How much heat can a LiFeP04 battery put up with?

[poot_traveller]

On the instruction manual it says don't charge in temperatures exceeding 28C.  But that sounds rather low.

It's coming up to summer here in NZ and it can get up to about that, so the temperature in an enclosed van will peak around 36C -38C.  The thing is I'm at work 5 days a week so I can't be around to keep the doors open to ventilate.

Anyone got any advice?

 

[bullfrog]

Call me crazy but does that mean that they won't take a charge until the temp goes below 82.4 degrees? Could it be that summertime temps could create a situation where they won't be able to charge until they cool at night which would rule out solar charging? I started to wonder about this after I saw a post that said lithium batteries charged best and safest when below 70 degrees. I guess you could have a big enough system to run AC but it sort of sounds like a catch 22 situation.

 

[MotorVation]

This is copied from the Battleborn installation PDF:  (I imagine that other manufacturers have their own parameters programmed into their BMS)

BMS Basic FeaturesAll Battle Born Batteries come with a built-in battery management system (BMS). Our BMS allows us to create one of the safest LiFeP04 batteries on the planet. To help us keep our promise that our batteries will last for 3-5000 cycles, our BMS will put the battery into a protect mode in the event the battery falls outside of one of the following parameters.High voltage: 14.7v-15.0vWill not allow any more current into the battery.Low voltage: 9.0v-10.5vWill not allow a discharge from the battery. (Note: many chargers must detect a voltage over 10v to send a charge to the battery).High temperature: 135F Will not allow a charge or discharge.Low temperature: 25FWill not allow a charge

That said, this has been the hottest October in Florida in 100 years so I've been charging mine every 3 or 4 days but at night. I still have access to shore power. I don't see any point in stressing the batteries if I don't have to. Bad enough they're in the heat all day. I thought it would cool off here sooner..

 

[Gypsy Freedom]

On the instruction manual it says don't charge in temperatures exceeding 28C.  But that sounds rather low.

It's coming up to summer here in NZ and it can get up to about that, so the temperature in an enclosed van will peak around 36C -38C.  The thing is I'm at work 5 days a week so I can't be around to keep the doors open to ventilate.

Anyone got any advice?

that is not indicative of all lifepo4 batteries. what specific battery are we talking about.

also keep in mind, even if the interior of a van reaches 120 f during the day that does not mean all the mass inside the van is going to get that hot as well. if you live in a hot or even warm area. build your rig and battery compartment to off set some of the heat. an insulated battery compartment will help beat the heat tremendously. you could even figure out a simple way to ventilate the battery compartment at night to cool it as much as possible then seal it up for the hot part of the day. if you left a case of beer outside over night then then put it in a decent cooler and left it in a hot van all day. the beer is still going to be a lot cooler than the inside of the van in the heat of the day right?

with any battery lead or lithium, heat sux. do what you can to keep your batteries cool.

LiFeP04 batteries have BMS (Battery Management System) which prevents charging when it it too cold or too hot.

this is wildly misleading and not accurate at all. not even all lifepo4 batteries come with a BMS. not all bms units even have low temp shut down, even fewer have a high temp shut down. so dont fall blindly into thinking everything is ok. read the specs and procedures for the specific battery you have and follow their guidelines. if you have raw cells with no bms, then study up and put together your own BMS based on the cell manufacturers recommendations and guidelines

 

[LoveCareThinkDo]

that is not indicative of all lifepo4 batteries. what specific battery are we talking about.

also keep in mind, even if the interior of a van reaches 120 f during the day that does not mean all the mass inside the van is going to get that hot as well. if you live in a hot or even warm area. build your rig and battery compartment to off set some of the heat. an insulated battery compartment will help beat the heat tremendously. you could even figure out a simple way to ventilate the battery compartment at night to cool it as much as possible then seal it up for the hot part of the day. if you left a case of beer outside over night then then put it in a decent cooler and left it in a hot van all day. the beer is still going to be a lot cooler than the inside of the van in the heat of the day right?

with any battery lead or lithium, heat sux. do what you can to keep your batteries cool.


this is wildly misleading and not accurate at all. not even all lifepo4 batteries come with a BMS. not all bms units even have low temp shut down, even fewer have a high temp shut down. so dont fall blindly into thinking everything is ok. read the specs and procedures for the specific battery you have and follow their guidelines. if you have raw cells with no bms, then study up and put together your own BMS based on the cell manufacturers recommendations and guidelines

Thank you. I'm glad someone called this out. I almost about this forum these days because of all the people who want to appear smart so they say all kinds of stuff that is untrue. I just can't keep up with correcting all of it.

 

[Moby T]

Call the manufacturer of the battery.

 

[poot_traveller]

LiFeP04 batteries have BMS (Battery Management System) which prevents charging when it it too cold or too hot.

I forgot about that. Thanks for reminding me.

 

[poot_traveller]

This is copied from the Battleborn installation PDF:  (I imagine that other manufacturers have their own parameters programmed into their BMS)

BMS Basic FeaturesAll Battle Born Batteries come with a built-in battery management system (BMS). Our BMS allows us to create one of the safest LiFeP04 batteries on the planet. To help us keep our promise that our batteries will last for 3-5000 cycles, our BMS will put the battery into a protect mode in the event the battery falls outside of one of the following parameters.High voltage: 14.7v-15.0vWill not allow any more current into the battery.Low voltage: 9.0v-10.5vWill not allow a discharge from the battery. (Note: many chargers must detect a voltage over 10v to send a charge to the battery).High temperature: 135F Will not allow a charge or discharge.Low temperature: 25FWill not allow a charge

That said, this has been the hottest October in Florida in 100 years so I've been charging mine every 3 or 4 days but at night. I still have access to shore power. I don't see any point in stressing the batteries if I don't have to. Bad enough they're in the heat all day. I thought it would cool off here sooner..

Ah good information, thank you.

 

[poot_traveller]

that is not indicative of all lifepo4 batteries. what specific battery are we talking about.

also keep in mind, even if the interior of a van reaches 120 f during the day that does not mean all the mass inside the van is going to get that hot as well. if you live in a hot or even warm area. build your rig and battery compartment to off set some of the heat. an insulated battery compartment will help beat the heat tremendously. you could even figure out a simple way to ventilate the battery compartment at night to cool it as much as possible then seal it up for the hot part of the day. if you left a case of beer outside over night then then put it in a decent cooler and left it in a hot van all day. the beer is still going to be a lot cooler than the inside of the van in the heat of the day right?

with any battery lead or lithium, heat sux. do what you can to keep your batteries cool.


this is wildly misleading and not accurate at all. not even all lifepo4 batteries come with a BMS. not all bms units even have low temp shut down, even fewer have a high temp shut down. so dont fall blindly into thinking everything is ok. read the specs and procedures for the specific battery you have and follow their guidelines. if you have raw cells with no bms, then study up and put together your own BMS based on the cell manufacturers recommendations and guidelines

Sorry, I misread the battery manual. It says don't put battery into storage in temperatures above 28C. And don't charge the battery in temperatures above 40C.

Yes that is true about different parts of the van being a slightly different temperature. I'm going to test the temperature tomorrow to get a exact reading.

 

[poot_traveller]

Call the manufacturer of the battery.

The only people I can contact are third party sales reps. The manufacturer is a mystery.

 

[Gypsy Freedom]

it would really be helpful if you could tell or show us exactly what battery you are working with.

a picture of the product, a link to buy the product. something

other wise we are just blind guessing.