I found this forum from watching Sailing videos on YT. One of them linked to Will's YT videos and I was hooked. Being a life long DIY'er in many areas and a retired Tech Ed teacher, I thought this is a natural fit.
I have a sail boat (think floating RV) that is currently using AGM batteries. Most if the season it spends plugged into shore power, except when sailing, usually no more than 10 hours before being plugged in again. The batteries are used for starting the diesel and for instruments, radio, nav lights etc. Not much draw except for the starting. I can choose between Batt one or two with a switch. The Alternator on the engine is very old school One of these AGM's is 6 years old and may need replacing. Batteries are getting expensive and DIY Li-ion makes them in reach.
I also have an electric lawn mower. It is about 10 years old and uses 2 12v SLA in series for 24V. These are combined in a custom case. After about 6 years the original batt wouldn't take a charge. I found a 'new' one online at an OK price, The manufacture of the mower wanted a about twice as much. The replacement never did take a full charge and after 3 years, last spring I couldn't run it for more than 10 minutes. The replacement battery is no longer available at any price and the mfg has moved on to new models and changed the battery pack.
I thought I would have to buy a new mower but, I opened up one of the now dead battery packs and found 2 12v 17Ah batteries. I did an extensive search of the internet and I could only find SLA batteries that were too small or too big. Out of desperation to mow my spring growth lawn before I had to use a chainsaw to knock it down, I bought some SLA batteries, put them in the case wired them up in series and taped the cover of the case on and mowed the lawn all summer.
I found some headway 38120 used LiFePo4 batteries for about $10 each. They will fit in the case (I kept the original pack) and 8 of these in series will give me 24v. I have a few questions about how to deal with a BMS and charging but I will post those details in another discussion. Which one should I use?
I have a sail boat (think floating RV) that is currently using AGM batteries. Most if the season it spends plugged into shore power, except when sailing, usually no more than 10 hours before being plugged in again. The batteries are used for starting the diesel and for instruments, radio, nav lights etc. Not much draw except for the starting. I can choose between Batt one or two with a switch. The Alternator on the engine is very old school One of these AGM's is 6 years old and may need replacing. Batteries are getting expensive and DIY Li-ion makes them in reach.
I also have an electric lawn mower. It is about 10 years old and uses 2 12v SLA in series for 24V. These are combined in a custom case. After about 6 years the original batt wouldn't take a charge. I found a 'new' one online at an OK price, The manufacture of the mower wanted a about twice as much. The replacement never did take a full charge and after 3 years, last spring I couldn't run it for more than 10 minutes. The replacement battery is no longer available at any price and the mfg has moved on to new models and changed the battery pack.
I thought I would have to buy a new mower but, I opened up one of the now dead battery packs and found 2 12v 17Ah batteries. I did an extensive search of the internet and I could only find SLA batteries that were too small or too big. Out of desperation to mow my spring growth lawn before I had to use a chainsaw to knock it down, I bought some SLA batteries, put them in the case wired them up in series and taped the cover of the case on and mowed the lawn all summer.
I found some headway 38120 used LiFePo4 batteries for about $10 each. They will fit in the case (I kept the original pack) and 8 of these in series will give me 24v. I have a few questions about how to deal with a BMS and charging but I will post those details in another discussion. Which one should I use?
