Lithium experts out there...

[Peavy]

Hi folks,
As others here, I'm considering upgrading two 100Ah AGM batteries to a single 200Ah lithium battery.
Normal use would be fridge, heater, lights, water pump, etc. (no inverter, no TV, with 155W from solar).
Is this LiFePO4 battery any good, based on this data sheet and performance characteristics?
I appreciate the experts advice here.
Thank you!

 

[Guigsy]

I'd like to see low temperature protection. You want the BMS to prevent charging when it gets close to 0°C.

 

[Two on Tour]

One thing I don't like are the BMS cut-off voltages.
The cell voltages should be a minimum of 2.5v and a max of 3.65v for LifePo4 not 2.2v and 3.9v.

 

[St3v3]

Heaters are becoming pretty standard in lithium batteries now, but that doesn't seem to have one. That might put me off but depends on your use I suppose.

 

[suavecarve]

How much electric (amps wise) will your fridge take from you in a day ?

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[GMLS]

What warranty are they offering?. You can get between 7 and 10 pretty easily now and at a decent price point e.g Fogstar. I see you are in Spain and guess looking for a local option but should be part of your decision making as a reasonable investment.

 

[Pausim]

I have had a Lipo battery for 6 years and have never found the need for a heated battery. A low temperature charge cut off is a good idea but if the van is in use the battery is likely to be above freezing.

 

[Peavy]

I'd like to see low temperature protection. You want the BMS to prevent charging when it gets close to 0°C.

I see there's it's just the high temperature cut-off, not the low.
I'd have to ask for that (why wouldn't it show up there?)

 

[Peavy]

One thing I don't like are the BMS cut-off voltages.
The cell voltages should be a minimum of 2.5v and a max of 3.65v for LifePo4 not 2.2v and 3.9v.

How do you calculate those values? I can't see them in the datasheet...

 

[Peavy]

Heaters are becoming pretty standard in lithium batteries now, but that doesn't seem to have one. That might put me off but depends on your use I suppose.

Looks like it doesn't come with a heater...

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[Peavy]

How much electric (amps wise) will your fridge take from you in a day ?

0,45 kWh/24h, so 37,5Ah/24h if I did the math right

 

[MisterB]

do you live in spain or just visiting? that could influence your decision ...

 

[Peavy]

What warranty are they offering?. You can get between 7 and 10 pretty easily now and at a decent price point e.g Fogstar. I see you are in Spain and guess looking for a local option but should be part of your decision making as a reasonable investment.

3 years is standard in EU, but batteries are consumables, so... that might be limited, I'll ask the dealer about that.

 

[Peavy]

do you live in spain or just visiting? that could influence your decision ...

I'm local.
That is the battery that the dealership where I bought the van offers as a lithium solution.
I see that from what the experts on the subject here are saying, it is a rather low-ranking product.

 

[MisterB]

what price is it? length of guarantee?

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[Two on Tour]

How do you calculate those values? I can't see them in the datasheet...

The voltages are for individual cells within the battery.
The data sheet states that the battery is a 4s/20p (80 cells) four lots of 20 cells in parallel and then the four lots in parallel are joined together in series to give you a 12.8v battery and each cell has a nominal voltage of 3.2 volt.

 

[suavecarve]

0,45 kWh/24h, so 37,5Ah/24h if I did the math right

With your limited other usage you should be good for 4 days of minimal solar input to charge up your battery.
I d be tempted to with what youve got and have a ready made B plan of an extra 100-120 watts of solar which you can put out facing the sun for the less productive winter sun. And/or be prepared to pay for some electric recharge.

 

[AdrianChen]

May be good quality cells and bms but intended for fully managed systems, such as Victron with external controls etc. Unless you have that sort of functionality in your present charging and monitoring system I would go for a battery with a more full featured BMS with bluetooth coms/app so you can keep an eye on it all. This years been mild so far, but our battery has been below 5degrees C on 3-4 days whilst in storage, so again if the battery will be in an unheated area then one with a built in heater is a good thing to have especially if any solar you have will just start up when the sun comes up (if it ever does). Also worth checking that your current chargers (Mains, Solar and B2B) have suitable Lithium settings for whatever battery you choose - Some battery spec sheets suggest a very wide range for charge voltages etc, I think to give the appearance they are suitable for virtually any installation, and perhaps they rely on the battery BMS to stop any overcharge. That's not the best policy in my humble opinion.

 

[Peavy]

worth checking that your current chargers (Mains, Solar and B2B) have suitable Lithium settings for whatever battery you choose

New van, with Schaudt EBL and B2B ready for Lithium (even control pannel has a setting between AGM/Lithium to display the right % charge), so it should be ok

 

[Peavy]

what price is it? length of guarantee?

Price around 1000€, guarantee would be 3 year EU standard, but batteries should be different as being a consumables (so not standard 3 yr).
How does guarantee policy work in the UK for batteries?

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[MisterB]

Price around 1000€, guarantee would be 3 year EU standard, but batteries should be different as being a consumables (so not standard 3 yr).
How does guarantee policy work in the UK for batteries?

Have a look at some UK suppliers. Fogstar, KS Energy, Roamer. I think they all offer long guarantees of around ten years at reasonable prices ...

 

[MisterB]

Price around 1000€, guarantee would be 3 year EU standard, but batteries should be different as being a consumables (so not standard 3 yr).
How does guarantee policy work in the UK for batteries?

if youre in no rush, perhaps it might be worth you making a trip back to the UK? if theres a big enough saving, you might get a trip back to blighty to see family/friends - assuming you are originally from the Brittanic Empire ....

 

[Lenny HB]

Price around 1000€, guarantee would be 3 year EU standard, but batteries should be different as being a consumables (so not standard 3 yr).
How does guarantee policy work in the UK for batteries?

Expensive for a poor spec.
A Fogstar 230ah is £700 if you buy from Off the Grid Power Solutions, Funsters get a 10% discount.

 

[Peavy]

if youre in no rush, perhaps it might be worth you making a trip back to the UK? if theres a big enough saving, you might get a trip back to blighty to see family/friends - assuming you are originally from the Brittanic Empire ....

Actually I'm Spanish
I checked the website and must say those Fogstar are looking very good indeed.
We should do the other way around and one of you would be so kind as to bring a battery on the next raid down here

 

[Two on Tour]

We are heading in your direction towards the end of January and would happily bring a battery to you if you buy it and had it delivered to me prior to us leaving for Spain.

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[Peavy]

Expensive for a poor spec.
A Fogstar 230ah is £700 if you buy from Off the Grid Power Solutions, Funsters get a 10% discount.

I wish they shipped down here, but I don't think so, that would be painfully expensive.
Sadly they're not in Amazon either, I guess they just sell in their website.
The one for under the seat looks great never saw anything like that.
Disadvantages of being a foreign funster

 

[Peavy]

We are heading in your direction towards the end of January and would happily bring a battery to you if you have it bought and had it delivered to me prior to us leaving for Spain.

I was joking. But that's very kind of you.
Maybe I'll have a thought about it and let you know.
Thank you.

 

[Two on Tour]

I was joking. But that's very kind of you.
Maybe I'll have a though about it and let you know.
Thank you.

The offer is there if you want to take me up on it.

 

[Dee101]

Expensive for a poor spec.
A Fogstar 230ah is £700 if you buy from Off the Grid Power Solutions, Funsters get a 10% discount.

Hi Lenny, what’s the website for that please? Nothing comes up on Google…

 

[Two on Tour]

Hi Lenny, what’s the website for that please? Nothing comes up on Google…

Does for me.

Broken Link Removed

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