LiFePo Battery recommendations in Australia

[Andy1]

Hi Fellow Aussies,

I'm looking at building a 48v system for my offgrid cabin. Having trouble find any recommendations on good value LiFePo batteries available here in Australia.

Happy to hear what you use or good things you've about different brands.

Thanks,

Andy

 

[rmaddy]

To avoid confusion, most likely you mean LiFePO4, not LiFePo. LiFePo would mean Lithium Iron Polonium. LiFePO4 is Lithium Iron Phosphate.

You may wish to check out the Off-Grid Garage YouTube channel run by another Andy from Australia:

https://www.youtube.com/c/OffGridGarageAustralia/featured

He probably has info on 48V batteries.

 

[wattmatters]

You may wish to check out the Off-Grid Garage YouTube channel run by another Andy from Australia:

Andy imported his LiFePO4 battery cells directly from China.

There are not many sellers well known in Australia. Google finds most of them and I have zero info on standards, reliability, price or quality of any of the local suppliers so see little point in listing them.

Keen also to hear from anyone who uses an Australia supplier of LiFePO4 cells or pre-made batteries.

 

[podilamaya]

This person assembles LiFePO4 batteries in victoria. seems to have good reviews. but I haven't used them personnaly.

https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=powerpaul%20australia

I imported 32 cells from a group buy and got less than grade B cells. so be careful when you import them directly from china.

Sometimes still worth buying pre-build batteries (even a bit more expensive) than trying to build them.

There are few Australian importers,

Batteries

Green Bank is an Australian Solar Power Company that offers a wide range of LiFePo4 Lithium Batteries for your Solar Energy Storage System.

greenbanks.com.au

48V 100Ah Lithium Battery 19 Inch Rack Installation Deep Cycle Energy Storage | eBay

TOPLi-48-100 uses Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) chemistry which is recognized as one of the safest Lithium chemistries currently in use. The simplicity in modulating the battery makes it possible to create small or large energy storage systems.

www.ebay.com.au

and there is an Australian assembled battery but not cheap

PowerPlus Energy - Energy Storage Solutions

PowerPlus Energy offers innovative energy storage solutions for a sustainable future. Discover our cutting-edge technologies and expertise in renewable energy.

www.powerplus-energy.com.au

 

[wattmatters]

This person assembles LiFePO4 batteries in victoria. seems to have good reviews. but I haven't used them personnaly.
https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=powerpaul australia

Some of that work looks top grade.

 

[Andy1]

This person assembles LiFePO4 batteries in victoria. seems to have good reviews. but I haven't used them personnaly.

https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=powerpaul%20australia

I imported 32 cells from a group buy and got less than grade B cells. so be careful when you import them directly from china.

Sometimes still worth buying pre-build batteries (even a bit more expensive) than trying to build them.

There are few Australian importers,

Yes i've heard of green bank solar but seemed way too cheap.
Be interested to know what power plus energy charges for theirs, might give them a call.
Ebay one seems around the right price. However i've always been sceptical of ebay stores.

 

[Andy1]

Some of that work looks top grade.

Yeah i have looked at PowerPaul's stuff looks pretty good and at a reasonable price, however he only does a 12v and 24v battery and are only spec'd for parallel not series connect.

 

[Andy1]

48V 75Ah/75A Continuous Discharge LiFePO4 Battery - Amptron

48V 75Ah / 75A Continuous Discharge LiFePO4 Battery AMPTRON® 48V 75Ah Lithium LiFePO4 Batteries are an alternative replacement (AR) for most applications currently using a deep cycle Gel, AGM or Flooded Lead Acid battery. The maximum continuous discharge current is 75A and peak discharge current...

www.amptron.com.au

Found these, they seem to be a fair compromise between price and quality (if not a little high on the price side). Only problem is they are a Perth company so might get hit a bit with shipping to QLD.

 

[wattmatters]

if not a little high on the price side

Yeah pushing around A$0.70/Wh is a bit rich. They look nice and have good specs. Would be good to see inside one!

 

[toms]

It depends on what you are looking for.

Ian from FPV-Power has a good range of used and new cells.

Trev from thebackshed has Winstons, although i haven’t purchased any for over a year.

 

[bluenomads]

I'm also interested in Australia, wanting to do a 48V system for a boat. I could do an import, but if there someone already doing that, checking for A-grade, putting it all together with bars, BMS, etc. and selling for a little profit then I'd be happy to support them!

 

[Dsiee]

Green bank looks like the best deal at the moment. On ebay they have 10kw at 48v for just over $3k.

 

[wattmatters]

On ebay they have 10kw at 48v for just over $3k.

Their prices must be low for a reason. Has anyone pulled their units apart to see why?

 

[Dsiee]

It looks like this one

I'll probably order two as I'm too lazy to do another diy bank.

 

[Abby0914]

If you can send me the specific conditions of the lifepo4 battery you need, I might have a good recommendation.

Products | LiFePO4 Battery

 

[wattmatters]

It looks like this one

On the inside?

 

[ocular]

to add to the list of suppliers here in Australia I have had a Deep Cycle Systems 16S 15kWhr LiFePO4 51.2V battery for nearly 2 years now.

PV Panel Battery | Best Batteries For Solar Off Grid

Advanced PV Panel Battery technology for effective solar energy management. Get the Best Batteries for Solar Off-Grid for sustained energy supply. Order now!

www.deepcyclesystems.com.au

purchased for $10000 - it was a dropin replacement for a 48V Pb Acid 48kWhr bank in an existing system. It was quite a physical feat to install as the box is 190kg and wall mounted. IP67 rated in a sealed unit so is well suited to harsh conditions. Apparently each of the 16 "cells" are made of cylindrical cells all in parallel.

It has a bluetooth app so the cell voltage can be seen (though only to 1/100 V) but no indication balancing.
After 6 months a BMS firmware upgrade was done. The passive balancer was disconneced and a separate active balancer ( I recognised from aliexpress was installed by DCS). Then a few months later cells 1-4 were 200mV than the rest of the cells when charged to 56V. The active cell balancer was replaced by a DCS designed dc converter balancer with a claim of being able to balance at 59.2A! as discussed here - bottom of page

DCS Battery Tech

www.deepcyclesystems.com.au

However I plugged in the existing balance leads in the correct order and there was no evidence that it ever worked. No LEDS or change in cell voltage.
So I plugged in a JK16S 2A acive balancer and set balancing to come on when delta V was >20mV -it took 2 months for the batteries to balance but at no time did the BMS need to activate. Unfortunately this active balancer doesnt have a setting in its bluetooth app to restrict balancing over 3.4V.

I also have seen another supplier on the scene maxxcell.com.au - no personal experience
currently selling a 10kWhr sytem $5095.85

MaxxCell 48-200MAX 10Kwh Battery System - MaxxCell Solar Energy Australia

Product Highlights: 5000 times deep cycle charge and discharge (10 years) Super safe LiFePO4 battery chemistry Higher energy density, smaller volume for households Support for parallel expansion - up to 6 units This battery pack is designed for Off Grid Inverters Internal BMS system protects...

maxxcell.com.au

 

[Ellcon123]

to add to the list of suppliers here in Australia I have had a Deep Cycle Systems 16S 15kWhr LiFePO4 51.2V battery for nearly 2 years now.

PV Panel Battery | Best Batteries For Solar Off Grid

Advanced PV Panel Battery technology for effective solar energy management. Get the Best Batteries for Solar Off-Grid for sustained energy supply. Order now!

www.deepcyclesystems.com.au

purchased for $10000 - it was a dropin replacement for a 48V Pb Acid 48kWhr bank in an existing system. It was quite a physical feat to install as the box is 190kg and wall mounted. IP67 rated in a sealed unit so is well suited to harsh conditions. Apparently each of the 16 "cells" are made of cylindrical cells all in parallel.

It has a bluetooth app so the cell voltage can be seen (though only to 1/100 V) but no indication balancing.
After 6 months a BMS firmware upgrade was done. The passive balancer was disconneced and a separate active balancer ( I recognised from aliexpress was installed by DCS). Then a few months later cells 1-4 were 200mV than the rest of the cells when charged to 56V. The active cell balancer was replaced by a DCS designed dc converter balancer with a claim of being able to balance at 59.2A! as discussed here - bottom of page

DCS Battery Tech

www.deepcyclesystems.com.au

However I plugged in the existing balance leads in the correct order and there was no evidence that it ever worked. No LEDS or change in cell voltage.
So I plugged in a JK16S 2A acive balancer and set balancing to come on when delta V was >20mV -it took 2 months for the batteries to balance but at no time did the BMS need to activate. Unfortunately this active balancer doesnt have a setting in its bluetooth app to restrict balancing over 3.4V.

I also have seen another supplier on the scene maxxcell.com.au - no personal experience
currently selling a 10kWhr sytem $5095.85

MaxxCell 48-200MAX 10Kwh Battery System - MaxxCell Solar Energy Australia

Product Highlights: 5000 times deep cycle charge and discharge (10 years) Super safe LiFePO4 battery chemistry Higher energy density, smaller volume for households Support for parallel expansion - up to 6 units This battery pack is designed for Off Grid Inverters Internal BMS system protects...

maxxcell.com.au

Buying locally will be expensive. Am waiting for my 3rd set of batteries but will have 13kW for AUD $2000. Add BMS and active balancer and around $2500 total. The Maxxcell do look good though.

 

[podilamaya]

Buying locally will be expensive. Am waiting for my 3rd set of batteries but will have 13kW for AUD $2000. Add BMS and active balancer and around $2500 total. The Maxxcell do look good though.

May I ask, where are you buying cells from?

 

[Ellcon123]

May I ask, where are you buying cells from?

Shenzhen Xuba on Alibaba. Three orders without issue. Unlike the US we don't have any vendor keeping local stock.