Li batteries at 48vdc
After much deliberation and questions, I'll likely be purchasing the 48v Lithium battery pack instead of 4-12v. I liked the idea of 12v batteries for weight and ease of handling, but the possible cel...
Forum Discussion
pianotuna wrote:
Hi Searching,
Don't forget that flooded lead acid jars used to be used for welding.
Sorry to hear about the salesman hype, particularly on number of cycles.
Does that hype include the energy density?
Flooded lead acid batteries have delivered predictably and reliably for years. Treat them the way they need to be treated and they deliver as advertised. They definitely leave a bunch to be desired though.
As for energy density on the assorted lithium batteries variations, the ones I've dealt with tend to deliver as advertised energy wise, it's just the time cycle degradation thing where they tend to not meet the hype. That said, I don't think the batteries are bad, and they tend to do better than flooded lead acid other than a cost per delivered watt basis. I still think they are a good choice for an RV if you understand the risks associated and take the appropriate steps to mitigate, and as long as you are realistic with your expectations of service life.
As for life cycle, a big part of the issue is the lack of standards. Mil spec generally considers a battery expended when it can only deliver 80 percent of original capacity spec as determined by an actual capacity test. With lithium, you often see them using 70 percent, 60 percent or even less, which makes comparisons to other batteries that have used the 80 percent standard an apples to oranges type of thing. When I was trying to look up the specs on the new Chevy Bolt battery pack it appears they consider a battery having anything over 60 percent of the original capacity to still be serviceable.
