Blue Carbon lifepo4 batteries

[Thatsmrpigg]

Hi everyone,
Wondering if anyone has used or has any experience with Blue Carbon batteries? Can't find any reviews online or here on the forums.
Website is - (Bluecarbontech.com)
Saw them while searching the web and they look solid with an aluminum case, specs look decent and comes with a 5 year warranty.

Considering 2 x 200ah units for my RV.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[svetz]

No experience, but I recall Will saying something (negative) about carbon foam batteries (assuming they're the same thing).

 

[Thatsmrpigg]

No, these are definitely lithium iron phosphate (Lifepo4) batteries. I have attached pics of the battery and specs below. Just wondering if anyone has experience with this brand of battery.

 

[JoeHam]

80 amp max output current on a 200 ah battery implies they went cheap on the BMS.

Be sure you can live with that limitation.

 

[Thatsmrpigg]

That's a very good point. Thank you!

 

[Michael Gross]

But do you need more then 80amp for a family home

 

[Thatsmrpigg]

Thanks for the reply. I should have followed up on this thread a couple of months ago. I actually ended up with two 200ah (400ah total) DIY lifepo4 batteries built with AliExpress cells and Overkill Solar 120amp BMS w Bluetooth. Also, have a Victron smart shunt placed inline and everything connected to 3000watt inverter. Everything works great and I can be totally off grid (w lights, water pump, modem, Smart TV and laptops) for upto 5 days with no problem.

 

[JoeHam]

But do you need more then 80amp for a family home

80 amps at 12v is around 960 watts so yes, I would think you need more than that for a family home.

Nice work @Thatsmrpigg to DIY 400Ah with a 120 amp BMS!

 

[enangs]

I've used this battery for about 1 month, until now there is still no problem, it runs about 300 - 400 watts for home needs only.

Blue carbon 2 x 12V/150 ah in series 24 v

 

[Sikat Solar]

I've used this battery for about 1 month, until now there is still no problem, it runs about 300 - 400 watts for home needs only.

Blue carbon 2 x 12V/150 ah in series 24 v

A Blue Carbon dealer told me that you cannot series connect Blue Carbon batteries. May be worth checking.

 

[Sikat Solar]

Hi everyone,
Wondering if anyone has used or has any experience with Blue Carbon batteries? Can't find any reviews online or here on the forums.
Website is - (Bluecarbontech.com)
Saw them while searching the web and they look solid with an aluminum case, specs look decent and comes with a 5 year warranty.

Considering 2 x 200ah units for my RV.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

We are a foundation that does solar electrification for off grid communities in the Philippines.
I have always wondered why Blue Carbon batteries are so cheap. A 12V 100AH will cost US 180 and a 200AH for US 300. They are packaged really well with Al die cast on both ends and steel casing for the body. Not sure how true but, I was recently informed by a Blue Carbon dealer that they repurpose used BYD batteries from buses.

 

[enangs]

A Blue Carbon dealer told me that you cannot series connect Blue Carbon batteries. May be worth checking.

still running well, with no problem yet.

 

[LUKAPARAH]

Guys still talking about blue carbon .. do we have to change either controller and ups ?
I always been using vrla battery and I don't want to ruin them with a wrong charge?

 

[LUKAPARAH]

Guys still talking about blue carbon .. do we have to change either controller and ups ?
I always been using vrla battery and I don't want to ruin them with a wrong charge?

 

[randee01]

Hi everyone,
Wondering if anyone has used or has any experience with Blue Carbon batteries? Can't find any reviews online or here on the forums.
Website is - (Bluecarbontech.com)
Saw them while searching the web and they look solid with an aluminum case, specs look decent and comes with a 5 year warranty.

Considering 2 x 200ah units for my RV.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

I bought a blue carbon 48v 200ah. Its well built, at least the outside is. It arrived showing 54.0v on its built in voltmeter. Wish it had a way to access the bms. So far all is well but need advice on setting up the bulk, floating and discharge voltages of the inverter/charger.

 

[Tinman]

Hi everyone,
I recently purchased a 12V-150Ah Blue Carbon LiFePO4 battery. The manual and sticker on the battery says that you can connect your solar panels straight to the battery without going through a charge controller. There's even a Youtube video of it at

. Does anyone have any knowledge of this and whether it is safe to do so? Would be interested to know.

 

[AE4KR]

Hi everyone,
I recently purchased a 12V-150Ah Blue Carbon LiFePO4 battery. The manual and sticker on the battery says that you can connect your solar panels straight to the battery without going through a charge controller.

In the portable solar setup I'm assembling for ham radio field gear, I'm using Anderson PowerPoles for everything with the idea I might have to connect panels straight to a battery in a pinch. You can do it with these two caveats:

(1) Make sure the combined short-circuit current capacity of your solar array is less than the battery's max charge current.
(2) Monitor voltage across the battery diligently during charging, and unplug the panels before you exceed the battery manufacturer's max rated charge voltage. (Or, place an unhealthy level of trust in your battery's BMS to cut off charging when voltage hits the limit.)

If for any reason charging voltage or current go too high, the BMS will cut off, and likely not restart charging until the panels, and possibly the load, are disconnected for at least a moment. If you leave this setup unattended, you may be unhappy with the results.

This is not a good Plan A. It will be inefficient, require attention, and need a way to accurately monitor voltage. Most new panels will only produce about 60% of their rated wattage when using a battery to hold down the voltage, vs close to 100% with a good MPPT controller. And cutting off the charge as soon as it hits 14.4 volts (or whatever your battery's max charge voltage is) will not get the battery to 100%. I'm only making provision for this in case I have a charge controller failure in the middle of nowhere.

 

[Tinman]

In the portable solar setup I'm assembling for ham radio field gear, I'm using Anderson PowerPoles for everything with the idea I might have to connect panels straight to a battery in a pinch. You can do it with these two caveats:

(1) Make sure the combined short-circuit current capacity of your solar array is less than the battery's max charge current.
(2) Monitor voltage across the battery diligently during charging, and unplug the panels before you exceed the battery manufacturer's max rated charge voltage. (Or, place an unhealthy level of trust in your battery's BMS to cut off charging when voltage hits the limit.)

If for any reason charging voltage or current go too high, the BMS will cut off, and likely not restart charging until the panels, and possibly the load, are disconnected for at least a moment. If you leave this setup unattended, you may be unhappy with the results.

This is not a good Plan A. It will be inefficient, require attention, and need a way to accurately monitor voltage. Most new panels will only produce about 60% of their rated wattage when using a battery to hold down the voltage, vs close to 100% with a good MPPT controller. And cutting off the charge as soon as it hits 14.4 volts (or whatever your battery's max charge voltage is) will not get the battery to 100%. I'm only making provision for this in case I have a charge controller failure in the middle of nowhere.

Thanks for the response. Just what I suspected. It's problematic that the manual would suggest this

 

[AE4KR]

It's problematic that the manual would suggest this

I would agree if there is no additional instruction on how to do it safely, which apparently there was not.

Actually, if they're trying to serve the very bottom end of the market, many of their customers probably are interested in using the BMS as a crude charge controller.

 

[jesseinit]

I've used this battery for about 1 month, until now there is still no problem, it runs about 300 - 400 watts for home needs only.

Blue carbon 2 x 12V/150 ah in series 24 v

I've got a similar setup as yours, same battery but different voltages, I use a 24v battery connected in series.
I can see that you are actively balancing the batteries, does the device you use work and please how do I achieve this if it works?