SOK 208AHHeated vs LiTime Heated 200AH

[Wesk8bam]

Greetings all,

First post. I’m looking at upgrading my 100AH lead-acid motorhome house battery to LiFePo4. I’m thinking jumping up to 200AH. I’m comparing the LiTime heated 200AH vs SOK heated 208AH (available in April). Is SOK worth the $400 difference?

SOK is physically smaller, small AH advantage, has a longer warranty & cycle expectancy and is serviceable. But $400 would put a lot of solar on the roof!

Your thoughts please.

 

[GUTomek]

First post here too. I am considering similar options. As there are now a few heated options out there with little information, the decisions are getting a little hard to make. I feel like there may be a deal breaker on the LiTime at the moment. LiTime is just rebranding for AmpereTime, so any of those battery reviews should get you in the ball park. However, both youtube reviews by Lithium Solar and Love your RV both detail the (Li-/Ampere-Time) battery dropping the load when charging stops, this could be annoying or problematic if used with solar such as when a cloud rolls by. That I think may be worth the difference.

However, my biggest concern is around SOK's customer service, it just feels like its going downhill a bit with recent reviews, not sure if this is a trend or a rough patch of reviews. I also just just bumped into a 300Ah (heated) from JITA, 50% more capacity and still a lower price :|. I too would love to hear what others think.

 

[HRTKD]

Do both batteries have bluetooth connectivity? I would not buy a LiFePO4 battery without bluetooth, it's just too useful.

With regard to the heated battery feature, the heating kicks in only when there is charge current present. That means your battery will get cold overnight. It may take a couple hours (after charge current is present) to bring the battery up to an acceptable temperature before the battery is actually charging. That can waste valuable charging hours.

Keep the battery well insulated and it will retain heat, thereby minimizing the time it takes to reheat it.

 

[Wesk8bam]

Do both batteries have bluetooth connectivity? I would not buy a LiFePO4 battery without bluetooth, it's just too useful.

With regard to the heated battery feature, the heating kicks in only when there is charge current present. That means your battery will get cold overnight. It may take a couple hours (after charge current is present) to bring the battery up to an acceptable temperature before the battery is actually charging. That can waste valuable charging hours.

Keep the battery well insulated and it will retain heat, thereby minimizing the time it takes to reheat it.

Thanks for your replies. CurrentConnected.com shows the SOK Bluetooth without heater at $200 less than the heated unit. Since the batt will be mounted within the motor home living space (under dinette bench), temp wouldn’t be an issue while occupied. And I suppose when parked for the winter, as long as the batt is topped off, it shouldn’t need charged until Spring. Should I disconnect all solar arrays while stored??

I’m leaning toward SOK 208AH with Bluetooth but no heater. And buy it from Current Connected (Will Prowse recommend) due to the extended warranty and responsive customer service.

 

[HRTKD]

Thanks for your replies. CurrentConnected.com shows the SOK Bluetooth without heater at $200 less than the heated unit. Since the batt will be mounted within the motor home living space (under dinette bench), temp wouldn’t be an issue while occupied. And I suppose when parked for the winter, as long as the batt is topped off, it shouldn’t need charged until Spring. Should I disconnect all solar arrays while stored??

I’m leaning toward SOK 208AH with Bluetooth but no heater. And buy it from Current Connected (Will Prowse recommend) due to the extended warranty and responsive customer service.

Charging is the critical limitation with LiFePO4 batteries in the cold. Below 32°F, they should not be charged. If your solar charge controller is capable of determining the temperature of the LiFePO4 battery then charging is OK. Otherwise, disconnecting the battery so there is no load/charge will be OK over the winter.

I leave my LiFePO4 batteries in my RV. But I have a warming system on my batteries to keep them up above 32°F. I'm in my trailer doing maintenance tasks during the winter months, so I need power.

 

[fratermus]

the heating kicks in only when there is charge current present. That means your battery will get cold overnight. It may take a couple hours (after charge current is present) to bring the battery up to an acceptable temperature before the battery is actually charging. That can waste valuable charging hours.

An important point, and perhaps the best case for an external DIY warming system.

 

[50ShadesOfDirt]

Is your battery-bank a single battery?

SOK's can be opened up (at least my 100aH can) ... but realistically, unless you are going to replace their BMS with your preferred, don't bother with it.

LiTime will replace it, if it fails in warranty period. AmpereTime (now LiTime) replaced one for me, on their dime.

Almost sounds like your scenario doesn't require the built-in heating function. I'd pass on it, and just be careful with your solution.

Don't know enough about BMS-level monitoring ... I might go for an external solution, vs everyone's version of "our bms does that too" ...

 

[klempak]

I have been researching batteries for some time. Most of the LiTime do not have low temp charge protection and that is quite a issue for RV. Sok is little pricier, but I did not like the form factor. Was considering KILOVAULT 2400 HLX but could not find lot of info. Decided to build my own 300ah battery using Grade B cells with JK Smart BMS with 2A balance current, it has bluetooth, ON/OFF switch, temperature sensors and I believe you can connect heating pads as well.

 

[Wesk8bam]

Closing the loop, I went with the SOK 206AH with Bluetooth & heater.