Wide Spread in LFP Battery Prices

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CharlieO. said:
If I am shopping for a budget Lifepo4 battery what features should I be looking for?
Is it better to get one larger amp hr. battery or get multiple smaller ones?
Click to expand...
:rofl: The new anchor thread.

Your question is simple math answer.
Say you are wanting 200Ah total, then will two 100Ah be less or more than one 200Ah battery of the same brand of course. Get the one that gives you more Ah for the $.
 
CharlieO. said:
If I am shopping for a budget Lifepo4 battery what features should I be looking for?
Is it better to get one larger amp hr. battery or get multiple smaller ones?
Click to expand...

Look for ones that the BMS rating for charge/discharge is going to handle your uses. If in cold weather boating where you might be charging the batteries during times when they are below freezing (the batteries not outside) get ones with low temperature cutoff protection. If you want to be able to see and worry about what they are doing get one with a bluetooth built in. In the 12 months since I got mine that had nither low temp or bluetooth the prices have come down almost to point that doesn't even add much to have those.

The larger ah batteries are a little less $$ than multiple batteries. But multiple batteries are redundant if something happens. And then there is just the physical sizing to consider.
 
There's a lot of info on lifepo brands on this thread, but not on minimum ABYC requirements for the ability to communicate between battery and alarm. I, in no way profess to be a marine Sparky but from what I've read there are minimum requirements for this type of battery.
As far as the BMS is concerned isn't it intended to keep the battery from a runaway / fault issue? All my charging parameters are controlled by my Alternator, Inverter charger and MPPT controller and the BMS is more like a smart fuse. I read somewhere (Rod Collins?) that the ABYC is still working on minimum requirements for these batteries, due to being fairly new to the market. Just suggesting to be aware of your batteries' ability to communicate via hard wire or blue tooth.
Hopefully someone with ABYC knowledge can jump in on this one!!!

Happy new Years and good health!
 
I think SDA, Steve D"Antony Has already spoke and posted on ABYC min standards. There has not been a runaway LifePO4 boat battery. I wish you and others would know that fact.
 
First, there is a lot of confusion and most the negative comments are general 3rd party rumors of past problems when LiFePo4’s were more like science experiments. The changes the industry has gone through in the last year is amazing. One of the best threads to research is LifePo4 as direct replacements. ABYC requirements are well discussed there.

In response to CharlieO, the first thing to check is the BMS in a battery. You don’t want to buy a battery with a 50amp BMS and then hook it to a 100amp charger. Now 2 batteries in parallel with 50amp BMS hooked to a 100amp charger is fine. I still suggest you don’t cheap out on the BMS. My batteries use a 200amp BMS and MY charger puts out 150 amps.

Only the cheapest of the cheap batteries come with out a high temperature sensor so not much issue there.

Low temperature sensors and battery heaters are commonly missing on the lower end batteries. For most of us this is a non issue. PNW waters are 49 degrees and my batteries are safe to -4 degrees. While my batteries have no low temperature sensor or battery heater it’s a total non issue for me. Still, you need to be aware.

I also recommend you buy a battery that has good customer service. How do you know that? I have had good customer service with Eco-worthy, others with LiTime, and some one says they had good luck with Power Queen. There is no need to experiment with a new brand just to save $5.

In sizing a battery. Most if not all manufacturers recommend no more than 4 batteries in parallel. So, I wouldn’t buy 100ah batteries if you are building a 600ah bank.
 
Last edited:
J.T kearney said:
There's a lot of info on lifepo brands on this thread, but not on minimum ABYC requirements for the ability to communicate between battery and alarm. I, in no way profess to be a marine Sparky but from what I've read there are minimum requirements for this type of battery.
As far as the BMS is concerned isn't it intended to keep the battery from a runaway / fault issue? All my charging parameters are controlled by my Alternator, Inverter charger and MPPT controller and the BMS is more like a smart fuse. I read somewhere (Rod Collins?) that the ABYC is still working on minimum requirements for these batteries, due to being fairly new to the market. Just suggesting to be aware of your batteries' ability to communicate via hard wire or blue tooth.
Hopefully someone with ABYC knowledge can jump in on this one!!!

Happy new Years and good health!
Click to expand...




Here is a thread on the ABYC standard https://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1139908&postcount=1
 
Steve K
OUCH!!!!
Sorry I missed that post from a year ago!
I'm just saying that these batteries are new to the marine masses and ABYC is probably still in the process of developing protocols.
J.T.
 
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