Any two years reviews for Firefly batteries?

[zboss]

Originally Posted by ronstory

Okay at 10.5 volts the state of charge is 0%. You are a pioneer :-)

What does that mean? All I did was post more data from firefly that you didn’t have in the thread before.

I think what is interesting about the test is that they were pulling it down at 30 amps, well above the 20 hour rate, all the way down to empty and it didn’t show loss of capacity.

The question is... how many times can they do that before showing damage.

[john61ct]

This is just a standard load test. The fact the curves are so close is yes, mildly interesting shows a lower Peukert value than most I guess.

No conclusions can be drawn from this about resilience when high DoD cycling, but Calder and Maine Saile already demonstrated that aspect, in the Practical Sailor test.

Great company, great products.

[phantomracer]

Originally Posted by zboss

What does that mean? All I did was post more data from firefly that you didn’t have in the thread before.

I think what is interesting about the test is that they were pulling it down at 30 amps, well above the 20 hour rate, all the way down to empty and it didn’t show loss of capacity.

The question is... how many times can they do that before showing damage.

Don't know. My 2 firefly batteries have not shown any degradation after 3 seasons of abuse (I replied to this thread last year #3 reply) . I killed 2 expensive Rolls batteries in a few seasons of my typical use with my bad habits of putting the boat on the mooring not fully charged and rarely (if ever) fully charging it during the season.

I bring them down pretty far while at anchor before the fuel cell kicks in (no solar), probably over 50%. Still using the same fuel canister from 3 years ago on the fuel cell, where I was going through 5+ a season before.

So far I am at 3/4 the normal life of the LA batteries I have used, with no apparent hit in performance.

It is like they are magic At least from my use, they are a stunning value. Time will tell to see how long they will last, but I am pretty impressed so far.

[john61ct]

That is exactly the kind of use case where they are worth the money, unique among lead batts.

Could also go to LFP but that's much pricier in NA market anyway.

Much cheaper to figure out how to eliminate the PSOC problem, but some simply can't do that.

[ronstory]

I'll I was pointing out to that below the STD 10.5v or 0% SoC is the the bank is in a state that is "uncharacterized" realm . This is pioneering since there are no curves for whay happened.

While its no good for the battery, sometimes the impact is minor. I have an old Land Rover and left theb dome light on and when on vacation. When I got back 10days later, the battery was at 3v

However the battery was only a year old and in good shape and that battery continued to work just fine for the rest of it's 84 month warranty.

While I was surprised at it's longevity, I'm sure I took some life of it with my bonehead dome light move, sometimes you get lucky and the impact is negligible.

[john61ct]

What is "reslm"?

Yes, lose lifetime for sure, but no way to know how much, too many variables.

[ronstory]

Should have been realm. Using the phone app and autocorrect is iffy. Edited and corrected ��

[dswizzler]

So if I cut to the chase here, the Firefly batteries are great, they can be used to a fuller extent 80% than lifeline agm 20% and they are less expensive then lithium. The carbon form are safer the lithium as for fire due to overheating. The draw backs are the are heavier then lithium and take long to charge... as a rule.

No one is arguing that the lithium charge faster and are expected to have a longer battery life. But if you are buying firefly at 1/2 the cost of lithium it might all even out in the end..if we all live that long.

Am I missing any other highlights between lifeline agm, firefly carbon fiber and lithium .

[john61ct]

Originally Posted by dswizzler

Firefly batteries are great, they can be used to a fuller extent 80% than lifeline agm 20%

Not sure what is meant by this, but yes taking FF down below 50% has less of a lifetime cycle impact than doing so with other quality AGM.

> less expensive then lithium

depends where you are

> carbon form are safer the lithium as for fire due to overheating.

LFP has no more risk than lead, unlike other LI chemistries.

And it's carbon foam, not form, not fiber

[dswizzler]

Thanks for the corrections, just out of curiosity where are lithium the same price or cheaper then carbon foam ? I am currently in Mexico but a trip stateside might be worth the travel. Again thanks

[john61ct]

No USA pricing favors lead over LFP far more than Europe / SA / antipodes.

Where top-notch lead is much more expensive, good cheap deep cycling FLA at $1/Ah @12V unheard of since decades. LFP much more readily available from in-country sellers,

and FF often simply unavailable.

[Jim Cate]

and FF often simply unavailable.

Sadly this is true! I recently replaced my T105 house bank with more of the same. If FF were available here in Oz I surely would have gone that way. The only option that I could find was shipping from India at an additional cost of over 400 USD per batter, piled on top of their not inconsiderable purchase price. Much as i wanted to switch, this was a deal breaker.

Jim

[Pegu Club]

We have had firefly batteries (2) for a little over a year, they have been great thus far. We have two one-hundred watt panels w/ a separate MPPT controller for each, all LEDs. We draw juice for / charge, an Engle fridge, a B&G zeus 2 7”, a S/H vhs w/ AIS receiver, 1 hand held GPS, 2 I phones 1 iPad , 1 iPod, a laptop, 2 hand held vhf radios, search light, etc. We as well use a BALMAR smart gage battery monitor, (has not been under 85% SOC) Our Beta 16 has a seventy amp alternator. We just got back from the Bahamas two weeks ish ago, headed back mid August. We are full time cruisers. The batteries have lived up to their advertising. We would certainly recommend them.

Fair winds,

[johnmort]

Take a look at the battery university it has some good battery info on different discharge rates and expected lifetimes

[jbinbi]

In the US I can get 2 6v golf cart batteries w 110 AH each for 200 usd. I was looking at changing battery chemistry, but I have 420 AH now and can replace and get another 5 years. That is $100 a year for my batteries. Actually considering going to 660 AH. If you think there is a better bang for the $, let me know before I pull the trigger. Li lions interesting, but I can't cost justify.