Voltax lifepo4 lithium battery

[MikeB05]

I have just finished a project of converting my 7 X 4 box trailer into a self sufficient camper trailer.

I am using LifePo4 100AH batteries times two. I have set it up to charge from solar panels and it also charges via alternator when vehicle is on. Solar and alternator charging at the same time. I am using CTEK DC to DC charger with a Smartpass 120 that can theoretically supply up to 120Amps into the batteries.

I also have a Victron (lithium specific) charger to plug into 240 V AC for boosting or charging if solar is crappy.

I am using the VoltaX brand of Lithium batteries.

They are a third of the weight (9.7 kg) compared to lead acid/AGMs and the usable power is better than AGMs as you can get down to about 25% of available Ampere hours before i'd be concerned.

I know all this is a bit off topic but I am now going to look at ridding myself of my petrol High bank pump and go to a large volume 12V sump pump and use a LifePo4 to run it.

Agree with the others that the AH rating would need to be based on the number of hours running the pump by the current it draws and add a bit for safety.

I think that Lithium batteries could be a game changer for those of us who need to lug our kit to where we want to use it.

Hopefully too price will come down.

 

[hippyhunter]

I have just finished a project of converting my 7 X 4 box trailer into a self sufficient camper trailer.

I am using LifePo4 100AH batteries times two. I have set it up to charge from solar panels and it also charges via alternator when vehicle is on. Solar and alternator charging at the same time. I am using CTEK DC to DC charger with a Smartpass 120 that can theoretically supply up to 120Amps into the batteries.

I also have a Victron (lithium specific) charger to plug into 240 V AC for boosting or charging if solar is crappy.

I am using the VoltaX brand of Lithium batteries.

They are a third of the weight (9.7 kg) compared to lead acid/AGMs and the usable power is better than AGMs as you can get down to about 25% of available Ampere hours before i'd be concerned.

I know all this is a bit off topic but I am now going to look at ridding myself of my petrol High bank pump and go to a large volume 12V sump pump and use a LifePo4 to run it.

Agree with the others that the AH rating would need to be based on the number of hours running the pump by the current it draws and add a bit for safety.

I think that Lithium batteries could be a game changer for those of us who need to lug our kit to where we want to use it.

Hopefully too price will come down.

The voltax ones are already 50% off :lol: haha. But yeah, i would imagine they will become cheaper as the technology has been around a while whilst the voltax prices dont make me feel like i am being raped too badly, i couldnt imagine paying the price of some of the established brands are asking though.
Great setup you have there mike. You will be able to bug out in the bush for months with that setup. Maybee another charging option for u to make a project from is wind power charging. Have a mate with a similar sort of van setup to you, copying an online portable windmill he saw. He also made a water wheel charger as another option. He is only using agm batteries though. How many watt solar panel would you recommend for a singe 100ah battery?

 

[where the nugget]

hi guys just wondering has anyone put an amp/test meter on these battery's ??? to check the stored amps ??? As has been doing some research re lithium battery's for a solar set up for camping and keep read about most the ones out of china do not have the full 100ah for example but coming in at 75 to 80ah when fully changed etc

 

[MikeB05]

hi guys just wondering has anyone put an amp/test meter on these battery's ??? to check the stored amps ??? As has been doing some research re lithium battery's for a solar set up for camping and keep read about most the ones out of china do not have the full 100ah for example but coming in at 75 to 80ah when fully changed etc

I will do some testing on my LifePo4 batteries and let you know. I am about to install a battery monitoring system that relies on a shunt with a coulometer (it will measure amps when fully charged and also let me know amps going into and out of the batteries.. I will post my findings.

Lithium are pretty new (although caravan makers are installing more of them) so there is probably some factual sorting out to do.

 

[MikeB05]

I have just finished a project of converting my 7 X 4 box trailer into a self sufficient camper trailer.

I am using LifePo4 100AH batteries times two. I have set it up to charge from solar panels and it also charges via alternator when vehicle is on. Solar and alternator charging at the same time. I am using CTEK DC to DC charger with a Smartpass 120 that can theoretically supply up to 120Amps into the batteries.

I also have a Victron (lithium specific) charger to plug into 240 V AC for boosting or charging if solar is crappy.

I am using the VoltaX brand of Lithium batteries.

They are a third of the weight (9.7 kg) compared to lead acid/AGMs and the usable power is better than AGMs as you can get down to about 25% of available Ampere hours before i'd be concerned.

I know all this is a bit off topic but I am now going to look at ridding myself of my petrol High bank pump and go to a large volume 12V sump pump and use a LifePo4 to run it.

Agree with the others that the AH rating would need to be based on the number of hours running the pump by the current it draws and add a bit for safety.

I think that Lithium batteries could be a game changer for those of us who need to lug our kit to where we want to use it.

Hopefully too price will come down.

The voltax ones are already 50% off :lol: haha. But yeah, i would imagine they will become cheaper as the technology has been around a while whilst the voltax prices dont make me feel like i am being raped too badly, i couldnt imagine paying the price of some of the established brands are asking though.
Great setup you have there mike. You will be able to bug out in the bush for months with that setup. Maybee another charging option for u to make a project from is wind power charging. Have a mate with a similar sort of van setup to you, copying an online portable windmill he saw. He also made a water wheel charger as another option. He is only using agm batteries though. How many watt solar panel would you recommend for a singe 100ah battery?

My solar set up relies on two panels connected in parallel one is 200W and the other 110W. There is some loss in overall watts because the system will rely on the lowest voltage of either panel and a combination of amps. When using a mix of solar panels my research says to work it out the following way:

Panel 1 is 200W at 18 Volts producing a max of 11.1amps. Panel 2 is 110W at 17.6 Volts producing max 6.25 amps.

Total current (amps) is 11.1 + 6.25 = 17.35 amps. Voltage will be lowest ...that is 17.6 volts.

Total power is 17.6V multiplied by 17.35 amps to give 305.36 watts.

So this is 305 Watts against the stated rating of the combined panels 310 watts ( 200w +110 W panels ) So a loss of in power of about 2% by combining two panels of different voltage and amp ratings.

To know how much solar you need, involves working out the maximum amp you would draw from the battery and making sure your solar panels produce more amps than what you draw...remembering that at night things like fridges draw amps while no power is coming out of solar.

My 70 litre fridge freezer uses 7amps per hour (assumes continuos drawing of power) so assuming 12 hours of darkness it will consume 84 amps.

So the next day I need to replace that amperage while still using power for my fridge. So during daylight I want to be getting at least 14 amps per hour just to keep in the game. Then I need more amps for things like LED lights

This also assumes the solar panels run efficiently all the time and in reality that doesn't happen.

It may be that I will need to add another solar panel in parallel (to maintain voltage but increase amp capacity) and maybe another battery .

I am still learning .

 

[hippyhunter]

I have just finished a project of converting my 7 X 4 box trailer into a self sufficient camper trailer.

I am using LifePo4 100AH batteries times two. I have set it up to charge from solar panels and it also charges via alternator when vehicle is on. Solar and alternator charging at the same time. I am using CTEK DC to DC charger with a Smartpass 120 that can theoretically supply up to 120Amps into the batteries.

I also have a Victron (lithium specific) charger to plug into 240 V AC for boosting or charging if solar is crappy.

I am using the VoltaX brand of Lithium batteries.

They are a third of the weight (9.7 kg) compared to lead acid/AGMs and the usable power is better than AGMs as you can get down to about 25% of available Ampere hours before i'd be concerned.

I know all this is a bit off topic but I am now going to look at ridding myself of my petrol High bank pump and go to a large volume 12V sump pump and use a LifePo4 to run it.

Agree with the others that the AH rating would need to be based on the number of hours running the pump by the current it draws and add a bit for safety.

I think that Lithium batteries could be a game changer for those of us who need to lug our kit to where we want to use it.

Hopefully too price will come down.

The voltax ones are already 50% off :lol: haha. But yeah, i would imagine they will become cheaper as the technology has been around a while whilst the voltax prices dont make me feel like i am being raped too badly, i couldnt imagine paying the price of some of the established brands are asking though.
Great setup you have there mike. You will be able to bug out in the bush for months with that setup. Maybee another charging option for u to make a project from is wind power charging. Have a mate with a similar sort of van setup to you, copying an online portable windmill he saw. He also made a water wheel charger as another option. He is only using agm batteries though. How many watt solar panel would you recommend for a singe 100ah battery?

My solar set up relies on two panels connected in parallel one is 200W and the other 110W. There is some loss in overall watts because the system will rely on the lowest voltage of either panel and a combination of amps. When using a mix of solar panels my research says to work it out the following way:

Panel 1 is 200W at 18 Volts producing a max of 11.1amps. Panel 2 is 110W at 17.6 Volts producing max 6.25 amps.

Total current (amps) is 11.1 + 6.25 = 17.35 amps. Voltage will be lowest ...that is 17.6 volts.

Total power is 17.6V multiplied by 17.35 amps to give 305.36 watts.

So this is 305 Watts against the stated rating of the combined panels 310 watts ( 200w +110 W panels ) So a loss of in power of about 2% by combining two panels of different voltage and amp ratings.

To know how much solar you need, involves working out the maximum amp you would draw from the battery and making sure your solar panels produce more amps than what you draw...remembering that at night things like fridges draw amps while no power is coming out of solar.

My 70 litre fridge freezer uses 7amps per hour (assumes continuos drawing of power) so assuming 12 hours of darkness it will consume 84 amps.

So the next day I need to replace that amperage while still using power for my fridge. So during daylight I want to be getting at least 14 amps per hour just to keep in the game. Then I need more amps for things like LED lights

This also assumes the solar panels run efficiently all the time and in reality that doesn't happen.

It may be that I will need to add another solar panel in parallel (to maintain voltage but increase amp capacity) and maybe another battery .

I am still learning .

Pretty cool setup. Camping is so much easier these days as with setups like this you can have pretty much any mod con you want. You will love the tranquility when you change over to a 12v pump too. I would suggest carrying an extra chinese cheapy as a backup in case your main pump fails.

 

[Stephen123]

I have just finished a project of converting my 7 X 4 box trailer into a self sufficient camper trailer.

I am using LifePo4 100AH batteries times two. I have set it up to charge from solar panels and it also charges via alternator when vehicle is on. Solar and alternator charging at the same time. I am using CTEK DC to DC charger with a Smartpass 120 that can theoretically supply up to 120Amps into the batteries.

I also have a Victron (lithium specific) charger to plug into 240 V AC for boosting or charging if solar is crappy.

I am using the VoltaX brand of Lithium batteries.

They are a third of the weight (9.7 kg) compared to lead acid/AGMs and the usable power is better than AGMs as you can get down to about 25% of available Ampere hours before i'd be concerned.

I know all this is a bit off topic but I am now going to look at ridding myself of my petrol High bank pump and go to a large volume 12V sump pump and use a LifePo4 to run it.

Agree with the others that the AH rating would need to be based on the number of hours running the pump by the current it draws and add a bit for safety.

I think that Lithium batteries could be a game changer for those of us who need to lug our kit to where we want to use it.

Hopefully too price will come down.

The voltax ones are already 50% off :lol: haha. But yeah, i would imagine they will become cheaper as the technology has been around a while whilst the voltax prices dont make me feel like i am being raped too badly, i couldnt imagine paying the price of some of the established brands are asking though.
Great setup you have there mike. You will be able to bug out in the bush for months with that setup. Maybee another charging option for u to make a project from is wind power charging. Have a mate with a similar sort of van setup to you, copying an online portable windmill he saw. He also made a water wheel charger as another option. He is only using agm batteries though. How many watt solar panel would you recommend for a singe 100ah battery?

My solar set up relies on two panels connected in parallel one is 200W and the other 110W. There is some loss in overall watts because the system will rely on the lowest voltage of either panel and a combination of amps. When using a mix of solar panels my research says to work it out the following way:

Panel 1 is 200W at 18 Volts producing a max of 11.1amps. Panel 2 is 110W at 17.6 Volts producing max 6.25 amps.

Total current (amps) is 11.1 + 6.25 = 17.35 amps. Voltage will be lowest ...that is 17.6 volts.

Total power is 17.6V multiplied by 17.35 amps to give 305.36 watts.

So this is 305 Watts against the stated rating of the combined panels 310 watts ( 200w +110 W panels ) So a loss of in power of about 2% by combining two panels of different voltage and amp ratings.

To know how much solar you need, involves working out the maximum amp you would draw from the battery and making sure your solar panels produce more amps than what you draw...remembering that at night things like fridges draw amps while no power is coming out of solar.

My 70 litre fridge freezer uses 7amps per hour (assumes continuos drawing of power) so assuming 12 hours of darkness it will consume 84 amps.

So the next day I need to replace that amperage while still using power for my fridge. So during daylight I want to be getting at least 14 amps per hour just to keep in the game. Then I need more amps for things like LED lights

This also assumes the solar panels run efficiently all the time and in reality that doesn't happen.

It may be that I will need to add another solar panel in parallel (to maintain voltage but increase amp capacity) and maybe another battery .

I am still learning .

That is a very useful information for beginners like me. Actually, I also like to install the similar solar panel charging lithium batteries setup. Can I ask you some questions? Are the two batteries connected in parallel? Any specifications of the solar panels I need to follow? And what solar panel controller you used? If I would like to power up a water boiler of around 1000W, how many lithium batteries of what size are needed and how many 200W solar panels as well? When getting the solar panel controller, does it depends on the maximum power loading? Thanks a lot

 

[MikeB05]

Hi Stephen 123. Pretty sure I can't answer all your questions.
Here goes anyway:

Yes my two lithium batteries are connected in parallel...that way you get 12 volts but add the Ampere Hours. If you connect 2 X 12V batteries in series you will get 24 Volts.

Solar panels should be also connected in parallel. I have two anderson plugs (one for each panel) going into one plug that attaches to my controller. You can mix the types of panels (watts and amp ratings) but solar controllers will tend to work with whatever the lowest input voltage is and there will be power loss. example:

Panel A 110 Watt rating 18V output with 6.2 amps (max) and panel B 250W rating with 18.5V output and 10.5 amps (max)

Controller will work off lowest output voltage so 18 V. Then combine max amps (6.2 +10.5= 16.7 amps). Total power is max output volts 18V multiplied by 16.7 amps = 300.6 watts ( against the stated 360 watts of both panels).

Most "experts" recommend MPPT controller as they maximise the value of power generated from panels.

They are more expensive than PWM controllers (that turn on and off in pulses). I use a MPPT controller that also takes charge from vehicle alternator. MPPT controller will state the maximum input voltage they will take and it is often around 23 V which is more than the panels I have.

Not sure how to work out your question of boiling water using 1000W. I suspect you would need an inverter that changes 12V DC to AC to run your jug. You can google to find out the formula. I havent bothered with an inverter or any AC appliances as all my stuff is 12V and I use gas to boil water. I have learned to live without a microwave and an electric jug. But I can run 12 volt appliances such as: TV, satellite, LED lights, CPAP machine, fridge/freezer

Hope this helps...remember I too am learning this stuff.

 

[Stephen123]

Hi Stephen 123. Pretty sure I can't answer all your questions.
Here goes anyway:

Yes my two lithium batteries are connected in parallel...that way you get 12 volts but add the Ampere Hours. If you connect 2 X 12V batteries in series you will get 24 Volts.

Solar panels should be also connected in parallel. I have two anderson plugs (one for each panel) going into one plug that attaches to my controller. You can mix the types of panels (watts and amp ratings) but solar controllers will tend to work with whatever the lowest input voltage is and there will be power loss. example:

Panel A 110 Watt rating 18V output with 6.2 amps (max) and panel B 250W rating with 18.5V output and 10.5 amps (max)

Controller will work off lowest output voltage so 18 V. Then combine max amps (6.2 +10.5= 16.7 amps). Total power is max output volts 18V multiplied by 16.7 amps = 300.6 watts ( against the stated 360 watts of both panels).

Most "experts" recommend MPPT controller as they maximise the value of power generated from panels.

They are more expensive than PWM controllers (that turn on and off in pulses). I use a MPPT controller that also takes charge from vehicle alternator. MPPT controller will state the maximum input voltage they will take and it is often around 23 V which is more than the panels I have.

Not sure how to work out your question of boiling water using 1000W. I suspect you would need an inverter that changes 12V DC to AC to run your jug. You can google to find out the formula. I havent bothered with an inverter or any AC appliances as all my stuff is 12V and I use gas to boil water. I have learned to live without a microwave and an electric jug. But I can run 12 volt appliances such as: TV, satellite, LED lights, CPAP machine, fridge/freezer

Hope this helps...remember I too am learning this stuff.

Hi MikeB05,
The provided information is really helpful. I am really appreciate that. Yes, in order to use the water boliler, there is a need for an inverter. I really appreciate your help. Thanks a lot.