I think I am ready to buy... analysis paralysis

[xy74]

So regarding battery state of charge, it's actually better if we left it sit at say 70% charge while we aren't there and it's turned off?

 

[Tomthumb62]

So regarding battery state of charge, it's actually better if we left it sit at say 70% charge while we aren't there and it's turned off?

Basically yes.

From my research, letting it sit at 100% for 2-4 weeks is fine. Longer than that, 40-80% is better. Then people will quibble about how 60% is so much better than 40%, but they’re really just bored and splitting hairs.

You just don’t want to store it too low for too long. For example, if you store it at 20% and then leave it alone for 9 months, that might be long enough to drain the battery due to self discharge. If it sits at 0% for weeks and months, lifepo4 doesn’t like that and will lose some capacity (how much can vary.) For lifepo4, self discharge is generally pretty low, I think 1-3% per month is average. If you’re lucky, your battery user manual will list a self discharge rate. Some high end lithiums have very high self discharge rates, like 20-30%/month. There was a long juicy thread about this last year.

 

[robby]

That actually made me lol. I just find it hard to believe that LFP 90-100% can’t be sustained for a long time without damage or shortening life. I just looked at EcoFlows and i can’t find anywhere not to charge and store at 100%.

Have you ever had a Laptop and left it plugged in 24/7 at a desk as a work station?
My wife did that with her previous Laptop and then was shocked when she Traveled with it and the battery died within 30 minutes. In two years it went from 5-6 hours of usable power to just 30 Min.
This has been a limitation of lithium batteries from day one.
As for Ecoflow and all of the other portable units, they are of course not going to mention that limitation.
They often times show people using it on camping trips etc. With that kind of usage you can charge it just before the trip.

 

[Tomthumb62]

Have you ever had a Laptop and left it plugged in 24/7 at a desk as a work station?
My wife did that with her previous Laptop and then was shocked when she Traveled with it and the battery died within 30 minutes. In two years it went from 5-6 hours of usable power to just 30 Min.
This has been a limitation of lithium batteries from day one.
As for Ecoflow and all of the other portable units, they are of course not going to mention that limitation.
They often times show people using it on camping trips etc. With that kind of usage you can charge it just before the trip.

Which is why some smarter laptops have charging thresholds you can set. Mine is set to stop charging at 80% and begin at 40%. It’s not perfect but it does help keep the battery healthier.

 

[robby]

Which is why some smarter laptops have charging thresholds you can set. Mine is set to stop charging at 80% and begin at 40%. It’s not perfect but it does help keep the battery healthier.

Yep, but her older one did not have that feature in the Bios.
With her replacement she now plugs it in when the battery is low and plugs it out when it is charged.

 

[Tomthumb62]

Yep, but her older one did not have that feature in the Bios.
With her replacement she now plugs it in when the battery is low and plugs it out when it is charged.

That works. But with charging thresholds, you can leave it plugged in 24/7/365 and it will only charge and stop to your specifications. But good on her to keep an eye on the battery level so as not to keep it at 100% all the time.

 

[ChrisG]

Just plugged in a GW3000. Going to test and mess with these settings in Solar Assistant for consuming battery but maintaining decent capacity. See how it goes. Does anyone know if this functionality actually works in SA?

 

[ChrisG]

Just plugged in a GW3000. Going to test and mess with these settings in Solar Assistant for consuming battery but maintaining decent capacity. See how it goes. Does anyone know if this functionality actually works in SA?

And it worked! Ok have solution if using Solar Assistant. Forgot how good this little SPF3000 inverter is, glad I tried it out again. Had it switching from Grid to battery/ solar based on SOC. Internet devices, computer, TV's etc didn't even blink with this inverter when switching.