling last 3 years I will update my details sorry for being rude

yobarr · Guru

travelyounger wrote:
My name is John Home base is central coast nsw but traveling last 3 years I will update my details sorry for being rude

Thanks for that John...am I right in assuming that your partner/wife/Mrs set up the membership,as your gender is listed as 'F' on your profile? Cheers

travelyounger · Guru

To Yobarr
That is correct

Hylife · Guru

a 100ah LiFePO4 should be about 13kg plus BMS and case making about 15-16kg.

check out Solarking from Low Energy Developments
I have 2x100ah SolarKing LiFePO4 for a year now as drop in replacements and am quite happy with them.

Tony LEE · Guru

Gee yobar, who appointed you to the position of forum policeman.

Warren-Pat_01 · Guru

Hello everyone,
I came across this post after doing a search (& this is my 2nd attempt after running into finger troubles with my tablet you'd think I'd learn after falling foul of it in the past).

On Facebook, outbax.com.au have been popping up with several items including a VOLTX 12v 100Ah LiFePo4 lithium battery with BMS built in. Cost is $519, it has a 3 year warranty, 12.8v & weighs 13.5kg - a little different to the one above!

What has brought my enquiry on this is the Remco 100Ah AGM that I bought here in Townsville in August 2021 (cost around $330) going flat (10.5v). The van has been outside for quite a while unused but with my small 110w panels keeping the charge up. However, I then covered the van with an el-cheapo Aldi cover (that you can see through & I thought the sun would still put "something" into the panels. It wasn't until last week when the cyclone threatened that I moved the van back into the carport & noticed the low voltage.

I put my portable panels (120w) on the van for a day before the cloud made things impossible so I then put my 15A multistage charger on it for a few days, then reverted to the onboard Jayco charger on it. The rest voltage had risen a volt. I haven't tried a test discharge yet as I consider 11.5v still too low. The portable panels went on again yesterday & today but it is cloud is coming & going.

My DC load isn't high - just lights & TV, some tech chargers so I'm not overly worried by the situation - heading south next week. I did think perhaps if this VOLTX battery was "reasonable" that perhaps I could get one & try to reduce my weight by 20kg. And no, I don't intend to add more solar on the roof as in my senior years, I will have to lift additional weight! I have thought of going to a smaller AGM but ...... .

With a built in BMS - does this mean that I wouldn't have to change my "AGM chargers"?

Your thoughts please.

TravellerBob · Veteran Member

Hi
Ive been using the 100ah Voltex battery in my camper trailer for the last 2 years, I live fulltime on the road so the battery is getting a good work out. Ive had no problems with it but I do beleive that the capacity now is somewhere around the 83% mark of what it was to begin with. From a full daily charge Im drawing down around 60 ah each night.
I paid $399 for the batery so Im more than happy with the life Ive got out of it so far, I charge it with 4 x 80w solar panels connected to a Victron 100/20 mppt controller that recharges it by luchtime most days.

If you are thinking about buying it now check out thee Voltex web page voltx.com.au/collections/sale They are currently running a sale. The one you linked above is selling for $467 delivered.

Would I buy another Voltex battery? Yes, but one with a larger capacity

Warren-Pat_01 · Guru

Thanks Bob for your info.

I assume that after reading the specs on both this battery &:the VoltX plus I do not have to change, or upgrade my charging units in or external to the van. I gather there's no issues with fire - the battery sits under my bed!

I'll get in touch with the company & find out how long their sale goes for. We're leaving for the cooler areas next week & may enable to get one sent to my son's place in Canberra.

Although I might have abused my AGM, I would've thought it would have been showing more life in it by now. I'll keep m solar panels on it until we get to Canberra & see what it is like.

Does anyone else use Remco AGMs? It was the recommended battery by Battery World!

TimTim · Senior Member

Hi Warren,

If your 240v charger has a desulphation mode you can try that otherwise I wouldnt pay out to buy a new charger to try and rescue a battery that in all probability is dead.

You can use 240V AGM chargers to charge LiFePO4 batteries but they will generally charge them to 90%. Your charger must not have an equalisation mode though or you must be able to turn it off. What make and model solar controller do you have as you will more than likely have to change that.

There are no fire issues with LiFePO4 and there are no documented cases world wide of them catching fire unlike the other lithium ion chemistries.

There are a few people around who have VoltX batteries but Bobs is the first post I have read regarding capacity issues. The only real way to test though is by doing a capacity test.

The other alternative for place of purchase is Aussie Batteries I have bought an AGM from them that I have used and abused but has refused to die and a few guys I play golf with have bought them for their golf carts. They are more than happy with them.

https://www.aussiebatteries.com.au/lithium-batteries/lithium-deep-cycle-batteries-Australia/lithium-solar-battery-LiFePO4

I have no association with them and build my own LiFePO4 batteries.

Good luck

Tim

-- Edited by TimTim on Friday 9th of February 2024 09:27:11 AM

laurieoz · Senior Member

I had 2 x 100 ah Remco batteries from new in my MH. Lasted 9 years

Last year I purchased the same to replace the old batteries

I was happy with the brand

Laurie

Dick0 · Guru

Hi John, I have three Voltax 135AH batteries in parallel charged by solar. Been using them for several years and find them excellent. There is a positive review on Youtube on these batteries. My battery array powers 240V appliances via a 3000/6000 inverter. I can only describe them as excellent as are the built in BMS. I was able at the time to purchase these batteries for less than $450.00ea on Ebay. The successful performance of these batteries leads me to recommend them. There will no doubt be many frowns regarding my comments here.

jab160 · Senior Member

Ok, have googled here there everywhere and got yes and nos 50/50

have a agm/gel dcdc charger sitting in the shed.question, is it ok to charge lithium ion battery. Any experience out there folks

TravellerBob · Veteran Member

jab160 wrote:
Ok, have googled here there everywhere and got yes and nos 50/50
have a agm/gel dcdc charger sitting in the shed.question, is it ok to charge lithium ion battery. Any experience out there folks

check the specs for the dcdc charger against the charging requirements for the battery.

It will

! undercharge the battery or

2. apply too high a charging voltage to the battery casusing the BMS to shut it down or

3. Work fine

woofta and precious · Senior Member

I have had 2 x Voltax 100ah lifepo4's for about 4 years. Make sure you get the ones that have the 100a continuous draw BMS.
Mine weigh about 11kg each, and have been excellent in the time I've had them.

Brian

TimTim · Senior Member

jab160 wrote:
Ok, have googled here there everywhere and got yes and nos 50/50
have a agm/gel dcdc charger sitting in the shed.question, is it ok to charge lithium ion battery. Any experience out there folks

What is the make and model of your DC/DC charger and the make and model of your battery. You will get yess by people that have done it or know that it can be done and you will get nos by people who have never done it or read that it cant be done. Plus you will get companies saying no it shouldnt be done for the sole purpose of selling their own products.

It all depends on the charging profile of your charger and here is a good article for you to read to help you understand a few things.

https://www.challengebatteries.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Charging-Lithium-Batteries-using-Lead-Acid-Chargers.pdf

Good luck

Tim

-- Edited by TimTim on Monday 26th of February 2024 08:30:41 PM