Recent content by greyghost

I'm partial to the Fortune cells. They aren't the cheapest or lightest, but they have a design that permits constructing a solid battery in pretty much any configuration you choose using ss threaded rods and nuts.Just my two cents. YMMV

In my experience, Lifep04 batteries are far superior for thruster use as they do not have the voltage drop under load that AGMs do. This means your windlass performs better and doesn't heat up as much. The issue with off-the-shelf Lifep04 batteries is that most are limited by their bms to much...

One simple way to do this is to set your charging sources for the optimum bulk/float numbers to prolong the life of your LFPs. Get a smallish, say 15A 12v to 12v charger, and set it to the optimum profile for your starting battery. et voila! All are happy.

Personally, I would use 12 Fortune 100Ah cells in a 3p4s configuration.

@Vertigo The battery photo I posted above is of a new version LifeBlue 200Ah. The BMS for the 200Ah and above batteries has a 200A continuous rating.

It does sound like some seriously mismatched cells. Here's what I would do... Get a reasonably high current balancer, open one battery up, and attach the balancer to the cells. Leave it attached until all cells have reached the same voltage. Then remove the balancer and begin charging. Observe...

Have you reached out to Larry directly? sales@lifebluebattery.com

@flemmingdjensen I am in a similar situation wrt thruster batteries. Please report back on how your system works. I’m guessing there are a number of us who would like to hear. Cheers, Doug

I just purchased some LifeBlue 200Ah batteries for my house bank. LifeBlue sent along this picture of the BMS inside their new V3 battery. Thoughts?

@Csimmer I'm interested in the Daly 500A BMS w/BT and UART, but I'm finding their website to be quite confusing. Is this (link below) the item you ordered? Or is there another/better link? I don't see any direct reference to the comm devices/accessories at this link, but have seen them...

@FilterGuy Can you provide details on how the Optocouplers are connected to each of the Victron bits? I understand how the BMS operates the optocouplers. I'm curious about where these are connected to the Victron bits, and what settings you used in each Victron unit to accomplish enabling and...

Wendy, Your anchor windlass max draw (1700W/12V=142A) is within the specs of your current house battery bank, and should operate properly. Your thruster will require something like 4000W/(12 to 13V) = 308 to 333A max in operation. As Turd Ferguson pointed out higher up, this is likely the...

I'm happy to assist, but I'll need answers to a few questions first. 1. What is the max continuous rating of the BMS for each battery? Are they drop-ins or DIYs? Brand? 2. Your windlass draws 1700W. What does your bow thruster draw? I can't say if your relay failure is related to your current...

John, no worries about 'lecture mode'. We may be talking across one another, at least on battery topology. Yes, seven 4S1P batteries in parallel, each with their own leads to the pos and neg busses would work a treat and provide the required power within single Fortune bus bar specs. In my case...

@John Simmons I like what I've seen so far in the electrodacus bms. I'm quite certain I could get it to turn off my MultiPlus(es), MPPT Solar, and perhaps disconnect my alternator field if I wanted. I would seriously consider something like this for 'normal' house loads, even the 300A or so my...