LifeBlue vs Relion

[UAV]

Hey All...

Going to be replacing my 330ah 8D AGM with a 300ah 8D Lithium from either LifeBlue or Relion.

Both can handle starting generators, LifeBlue has built in BT while the Relion will need a Smart Shunt to see battery data. Relion has more cold cranking amps. In the end, both are very similar.

Only have room for this in my battery bay so cannot do other options like 4 100ah, etc. Almost went for 2 SOK 206ah but no good for starting a generator as per a SOK dealer.

Just looking for some feedback from owner/users.

I searched for a thread prior to this one to no avail.

Thanks to all that respond.

[cruizerEd]

I have 4 200 AH Lifeblue batteries I bought from starlight solar. I've had them for about 5 years. For four years they have tested out at more than rated capacity when drained at .3C (250A) which is the highest load I can sustain on them. They are installed in the basement area where I have some control over the temperature and they stay clean and dry. I have had no problems and they have been very enabling when off grid. We have spent at least 12 months off grid and these batteries let us microwave, use the induction cooktop, and even wash and dry close with an electric drier not to mention we have a large residential fridge.

Having internal bluetooth BMS like lifeblue lets you check on the voltage and current of each cell and the temperature of each battery. If you I have a battery failure I'm going to know which cell in which batter is bad or which battery has a bad BMS.

I charge them with 2000Watts of solar using BlueSky charge controllers or with my magnum 2800 inverter and the generator. My Blue Sky system includes a bank BMS . A bank BMS can drift off if you don't fully charge the batteries for weeks or months at a time. The Lifeblue BMS seems to be much better at not loosing track of the state of charge than the external bank BMS. That combined with all the data on each battery you can tell the if the lifeblue BMS is drifting way off.

When I'm not off grid I have my solar and inverter/charger maintain the batteries about about 50% SOC. This should help extend the useful life. I have been doing this for about 1 year now and my intern lifeblue BMS seem to have remained fairly well calibrated.

Fee free to message me if you want more info.

[fatsurf]

UAV
In your post you refer to "cold cranking amps" this is a lead acid battery specification not applicable to lifepo. I checked the specs on these batteries and there is no mention of CCA. The reliance specs show peak discharge at 1000 amps for 2 MS (thousandths of a second) this is not CCA and IMHO is not relevant to starting duties.
The lifeBlue battery has a much stronger BMS and should be able to handle starting duties with superior performance. That along with the lower price point and Bluetooth capabilities should make the lifeblue a better battery for RV use.

[UAV]

Originally Posted by fatsurf

UAV
In your post you refer to "cold cranking amps" this is a lead acid battery specification not applicable to lifepo. I checked the specs on these batteries and there is no mention of CCA. The reliance specs show peak discharge at 1000 amps for 2 MS (thousandths of a second) this is not CCA and IMHO is not relevant to starting duties.
The lifeBlue battery has a much stronger BMS and should be able to handle starting duties with superior performance. That along with the lower price point and Bluetooth capabilities should make the lifeblue a better battery for RV use.

I probably used the wrong terminology...I am referring to the battery's ability to start, say, a generator so whatever that is called. Both have the ability as per the manufacturer. LB is a little lower (500 amps for 3 seconds) than Relion (800 amps for 2 seconds) but both have the 450 pulse amps needed to start the Onan 8K Generator.

Amazing how many LifePo batteries are not able to handle this task.

Thanks for the input!

[hclarkx]

If price is not a problem, Lifeblue is definitely a premium unit that is worth the premium price. My experience with the 300 Ah goes back about six years. The only issue I had was a weak bluetooth signal with the BT transmitter eventually dying. The warranty service was superb.

I have moved on from Lifeblue because my battery compartment could not accommodate two 300 Ah Lifeblue units but could accommodate four 200 Ah Calb-based home brew batteries. If I were going with a commercially built LiFePO4 battery again, it would surely be Lifeblue.

[dssl]

Originally Posted by UAV

Almost went for 2 SOK 206ah but no good for starting a generator as per a SOK dealer.

.

I have SOK batteries, and in my research I never saw that as an issue.

The rated specs for each battery is 100 amps discharge and 50 amps charging.

On the SOK forum the moderator who works for SOK says it can charge at 70 amps and discharge at 130 amps without issue., so with 2 in parallel you could discharge 270 amps continuous with a higher peak.

I have 4 of them, and no issues with starting the generator. I have not been to the page recently, but there were lots of folks with two 206 ah batteries, and none of them that I saw had issues with starting the generator.

Do you know how many amps it takes to start your generator? I would be very surprised if 2 SOK 206ah batteries had any issues starting it.

SOK support is by email and they usually get back to you in about a day, not sure what the SOK dealer was talking about.

If you are on Facebook you may want to join the SOK group and explain your issue, complete with your generator model and starter current requirements.