PerryB67 wrote:
We live in Minnesota, not NV or AZ. When I was looking at batteries the end of last January, Battleborn had not yet officially released their heated battery. Since I don't want to babysit a battery, want to be able to use the battery at less than 0 F (-15 F two years ago), and want a BMS to stop charging below freezing from happening, I didn't buy a LiFePO4, because after having a long phone discussion with Battleborn they didn't feel their battery would meet our needs.
Whom am I going to believe? Battleborn said "no" concerning their battery and our use in a much colder climate than those in NV or AZ. Both Will Prowse and Solar Engineering were disappointed the Enjoybot didn't have low temperature shutoff and didn't exactly give a glowing recommendation. That's why I said "No Thanks!" However, I was specifically talking about the Enjoybot battery, not LiFePO4 in general. Jeez!
Since we purchased our SiO2/lead crystal batteries, switchable heated batteries have become available. If purchasing now we have the discretionary money to buy a heated Battleborn with a switch to turn on the heat that will meet our cold weather requirements. However, we're extremely happy with our SiO2 batteries and will just have to wait until they fail.
When our new SiO2 batteries arrived in early February I pulled the two reverse polarity fuses for the WFCO, and haven't used any charger since installation. The SiO2 batteries get to 100% charge faster than any of our previous AGMs. We are low amp hour campers though. I ass u me that the LiFePO4 batteries will charge as well as our SiO2's have. ;)
Enjoy,
Perry
Congrats on your SiQ2 choice :) It’s good to know they are meeting your expectations, and possibly a great match for others..
As far as BB is concerned, “after having a long phone discussion with Battleborn they didn't feel their battery would meet our needs.”, I can only offer an anecdotal response, nor do I have any intention whatsoever of bashing what’s their assuredly good product!
But I sometimes wonder how often these techie guys actually spend time doing off-grid harvesting and charging with various mfg’s devices?? - they are paid to furnish an opinion (like economist…), but my admitted sheer guess here is, not too many…Either way, my guiding principle has always been “YOU are your own BEST Expert” which when coupled with research (and some critical discernment…) will tend over time to serve one well - and I don’t mind saying that over the years I’ve gained a bunch of knowledge from other experienced members on THIS very Forum…FWIW, there are strategies for using LFP in cold weather, but then that’s a different conversation…
3 tons
