LifePo4 Charge Performance
Thinking seriously about replacing our two GC2's with a pair of 100ah LifePo4's. Hearing a lot of chatter about how lithiums accept a charge much quicker than lead cells. Very familiar with how ou...
Forum Discussion
theoldwizard1 wrote:
First, understand that LiFePO4 can be discharged much deeper, down to about 10% State of Charge. Therefore, it will take more energy to recharge them.
Second, depending on the brand of LiFePO4 batteies you buy, some do and some don't have built in charge controllers. Reality is, you are going to need a new charger to get optimal performance and life from your batteries.
The new "trend" is to buy individual cells (directly from China; up to 280Ah per cell) and build your one "battery pack". This will save you hundreds of $$$ ! For charging, use a MPPT solar charge controller and connect it to a "dumb" 15V-20V DC power supply.
Since they can be discharged to a recommended 20% (most that I've seen, but not all), it does take longer--but the extra capacity does mean less frequent generator running.
Could you elaborate on "For charging, use a MPPT solar charge controller and connect it to a "dumb" 15V-20V DC power supply."
