Lithium Ion Batteries

I would put lithium batteries on hold for the time being especially in automotive applications.

When a main stream player comes out with them as a replacement then look at them.

There are many so called advantages of going lithium if you read the marketing hype but end of the day if some of these advantages were warranted and true in real life needs many vehicle manufactures would be using them as original equipment...... pay two to four times the price and get no real life advantage.

Some camper trailer and caravan manufactures have jumped on the band wagon early but again it might just be marketing hype for there own "look how great we are" thoughts.

Hybrid cars are a classic example, we were told how fantastic they are and how good it is to pay twice the price for the advantage of hybrid technology only to find out now new high tech turbo petrol engines have more power, better economy and are much cheaper to buy and maintain.

In the next few years I think fuel cells will overtake lithium batteries and lithium batteries will go back to powering power tools and small vehicles.

Time will tell and I may be eating my words and using them BUT then again they may turn out to be a flop and fade away in history.

Lithium Ion Batteries are very expensive to purchase and require a special charger too.
Yes, they are considerably lighter and have more useable amp/hrs, but the cost and lack of availability of them outside major capitals and regional towns, I wouldn't use them.
Regards

Regardless of the type of battery you end up choosing, keep in mine the folly of attempting to use one battery as your primary (starting) battery and run the fridge as well.

That is what a dual battery system is designed for. To keep the starting battery from being flattened by high current draining devices and therefore the inability to start the car. It includes an isolator to keep the two batteries electrically separated from each other.

It is one thing to suffer the inconvenience of spoilt food and warm beer due to the auxiliary battery being flattened and being stuck out in the middle of nowhere, unable to start and drive your vehicle back to civilization.

Hi B.B.

A little more information would be helpful.

What type of Landcruiser?
How big is the fridge?
Where are you located?

While not THE answer to your question, I have just dropped two 1000 CCA CAT batteries into the 80 series. At just over $200 each, we are happy with the way the 110 ltr Waeco runs and the way the vehicle starts up :-)

Hope that this helps a little.

Cheers,
Wayne & Sally.

Perhaps as not as a starting battery but very definitely as an auxilliary battery or battery power supply for a camper or caravan.
Not using Lithium Ion in these scenarios but using LiFePo4 will be the battery of choice.
When my AGM's die in my van I'll definitely change to LiFePo4's at half the weight and similar amp/hr ratings and much greater ability to discharge to lower state of charge than AGM's.
Battery charging algorithms are still in their infancy but as the major players like Redarc step up it will make it an easier option than it currently is.
Regards Andrew.

I just bought the bits to put a 40 Ah one together. I will use it to run a washing machine and the Engel overnight and a sewing machine and as a general portable power pack. One of my first tests will be to use it as a starting battery for the DMax. Standard starter is only rated at 450 CCA and LiFePo can handle that with capacity left over. Not exactly as a Plug and Play but I need to put some smarts between the raw alternator output and the battery. All indications are the I could probably replace the current starter with a 18 AH LiFePo.

Don't be put off by all the negative replies. Things have moved forward lots recently. A knowledgeable person on another forum has suggested looking at Fusion brand as a plug and play. Bit more expensive than an old technology Lead Acid but also comes with a likely life of three times that of a Lead Acid equivalent. What value do you put on lighter, smaller, and more usable capacity for the buck.

Iza

Bosun,
I can only talk from experience. They are the duck's nuts. Have a talk to Ev Works in Perth. As an auxiliary battery, they are safe, cost effective, are 50% lighter than an AGM and not difficult to manage. Can't say if they will work as a starter battery. Do a search for Winston Batteries.

Skull

Thanks guys,
I will be using the battery to run an 80 Waeco but was wondering if they could start L/c 200 if required.I think I will give them a try.
Cheers Bosun

G'day Bosun,

First off, the most appropriate lithium technology for what you are proposing is Lithium IRON Phosphate (not ion without the "r"). The two are quite different chemistries.

Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries are frequently referred to as lithium Iron which causes confusion with the other type, lithium ion (without the "r"). They are also called LiFe batteries, a shortening of the chemical formula for Lithium Iron Phosphate which is LiFePO4 - Li is the symbol for lithium, Fe for iron and PO4 is the phosphate.

As others have said, don't be put off by the naysayers. Continue your investigations. I have just returned from a 10 day field test of my newly installed LiFe batteries in my Karavan. They are fantastic. Twice the useable power, half the weight, flat discharge curve so everything gets a full 12V all the time, little voltage sag under high load (130amps pulled by the inverter while running the microwave resulted in only 0.5V sag), almost Instant recovery from high loads, quick re-charge - nearly twice as fast as lead-acid USING THE SAME LEAD-ACID CHARGER. They don't sulphate, have no memory effect and can live happily with their SOC never getting to 100%.

As Skulldug said, they are indeed the duck's nuts.

I got my 360Ah pack from EV Power in WA.

Re chargers, though specific lithium chargers are preferred, EV Power advised that to save costs it is quite OK to use the same good-quality dc-dc charger, mains charger and solar reg as used with my AGM battery pack. On this test trip all gave excellent results, but charging would have been be even faster if they all had suitable lithium profiles.

Have a look at this page from EV Work's website. The text pretty much addresses the concerns raised in this topic.

Cheers

Thanks Fred for your advice- I will look further and will go that way. Cheers