Lifepo4 voltage drop recently

[Echo Dawn]

Hello I’d like to find out the charging parameters for a lifepo4 battery as well as information about why I am seeing a voltage drop in my new 280 ah battery recently. I bought it new 5 months ago.
I am seeing a real change in the voltage in relation to the percentage of charge…??
I am new to lifepo4 batteries…
I live off grid in Canada year round…
Thanks

 

[ScrotusGobbleBottom]

We need all the info you can give us to help you.

From the little info you wrote my response is:
Of course the voltage will drop.
Voltage in relation to SOC could be a calibration issue.

Is this a DIY battery? Is this a server rack battery? What model is your BMS? What wattage is a typical load? How long have you noticed this? How long has the battery been in operation?

 

[Echo Dawn]

Hello and thank you very much for responding. Is a life pole for 280 amp power battery from Alberta lithium. I bought the battery brand new in November 2023. I’ve been using it since. I have 100 W freezer on it as well as an RV furnace pretty much that’s it except for cell phone charging laptop miscellaneous things like that very low load not exceeding 300 W.

I have noticed the drop for the last week or two.
I don’t know what a server rack battery is this is just a single battery. Very simple. I have 350 W of solar power as well as a 60 amp charger for days the sun don’t shine.

BMS
JBD-SPO4SO34-L4S-200A

 

[Echo Dawn]

Hello and thank you very much for responding. Is a life pole for 280 amp power battery from Alberta lithium. I bought the battery brand new in November 2023. I’ve been using it since. I have 100 W freezer on it as well as an RV furnace pretty much that’s it except for cell phone charging laptop miscellaneous things like that very low load not exceeding 300 W.

I have noticed the drop for the last week or two.
I don’t know what a server rack battery is this is just a single battery. Very simple. I have 350 W of solar power as well as a 60 amp charger for days the sun don’t shine.

BMS
JBD-SPO4SO34-L4S-200A

Lifepo4

 

[Echo Dawn]

Lifepo4

Sorry about the voice text typos I didn’t catch it before I sent it. The battery is LIFEPO4 280 amp power. I’ve been very happy with it until I’ve noticed this voltage drop. I typically charge it from 30% up to 80% .
I’m not getting much support from the manufacturer.

 

[Echo Dawn]

The voltage drop that I am referring to is like at 47% I’m showing 12.92 v
And all the way up and down the scale seems to be getting worse.

 

[MrThisIsME]

Not to state the obvious, if you power consumption is more than your solar panels are inputting - the voltage will drop, Nature of the technology.

Yes - the voltage is directly related to the SOC of the battery.

Safe to assume that the battery has some sort of display as you are mentioning percentages. The percentages will be pretty close to the voltage you are measuring as well. For example a 30% state of charge will read x.xxx volts a 80% will read y.yyy volts.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Not to state the obvious, if you power consumption is more than your solar panels are inputting - the voltage will drop, Nature of the technology.

With new users, it's often important to state this.

All the evidence suggests consumption exceeds production. 350W PV may not be sufficient for the loads.

Charge it to at least 14.0V.

 

[Echo Dawn]

A solar panel issue?
Because on my 60 amp 120 v charger, there’s no difference and usually on solar as today it has no problem charging up to 80 or 100% if it be by one or 2 o’clock in the afternoon. However the voltage is not up there.

I’m getting 23 A of power from my solar takes about 5-6 hours or whatever to fully charge every day

 

[Echo Dawn]

But I am not seeing 14. Anything volts wouldn’t that be solar charger controller issue?

 

[Echo Dawn]

Is there some kind of a cycle I need to do every few months or once a month to keep the voltage from doing this?

 

[Echo Dawn]

I am using a cell phone app via Bluetooth to monitor. I take screenshots from the day. I got the battery that shows the drop.
With a 20+ amp current do you still believe I have solar panel issues?
And it’s on the plug-in 60 amp charger at least once a week or so. Or more.

 

[Checkthisout]

Is there some kind of a cycle I need to do every few months or once a month to keep the voltage from doing this?

In winter, maybe.

Keep this simple for now and charge the battery to full using your generator.

 

[Echo Dawn]

Burning fuel on days that sunny doesn’t make sense to me. Not when I can get 23 A of solar.

 

[Echo Dawn]

And most days are incredibly sunny

 

[MisterSandals]

But I am not seeing 14. Anything volts wouldn’t that be solar charger controller issue?

What SCC do you have and what are the charge settings?

I’m getting 23 A of power from my solar takes about 5-6 hours or whatever to fully charge every day

23A x 5h = 115Ah which is 41% of your battery 280Ah capacity.

 

[Echo Dawn]

The 60 amp charger I never see it go over 13.9 maybe 14 V near the end however, after running a cycle on the generator 60 amp charger hasn’t seem to fix this issue.

 

[Checkthisout]

Burning fuel on days that sunny doesn’t make sense to me. Not when I can get 23 A of solar.

It makes it difficult to talk in amp hours.

It's wattage in vs wattage out. If your battery isn't reaching full charge at the end of the day then you're using more than is going in.

I suggested topping it off to full with the generator as a test as your original question revolved around the battery possibly being bad.

 

[Echo Dawn]

Then my BMS is lying to me

 

[Checkthisout]

The 60 amp charger I never see it go over 13.9 maybe 14 V near the end however, after running a cycle on the generator 60 amp charger hasn’t seem to fix this issue.

You're not reaching full charge.