Community Forums

Zulu Kono · 05-18-2022, 12:20 AM

It's a forgone conclusion I'll be upgrading
to a LiFePO4 battery, but which one?
Personally, I just want the best bang for my buck.
The best quality for the money is my highest priority.
I was seriously considering an SOK, but
after watching the Will Prowse video on the
Weize 100ah, I'm taking a hard look at that.
It's a $399 battery, and you can get a 200ah for $719.
Pretty tempting.
Anybody have experience with these?
Or should I back away from these Chinese products and buck
up the cash for a brand with a customer service department?
What say you?

Starship3858 · 05-18-2022, 01:22 AM

https://057tech.com/products/battery_modules

I run 2 of these. I feel that the price per watt is best here. They pack a punch, and their light weight.

vsheetz · 05-18-2022, 02:14 AM

To design the lithium battery bank one must estimate what charging and discharge rates are needed. And select the capacity and number of batteries accordingly

Batteries of differing capacities typically have similar maximum charge and discharge ratings - per the BMS design. When multiple batteries are connected in parallel these ratings are additive. Creating a battery bank with higher charge and discharge rates than a single battery.

Example. A battery bank of three 100ah capacity batteries may have triple the charge and discharge rates of a single 300ah capacity battery.

Isaac-1 · 05-18-2022, 04:10 AM

The problem with all these Chinese brands like SOK, Weize, etc. is you never know what you are getting inside as the internal design is subject to change without notice, and you never know if that internal quality is going to go up or down. This is why I went middle of the road with a US seller that gets custom made to spec Chinese manufactured batteries, and does their own teardowns on samples of their inventory to confirm they are getting what they spec, and post some videos. The company I picked was Rebel battery, its a small operation out of the Houston, TX area, the owner seems helpful and knowledgeable from my limited contact. The batteries I ended up buying from them last year were discounted, as they did not meet build spec, but were still good, and still had full warranty (label said 150A BMS, really only 100A BMS).

The downside is they are a small mostly 1 man shop, so one has to wonder what the warranty is worth, but I guess that is better than line item on Amazon you can't pronounce with no contact information other than maybe an email.

pvcampbell · 05-18-2022, 08:28 AM

My Battleborns have worked flawlessly for over 3 years, but a lot has changed in that time period. Battleborn sets the standard for service, including offering great advice on everything you need to know to set up their batteries in your RV, including specific settings for most major inverters, chargers, etc.

PJStough · 05-18-2022, 09:25 AM

Last winter I purchased a 300 amp hour Zooms for $998. The BMS allows up to 200 amp draw. It does not have the low temp cutoff, but I dont worry about that a lot as we spend most of late fall, all winter and early spring in Arizona or New Mexico. Also, I have it located in the same compartment as the water pump which has some insulation and is heated when the furnace runs.

So far it has performed just as I would expect. I charge it with 600 watts of solar, and have a 30 amp charger made for LiFePo4 batteries as back up. It is not connected to my alternator. It is charged at a faster rate by the solar than the old lead acid batteries did.

Also, we did come back to Iowa at the end of March this year and we have had a half dozen or so nights below freezing with lows reaching into the mid 20s with no negative effect on the battery and I didnt have the furnace on.

paul65k · 05-18-2022, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pvcampbell

My Battleborns have worked flawlessly for over 3 years, but a lot has changed in that time period. Battleborn sets the standard for service, including offering great advice on everything you need to know to set up their batteries in your RV, including specific settings for most major inverters, chargers, etc.

I agree with this approach completely. When we made our decision almost 3 years ago now when BBs were $950 each (discounted) I did some research and went with Lion Energy UT1300's.

At the time I was able to purchase them at a 25% discount to BB and we eventually grew our bank to 10 of these. They have provided flawless service to us with all the benefits of LiFePO4 and a very competent BMS with high terms and low tem cutoffs.

I have also had superior customer service and engineering support (needed when converting to 24V with such a large system) and like the fact that they are a US based company, although the batteries are produced to their spec in China.

I'm not sure if I would choose them today but at the time they were the only top-tier manufacturer that packed this punch in a GRP24-sized footprint which was absolutely critical to my unique application. (see photo)

PS....Lithium will change your life!!

kcmusa · 05-18-2022, 11:33 AM

I went with
https://aolithium.com/
Will did a report on them.
Bluetooth, low temp cutoff, 200 amp BMS.

Marine359 · 05-18-2022, 12:07 PM

We purchased our BigBattery 170ah 18 months ago for a few reasons.
First and foremost is they are made in the USA (I know all cells made in China), and they have a good customer service department. I was real nervous about buying something that expensive and not be able to call a customer service number, or not be able to get warranty service.

The price/ah was about half of Battleborn. The BMS was robust, it had low temp charging cutoff, and it had a nice case with voltage display, I/O switch, and Andersen terminal. It’s performance so far through about 100 cycles has been superb. I’ve run it down to zero SOC and the low voltage cutoff kicked in. I’ve charged it in outdoor freezing temperatures (I mounted it inside). And it consistently accepts as much charge amperage as I can give it (more than 70 amps). Unlike the other available batteries at the time (under 200ah) the Bigbattery could output a sustained amperage higher than any competitor. Since we bought it, the price has gone up a bit, so we probably won’t buy another one.

Will called it the best thing in his first review. So I bought one. In a subsequent review, he canned it because he got one that had a bad cell after he used it for a while. Bigbattery replaced it immediately, and I believe that can happen to any assembler after the cells have tested to spec.

Persistent · 05-19-2022, 06:20 AM

Add this info to what Will provides.

Lithium Battery Systems
https://marinehowto.com/drop-in-life...ated-consumer/

Zulu Kono · 05-19-2022, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Persistent

Add this info to what Will provides.

Lithium Battery Systems
https://marinehowto.com/drop-in-life...ated-consumer/

Thanks for posting that!
Good info and a link to SunFunKits.com.
Now I'm looking hard at a DIY kit, but even their
pre-assembled batteries seem like a good deal.

hemifoot · 05-19-2022, 08:12 AM

we have a couple Discover g24's for our electric kayaks and will be swapping the 6 volts in the tt as soon as we go pick it up.they are crazy expensive though.i love the bluetooth with them.i can get the discharge rate and the charge state with the app.not too important in the trailer but great for the kayaks.