diy solar

diy solar

LifeP04 meltdown in a Sprinter van ?

I think he/they mean for storage - as in 'non-use'.
You charge it when you're going to use it.
It doesn't have to be 40% - can be anything 40-70%. Just not empty and not full. Unlike FLA's that need to remain at full charge to keep healthy.
I lot of 'home standby' gets charged to 85-90% and use some of it before recharging, whether daily or on a more spread out energy usage basis.
 
Browneye said:
I think he/they mean for storage - as in 'non-use'.
You charge it when you're going to use it.
It doesn't have to be 40% - can be anything 40-70%. Just not empty and not full. Unlike FLA's that need to remain at full charge to keep healthy.
I lot of 'home standby' gets charged to 85-90% and use some of it before recharging, whether daily or on a more spread out energy usage basis.
Click to expand...
This is correct- if the van is sitting at home or for daily driving, no need to go over 40-70% - and if I go to Costco, just use the fridge on solar/second alternator to run the fridge.
 
Rocksnsalt said:

LiFePo4 - Catastrophic failure.​

Spotted on the sprinter forum today. YIKES! ?
Re will it take a charge, relax… it’s a joke…
Click to expand...
I see a hose nozzle lol. Thats why I keep a fire extinguisher handy. Having been in several fires, you don't need one till you need it, then you REALLY need it.
 
Last edited:
The Dish Doc said:
I see a hose nozzle lol. Thats why I keep a fire extinguisher handy. Having been in several firs, you don't need one till you need it, then you REALLY need it.
Click to expand...
Used a full 10lbs to stop the flames and the ran the shower on the cells to cool them down…. They were cooking and didn’t want to have the others start cascading as well.
 
Browneye said:
I think he/they mean for storage - as in 'non-use'.
You charge it when you're going to use it.
It doesn't have to be 40% - can be anything 40-70%. Just not empty and not full. Unlike FLA's that need to remain at full charge to keep healthy.
I lot of 'home standby' gets charged to 85-90% and use some of it before recharging, whether daily or on a more spread out energy usage basis.
Click to expand...
So, I have a bluetti ac200max which I bought mainly for minimalist use in my van until I build a real system someday.
When in the van, typical use is powering my 12v refrigerator, a fan, and a little 250w 120vac heater a few times. It is typically charged while driving, off 2 factory 12v cig ports at the back of my Sprinter. When parked I charge with a portable solar panel.
I also have used it in my home a couple times when the power was out, selectively powering the refrigerator, internet, microwave, and an induction cooktop. I have also used it regularly to run a 1500w 120v heater, and occassionally a saw… just because I can, charging with solar panels and flipping the bird to the power co... Even if only for an hr or so lol.
I charge it with a few 100w solar panels the next day.
At times it may not be used for a few weeks or more.
I have tended to keep the Bluetti in a high state of charge (96-98%) so it is ready for use.
Are you saying it should NOT be kept over %70 soc during that time of a few weeks of non use?
If so I’ve really missed this info somehow, and that totally defeats the purpose of standby power, or at a minimum substantially reduces available power.

RE “You charge it when you're going to use it.”
Sometimes you don’t have the luxury of knowing when the power will be out.
 
Rocksnsalt said:
RE “You charge it when you're going to use it.”
Sometimes you don’t have the luxury of knowing when the power will be out.
Click to expand...
What was described is near continuous use. Charging daily to 90% is fine for light use and emergency planning. 100% is fine if disaster is expected or eminent. Or if using over 50% of capacity on a daily basis.

Storage at 50% is more for parking it for 3+ months with no expected use and battery disconnected. No emergency requirements.
 
What I understand - and clearly based on the outcome of the fire I may be wrong?
LiFePo4 storage is dependent upon your use case. For me - I have 600W solar on top of the van and the van has a second 280A alternator…. So I am able to stay at 40% and not worry about it…
Someone else may only have 200W and want to stay at 70% so in this case, may want to bump up to 80%

The answer from my colleague - he said for longevity of the cells in my use case - boondock for a few weeks a couple times a year, try not to go over 70% to keep the chemical reaction as innocuous as possible.
If however you are using as a back up in an area where power is consistently inconsistent, run it up to and hold at 95% knowing the offset in readiness is paid for in part by cell longevity.
 
Rocksnsalt said:
So, I have a bluetti ac200max which I bought mainly for minimalist use in my van until I build a real system someday.
When in the van, typical use is powering my 12v refrigerator, a fan, and a little 250w 120vac heater a few times. It is typically charged while driving, off 2 factory 12v cig ports at the back of my Sprinter. When parked I charge with a portable solar panel.
I also have used it in my home a couple times when the power was out, selectively powering the refrigerator, internet, microwave, and an induction cooktop. I have also used it regularly to run a 1500w 120v heater, and occassionally a saw… just because I can, charging with solar panels and flipping the bird to the power co... Even if only for an hr or so lol.
I charge it with a few 100w solar panels the next day.
At times it may not be used for a few weeks or more.
I have tended to keep the Bluetti in a high state of charge (96-98%) so it is ready for use.
Are you saying it should NOT be kept over %70 soc during that time of a few weeks of non use?
If so I’ve really missed this info somehow, and that totally defeats the purpose of standby power, or at a minimum substantially reduces available power.

RE “You charge it when you're going to use it.”
Sometimes you don’t have the luxury of knowing when the power will be out.
Click to expand...

You missed the entire point. Entirely. Oh well. LOL

It is widely accepted and proven that any lithium chemistry battery will degrade if kept at 100% SOC indefinitely. Yes, even your smart phone. They're even setting up charging parameters to take advantage of sleep time, so as not to leave it 100% while you're sleeping. It charges in the middle of the night instead.

For many, a number of cycles or total capacity degradation is outweighed by their usage parameters. It's all a balancing act.

My RV is sitting in the driveway, I don't know when the next trip will be, the pack happily cruising along with SCC on float set to 3.33V/cell, which is about 60-70% charge state. It maintains any parasitic loads, sensors and indicators, the radio and such.

My victron dc-to-dc also runs when I drive, and/or I can plug the unit into shorepower and charge the pack up in very short order at 55A, or at least to 90% or better. I've built in enough redundancy power capacity to not have to rely on the last 10% of my battery pack.

YMMV Bottom line is you do what works for YOU.

BTW, how do you like the Bluetti? I've been thinking about a RiverPro or a Delta Mini, just for occasional use and for home power backup. Super cool technology. I can tell you if I had one it wouldn't necessarily stay at a constant 100% SOC. I would let it run down some before recharging it.

I have over ten-grand in ebikes. They're super cool Giant electric mountain bikes. The charger has a button that sets charging to 60% and terminates charge for 'storage'. When you're going to ride the bike you plug it in and charge it all the way up. Those packs run about a grand to replace. E-bike people tend to rather take good care of their pack - it's the lifeblood of their substantial e-bike investment. Just sayin'.
 
Browneye said:
You missed the entire point. Entirely. Oh well. LOL

It is widely accepted and proven that any lithium chemistry battery will degrade if kept at 100% SOC indefinitely. Yes, even your smart phone. They're even setting up charging parameters to take advantage of sleep time, so as not to leave it 100% while you're sleeping. It charges in the middle of the night instead.

For many, a number of cycles or total capacity degradation is outweighed by their usage parameters. It's all a balancing act.

My RV is sitting in the driveway, I don't know when the next trip will be, the pack happily cruising along with SCC on float set to 3.33V/cell, which is about 60-70% charge state. It maintains any parasitic loads, sensors and indicators, the radio and such.

My victron dc-to-dc also runs when I drive, and/or I can plug the unit into shorepower and charge the pack up in very short order at 55A, or at least to 90% or better. I've built in enough redundancy power capacity to not have to rely on the last 10% of my battery pack.

YMMV Bottom line is you do what works for YOU.

BTW, how do you like the Bluetti? I've been thinking about a RiverPro or a Delta Mini, just for occasional use and for home power backup. Super cool technology. I can tell you if I had one it wouldn't necessarily stay at a constant 100% SOC. I would let it run down some before recharging it.

I have over ten-grand in ebikes. They're super cool Giant electric mountain bikes. The charger has a button that sets charging to 60% and terminates charge for 'storage'. When you're going to ride the bike you plug it in and charge it all the way up. Those packs run about a grand to replace. E-bike people tend to rather take good care of their pack - it's the lifeblood of their substantial e-bike investment. Just sayin'.
Click to expand...
Ok I get it now.
So far the Bluetti is ok but some people are having issues like the smoking one I saw posted here a day or 2 ago.
 
time2roll said:
What was described is near continuous use. Charging daily to 90% is fine for light use and emergency planning. 100% is fine if disaster is expected or eminent. Or if using over 50% of capacity on a daily basis.

Storage at 50% is more for parking it for 3+ months with no expected use and battery disconnected. No emergency requirements.
Click to expand...
Ok this makes sense. Mine won’t be sitting for months.
Thanks
 
I thought the point of 40% would be to limit the "potential" if there is an issue. If you short out an empty battery it will do a lot less damage than if you short out a full one.
 
bgflyguy said:
I thought the point of 40% would be to limit the "potential" if there is an issue. If you short out an empty battery it will do a lot less damage than if you short out a full one.
Click to expand...
The 'potential' is nearly the same if it was 40% or 90%...... ;)
 
justgary said:
Yes, the fireball is larger with higher state of charge.

The 40% is for battery lifetime mostly.
Click to expand...
Is the fireball larger, or does it last longer? From what I understand, the reaction in the battery can only go so fast so it was my understanding that the fireball would just last longer, not be more intense.
 
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