Comparing current FLA to any future LFP

[Steve777]

Just a thought, if I got it right, you are looking for more or less the same usable capacity as your house FLA batts for your cabin. But since the cabin may go unoccupied and unheated some of the time, LFP could run into problems (and require heaters).

I was wondering if you had considered moving your FLA batts to the cabin and getting new LFP batts for the house. It seems like it may handle the questions around FLA/LFP for the cabin; at least until the current FLA batts are EOL. You'd still have to do some temp control "stuff" for the FLAs at the unoccupied cabin sometimes, but I thing FLA are more forgiving of cold temps. And you would get to "learn" about Li batts in a somewhat more forgiving environment for them.

Just a thought...

 

[glandpuck]

Unless I missed it, the Op didn't say if he had any PV, just grid tied batteries. He said winter temp down to 62 okay.

FLA can easily charge at that temp. If he has PV, then a charge controller will keep batts topped off, whether FLA or LFP.

Also, I didn't mention, but the cabinets I installed my LFP's in are ventilated, and also can be equipped with heaters if needed for local climate as well as are insulated and can be cooled too. They can be installed indoors our outdoors, so in that case ambient temp not a concern for charging.

 

[MikeGoodman59]

Wonderful for you to have these options and possibilities.

How much would it cost to get grid power to your cabin? Might that money be better served using it to maintain independence from the utility with its service charges and add-ons?

Perhaps get those flooded lead acid batteries and (mature but functioning fine) solar panels to where the sun is shinier and build something with LFP’s at your home. Seems like the FLA will last longer if they don’t get so deeply discharged.

It is hard for us to get the complete picture of what you would like to accomplish. How much time do you anticipate actually being at your cabin? What time of year? What will you be powering and how much of the time? What would you like in the future?

I am trying to maintain an off-grid bugout that I can visit once every two weeks, once a month, year round. Sounds like a luxury, and it is.

At most it would be two nights a month. I would be powering just refrigerator 24/7, AC/heat pump for 400 SQFT. Normal heating and air when I am up there, bare minimum for antifreeze, humidity the rest of the time.

Since haven't found a country woman to move up there (my suburban lady is a dear) would probably put metal building with modest amount of shop equipment, water stove. Well pump. Heating and air for about a 1200 SQFT metal building.

I like the idea of bare minimum for the 400 square foot shed, something semi-portable to take back and forth as redundancy from my home. The lazy geezer in me likes the Apollos because they are so brain-dead portable and solve the power needs immediately. Maybe get one Apollo, do a hand truck the way Will Prowse put together

Power laid to cabin (IIRC) was $0 from Duke Power bc they'd expect me to build home. I've done internal wiring, know how to pass inspection, but I've never put up a meter base. Getting the meter base and wiring past inspection might require an electrician to make county happy.

This is part of the reason I want to keep it off grid. Why involve county officials? And from the pictures on my thread, it might be easy to see how open and visible my land is. Great views, but that goes both ways.

The trick would be to make the system look (nearly) invisible. Just enough panels to keep a float, then a portable system panel system for when I am up there working.

As for my flooded lead acid at home, could probably take the FLAs up there, but 16xL16 BATTS is heavy. I'm probably more of a "let sleeping dogs lie" kind of guy. ... AND so you understand, my FLA are on a float, loaded to 40% SOC once every 2 months. ... Current SGs are 1290 (80°FF on a bulb after 2+ years. My last set lasted 10 years like that.

 

[MikeGoodman59]

Just a thought, if I got it right, you are looking for more or less the same usable capacity as your house FLA batts for your cabin. But since the cabin may go unoccupied and unheated some of the time, LFP could run into problems (and require heaters).

I was wondering if you had considered moving your FLA batts to the cabin and getting new LFP batts for the house. It seems like it may handle the questions around FLA/LFP for the cabin; at least until the current FLA batts are EOL. You'd still have to do some temp control "stuff" for the FLAs at the unoccupied cabin sometimes, but I thing FLA are more forgiving of cold temps. And you would get to "learn" about Li batts in a somewhat more forgiving environment for them.

Just a thought...

A very thoughtful answer. Currently I have 48v, 840ah load capacity at home. The only way that would happen is if I expand my 400 ft building to include a 1200 square foot shop, so the load up there would be much less for now.

Moving 16x L16 batteries would be quite a chore, but you are right that the learning could happen in my home under a controlled set of conditions.

An interim solution for getting up to speed on lfp would be to build one of the carts that WILL has made. Get a Bluetti AC200 MAX as a less expensive alternative to the Apollos. Then, if I like dealing with a portable storage, take the AC 200 Max home for local portable.

Folks, keep throwing the answers at me, can't tell you how much I appreciate the contribution. I'm in a good spot, moneywise, whereas I sense a lot of other people might be on a tight budget.

 

[Hank Waconda]

Just a thought, if I got it right, you are looking for more or less the same usable capacity as your house FLA batts for your cabin. But since the cabin may go unoccupied and unheated some of the time, LFP could run into problems (and require heaters).

I was wondering if you had considered moving your FLA batts to the cabin and getting new LFP batts for the house. It seems like it may handle the questions around FLA/LFP for the cabin; at least until the current FLA batts are EOL. You'd still have to do some temp control "stuff" for the FLAs at the unoccupied cabin sometimes, but I thing FLA are more forgiving of cold temps. And you would get to "learn" about Li batts in a somewhat more forgiving environment for them.

Just a thought...

Still using D8 flooded at my cabin. Stayed nice and charged thru the -20 below a few weeks ago in an outside shed. Never have any issues. Add water 3 times a year and eq twice a year. Rock solid.