The parents at Redodo, a battery producer, not too long ago reached out to us as a result of they needed us to check their 12V 100Ah Mini LiFePO4 battery. After testing it and seeing the place it will match, I’m not solely going to advocate it to readers trying to change a lead-acid deep-cycle battery, but additionally to anyone who wants to avoid wasting house and weight for his or her 12-volt vitality storage wants.

The Downside This Battery Solves

Like most automotive and RV fanatics, I’ve been utilizing 12-volt batteries for a very long time. In the event you’ve ever had a automotive’s battery exit, you most likely know the wrestle. In the event you’re the “choose issues up and put them down” type of one that spends a variety of time on the gymnasium (notably in case you’re a man), it won’t appear to be an enormous wrestle to elevate a battery out of a automotive’s engine bay, however in case you’re a not-so-muscular girl, it’s a harder job to get that factor out and take it into AutoBone (Good —Ed.) or Sam’s Membership to check and/or change it.

This subject is a fair larger problem in case you’re working with deep-cycle batteries, such as you’d use for a trolling motor or an RV. They’ve obtained extra storage and you may deplete them to decrease ranges, however they’re even larger and heavier. Even worse are issues like golf carts, telecom batteries, and different huge hunks of lead that allow you to get some juice.

Worse, lead-acid deep cycles usually solely final a couple of years at greatest. In vehicles, non-deep cycle batteries are inclined to final 2–5 years (and typically much less time), whereas an RV battery may must be changed yearly or two as a consequence of disuse between tenting journeys and holidays. Plus, all of those batteries must be maintained and saved in a ventilated house to keep away from hydrogen fuel explosions and acid getting in all places if issues go terribly incorrect.

As EV and cleantech fanatics ought to know by now, battery expertise has improved loads in any grownup lifetime. Heck, even since 2000, the scale, weight, and price of vitality storage have all dropped drastically, whereas sturdiness and ease of upkeep are all up. On high of what we’ve seen in EVs for the final decade or so, barely much less dense however much more sturdy LiFePO4 batteries (aka “LFP”) are additionally now on the scene.

Most firms providing a alternative for a deep-cycle battery use the benefits of newer battery expertise to supply us with extra vitality storage and longer lifespans, and within the case of LiFePO batteries, higher security. However, till I obtained this evaluate unit in, I hadn’t seen a producer attempt to give us larger flexibility and smaller battery sizes.

Specs & Options

You’ll be able to discover full specs and options on Redodo’s web site, so I’ll simply talk about a few of the highlights of what you’ll get on your $349 (as of this writing) in case you order one.

The largest factor is that this smaller battery from Redodo, which is somewhat smaller than a six pack of vitality drinks, offers you 100 amp-hours of storage (1.2 kWh). This is similar vitality storage {that a} typical lead-acid deep-cycle battery offers you, nevertheless it’s solely round half the scale of an RV battery. That is fairly spectacular, particularly for the value.

The 12V 100Ah Mini LiFePO4 battery can also be fairly gentle, has a foldable and detachable carrying strap/deal with, and has detachable posts. This makes not just for flexibility, however simple portability, and loads much less wrestle for individuals who aren’t gymnasium rats.

The final huge factor is that it likes working with others. You’ll be able to hook as much as 4 batteries in parallel and in collection, for a most of 48 volts and 400 amp-hours (@48 volts), or a 20 kWh battery system. Not all customers will wish to do that, however the possibility is there if you wish to construct one thing actually cool, both at house or on the street.

My Testing

I don’t at present have an RV useful to check the battery with, so I made a decision to place the battery to a fair harder take a look at: hooking it as much as an influence inverter and pulling as much as 1000 watts from it. I had no downside drawing almost the complete 1,000 watts to energy a window air conditioner with it. So, clearly, it really works effectively and received’t allow you to down with deep-cycle wants (which normally aren’t as powerful).

As a consequence of some yard work, I wasn’t capable of get nice photographs, however I had no downside utilizing it with a 60-watt folding photo voltaic panel and Renogy cost controller. Simply you’ll want to get a cost controller that’s suitable with LiFePO batteries if you wish to cost one (or extra) with solar energy. The consumer guide has full particulars on what settings to make use of with a suitable cost controller.

Vital word! The perfect half: Redodo is providing a reduction to CleanTechnica readers while you use the code [CT4] for 4% OFF!

How It Can Double or Quadruple Your Vitality Storage

Having labored with deep-cycle batteries in RVs, what immediately got here to thoughts for me was simply how a lot vitality storage you could possibly get away with right here. Not solely is the unit half the scale of a typical deep-cycle, however you possibly can safely run it down low as a substitute of getting to maintain it above 50% such as you would with a lead-acid battery.

Because of this simply certainly one of these batteries can provide you twice as a lot usable storage as a lead-acid deep-cycle battery, however you might have room for 2 of those for each regular deep-cycle, so you possibly can quadruple your storage in the identical house and with much less weight. Many RV home battery banks use two or three deep-cycle batteries, and this Redodo Mini battery can serve in that capability simply as effectively. You’ll be able to put as much as 4 of them in parallel to get a 400 amp-hour system at 12 volts, and if you need to use 24 or 48 volts, you possibly can go for much more storage in case you’re sensible about battery placement.

The Guide Makes It Straightforward

Lastly, one of many issues that I appreciated most concerning the 12V 100Ah Mini LiFePO4 battery is that it comes with first rate documentation. In contrast to what you may get at an enormous field retail retailer, they don’t assume you’re a battery skilled while you purchase certainly one of these. The guide offers you all the particulars on charging, discharging, connecting, and establishing a bigger battery system. They assume you don’t know a lot, so anyone can work with these (assuming you are taking cheap precautions with electrical energy).

Even higher, the guide and fast begin information are available in a water resistant zipper pouch as a way to preserve the guide useful after set up in an RV or different harsh atmosphere. So, they actually did assume this product by, from begin to end. Don’t overlook: Redodo is providing a reduction to CleanTechnica readers while you use the code [CT4] for 4% OFF!

Photographs courtesy Jennifer Sensiba / CleanTechnica.

This text is sponsored by Redodo. A 12V 100Ah Mini LiFePO4 battery was offered to the creator freed from cost for the needs of this evaluate.

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