Solar Batteries: Lithium LiFePO4 vs. Lead Acid? Which is best?
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- Опубликовано: 1 авг 2024
- Solar batteries for your off-grid system. Lead acid vs. lithium LiFePO4. What's the best, even if you're on a budget? Top differences explained. Which battery type is best for your off-grid cabin, homestead, shed, barn, camper, trailer, RV, camping, or boat? It depends!
Product/purchase link:
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#solarbattery #lifepo4
Link to my original, EASY AND CHEAP DIY SOLAR POWER FOR OFF GRID CABIN LIVING video:
• EASY AND CHEAP DIY SOL...
Dobro Mash by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Solar batteries
Solar energy storage
Battery backup for solar
Lithium-ion batteries
Lead-acid batteries
Deep cycle batteries
Off-grid energy storage
Battery management systems
Renewable energy storage
Energy independence
Charge controller
Inverter
Solar panel systems
Energy storage system design
Battery capacity
Battery lifespan 
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Very informative. Great video!
Dont care about the negative comments. There is stupid jealous people everywhere. Yet another great video. Thanks and God bless
Magnificent job of explaining. I feel as if I don't even need to watch any more lead-acid-to-lithium comparisons. So complete, so carefully-explained and understandable. Thank you so much.
As a BSEE, he omits a KEY issue, the current is limited and many engines cannot startup as the BMI shuts down. these are ON/OFF decisions by the BMI. if current is 101 amp, boom will shut down. It does not limit the current at say 100amp. NOPE! Bang it turns off. Also, you need a DC to DC converter to make useable the full discharge capability. most engines can have peak current of up to 600 amp so good luck chuck.
I noticed you said that the LiFe Battery can’t be charged in minus temperature, but you are leaving yours at your cabin and will come back in a weeks time to see how much it charged. There’s snow there so isn’t it below freezing? Just wondering if you mean Celsius or Fahrenheit temps or if you keep your cabin above freezing some other way. Great video btw. I’ve only recently discovered your channel. Love what I’ve seen so far.
Thanks for the comment. Some of the charge controllers have a temp sensor and if programmed for a Lithium battery, will stop charging if the temp falls below freezing. It was supposed to warm up that week and when I went to hook up the battery, I checked the manual and saw my charge controller just regulates the speed of the charge based on temp, doesn't stop it below freezing. I'm glad I saw that or would have cooked the battery. I'd recommend finding a charge controller that shuts off the charge under freezing, or Power Queen now makes a smart battery (different model than I reviewed) that will stop taking a charge if the temp falls below freezing.
How has it worked out for you in the winter? I have a similar cabin setup to you. Some say I should go heated lithium but I worry my battery would just drain itself. Seems like stopping charging would be fine as long as it held charge for a month till I can warm up the cabin.
Does it hold a charge below freezing?
@SolarBurrito: It's worked out well. My cabin is unheated while not there and agree, heated lithium would drain the battery quickly (at least in my climate). We don't have sun here from Nov through March and the panels get covered in snow when I'm not at the cabin to clear them. The LiFePO4 holds the charge, but I disconnect it from my charge controller when I'm not going to be there and temps are going to be below freezing. I then swap my lead-acid battery as in the event of a sunny day, that can be charged below freezing. When I am there, and the cabin warms up, I have a quick charger for my LiFePO4 and can simply fire up the generator for a few hours and it tops it off. I'd rather draw down the LiFePO4 since it has a greater depth-of-discharge and can be recharged faster than the lead-acid... just need to make sure it's above freezing inside the cabin. Some LiFePO4 batteries have a BMS that will prevent charging below freezing so you can leave them hooked up. That's probably the best solution.
I really will be looking for your review or input on that battery, my set-up is identical to yours as I don't go out every day to my cabin. We get a lot of cold, and I really want to use a Lithium battery but have been tod I can't lead only 😒
I love the LiFePO4 battery. Have been using it for about a year now. Great capacity and I also have a quick charger for it which allows me to quickly bring it to 100% with the generator when I have months of heavy cloud cover. Only downside is I disconnect it when I'm away from the cabin in the winter and temps dip below freezing as it you try to charge it then it will fry it. I simply swap out my old lead battery during these times and when I'm back and have the cabin above freezing, plug the solar back into the LiFePO4.
I see behind you; you upgraded your charge controller.!, is that a Renogy Rover 30A ? how do you like that? do you see a difference from the other one?
Yes, it is! It's a nice unit and gives a lot more detail than the cheap one I had before. It's hard to say if I see a big difference although if I had more solar panels and was running them in series, it would make a difference, but I only run my panels in parallel.
What quick charger are you using? How long to charge the battery and what size is your generator? Great video, thanks.
Hello: For the LiFePO4 battery I have the PowerQueen 20 amp charger. If the battery was totally depleted, it could take up to 10 hours to charge it (20 amp charger, x 20 hours = 200 amp hour battery). In reality if you choose to run your generator a few hours per day (when using high loads, vacuuming, etc.) you could be topping off your battery in the interim. I run a 2200 watt suitcase/inverter generator.
@@HemlockRidgeUSA Thanks for your response.
You have to admit LA batteries are dirt simple and dependable. As with most of these Chinese made lithium batteries, quality is a crap Shute.
Many RUclips videos complain about the consistency of their quality and their BMS systems. I would rather have two dependable LA batteries than one lithium with the same capacity.
Great presentation and very informative. 😊
I have a question I'm just finding out how cheap that a set up can be when I was browsing my harbor freight add so I started watching videos.now I do live alone so all the bills is mine.my house I think 🤔🤔 about 1650 sqft so it is a big house to heat/cool so I do without.i do have a 110 heater so I thought about running 2 100w panels just to run the little heater for the winter in a small bedroom your thoughts please😊😊
Thanks for the question. I think any electric heater would quickly deplete the batteries faster than the solar could replenish them. Most electric heaters will use 800 watts on low per hour.. or 1500 watts on high. You might want to look into a catalytic heater that doesn't use electric. Camco makes a heater called the Wave. Good luck!
@@HemlockRidgeUSA ok cool ty
How did you solve the issue of charging when it’s below freezing?
Right now, when I'm away from the cabin in below freezing temps, I switch over to a lead acid battery. Then when I'm back at the cabin and it's warmed up, I can connect the LiFePO4 again. Not ideal, but Power Queen does now make a battery with on-board low temp cutoff that prevents itself from being charged below freezing. That would be the way to go.
One more question, that model have a temp/heat sensor
It does. I erroneously bought it thinking it would stop charging my LiFePO4 battery if temps fell below freezing but it does not. It simply adjusts the speed at which it charges the batteries based on the ambient temp surrounding your battery. Overkill for a small system like mine but a nice feature for larger systems.
Nice intro
Lead acid batteries suffer from whats called the Puekert effect. Should have mentioned this.
2 to 3 years lead acid? I live off the grid and use lead acid. My batteries are over 10 years old and function without a problem. I top up with water a couple of times a year. That's the only maintenance. When I eventually upgrade, I'll most likely go lithium but to say 2 to 3 years for lead acid is simply untrue
Thanks for the comment. I've used sealed lead acid and rarely get more than 3 to 4 years before they short out or lose 50% capacity. With flooded lead acid, you can definitely get more life if properly maintained and they don't get drawn down as much.
Another bad Comparison, Lithium need heater on below Freezing weather condition, but if u got no power how do heat it up? Also, where is the part that Lithium can not go above certain heat or else it will shut down? That's why EV and Hybrid has a blower fan to cool them off right? Now the best part, Lithium Batteries are known to self Combust or get caught on fire, up to this day No One have invented an Extinguisher for Lithium Batteries on fire.
I will respect your video if u tell the truth that YES Lithium is more for the money but it has issues that is Dangerous and If u r off Grid and in a cabin means more likely u are in a forest or heavily wooded places.
I've been fixing cars for 30 years, have not seen or found any acid car batteries that was a cause of fire.......
How are Spent Lithium Batteries being disposed? AGM or Car Batteries disposed by removing the lead which is recyclable, the plastics are recyclable, the acid are neutralized with baking soda....
You might have missed the parts in the video that talk about how these are Lithium Iron Phospate batteries which don't have the fire risks of regular lithium batteries. You are right, I also pointed out a downfall is you can't charge these below freezing, need to use lead acid for below freezing charging, or wait till your wood stove warms up the cabin before charging. There are tradeoffs and benefits. LiFePO4 have a greater depth of discharge than lead acid. They can be charged many more cycles. You can use them below freezing, but not charge them below freezing. Depends on your use case which is best for you.