Low temperature lithium battery

[Jim Rey]

I have just fitted a renogy life04 lithium battery. In the next few day it's going to be -5c here in Glasgow. I was thinking about buyng one of these two products to wrap/place next to the battery to stop it getting below -0c .
Any comment or other ideas?
Silicone Heater Flexible Pad 12V 15W For 3D Printer Heated & Car Fuel Tank UK | eBay. (tank heater). I was going to fit an inline thermostat to switch it off at a pre-determined temp
OR
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08VF2HZW3 (pet pad)

 

[DXX]

I have just fitted a renogy life04 lithium battery. In the next few day it's going to be -5c here in Glasgow. I was thinking about buyng one of these two products to wrap/place next to the battery to stop it getting below -0c .
Any comment or other ideas?
Silicone Heater Flexible Pad 12V 15W For 3D Printer Heated & Car Fuel Tank UK | eBay. (tank heater). I was going to fit an inline thermostat to switch it off at a pre-determined temp
OR
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08VF2HZW3 (pet pad)

The Amazon mat is only 7.5w max output, I doubt that has enough output to do the job.
IMO I would start by monitoring the battery and outside ambient temperatures and see what the actual differential is. I just finished doing some frost protection on my underslung 55L water tank. I fitted a 50w immersion heater with a small automatic 12v programmable controller, before doing that I monitored the differential temperatures.
I guess what I’m saying is if the ambient temperature drops to 0 deg C overnight for 8 hours the battery temperature inside the van should fall at at a lower rate and the drop will be slightly delayed.

 

[Mick]

I have just fitted a renogy life04 lithium battery. In the next few day it's going to be -5c here in Glasgow. I was thinking about buyng one of these two products to wrap/place next to the battery to stop it getting below -0c .
Any comment or other ideas?
Silicone Heater Flexible Pad 12V 15W For 3D Printer Heated & Car Fuel Tank UK | eBay. (tank heater). I was going to fit an inline thermostat to switch it off at a pre-determined temp
OR
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08VF2HZW3 (pet pad)

I bought a PowerRoad with a built in heat mat inside it’s kicked in a couple of time. The only issue is that you cannot or shouldn’t charge them batteries when it is below the 0c.

My understanding is that the Renogy BMS (along with most LifePo batteries) stops it charging if it is below that temperature and will only charge when it reaches the correct temp.

I have used one of them thermostat control mats, quite successfully, on my internal water tank in a MoHo. I’ve camped out at -21c in that with no issue. EDIT: If you’re gonna use it put it under the battery.

 

[Jim Rey]

I bought a Powered with a built in heat mat inside it’s kicked in a couple of time. The only issue is that you cannot or shouldn’t charge them batteries when it is below the 0c.

My understanding is that the Renogy BMS (along with most LifePo batteries) stops it charging if it is below that temperature and will only charge when it reaches the correct temp.

I have used one of them thermostat control mats, quite successfully, on my internal water tank in a MoHo. I’ve camped out at -21c in that with no issue. EDIT: If you’re gonna use it put it under the battery.

The Amazon mat is only 7.5w max output, I doubt that has enough output to do the job.
IMO I would start by monitoring the battery and outside ambient temperatures and see what the actual differential is. I just finished doing some frost protection on my underslung 55L water tank. I fitted a 50w immersion heater with a small automatic 12v programmable controller, before doing that I monitored the differential temperatures.
I guess what I’m saying is if the ambient temperature drops to 0 deg C overnight for 8 hours the battery temperature inside the van should fall at at a lower rate and the drop will be slightly delayed.

I have a aldi peltier cooler unit lid which has a heat function. I fitted a temp control on it. I have programmed that to switch on and off when it's sensor (now sitting on the Renogy battery) goes down to 10C the peltier unit kicks in a sends a bit of warm air towards battery. I will post a picture of this setup later

 

[Jim Rey]

The Amazon mat is only 7.5w max output, I doubt that has enough output to do the job.
IMO I would start by monitoring the battery and outside ambient temperatures and see what the actual differential is. I just finished doing some frost protection on my underslung 55L water tank. I fitted a 50w immersion heater with a small automatic 12v programmable controller, before doing that I monitored the differential temperatures.
I guess what I’m saying is if the ambient temperature drops to 0 deg C overnight for 8 hours the battery temperature inside the van should fall at at a lower rate and the drop will be slightly delayed.

I think I will look at maybe a 50W pad and see how that goes. Kinda wishing I had now bought a self heating battery but they are very expensive

 

[Jim Rey]

I bought a Powered with a built in heat mat inside it’s kicked in a couple of time. The only issue is that you cannot or shouldn’t charge them batteries when it is below the 0c.

My understanding is that the Renogy BMS (along with most LifePo batteries) stops it charging if it is below that temperature and will only charge when it reaches the correct temp.

I have used one of them thermostat control mats, quite successfully, on my internal water tank in a MoHo. I’ve camped out at -21c in that with no issue. EDIT: If you’re gonna use it put it under the battery.

Last night I disconnected the solar input so it would start charging until I heated the van this morning.
My understanding is that I can use the battery thus...

Charge only at these temps..

Charge:32~113℉ / 0～45℃

but I can discharge as below
Discharge:-4~140℉ / -20～60℃

I think the 50aH battery I bought
12V 50Ah Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery will shutdown to protect itself but needs a compatible charger to reactivate it. I assume my Renogy 30A Mppt/Solar charger is compatible.

I just need to make sure the battery is warm enough (above 0C) to charge but I can still use it below that with no charge current

 

[DXX]

If you are away from home and in the van it won’t be a problem as I guess you have a space heater.
If at home and van is accessible I’d use a EHU or extension cord and a small oil filled radiator for the days where the forecast is very low.
If the vans on the street just turn the breaker off, pull a fuse or disconnect a terminal so it can’t charge.
Like @Mick said earlier I thought the Renology batteries were self protected against sub-zero charging.

 

[Jim Rey]

If you are away from home and in the van it won’t be a problem as I guess you have a space heater.
If at home and van is accessible I’d use a EHU or extension cord and a small oil filled radiator for the days where the forecast is very low.
If the vans on the street just turn the breaker off, pull a fuse or disconnect a terminal so it can’t charge.
Like @Mick said earlier I thought the Renology batteries were self protected against sub-zero charging.

Yes I saw that was the case in the renogy spec web page for the 100aH batteries but doesn't mention it for the renogy 50Ah. Think I will ask them if it has tha protection.

I just bought the 50aH cheaper battery (for lights etc.) as I have a Ecoflow delta 2 which powers the amp hungerier kit and mains in my campervan.
I remove the Ecoflow delta 2 at night when I'm home. I think I will just pull the solar panel MC4 connector to stop the sun attempting to charge it before I get the inside of the van heated.
I have got a oil filled space heater in my garage and can power the van on the driveway with 240v . Think I will use that for a few nights this week, as you suggested. By next week the temps will be up hopefully

 

[Higgidav]

I have the self heating 100 AH Renogy as I am planning a trip to Scandinavia. I also live in the High Peak and in December my battery temp reached -7 when parked up in the carpark. It will discharge down to -20 but will not accept charge until around +5. The self heat function kicks in when either on EHU or when the van is running when the batt is 5 or below. I must admit it has been surprising how often I have received a temp alert warning over the last few months.

 

[Mick]

Yes I saw that was the case in the renogy spec web page for the 100aH batteries but doesn't mention it for the renogy 50Ah. Think I will ask them if it has tha protection.

I just bought the 50aH cheaper battery (for lights etc.) as I have a Ecoflow delta 2 which powers the amp hungerier kit and mains in my campervan.
I remove the Ecoflow delta 2 at night when I'm home. I think I will just pull the solar panel MC4 connector to stop the sun attempting to charge it before I get the inside of the van heated.
I have got a oil filled space heater in my garage and can power the van on the driveway with 240v . Think I will use that for a few nights this week, as you suggested. By next week the temps will be up hopefully

I have a victron MPPT solar controller. i’ve set up a ‘parked’ profile on it to stop the leisure battery charging. I dont want it at 100% whilst if is sitting idle. I always run it down to under 90% and leave it idle. You shouldn’t leave it at 100% for long periods. can you program your MPPT?

 

[Mick]

I have a aldi peltier cooler unit lid which has a heat function. I fitted a temp control on it. I have programmed that to switch on and off when it's sensor (now sitting on the Renogy battery) goes down to 10C the peltier unit kicks in a sends a bit of warm air towards battery. I will post a picture of this setup later

I’ll be interested too see that .

 

[Mick]

I have the self heating 100 AH Renogy as I am planning a trip to Scandinavia. I also live in the High Peak and in December my battery temp reached -7 when parked up in the carpark. It will discharge down to -20 but will not accept charge until around +5. The self heat function kicks in when either on EHU or when the van is running when the batt is 5 or below. I must admit it has been surprising how often I have received a temp alert warning over the last few months.

My PowerRoad does the same. How long does your battery take before it warms up enough to start charge? Mine took 7 mins from van turned over to the alarm clearing. It was -9c outside van was -4c.

 

[Jim Rey]

I have a victron MPPT solar controller. i’ve set up a ‘parked’ profile on it to stop the leisure battery charging. I dont want it at 100% whilst if is sitting idle. I always run it down to under 90% and leave it idle. You shouldn’t leave it at 100% for long periods. can you program your MPPT?

I think the Renogy BT has a programming section via the where I can set various max/min voltages via but haven't looked at it yet. I bough this >> DCC30S 12V 30A Dual Input DC-DC On-Board Battery Charger with MPPT

 

[Higgidav]

It’s quicker with the van running than on EHU as I only have a small Victron smart charger. I’ve not timed either but as you say it does not take long.

 

[Jim Rey]

I’ll be interested too see that .

I took the top off the Aldi cooler which using the switch at the front changes it into a heater (or keep warm box). I fitted the digital thermostat and programmed it to switch on when cool rather than on when temp increases. In my case I have set it to 10c so below that the heater switches on. The thermometer probe is sitting under the strap at the top of the Lithium battery. The peltier unit fan then pushes warm air into towards the battery . You can buy the digital thermostat on eBay for £7. The last image show the back of the unit with the fan outlet pointing in towards battery

 

[Mick]

I think the Renogy BT has a programming section via the where I can set various max/min voltages via but haven't looked at it yet. I bough this >> DCC30S 12V 30A Dual Input DC-DC On-Board Battery Charger with MPPT

Here is my setup below. the main thing that does it to set the Absortion & Float Voltage low. If it is under 13.4v then the MPPT should see it as full. I took this screenshot whilst the sun hazy. It is putting 1w from a 100w panel without this setup it is actually 45w that’d be going into the battery.

 

[Mick]

I took the top off the Aldi cooler which using the switch at the front changes it into a heater (or keep warm box). I fitted the digital thermostat and programmed it to switch on when cool rather than on when temp increases. In my case I have set it to 10c so below that the heater switches on. The thermometer probe is sitting under the strap at the top of the Lithium battery. The peltier unit fan then pushes warm air into towards the battery . You can buy the digital thermostat on eBay for £7. The last image show the back of the unit with the fan outlet pointing in towards battery

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I may have a go at that. I’ve just had to replace a tap which froze in Austria. My bad I got bladdered and forgot to set the heater

BTW I have the same cooler.

 

[Jim Rey]

Here is my setup below. the main thing that does it to set the Absortion & Float Voltage low. If it is under 13.4v then the MPPT should see it as full. I took this screenshot whilst the sun hazy. It is putting 1w from a 100w panel without this setup it is actually 45w that’d be going into the battery.

View attachment 191110

I need to look at this.

Here is my setup below. the main thing that does it to set the Absortion & Float Voltage low. If it is under 13.4v then the MPPT should see it as full. I took this screenshot whilst the sun hazy. It is putting 1w from a 100w panel without this setup it is actually 45w that’d be going into the battery.

View attachment 191110

The default float voltage on the Renogy BT app is set to 13.8 so I'll need to revisit this when I have got time. I don't have the Low temp cut-off setting. Good to know though

 

[Jim Rey]

I took the top off the Aldi cooler which using the switch at the front changes it into a heater (or keep warm box). I fitted the digital thermostat and programmed it to switch on when cool rather than on when temp increases. In my case I have set it to 10c so below that the heater switches on. The thermometer probe is sitting under the strap at the top of the Lithium battery. The peltier unit fan then pushes warm air into towards the battery . You can buy the digital thermostat on eBay for £7. The last image show the back of the unit with the fan outlet pointing in towards battery

So last night was -5C outside. Using the warming function on the Aldi cooler/heater box, I set the temp to +8c on the digital thermostat and pointed the air outlet into the cupboard where my new Lithium battery is sitting. It kept the battery from being exposed to temperatures below -0C . Reading this morning when I woke to a very frosty day, was +7c

View attachment 191108
View attachment 191096

 

[Lee8210]

standard version then . . - 12V 100Ah Smart Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery

View attachment 141094

This battery still has Low Temp protection - it will block incoming charge until the temperature warms.

it can still be discharged down to -20degc.


so if it gets really cold when your out camping you just need to turn on the vans heater for a while to warm things up a bit. . .

Do you think the low temp one is needed in the UK then, would standard be ok as long as you left enough charge to start the night heater to warm the area the battery is in?

Thanks.