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ouR escaPOD mods

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StephenH View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote StephenH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: ouR escaPOD mods
    Posted: 17 Jul 2021 at 4:45pm
From the manual:

Product Introduction

LiFePO4 Battery 12.8V  200AH
Nominal Voltage 12.8V
Charge Voltage 14.2V-14.6V
Cycle Life >2000 cycles at 100% DoD up to 5000 cycles at 80% DoD
Weight 22.2±1KG/48.9LB
Energy 2560WH
Max Continuous
Charging Current 100A
Max Continuous
Discharging Current 200A
Max Load/
Inverter Power 200W
Operating
Temperature Range Charge 0°C~50°C (32°F~122°F)
Discharge -20°C~60°C (-4°F~140°F) 
Storage -10°C~50°C (14°F~122°F)
Dimenstion 522*240*218mm
20.5*9.4*8.5 inch

Hope this will answer your questions.
StephenH
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ouR escaPOD mods
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fwunder View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote fwunder Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Jul 2021 at 5:20pm
Stephen, I really am not up to snuff on LiFePO4 Batteries. What makes Battleborns soooo much more expensive and do you think they are worth it. I know that's a rhetorical question since you didn't buy them, but what's your opinion?

fred
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StephenH View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote StephenH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Jul 2021 at 6:50pm
The thing that can make the decision to purchase Battle Born battery is that it is a US company. Therefore, warranty issues are likely to be addressed more quickly. When it comes down to it, I believe the cells for both are likely made in China as there are no US LiFePO4 cell makers that I could find. What you pay for with Battle Born is the name, reputation, and post-sale service. I spent less money, but I am taking the risk that if something goes wrong, that I may or may not be able to get service. There is a US contact, JITA-US@outlook.com. However, whether that is a reliable contact remains to be seen. The manual lists the following for contact information:

Manufacture: Shenzhen Lijingte Technology Co., Ltd
Address: 5th Floor, Shangpinju, Xinfu Harbor, Baoan District, Shenzhen
Telephone: +86-0769-81238456
Zip code: 518100

Anyway, it is too soon to give an objective evaluation. I'll know more after I get the initial deep discharge and full charge cycle. The manual says that there is an after-sales service center in California, but it does not give that address or any other contact information other than the outlook email address.

StephenH
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ouR escaPOD mods
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GlueGuy View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote GlueGuy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Jul 2021 at 10:35am
FWIW, I have been looking at LiFePo batteries for a little while, and Shenzhen is just about one of the largest makers on the planet. It may just end up being the battery we choose if (when?) we decide to switch over.
bp
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Post Options Post Options   Quote offgrid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Jul 2021 at 11:03am
Up till recently the lowest cost way to get a lot of Li battery capacity has been to buy salvage battery modules from wrecked EV's. Good 5.2kwh Tesla battery modules go for around $1300 so about $250/kwh.

But StephenH's new battery cost just over $300/kwh. Considering that with the EV modules you have to buy and configure a BMS as well as convert to a higher voltage I think the new 12V Chinese battery route is the way to go, unless perhaps you really want to go to a higher voltage anyway (which you would probably want to do if you started running heavier loads like the a/c).

Battleborn at $750/kwh isn't even in the running. I can't see their business model being viable much longer, so folks considering then because of potentially better post sales support should consider the possibility that the company might not be around long term.

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Post Options Post Options   Quote fwunder Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Jul 2021 at 12:01pm
Thanks Stephen, et al.! Good stuff!!


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Post Options Post Options   Quote StephenH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Jul 2021 at 2:25pm
Thanks. I got done with a deep discharge which in my case, was down to 55%. The original reading of the battery was not at 100% (200AH) on the initial charge. After a discharge to 55%, it recharged to 191AH, or about 95%. I am going to write to see how deep this battery needs to be discharged to get the readings to be accurate.

It also might be a meter problem. I may need to factory reset the meter, not just change the capacity.
StephenH
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ouR escaPOD mods
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote offgrid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Jul 2021 at 3:19pm

How are you determining when you're at 55%?
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StephenH View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote StephenH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Jul 2021 at 3:31pm
I discharged it (running my new refrigerator for a day and a half) until the meter said I had about 110AH remaining. I used a calculator and figured out what it was at 55% and the meter's percent reading agreed with that. Since that matched up, I stopped discharging (turned the refrigerator off) and started charging. When it stopped, it was at 191 AH, or 95%.

I wrote JITA-US to ask about how deep a deep discharge needed to be and why the meter was not reading 200AH when fully charged. I'm trying to find the manual for the meter to see what might need to be programmed there besides changing the capacity.
StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

ouR escaPOD mods
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Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote offgrid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Jul 2021 at 4:01pm
At the start of your discharge test your monitor thought you had 200AH? Some amphour capacity meters use a moving average approach to determine battery capacity. Effectively they need some cycles to "learn" what capacity the battery has. So they aren't very accurate to start with. A 5% error isn't that much really.

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