lithium battery source/price thread

[KTP]

I would like to collect information about the current offerings in drop-in lithium batteries into one giant thread so we can examine and compare the various features and prices.

At a minimum, manufacturer, battery part number, capacity, and price. Additional information such as warranty, IP rating, safety features would be nice.

Feel free to add to this thread any information you have about a particular battery but please try to stay on topic and not devolve into how monohull are better than multihull or which anchor is best.

I will start by stating what little I know so far about one I was/am interested in, the Trojan Trillium line, which seems to be a rebranded K2 extreme angler series (but perhaps with a Trojan requested selection of capacities and features).

1) Trojan Trillium TR12.8-92 92AH, 1180WH $920ea $0.78 WH
Features: IP67 enclosure, charge/discharge/temp/short circuit protections, canbus communications, 250A continuous discharge current, *possible 4/8 year warranty, unconfirmed

Supposedly in stock at https://www.thesolarbiz.com/batteries.html?type=416

[Shrew]

I love 'crowd funded' research. It feels a lot like. " I don't want to do my homeworl, just tell me what you found out when you did your research".

[transmitterdan]

Originally Posted by Shrew

I love 'crowd funded' research. It feels a lot like. " I don't want to do my homeworl, just tell me what you found out when you did your research".

Huh? Isn’t that what we all do when we ask our friends for advice or whether they have some experience?

“Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.”
― Otto von Bismarck

[KTP]

Originally Posted by Shrew

I love 'crowd funded' research. It feels a lot like. " I don't want to do my homeworl, just tell me what you found out when you did your research".

It is almost impossible for a single person to know everything about a subject. This is why things like open source code sometimes work. Ever heard of Open CPN?

But thanks for your contribution

[john61ct]

Yes this is exactly what a forum is for.

OP, since there are dozens of "lithium" chemistries, and some mad scientists have been proposing using ones other than LFP on boats, best to change the title to include that text, and/or its synonym "LiFePO4", to ensure the thread keeps focused on that type.

And if you want to focus on so-called "drop-ins", add that to the title while you're at it, very different from full-system packaged banks on the one hand, and "bare cells +buy a BMS" (or DIY one) on the other.

Finally, the term drop-in has traditionally only included closed-off units like Battleborn, not allowing any direct access to the cells, nor supporting any communications between the internal BMS and an outside "master" status monitoring / control system.

The entry of Trillium, and evolution of "packaged system" vendors like Victron toward the smaller-standalone segment of the market, has muddied the waters a bit, and

for clarity of our discussions I think it's important to keep the original meaning term distinct, perhaps using "hybrid system drop-in" for these newer in-between designs.

TL;DR to the extent you can clarify what types of batteries you want discussed in your thread, that will make it more useful for you.

[KTP]

I did just get off the phone with Trojan and now have a verified link to the Trillium warranty, which is indeed 4 years for mobile/boat and 8 years for stationary applications such as a home storage bank.

There are a lot of caveats for things like lightning strikes and abuse but it is a full replacement warranty, which is encouraging. The battery has a internal data logger so there probably will be some issue if you use the battery outside of the parameters.

The one that struck me as fairly bad for some people is that the warranty is void if the battery data logger records operation at a average temperature above 80F. I understand why they say that since battery life is greatly reduced at high temperatures. This one would not be a problem for us while cruising in the Puget Sound as the water temp is always pretty cold and with winter and such the average temperature of the battery would not be anywhere near 80 degrees F, but for someone in the warmer latitudes definitely something to consider. I wonder how this compares to other battery warranties as far as environment...

Anyway here is the warranty: https://www.trojanbattery.com/pdf/Trillium_Warranty.pdf

[Go Wildcats]

Ryan of Polar Seal, a Beneteau if I recall, owns Dakota (www.dakotalithium.com) On their website they he details what he's setup. For many of you, it will be basic information, but for some it will be a great source to add to your quiver. https://ryanandsophie.com/ryans-nerd...-vs-lead-acid/

[KTP]

To help you out with that battery you linked I will post the relevant specs:

Dakota 12.8V 170Ah 2040Wh $1700 $0.83/Wh
50 amp max charge current, 100 amp max discharge current, standard hi/low/temp/short circuit protections

12 month warranty

[LoudMusic]

You could do something like a shared Google spreadsheet. Columns for Make, Model, Chemistry, Capacity, Voltage, Dimensions, Website of seller, and Price. Then share it publicly for anyone that has the URL and post the URL here. Maybe also include columns for contributor (for more information) and date that it was added to the spreadsheet.

[guyrj33]

Originally Posted by KTP

To help you out with that battery you linked I will post the relevant specs:

Dakota 12.8V 170Ah 2040Wh $1700 $0.83/Wh
50 amp max charge current, 100 amp max discharge current, standard hi/low/temp/short circuit protections

12 month warranty

A 170AH battery that doesn't come close to supplying enough current to start an engine, that doesn't sound right.

[KTP]

Just found out the version of the Trojan Trillium with canbus doesn't allow for assigning a unique address to each battery.

Well poo.

And the search continues...

[robertmmcdermot]

Hi,
I purchased 8 LiFePO4 batteries from Lithium Battery Power; Clearwater, 727-223-9831, www.lithiumbatterypower.com

12v 1280Kwh, 33lbs, $900 ea.

I negotiated with Mark Bornik the CTO of LBP. He provided lots of advice, and offered me further discounts and free monitor. I was very pleased with the service, delivery, etc.

Rob

[BruceS]

How about everyone stick to an Amp Hour rating at the same "C" rating for starters.... Can be very deceiving .

[john61ct]

Not the cells, limitation of the BMS.

Price goes up a lot putting in a 600A BMS.

They could allow a pair of bypass posts, but then couldn't afford a warranty.

Just buy cheap lead for cranking.

[robertmmcdermot]

Sorry... Correction:
LBP 12.8v 100ah = 1280wh (not kwh), $900.
(Cold cranking amps = 1000A)