LiFePO4 Batteries: Discussion Thread for Those Using Them as House Banks

[deckofficer]

You folks are aware since so many of you purchased on the Balqon clearance sale that they changed the wording of what their cells are used for on their website. Before CF'ers started buying, the wording had always been "electric vehicles", now it is "Our batteries are for electric vehicles and boats around the world,....". I think they are still searching for new markets.

On the EV album that I showcased my first electric vehicle 10 years ago ( Bob Lemke's Rad2go E-36 Great White scooter ), I visited yesterday and was surprised how many electric ski boats the Europeans have put together since LiFePO4 cells became available. 10 years ago we knew they existed but nobody could get them.

[durundal]

Originally Posted by Lagoon4us

There's something going on when here in Europe it's becoming very hard to buy cells.

They are advertised as normal but are 'nil stock' when you try to purchase.

Yeah, my attempt to order one of the 12V packs from Balqon in the US (listed as "in stock" at time of order) has run into supply issues. Supposedly getting some 40Ah individual cells sometime soonish, but I asked Steve to cancel the order and will try again once I can find someone with what I want (60 or 90Ah) in hand. Not a very slick process, I have to say... still waiting on getting my credit card refunded after a couple days.

Andy

[ColdEH]

Try these guys , I got a quote with shipping back from them for Sinopoly cells the next day .

Sinopoly Lithium Battery

Regards

[Lagoon4us]

Did you note even their stock is limited? Demands must be extreme, there's lot's of experimenters/projects gong on!!!!

[ColdEH]

Yes I did , they have the 180 ah cells in stock , you could build a bank from those . I emailed them to quote me how long a larger cell would be ,

Lets see how that goes

Regards

[durundal]

Originally Posted by durundal

Yeah, my attempt to order one of the 12V packs from Balqon in the US (listed as "in stock" at time of order) has run into supply issues. Supposedly getting some 40Ah individual cells sometime soonish, but I asked Steve to cancel the order and will try again once I can find someone with what I want (60 or 90Ah) in hand. Not a very slick process, I have to say... still waiting on getting my credit card refunded after a couple days.

Just got the refund, from what I have gathered they are a pretty small shop and things can fall through the cracks. I asked Evolve Electronics if they have their 100Ah Sinopolys in stock, will try that though it would have been nice to have had the nice box casing from Winston.

It seems like if somewhere can start stocking an inventory they could do a brisk business with a lot of applications that involve needing batteries in non-automotive replacement applications, for many field applications you could avoid needing generators by just bringing the batteries back to recharge since they are light enough to move practically.

Andy

[electric1]

Originally Posted by durundal

It seems like if somewhere can start stocking an inventory they could do a brisk business

Lithium-ion battery

lithiumstorage.com

These places are US based and often have inventory on hand.

Lithiumstorage has a partner in Europe and also can deliver directly from China to anywhere in the world.

[durundal]

Alrighty, based on positive reviews of Justin on that DIY electric car site (and confirmation that they have them in hand and ship next day) I went ahead and ordered some black case 100Ah Sinopolys, hopefully these will just arrive and I won't have to keep creeping up in capacity like I seem to have been...

Andy

[deckofficer]

Welcome to the lithium club Andy. If you accustomed to LA a-hr ratings (20 hour rate) you will be pleasantly surprised.

[senormechanico]

FWIW, I just celebrated the first year's anniversary of the boat not being plugged into shore power.

The fridge (freezer capable of keeping ice cream rock hard) ran continuously the whole time except when hauled out for a February bottom job.
We never ran the engine for charging, except to get somewhere with bad current and no wind.

Solar, Lithium, and Aerogel is a winning combination.

If you're even thinking of going over to the (Lithium) dark side, just do it!

Steve

[finleyg]

Originally Posted by senormechanico

FWIW, I just celebrated the first year's anniversary of the boat not being plugged into shore power.

The fridge (freezer capable of keeping ice cream rock hard) ran continuously the whole time except when hauled out for a February bottom job.
We never ran the engine for charging, except to get somewhere with bad current and no wind.

Solar, Lithium, and Aerogel is a winning combination.

If you're even thinking of going over to the (Lithium) dark side, just do it!

Steve

I did it, and am setting up my shore power, charger and little Yamaha generator. Using 2 flux power 12v batts for my 24v torqeedo. Any recs for a good 24v charger? The batts have built in bms.

[durundal]

Originally Posted by senormechanico

FWIW, I just celebrated the first year's anniversary of the boat not being plugged into shore power.

The fridge (freezer capable of keeping ice cream rock hard) ran continuously the whole time except when hauled out for a February bottom job.
We never ran the engine for charging, except to get somewhere with bad current and no wind.

Solar, Lithium, and Aerogel is a winning combination.

If you're even thinking of going over to the (Lithium) dark side, just do it!

Steve

What form is your aerogel and where did you get it? I am going to just use an el-cheapo cooler for the first year (turns out building a boat is really expensive, whodathunk? Anyone got an old beat up set of sails they want to get rid of that would fit on a 30' mast?) but for a future project I am keen to reduce ice consumption while pocket-sailboat cruising and don't have the room to just build out blue styrofoam to 6" or anything.

Edit: from your picture it looks like you're in the Pacific NW? How much solar do you have on board, and do you run into any deficits using the boat in the winter (if you do)?

Andy
F-22 #135, someday when the sanding ends

[senormechanico]

We purchased Cryogel. I forget where, but all three forms of it (Pyro, Aero and Cryo) have crossover temp charts.

There's a guy on Ebay that sells Aerogel, and he's posted on CF.

I'm in the PNW with 320 watts of solar and a MPPT Bluesky 2512iX.
Never needed to plug in for any reason.
If I decide to work on the boat and need 120 VAC, I just turn on the inverter.

Steve

[durundal]

Order has shipped from EVolve electrics, quick work! Now the joys of watching a Fedex track...

[FlyingCloud1937]

Originally Posted by deckofficer

You folks are aware since so many of you purchased on the Balqon clearance sale that they changed the wording of what their cells are used for on their website. Before CF'ers started buying, the wording had always been "electric vehicles", now it is "Our batteries are for electric vehicles and boats around the world,....". I think they are still searching for new markets.

So is that Marketing 101, besides the facts?

L