Anyone used Fogstar Batteries ? They look pretty good.
Fogstar Batteries
- Thread starter Donk
- Start date
They look like a good option as I am about to swap to LiFePo but I’ll wait until they are in stock and have sold a few units. I’m not into paying for stuff up front that may or may not exist. In this day and age it’s always possible that a company is struggling and reserving an item by paying the full price up front is an easy way of generating cash as a short term lifeline-every 100 batteries drops them £35k.
My 105ah came a couple of weeks ago but only had the time to fit in Friday.
Took the old AGM out and was surprised how much it weighed had forgotten how heavy it was
I have a ctek 250se and was a bit worried about how well it would charge lithium battery as have read of problems in past, it seems to be doing okay, on solar at least witb the Fogstar.
It came about half charged and after a afternoon and morning of solar (200w) was up to 100%
I have mounted it on its side, I have a plywood board all the electrics (and battery) are sat on, it would probably fit stood upright directly on the floor if you didn't have a swivel.
The Bluetooth monitoring works well, over a good distance, at the moment it seems like a good buy
Took the old AGM out and was surprised how much it weighed had forgotten how heavy it was
I have a ctek 250se and was a bit worried about how well it would charge lithium battery as have read of problems in past, it seems to be doing okay, on solar at least witb the Fogstar.
It came about half charged and after a afternoon and morning of solar (200w) was up to 100%
I have mounted it on its side, I have a plywood board all the electrics (and battery) are sat on, it would probably fit stood upright directly on the floor if you didn't have a swivel.
The Bluetooth monitoring works well, over a good distance, at the moment it seems like a good buy
Just as an update to this, my ctek 250se is now behaving the same as Dellmassive described in his testing, letting the battery drop to 13.3v before then returning it to a higher state of charge, this equates to the battery dropping to about 70%. I've ask Fogstar if there's anything I can change in the BMS settings but suspect i needed a new DC charger.
@Dellmassive Are the renology the current go to on DC-DC I would go for the 30 I think and limit the charging to 20 so wiring was kept the same, I have 200W of solar.
@Dellmassive Are the renology the current go to on DC-DC I would go for the 30 I think and limit the charging to 20 so wiring was kept the same, I have 200W of solar.
Yes - it the ctek d250 charge profile as witnessed in testing here --> [Guide] DC-DC Charger (for leisure battery) -- How I Done It --
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I have the Renogy dc50s with the BT module.
I set mine to current limiting at 30A.
And use separate Victron mppt for mobile solar.
For that battery I'd recommend getting the 50A charger now and setting current limiting to 20A untill you can swap out the feed cables and fuses for 50A rated kit.
i have this charger ( with Bt2 adapter):
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and run this MPPT - mobile when needed.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I have the Renogy dc50s with the BT module.
I set mine to current limiting at 30A.
And use separate Victron mppt for mobile solar.
For that battery I'd recommend getting the 50A charger now and setting current limiting to 20A untill you can swap out the feed cables and fuses for 50A rated kit.
i have this charger ( with Bt2 adapter):
+++++++++++
and run this MPPT - mobile when needed.
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more info on the DC-DC chargers:
and MPPT:
SOLAR:
DC-DC:- Dc-dc Charger (for Leisure Battery) -- How I Done It --
- Charging Starter and Leisure batteries with same charger - Victron
- DC-DC Charger - AUTO VSR - feature testing
- Stop/start...regen...smart Alternator... Dc-dc Charger For Leisure Battery Or Not?
- Victron 12/12/30 DC-DC Charger
- Renogy DC50S DC-DC charger
- Redarc BCDC1250D DC-DC charger
- Votronic DC-DC standby charger - or not !
- Renogy Bt-2 Monitor
- Renogy 20A DC-DC Charger (no solar)
- CTEK D250SE DC-DC Charger
and MPPT:
SOLAR:
- Solar Pwm & Mppt Controllers - How I Done It -
- Mobile Solar Panels ? . . . - How I Did It -
- What Solar Panel & Controller? - How We Done It -
- Solar Panel Cutting Hole In Roof !!! - How We Done It -
- 300w Plus Solar Club -- How I Done It --
- Solar Sheds & Other Non-t6 Solar Projects - How We Done It -
- [Guide] Solar Cables? . . . - How I Did It -
- [Guide] Solar Cables? . . . - How I Did It -
- 50w 12v socket Dash Fold panel
- 50W Bluefusion Fold panel
- 200W Lensun Fold panel
- 110w Lensun Flex panel + Mag tape
- 100w Renogy Eclipse fold panel
- 160w PhotUnis Flex rear gland panel
- 100w Renogy suitcase
- 120w Bluefusion fold panel
- 200w Lensun flex panel
- 200w Renogy suitcase panel
- 100w Renogy suitcase 2021 vsn
- 150w PU flex rear gland panel
- 160w Renogy flex rear gland panel
- 200w Renogy suitcase Kit - V2
- 150W Lensun Black Flex Panel
for reference the 50A Renogy DC-DC cable and fuse specs:
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75A & 65A MIDI fuses,
4AWG cable
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75A & 65A MIDI fuses,
4AWG cable
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Hi @Huba - I think I have a failing AGM LB which is indicated by issues with my fridge.
Very interested in going lithium and have found the Fogstar 100A. I see they’re preorder - if I can ask how long did you have to wait for yours? And are you happy?
It looks like a good option and info above is useful. My fear in the short term is whether a) I’d get it in time for a trip in July and b) whether I’d need to upgrade my charging hardware. I currently have a Sterling B2B and a portable Halfords smart charger that I can see has a lithium profile but not sure if it’s suitable.
I ordered mid January and it came start of May. The battery has worked as expected. The Bluetooth monitoring works well, so am happy. I think it said it was going to arrive end of March when I ordered so it was late. I think they ask for a 10% deposit now rather than full payment I made
I'm not sure about the sterling B2B others may be able to help.
I haven't changed the ctek yet as although it's dropping to 75% sometimes this time of year the solar is charging it up quickly when it does charge. I think I'll change it eventually to renergy one
For info : as at today Fogstar 105A lithiums are currently in stock (even though website suggests still on preorder). Bought today. Being delivered tomorrow. Looking forward to the upgrade.
Are you happy with it? My AGM has finally let me down, so the Fogstar 105 is my front runner at the moment. I have Renogy DCC50S
So far for me - absolutely spot on. Very little charge fall off (appreciate my previous AGM must have been shot) but for the price and that I’ll get twice the usable Ah out of it - can fault it for the price so far. About to go on a trip, so will get its first real world test. Not much of a premium over the AGM I was going to get - and 10yr warranty. Next day delivery. Seems like a no brainer.
Just been away for 2 weeks with my 105ah, worked as expected, we were at a few sites with ehu but didn't bother to use them as didn't need them.
Bring hyper critical I have to close the app and restart it to connect by Bluetooth, but that may just be my phone. Having the app is super useful to see what's going on with the battery
Bring hyper critical I have to close the app and restart it to connect by Bluetooth, but that may just be my phone. Having the app is super useful to see what's going on with the battery
We just had our first week away with the new 105Ah fogstar. It's been fine except for one night it seems to have switched itself off for half an hour. At the time there was very little constant current drawn, and the fridge was on, which means drawing about 3 to 4 amps while the compressor runs for 5 mins, then no draw for 10 minutes or so.
No harm done this time, but I'd like to fix this issue. Before I raise a ticket with fogstar, has anyone any suggestions?
No harm done this time, but I'd like to fix this issue. Before I raise a ticket with fogstar, has anyone any suggestions?
I've not had any issues like you describe and run a fridge while away. I have a tracker and battery monitor which draws a little current, not sure if that makes any difference
The issue is resolved now by a replacement battery.
The old one would regularly, maybe once a day/night, turn its' output off, even though the load was present (compressor fridge), after about 10 minutes it would come back on. In the fault history the discharge overtemperature event was counting up. My victron BMV702 was recording the 'shutdowns' in the history.
My van wiring has been perfect for 3 years with the previous AGM, so pretty sure that the fault was with the battery itself.
Anyway, after a few attempts, with the assistance of fogstar, to alter settings, a replacement battery was agreed. Fogstar support were pretty good, aside from a couple of times when they asked the same questions I'd already answered. I would advise anyone going through this process to do it by email.
The replacement battery has been in a week or so now, with no shutdowns and no reported errors.
Nice,
That may have been a FW bug that they have patched in the BMS.
Glad you're so sorted.
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