Ultra-Capacity Lithium Batteries

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Here is the LiFePo4 battery I have been using. It has worked perfectly, my only complaint is the weird hard to find screw terminal size/thread pitch. I wanted to swap the screws for studs but could not find that size/thread pitch anywhere. $750 for a 100AH LiFePo4 seems like a good deal.
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EBAY LINK $750
 

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Itripper said:
Here is the LiFePo4 battery I have been using. It has worked perfectly, my only complaint is the weird hard to find screw terminal size/thread pitch. I wanted to swap the screws for studs but could not find that size/thread pitch anywhere. $750 for a 100AH LiFePo4 seems like a good deal.
Click to expand...

All LiFePO4 cells I know of use standard metric hardware. 8mm on Calb 100 Ah cells, 12mm on Winston 260 Ah cells. 8mm is just over 5/16 inch, 12mm is a little under 1/2 inch.

$750 is a good deal for 100 Ah 13V LiFePO4 with BMS, if the BMS is good and correct for your usage. I still would not treat them as lead-acid.
 
Thanks all for the info, especially the video link which links to that person's other videos which also are helpful. Looks like he's an electrician living in a car! I'll keep studying this. The 44% power loss charging either way is very concerning. Wonder why they used PWM instead of MPPT.
 
Itripper...

I paid $1850 for 12v 400ah battery system. 750 for 100ah seem high to me. 750x4 would be $3,000. I would expect the price point to be closer to $500 for 100ah
 
For small banks it's the shipping can kill you, if they do it legally, it's hazmat.

Secondhand can pay off, but obviously only from guaranteed source and only if you're set up to test thoroughly
 
750 is very good for a 12.8 volt lifepo4, battleborn is in the 900 dollar range, smartbattery is 1300. And then you got the 100 ah goalzero which are all over a 1000 for 11.1 volt batteries. When you reach the 100 ah range you are talking ultra capacity.
If you can charge them properly lithium is perfect for solar, you don't have to fully charge them every day, never need maintenance, you can drain them all the way down. Less than 1/2 the weight. Many advantages.
 
VanKitten said:
Itripper...

  I paid $1850 for 12v 400ah battery system.  750 for 100ah seem high to me.  750x4 would be $3,000.     I would expect the price point to be closer to $500 for 100ah
Click to expand...

This battery was an experiment for me, I needed it for several different uses. I am now only using it for the RV. Since my whole solar system is home built by me, I wanted to be sure it would work well with lithium without frying it.  I figure if the system makes it to the 2 year mark with no problems then I may get a larger battery.
 
Just for comparison and education purposes:

Ryobi One+ series LI tool battery packs, nominal 18V

The largest P108 model (2-pack P122) is 4AH

internally composed of 2 strings of 5 (5s2p)

Samsung INR18650-20Q 18650 style NMC cylindrical cells

at 3.7V, capacity is 2000mAH or 2AH = 5.4wH each

so each series string of 5 gets up to 18.5V, same 2AH but now 37wH

paralleled same voltage, but now 4AH and 74wH, which at 12V is a bit over 6AH

Each pack weighs 1lb 9.2oz / 720g 

These are around $50 each at Home Depot, 90 day return/exchange policy, one year guarantee from Ryobi, can get a 3 year extended from HD.

The fact that these are NMC rather than LFP means much greater energy density AH per pound, much shorter life, and if you mess around with DIY, danger of not just electric shock but thermal runaway.

If you try to buy just the bare cells, by the time you deal with shipping it will likely be much more expensive. Not to mention the risk of substandard quality (lots of counterfeits and factory rejects out there), usually guarantees from such suppliers are pretty worthless.
 
I would stay away from the ryobi battery packs, I bought 5 of those a while back to recycle the batteries and all the batteries where damaged or low voltage, maybe 10 (out of 50 cells) where usable but had less then 1000 mah of power (good for flashlights). I don't try to recycle powertool battery packs anymore, I learned my lesson.

I bought them used but I was sure they would be like laptop batteries where 1 or 2 batteries are bad and the rest can be reused. I think the bms on those battery packs aren't getting the job done. Many of the batteries had signs of overheating some where vented and a few were cracked. But I didnt see any fire damage etc.

I read some of the tests the companies make on some power tool lithium batteries, dropping from 3 feet, connecting a wire from the positive to the negative and shorting them out for 10 minutes, also they connect the cell (max voltage 4.2 volts) to a charger and charge for 2 hours at 20 volts/20 amps, they then reverse charge at 10 amps for 2 hours, and finally they put in an oven for 10 minutes at 300 degrees. As long as they don't explode/catch on fire they pass the test.

The best ultra capacity lithium battery pack is the one you can fast charge. Even the goal zeros you can't fast charge. Thats one of the best selling points of lithiums is the ability to fast charge.
 
First off, lets be clear that "lithium battery" covers dozens of different chemistries, all with wildly different voltages, CAR, cycle lifetimes, fire risks etc.

Ryobi, and I believe most tool mfg, are using NMC specifically.

Totally different from LFP.

Second point, salvaging old batteries from discarded non-working packs, welding your own high-AH packs yourself is IMO a fool's game, my time is worth more than that. Some hobbyists might like the challenge, me I just don't get it.

And nothing can be said about the quality of such a product by looking at examples after their 300 cycle lifetime is over and they've been discarded.

Spend $50 on a brand new pack, not online but straight from Home Depot, then do your testing, a 20-hour load test on the whole pack for AH, then break it up if you want to see how balanced the 5 cells are.

And that's a very cheap but reliable way to get a top source of quality brand new cells if you want to play at that level.

If you get them from an online source that Ryobi doesn't honor the guarantee, best to assume they're counterfeit.
 
kllcbosmetris said:
How much is Kodiak worth in your opinion? With all the components it has or might have. What is the min. or max. you'd be willing to pay for that small set up in a box.
Click to expand...

I would only give value to

the battery based on AH capacity, chemistry type - and **only** if replaceable, suitable batts readily available if the company goes away or discontinues.

the box and ports

Zero value for the charging / regulation or the inverter

unless they somehow exactly matched a specific use case and I would buy the same specs anyway - very unlikely, and of course whatever they include longevity and build quality is unkown, features substandard as with anything included in a kit.

Feel the same way about solar, free controller included with panels is irrelevant, panels have to carry all the value and I get ticked off they don't just sell them on their own take $10 off the price.
 
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