Another Lithium Ion batteries question

Is this a 400 amp-hour cell at 3.4 V or is it a 400 amp-hour 12 V nominal battery. Just as one poster states that he has a bunch of 6V's for 740 Amp-hours. Is this 740 A-hrs at 6 V or is it 12 V equivalent. It is often simpler to compare the energy storage in W-hrs since it doesn't matter what the voltage is of the battery. bank.

Reed and Elaine

Hi mena,

Yes, but I want 400 usable amp-hours--just as I had when my "house" battery bank was 5 years newer. Cold weather use is an issue, even for storage. It is beginning to appear that LI won't "play well" with solar which is almost always a trickle charge situation.

Cost at one site was $6300.xx for 380 amp-hours. For that price I could go AGM and redo my solar, too.

My brother managed to destroy his Shorai LI motorcycle battery. They suggested recharging every six months. I don't know how he was accomplishing that.

mena661 wrote:
PT, indeed because of the very flat discharge curve, you don't really need the same amount of amp-hours. Voltage drop under even heavy loads is minimal as long as you are not on the low or high "knees". Oh and apparently, in the real world, self-discharge on these "not measurable" according to the people at DIY EV forums.

free radical wrote:


Quote from the above site

... any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

I love these waivers. In case you don't know, merchantability is the very a thing a product is normally intended to do. If your battery doesn't store energy you have no claim.

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

They list a 400 amp-hour battery. That would be all I would need. However, they don't list the price.

PT, indeed because of the very flat discharge curve, you don't really need the same amount of amp-hours. Voltage drop under even heavy loads is minimal as long as you are not on the low or high "knees". Oh and apparently, in the real world, self-discharge on these "not measurable" according to the people at DIY EV forums.

Here's a couple sources for LI batteries.

http://genasun.com/products-store/lithium-battery-systems/

http://www.lithionicsbattery.com/rv.html

Here's another supplier of ready-to-go LI batteries with some in automotive sizes. So far I can't find anything in writing about their prices or warranties (without calling them). Their 138 amp hour U27-12XP product looks like it might be a good fit for many 12V RV applications - notice it's great energy density spec. Click on their product data chart at the lower left in this link:

https://www.valence.com/products/

Hi,

They list a 400 amp-hour battery. That would be all I would need. However, they don't list the price.

Those starkpower batts look good.

pnichols wrote:
Thanks much for the link to StarkPower lithium deep cycle batteries! I hadn't run across them in my research.

I'd sure like to tuck a couple of these under the step in our Itasca:

https://store.starkpower.com/12V-125AhStarkPower-UltraEnergy-Lithium-Ion-Battery-LiFePO-Energy-Storage-Battery_p_65.html

Nice specs,,but just a bit too pricey
And if something goes wrong,it would be hard to prove its not your fault

Quote from the above site

Warranty: 1 year StarkPower Inc warrants only to the original purchaser of this product that this product is free of defects in material and workmanship for 1 year from time of purchase as indicated on the receipt or invoice. This product will be replaced within the 1 year period as long as the buyer contacts StarkPower within this time period (by telephone or email communication).
This warranty does NOT cover damage to the product caused by abuse or neglect, modification by tampering with the product casing, failure to keep the battery properly charged or maintained, disposal in a fire, freezing, theft, overcharging, or other forms of damage. This warranty shall be in lieu of any other warranty, express or implied, including but not limited to, any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Thanks much for the link to StarkPower lithium deep cycle batteries! I hadn't run across them in my research.

I'd sure like to tuck a couple of these under the step in our Itasca:

https://store.starkpower.com/12V-125AhStarkPower-UltraEnergy-Lithium-Ion-Battery-LiFePO-Energy-Storage-Battery_p_65.html

pnichols wrote:

RambleOnNW wrote:
The lithiumion-batteries.com link when clicked says "Account has been suspended". On further edit their Better Business Bureau rating is F. The complaints show they have been failing to deliver product.

...
I've been watching this company for a couple of years now.
...


"Smart Battery Lithium Ion Batteries need to reach between 14.4V and 14.6V during charging to reach a full charge. If your charger voltage is much higher than this and cannot be programmed to a lower voltage it is not recommended for use with our batteries. If the voltage is much lower this is OK to use with our batteries. Depending on how much lower the voltage is it may not fully charge the Smart Battery Lithium Ion Battery. A good range to keep within is 14.0V - 14.8V this will average 85% - 100% charged."

I have been watching Smart Battery for some time also and note that their price for a 100AH Group 31 replacement has not changed in that time from $1299. Given that they have a BBB rating of F and the latest BBB reviews indicate customers have had difficulty actually receiving the product causes me to look elsewhere.

StarkPower.com Deep Cycle batteries look equivalent and charge less, $899 for a 100AH Group 31 replacement.

Their charging guidelines are different than Smart Battery. They are drop-in replacements but for maximum battery life they recommend a specialized Lithium charger.
Their guidelines include: "It is best for the "UltraEnergy" battery not to be trickle charged but to use advance chargers that turns OFF charging current when the battery is completely charged at 14.6V." The charger they recommend is the Progressive Dynamics series of Lithium Ion chargers: PD9100L.

$899 is getting into the affordable range given how much longer they will last, 2000 recharges vs 400 for the AGM batteries we currently have. When the AGM batteries expire we will definitely be looking at the Starkpower Lithium batteries and a Progressive Dynamics PD9100L.

The one thing I would like to see is a warranty longer than 1 year.