Epoch vs. Kilovault

[marty9876]

Hey DIY Solar Forum!

Thanks for the wealth of information here! Awesome site.

I'm looking for feedback on Epoch vs. Kilovault with a use case of effectively for a trolling motor. I reality I'm looking for 1st hand experience in Lithium and have several boats/off grid systems I'd like to build out but for the sake this application it's for a transom mounted 12v 100ah trolling motor.

Both Epoch and Kilovault meet my needs (Bluetooth/on battery indicator) along with a host of other great features but I've tried to narrow it down to those as must haves.

Pros/Cons I see, let me know if I'm missing things/not thinking about this the right way:

Kilovault

• Pros
  • Biggest pro is these are likely the brand I'd later install on my 35' sailboat, getting experience with the brand would great. I've given up on 'this' battery being used on that boat, I'd do a bank of 12v 2x200ah or 1x300ah and this specific application would just be 12x 100ah (want to keep it 'portable' and might move between different boats none of which would be the 35' sailboat)
  • CANbus design seems to be mature and a traditional CANbus methodology
  • Cheaper- as of today, I think it's $452.24 plus tax
• Cons
  • Not that great of a mobile app
  • No cell compression (not sure how much that matters as I likely would never be charging that fast)
  • Apparently can't turn the battery 'off' w/o the app, only turn it on via power button. Silly.

Epoch

• Pros
  • Odd I know, but I really like the handles. I can get a case/make my own handle set but it's nice having those out of the box in case I move this between applications
  • Case and feet to mount with are nice
  • Better case, my installs would never be exposed directly to the elements but are also not indoor installations (different boats - dinghy's and alike)
  • On battery power button actually turns things on and off
  • Remote display option
  • Solid app
• Cons
  • Unsure if the CANbus is actually CANbus, ethernet or what. Typically I think CANbus needs to be terminated but I think this one is differnt as one port is CANbus and one is for the remote display
  • More expensive - $573.34

TLDR; Epoch worth $120.01 over the Kilovault?

 

[B.Babs]

There is a 10% off coupon offered at the link below for Epoch.

https://marinehowto.com/drop-in-lifepo4-be-an-educated-consumer/

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Shipping factored in?
I have 2 AGM Kilovault; flawless, but find Epoch very interesting.

 

[marty9876]

Shipping factored in?
I have 2 AGM Kilovault; flawless, but find Epoch very interesting.

Yup - no taxes as that naturally varies.

Due to size constraints in my dingy this will likely end up being a Kilovault play.

 

[jdege]

I have a pair of Epoch B48100Bs and I have no complaints about the batteries, or the chargers.

But the app doesn't impress me.

• Bluetooth connection page displays all Bluetooth devices, not just batteries.
• Can only connect to one battery at a time.
• Must explicitly disconnect from the first battery in order to switch to a second. The app allows you to try to connect to the second battery, but it never succeeds.
• One of my batteries intermittently fails to show on the connection page. I need to reboot my device to see it.
• The app doesn't work at all in landscape mode - meaning I can't use it on the tablet I've mounted to be a cheap DIY chart plotter.

That said, Epoch has promised improvements.