Friday, Aug 26, 2022 at 12:28
Lead-acid batteries have been around for eons. They have been researched, developed, written about and tested to the point where they are
well understood, extremely predictable and reliable. They are a very simple device with no active components. And in relative terms, cheap.
Lithium batteries (all varieties) are nowhere near as developed and understood. The advantages they offer have been 'marketed' extensively - lighter (at a much greater cost) and higher energy density (at higher cost). But what is not so
well advertised in the 'marketing' of Lithium batteries is the complexity required to charge and maintain them in a safe, working condition aka the Battery Management System (BMS).
Given we are communicating on a
forum principally dedicated to RV owners, the majority interest is in the application of batteries for standby power i.e. when off-
grid. The application therefore is low to moderate discharge applications, running fridge, lights, etc - not high charge/discharge cycles as experienced in EV's or UPS systems.
Incorporating part or all of the BMS into a battery is an over-complication of, again, a simple device. Why is it necessary to do so for RV applications? I can only speculate that the use of an internal BMS is a spin-off from high cycle applications (as in RV's, etc) as a safety initiative of being able to detect rapid temperature rises directly at the source, not externally at the battery post. There are probably other benefits that the internal BMS has but it comes with the one big disadvantage.
Being an 'active electronic component' renders the internal BMS to higher likelihood of failure from its environment and external issues that the 'passive' cells do not have.
I regard my camper as my life support system when out bush. I have LiFePO4 batteries with external BMS/charger plus an AGM standby battery in the vehicle. I have had BMS/charger issues that were a PIA but they were both remedied without the need to send expensive batteries to the bin.
And as for incorporating Bluetooth communication into the battery/charge system, that is the antithesis for going bush! C'mon! Really?
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