Please point me to appropriate thread if this already discussed. I didn’t see it in cursory search.
I have a camper van with single 100AH Battleborn LiFePO connected to things thru a Victron 100/20 MPPT Controller (which you can connect load through as well). It’s warm here now, but we’ve had some cold weather. Today I tried to hook to load, and things did not go well.
im in DFW Texas area, and the van has been more or less been parked for last couple months…with sporadic local use on warmer days. yes, by our standards it got cold this winter. We had a couple of stretches where temps got down to 20F at worst. It stayed below 32F freezing for maybe 72 hrs one time, and at least 48 hrs the 2nd time. I have switches controlling battery connections to solar and connection to loads. Throughout these “cold spells,“ I wasn’t staying in the van nor using any power, so I had the switches connecting the battery to solar disconnected, and loads disconnected as well…so it was just sitting there. On warmer days in between, and since then, I flipped the switches on and checked on the battery status. Today, for instance, it was mid 70’s. The Victron app showed reasonable voltage, and nearly immediately, the Victron went from Bulk to Absorption, and shortly thereafter to Float, at which point the battery‘s BMS shuts charging amperage down to zero. This was consistent with all recent checks. Today though, I thought I would pump up some tires with Walmart portable compressor attached to this “house power” (via 12v “cigarette lighter-type ports). The Battleborn couldn’t even kickstart the small 12v portable compressor. Voltage dropped to <5volts, and the compressor struggled to churn. Disconnect the compressor, and voltage rebounds to mid13’s (Also connected to solar at this point). Again, almost immediately, voltage ramps back up, and controller switches to Absorption, and then in a few moments at 14.4v to Float. Try the load again, and again, it fails. This compressor also has an incandescent light. The battery will power it, usually. Once or twice, the compressor even cranked up feebly as voltage recovered to ~11.5v. I also have an AGM battery string. When I flip the load switch to use that string‘s power, the compressor operates normally (robustly).
so given that there was NO attempted charging while below 32F, and no load either, shouldn’t the Battleborn, with its “superior BMS,” have cruised through this cold snap? The AGM’s did.
Anyone have a guess what could be the issue? The solar charging seems to work, works normally if channeled to the AGM string, and when channeled to the LiFePO, gets it to float quickly. The two strings are isolated. The switches assure the two strings are not connected to each other (well, the negatives are all ultimately connected to the chassis). During the cold spells, with batteries disconnected from loads and solar, the Victron was also “depowered.”
I’ll call Battleborn Monday or Tuesday, but thought I would check here as well. I’ve had this basic setup for ~5 yrs, though it was only last spring that the Battleborn replaced a pre-existing AGM, and the Victron replaced a Morningstar PWM. It worked (with Battleborn and Victron) all summer 2022 while I lived aboard “off-grid.”.
my hunch is the Battleborn BMS is experiencing a “hiccup,” but maybe something else. I guess I’m wondering if anyone has seen this Battleborn behavior before…or similar from any other LiFePO drop-in battery.
I have a camper van with single 100AH Battleborn LiFePO connected to things thru a Victron 100/20 MPPT Controller (which you can connect load through as well). It’s warm here now, but we’ve had some cold weather. Today I tried to hook to load, and things did not go well.
im in DFW Texas area, and the van has been more or less been parked for last couple months…with sporadic local use on warmer days. yes, by our standards it got cold this winter. We had a couple of stretches where temps got down to 20F at worst. It stayed below 32F freezing for maybe 72 hrs one time, and at least 48 hrs the 2nd time. I have switches controlling battery connections to solar and connection to loads. Throughout these “cold spells,“ I wasn’t staying in the van nor using any power, so I had the switches connecting the battery to solar disconnected, and loads disconnected as well…so it was just sitting there. On warmer days in between, and since then, I flipped the switches on and checked on the battery status. Today, for instance, it was mid 70’s. The Victron app showed reasonable voltage, and nearly immediately, the Victron went from Bulk to Absorption, and shortly thereafter to Float, at which point the battery‘s BMS shuts charging amperage down to zero. This was consistent with all recent checks. Today though, I thought I would pump up some tires with Walmart portable compressor attached to this “house power” (via 12v “cigarette lighter-type ports). The Battleborn couldn’t even kickstart the small 12v portable compressor. Voltage dropped to <5volts, and the compressor struggled to churn. Disconnect the compressor, and voltage rebounds to mid13’s (Also connected to solar at this point). Again, almost immediately, voltage ramps back up, and controller switches to Absorption, and then in a few moments at 14.4v to Float. Try the load again, and again, it fails. This compressor also has an incandescent light. The battery will power it, usually. Once or twice, the compressor even cranked up feebly as voltage recovered to ~11.5v. I also have an AGM battery string. When I flip the load switch to use that string‘s power, the compressor operates normally (robustly).
so given that there was NO attempted charging while below 32F, and no load either, shouldn’t the Battleborn, with its “superior BMS,” have cruised through this cold snap? The AGM’s did.
Anyone have a guess what could be the issue? The solar charging seems to work, works normally if channeled to the AGM string, and when channeled to the LiFePO, gets it to float quickly. The two strings are isolated. The switches assure the two strings are not connected to each other (well, the negatives are all ultimately connected to the chassis). During the cold spells, with batteries disconnected from loads and solar, the Victron was also “depowered.”
I’ll call Battleborn Monday or Tuesday, but thought I would check here as well. I’ve had this basic setup for ~5 yrs, though it was only last spring that the Battleborn replaced a pre-existing AGM, and the Victron replaced a Morningstar PWM. It worked (with Battleborn and Victron) all summer 2022 while I lived aboard “off-grid.”.
my hunch is the Battleborn BMS is experiencing a “hiccup,” but maybe something else. I guess I’m wondering if anyone has seen this Battleborn behavior before…or similar from any other LiFePO drop-in battery.
