LiFe PO4 batteries no brainer

[fizzy]

Well they are now they cost the same as a leisure lead acid battery.
I bought 2x 12v 100amp batteries from ali express for my wife's mobility scooter. £110 each. Arrived in 3 days. Brilliant packing.
Identical size to the lead acid. Terminals perfect. 10kg v 30kg each. A weight saving of 40kg. Scooter goes like hell
10mph and almost instant acceleration. Range goes from 30 miles to possibly 45 miles.
Can use the standard charger. These are safer than Lithium ion.
Won't start a car. BMS limits output to 300 amps apparently.

 

[barracuda816]

Someone will be along shortly to tell you lead acid is still the way to go.

 

[fizzy]

Someone will be along shortly to tell you lead acid is still the way to go.

I have always advocated lead acid for things like bulk storage where weight isn't a problem. It's only NOW the price of LiFe PO4 has dropped enough to be a contender. I still won't be swapping out my forklift batteries. It NEEDS the weight

 

[Kram]

Chinese lifepo4 could contain anything Unless you know for certain, that their reputable and it is, indeed a safe lifepo4 cells inside, I'd not want them charging indoors.

Generally, 300A *will* start most cars. However the voltages are wrong for it to be used as a replacment for a lead acid battery.

 

[fizzy]

Chinese lifepo4 could contain anything Unless you know for certain, that their reputable and it is, indeed a safe lifepo4 cells inside, I'd not want them charging indoors.

Generally, 300A *will* start most cars. However the voltages are wrong for it to be used as a replacment for a lead acid battery.

No the voltages are almost identical. Remember these are not lithium ion.
I have seen several of the cheap ones torn down on YouTube and they are mainly very good quality. Taking a gamble with these but ali express always been great in the past. Wouldn't buy on temo!
The scooter will live in the back of my Crafter and can be changed there as well
I wouldn't trust them in the house yet but they are much safer than Lithium ion.

 

[TEO]

Link pls, I've been looking for something to replace a cpl of leisure batteries. I always find searching Ali express a pretty hit & miss affair so any link appreciated

 

[fizzy]

Link pls, I've been looking for something to replace a cpl of leisure batteries. I always find searching Ali express a pretty hit & miss affair so any link appreciated

Have a look here. Don't order yet will check properly on desktop tomorrow.

DATOUBOSS 12V 100Ah LiFePO4 Battery 1280Wh Lithium Battery with Improved 100A BMS 8000-15000 Deep Cycles Support in Series/Paral - AliExpress 44

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

 

[Kram]

No the voltages are almost identical.

3.3v per cell x 4, doesnt quite line up with the 14.7-15v maximum of a lead acid car system. 2-2.5v *6 for Pb.

 

[masleeve]

Watching with interest need some batteries for my electric cargo bike project, LifePo4 is the way forward as long as the BMS is well designed

 

[fizzy]

3.3v per cell x 4, doesnt quite line up with the 14.7-15v maximum of a lead acid car system. 2-2.5v *6 for Pb.

No but apparently you can charge with a normal lead acid charger as long as its a dumb one with no fancy de sulphination modes etc. The charger for the mobility scooter is as dumb as possible!
@HughF is very familiar with them. I will blame him if they blow up

 

[fizzy]

3.3v per cell x 4, doesnt quite line up with the 14.7-15v maximum of a lead acid car system. 2-2.5v *6 for Pb.

LiFe PO4 ranges from roughly 10.5V to 14.6V, with a nominal voltage of 12.8V. Pretty close. Mobility scooter goes like a scalded cat

 

[My Old Landy]

I have one for running the radio in portable mode. I already had a 10a dedicated LifePo4 charger but bought a 20a one.
It was only £40 so worth it to me.
I do charge it indoors.

 

[voipio]

I have one for running the radio in portable mode. I already had a 10a dedicated LifePo4 charger but bought a 20a one.
It was only £40 so worth it to me.
I do charge it indoors.

Does the BMS in the battery pack cause any interference, that you're aware of? Probably best checked using a relatively short piece of coiled wire as a sensing antenna close to the battery, and tuning across the HF bands. You'll probably find that the radio's display end will emit some interference. An FT-817 display certainly does.

 

[My Old Landy]

Does the BMS in the battery pack cause any interference, that you're aware of? Probably best checked using a relatively short piece of coiled wire as a sensing antenna close to the battery, and tuning across the HF bands. You'll probably find that the radio's display end will emit some interference. An FT-817 display certainly does.

It does affect it, the waterfall on the X6100 shows it when the amplifier is activated. I use a small 7Ah battery to boost the power to 10w on the radio and that has no effect. The power draw is 30 amps when running the separate amplifier and that is when the noise occurs.

 

[not done it yet]

LiFe PO4 ranges from roughly 10.5V to 14.6V, with a nominal voltage of 12.8V. Pretty close. Mobility scooter goes like a scalded cat

Absolutely no problem with a ‘discharge only’ situation.

The difference is the charging regimes for Pb v Li.

Your scalded cat will run much further than one with a similar sized lead/acid battery.

 

[Turbo]

I doubt that a lead acid charger will charge a lifepo4 battery correctly. They use a different charging profile and a different method to sense when it's reached peak capacity.

A lead acid mobility scooter charger is not strictly dumb, it electronically monitors the charge and when it has reached peak it stops and lights the green led.
Where they are dumb is that they cannot sense a defective battery and will keep trying to charge it or end the charge early as it sees a false peak charge.
So not the best thing to use on a modern battery known to be fussy about how it is charged and dangerous consequences if you get it wrong!

I would be using a charger with a proper setting for your battery chemistry.
I think the Imax B6 has a setting for lifepo4 batteries. Be careful to buy a genuine one, there are a lot of fakes.

By using a charger designed for those batteries you will maximise both the battery life and the output of the battery. Plus less chance of something exploding!

 

[fizzy]

I doubt that a lead acid charger will charge a lifepo4 battery correctly. They use a different charging profile and a different method to sense when it's reached peak capacity.

A lead acid mobility scooter charger is not strictly dumb, it electronically monitors the charge and when it has reached peak it stops and lights the green led.
Where they are dumb is that they cannot sense a defective battery and will keep trying to charge it or end the charge early as it sees a false peak charge.
So not the best thing to use on a modern battery known to be fussy about how it is charged and dangerous consequences if you get it wrong!

I would be using a charger with a proper setting for your battery chemistry.
I think the Imax B6 has a setting for lifepo4 batteries. Be careful to buy a genuine one, there are a lot of fakes.

By using a charger designed for those batteries you will maximise both the battery life and the output of the battery. Plus less chance of something exploding!

I agree a proper charger would be better but as long as you dont try to charge it to the last few percent it will be fine. Given the massive increase in range just a few hours charge every now and then will suffice. I will probably buy a proper charger. My only concern is that it might cause a problem for the scooters on board display which shows the thing charging. although I suspect it should be ok.