New Fogstar battery, what do I need to check before it is fitted?

[Ian_H]

Hi All
Yesterday I received my new fogstar 230Ah underseat battery, which will be fitted by a professional along with solar. I also have a new victron bluesmart 30A mains charger, which will be part of the changes. On delivery the fogstar app was showing around 84Ah capacity, after charging overnight with the victron in a cold garage it is showing 228.4/230Ah. The cell voltage spread is about 0.04V.
I have 2 questions:
Are these numbers good or bad?
Should I discharge it somewhat as it will be nearly 3 months before it is fitted?
And a supplementary question:
Do other funsters routinely charge their batteries to 100% (by mains solar or b2b), as I have got the impression that this adversely affects battery life? I am assuming victron solar and mains chargers could be set up to not charge to 100%.

 

[Lenny HB]

If leaving it for a few months best to discharge it to 50 to 80%. The cell balance will get better after a few charges.

When in use charging to 100% is not a problem as you will be discharging it almost straight away.
If you were to keep it at 100% all the time it might shorten the life by two or three years so may only last 15 years.

 

[Dolmen]

Hi All
Yesterday I received my new fogstar 230Ah underseat battery, which will be fitted by a professional along with solar. I also have a new victron bluesmart 30A mains charger, which will be part of the changes. On delivery the fogstar app was showing around 84Ah capacity, after charging overnight with the victron in a cold garage it is showing 228.4/230Ah. The cell voltage spread is about 0.04V.
I have 2 questions:
Are these numbers good or bad?
Should I discharge it somewhat as it will be nearly 3 months before it is fitted?
And a supplementary question:
Do other funsters routinely charge their batteries to 100% (by mains solar or b2b), as I have got the impression that this adversely affects battery life? I am assuming victron solar and mains chargers could be set up to not charge to 100%.

I have a 230ah under seat Lithium and it is usually at 100% when I put the van in storage (by way of the btob on the drive home), never given a second thought to trying to partially discharge first, not saying I am right just that you asked what others do. Being 100% when it goes into storage also means the cab battery would be maintained by the Lithium battery for as long as would ever be required

 

[Ian_H]

If leaving it for a few months best to discharge it to 50 to 80%. The cell balance will get better after a few charges.

When in use charging to 100% is not a problem as you will be discharging it almost straight away.
If you were to keep it at 100% all the time it might shorten the life by two or three years so may only last 15 years.

Thanks Lenny. What would you say is a good voltage spread, and what should I be looking to check out? I have got a 2A active balancer with it, will be asking Fogstar how to use it tomorrow cos there's no instructions!

 

[Ian_H]

I have a 230ah under seat Lithium and it is usually at 100% when I put the van in storage (by way of the btob on the drive home), never given a second thought to trying to partially discharge first, not saying I am right just that you asked what others do. Being 100% when it goes into storage also means the cab battery would be maintained by the Lithium battery for as long as would ever be required

Hi Dolmen
Yes I'm interested in what others do. Trouble is we won't know for 5-10 years if we are doing it wrong!

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[Lenny HB]

Thanks Lenny. What would you say is a good voltage spread, and what should I be looking to check out? I have got a 2A active balancer with it, will be asking Fogstar how to use it tomorrow cos there's no instructions!

Below 10mv is OK I think but the lower the better. The one I fitted in Tam's van after a few charges it came down to between 0 and 1mv.

Raul is the man to ask.

 

[Speve]

I have a 300a fogstar drift pro and the app tells you if storing if you turn of the charging and discharge modes in the app it will go into storage mode automatically
Ian_H here’s the second page of data sheet which may help.

 

[Gaston aires]

I have a Fogstar drift 230 AH underseat battery. It’s important to keep the app on both charge and discharge. That should help keep up the correct regime.
Very pleased with ours. Phil

 

[Speve]

I have just read this so please be aware if your battery is not Drift Pro.
taken from Fogstar Q&A.
The Drift and Drift PRO leisure batteries also have contain different BMS. It is important not to connect these together in any circumstance.

 

[Ian_H]

I have a 300a fogstar drift pro and the app tells you if storing if you turn of the charging and discharge modes in the app it will go into storage mode automatically
Ian_H here’s the second page of data sheet which may help.
View attachment 828941

Thanks for that. The underseat battery now also comes with a physical discharge switch. Guess who spent 5 minutes measuring a voltage of 1V across the terminals and wondering why the app was reading 13.2V, before trying the switch

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[Speve]

Thanks Lenny. What would you say is a good voltage spread, and what should I be looking to check out? I have got a 2A active balancer with it, will be asking Fogstar how to use it tomorrow cos there's no instructions!

Here you go

 

[WESTY66]

I have just read this so please be aware if your battery is not Drift Pro.
taken from Fogstar Q&A.
The Drift and Drift PRO leisure batteries also have contain different BMS. It is important not to connect these together in any circumstance.

What’s the difference in the drift and drift pro, other than price?
It’s an electrical question, please use small words

 

[Lenny HB]

What’s the difference in the drift and drift pro, other than price?
It’s an electrical question, please use small words

Loads of money.

300 amp BMS against 200 amp,
Serviceable metal case,
RS485/CAN inputs,
On/off switch,
Balancer input on all the range.

 

[WESTY66]

Loads of money.

300 amp BMS against 200 amp,
Serviceable metal case,
RS485/CAN inputs,
On/off switch,
Balancer input on all the range.

Worth the extra money??

I can get a 300 on its side in my small battery compartment

 

[tkk]

Just an aside from this; does anyone/everyone look at the advanced settings in the app before using it?

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[Lenny HB]

Worth the extra money??

I can get a 300 on its side in my small battery compartment

Probably not worth the extra, you might find their underseat battery will fit better.
I think you have space for 3 x 80 ah gels so might get two in.
For the Compactline we are getting it only has space for 2 x 80ah and you can get one undrseat 230ah in.

 

[Ian_H]

Here you go
View attachment 828972

Thanks, but it doesn't really say what you look for before using, or what you should expect to see after......

 

[Ian_H]

Loads of money.

300 amp BMS against 200 amp,
Serviceable metal case,
RS485/CAN inputs,
On/off switch,
Balancer input on all the range.

The drift underseat 230Ah now has an on/off switch, a screwed down metal case, and balancer socket.

 

[Ian_H]

Just an aside from this; does anyone/everyone look at the advanced settings in the app before using it?

Haven't dared yet, would ask fogstar first time, don't want to risk any warranty issues!

 

[tkk]

Haven't dared yet, would ask fogstar first time, don't want to risk any warranty issues!

I don’t think that’s a problem if you don’t change anything

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[Speve]

Probably not worth the extra, you might find their underseat battery will fit better.
I think you have space for 3 x 80 ah gels so might get two in.
For the Compactline we are getting it only has space for 2 x 80ah and you can get one undrseat 230ah in.

I’m surprised you are not going lithium in your new van Lenny

 

[Lenny HB]

I’m surprised you are not going lithium in your new van Lenny

I'm planning to fit at least 460 ah of lithium.
I think you miss read that, I was talking about the size of the battery boxes sized to fit Gels and how much lithium you can get in the space.

 

[Steve and Denise]

Worth the extra money??

I can get a 300 on its side in my small battery compartment

I put a 300ah in ours and never run low but still have a gas fridge, it really was a game changer compared to the shity Exide that comes standard with Carthago.