SiO2 batteries - opinions?
I’m looking to replace my bank of 4 Trojan T-125’s this spring, and was researching various solutions. I was verging towards AGM (FullRiver DC215-12) 12v units to a total of roughly 600 ah (300 usable...
Forum Discussion
pnichols wrote:
This Firefly battery looks to me to be very, very close to (if not superior to) an SiO2 battery for RV use. Boy, I'd love to have a couple of these paralleled under the step in our Class C. Their depth of discharge performance would make a couple of them about equivalent in useful amp hours to four liquid acid or AGM 12V batteries of equivalent physical size (the 6 year warranty is great, too): http://azimuthsolar.ca/product/firefly-oasis-12v-g31/
I like the Carbon Foam too. Can't find the details now, but I think you can charge them at high rates (50A?). Apparently they accept current at higher rates than some AGMs.
Coastal Climate Firefly blog
Having a high charge rate, especially late in the charge cycle, is something that LiFePO4 has and is something I would really like for our Solar only system. Right now we're reaching absorb setpoint V by noon and then everything slows down. If there's a heavy load late in the afternoon, there's a good chance the FLA batts will not be fully charged before sunset.
It looks like the SiO2 batts can only be charged at a max of 0.2 CA or 20A for 100Ah battery. Takes quite a while to get them to full charge. So I would exclude them for that reason alone.
The Carbon Foam capacity does slowly decline with multiple deep PSOC, but they can apparently be completely restored with a single full charge/ deep discharge to 10.5V/ full charge cycle. I would have to take them off-line to get them down to that 10.5V, but our usage is such that it would only have to be done a couple of times a year.
Another negative for Carbon Foam is that they are quite heavy.
