Li Time mini LiFePO4 battery made with pouch cells. Charging? Voltage measurement?

[zacksc]

I am thinking about getting a LiFePO4 battery from a company called Li Time (I think it used to be called ampere time). The specific battery is the 12.8 V, 100 Ah, 1280 Wh mini. It’s a bit smaller than their regular battery of the same capacity, and it’s made with pouch cells. Does anyone have any familiarity with this company. Advice is welcome.

Also, this is my first battery of this chemistry, and I was wondering if voltage measurements with a good voltmeter after the battery has been resting will be very useful for inferring the percentage state of charge? (I find that voltage measurements are really useful for my lithium ion batteries, using a table that I interpolated from a Grin simulator.)

My third question is, what’s a pretty good, but somewhat inexpensive, charger for this. I can probably just charge overnight so 10 or 20 A would be plenty

 

[amberwolf]

LiFePO4 has a fairly flat charge/discharge (SoC) curve (google will find you charts that make this easy to see) so it is hard to tell exactly what SoC it is at just by voltage, unless it is nearly full or nearly empty *and* all the cells are matched characteristics so they are always "balanced".

Never heard of the company before. (EDIT: apparently I have, and just forgot:

Charging 12volt 100amp hr Litime

I just received my 12volt 100amp hr battery and I am going to charge it with my cellpro powerlab 8V2 charger. I have very little experience with lifpo4 battery's but a good amount with lipo battery's from my RC days. My question is what setting should I use to charge this battery Thanks in advance

endless-sphere.com

Can't tell you much about the battery itself without a link to the specific one you're considering, but a quick google finds various sales pages for them with customer reviews that include what seem like serious customer-service/warranty problems in the quick glance I did thru them for a few seconds.

I don't know any really inexpensive medium current chargers personally, but I'm sure there are some. If it has a proper BMS that correctly disconnects the pack from the charger when it is full, then you can use an LED PSU like the Meanwell HLG series. If it doesn't disconnect then you should use a charger that has a built in shutoff once current drops below a certain limit (most chargers do this, though almost none specify the limit).

Assuming a correctly-designed BMS, depending on the full charge voltage of your pack, you may be able to use either the HLG-240H-15A or -20A for 15A oe 12A max; higher wattage versions of those are available for higher currents.

HLG-240H-LED Driver Power Supply Solution - MEAN WELL

Finding suitable LED drivers for LED lighting? A complete range of 8~1000W drivers featuring dimmable, IP67 with global safety certificates and ship from stock.

led.meanwell.com

 

[Papa]

I have 4 of Li Time (not minis) on 1.2kW solar - no complains so far. Batteries are sealed so no individual cell checks. Mine arrived at 12.6V (assume 3.15V/cell), exactly the same voltage on all 4 batteries.

Spec sheet is here: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0550/9971/9725/files/100.png?v=1648611650

 

[Diggs]

A YouTuber called Will Prowse has reviewed them several times and likes them. He's tested and cut them up (along with many others). Knowledgeable info.

 

[zacksc]

A YouTuber called Will Prowse has reviewed them several times and likes them. He's tested and cut them up (along with many others). Knowledgeable info.

Thanks very much. I ordered t mini.

 

[999zip999]

Take a look at battery hookup it's in the USA so cheaper shipping I would assume in a lot of batteries for solar powered units and they are branching out they even have a place in California and I guess other drop off States.