LiTime 12v 230ah LFP $469

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mvweebles

mvweebles

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Weebles
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1970 Willard 36 Trawler
I am expanding my small battery backup system and purchased a no-frille LiTime 12v 230ah (200A BMS) LFP battery off Amazon for $469. That's almost 3kwh of storage.


I also ordered two additional Newpowa 100w solar panels for $55/ea (Amazon had a $46 discount off the two-pack)


I already have an MPPT controller and a 2000w inverter. But for a bit over $1000, a very robust solar backup system is now possible. For comparison a portable solar generator of similar specs would be close to $3500, albeit in a tidy form factor.


Stuff is getting pretty dang cheap.....

Peter
 
mvweebles said:
I am expanding my small battery backup system and purchased a no-frille LiTime 12v 230ah (200A BMS) LFP battery off Amazon for $469. That's almost 3kwh of storage.


I also ordered two additional Newpowa 100w solar panels for $55/ea (Amazon had a $46 discount off the two-pack)


I already have an MPPT controller and a 2000w inverter. But for a bit over $1000, a very robust solar backup system is now possible. For comparison a portable solar generator of similar specs would be close to $3500, albeit in a tidy form factor.


Stuff is getting pretty dang cheap.....

Peter
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I have been seeing signs again of another shift down in pricing.

The Yacht Riggers in St Pete are at the Annapolis Boat show. They just posted a 25% off all Epoch batteries special.

Six weeks ago I bought a Chins (similar to Litime) 48 volt 100ah battery for my electric Zero turn for $ 794. It works great BTW.

Litime has been pushing prices down big time as well.

In addition, for the fancier batteries...it looks like next gen tech will be hitting markets soon. I know Epoch has a 24 and 48 volt Marine battery with more refinements. The new 300ah dual purpose house/start with excellent comms just came out and with the 25% off are just over $1000.

Like you Peter, I am eyeballing some kind of cheaper , but very capable back up system that integrates the grid, solar, storage and generator. If I can offset some grid costs even better. Next Hurricane I dont want to notice any interruption...lol.
 
The fully integrated grid tied systems with battery backup are still very expensive. At our place in Mexico, we have a grid-tie solar system that makes us net-zero even with AC but doesn't have battery backup so when the power goes out, we're dead in the water like everyone else (there is a safety disconnect to prevent energizing the grid and risk electrocuting linemen). We installed that 7-years ago for a cost of $8k USD plus the cost of the pergola it sits stop. Mexicos infrastructure is a bit more fragile so outages are common. We recently considered battery backup but those costs are still quite high - a fairly basic system with 5kwh battery was about $8k USD. What we really need is enough power to run the fridge and a fan for 6-8 hours so a small solar generator is in our future. Costco has Ecoflow 1800w with 1kwh battery for around $700. I don't think 1kwh will serve for longer than a few hours, but it's better than nothing and you can't beat the compact form factor.

If I were a bit younger (I'm 63) and a bit more settled in one place, I'd go off-grid. At our 2-bed/2-1/2 bath condo in Mexico, we use around 14kwh/day in the middle of summer with AC set at moderate setting. 30kwh of battery bank should be plenty for normal living - about $6k USD for batteries. For around $10k, can build a fairly robust off grid system as long as you shop the stuff

I can tell you that even having the tiny system I outlined above has been great. Being able to charge phones, charge cordless power tools, and run a small fridge has been a luxury. A friend has spent hours in gas lines to keep his generator running.

Solar continues to facinate me. I don't know why more people don't use it. It's easy, reliable, and cheap.

Peter
 
I currently have a Renogy 30amp MPPT charger and a Renogy 220 watt bifacial solor panel for my 23ft Sailboat to Trawler conversion. I was going to buy (2) Renogy 100ah lithium batteries, but this Litime 230ah is one battery in the same foot print and slightly more storage. Thoughts?
 
willy13 said:
I currently have a Renogy 30amp MPPT charger and a Renogy 220 watt bifacial solor panel for my 23ft Sailboat to Trawler conversion. I was going to buy (2) Renogy 100ah lithium batteries, but this Litime 230ah is one battery in the same foot print and slightly more storage. Thoughts?
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The one thing I would recommend is to ensure that whatever battery you buy has bluetooth. Its invaluable for troubleshooting and getting set up. Between Renogy and Litime I would choose Litime personally.
 
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I'm not a fan of renogy products but recognize many people have had success with them. Will Prowse seems to like Litime so I'd go that route too. Going with a single 200ah battery is preferable to two 100ah batteries because cabling is simpler and there are fewer cells to balance.

Bluetooth would be wonderful. In a couple years they'll all have Bluetooth. But right now, the big bargains are bare bones. It's a choice.

Peter
 
Going with a single 200ah battery is preferable to two 100ah batteries because cabling is simpler and there are fewer cells to balance.
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100ah has four cells and 200ah has four cells for 12V.
I went 8-100ah, personal choice, there are 8 BMS. redundancy.
The jury is still out which way is better.
If you have high power demands, two 100Ah batteries provide more power and flexibility to meet your requirements. What are the advantages of a single 200Ah battery? A single 200Ah battery offers simplicity, space-saving, and cost-effectiveness for applications with moderate power needs
Click to expand...
 
mvweebles said:
Well, looks like I got a good deal on the LiTime 12v/230ah because they were about to rollout the same battery but with Bluetooth for $499, a better deal.


Peter
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This is probably what I should do. I was thinking I should stick with Renogy batteries because everything else in the system is Renogy, but I really like the simplicity of 1 battery. Renogy's bigger battery is too wide for my install, I need the 6.7" width, and can go as long as 27". Thanks for posting this deal.
 
SteveK said:
100ah has four cells and 200ah has four cells for 12V.
I went 8-100ah, personal choice, there are 8 BMS. redundancy.
The jury is still out which way is better.
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Jury isn't out for me. Fewer high capacity batteries would be my strong preference. I have six 100ah batteries now. Cabling and bus bars are a pain and expensive, plus tons of places need protection from accidental short from dropped tool or something. Balancing the batteries (if desired) is time consuming. Check each battery separately to see if the are all working.

I understand your point and don't disagree, but it's not a close call for me. One man's redundancy is another man's multiple points of failure.

Peter
 
  • For the initial use or after a battery shutdown, use a LiFePO4 charger or an MPPT with a lithium activation feature to charge the battery for 3-10 seconds to power it on and activate the Bluetooth function. Recommended LiTime 14.6V 60A charger or LiTime 60A MPPT.
Click to expand...
This quote if from the Litime website regarding the 230ah bluetooth battery.

Does anyone know if the Renogy Rover 30 amp MPPT has a "lithium activation feature"?
Thanks!
 

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It’s been a year since I bought my LFP batteries. They have only added more features and lowered the price since then. I am thinking of converting the crane and thruster banks to LFP.
 
I have been running 3x200ah Renogy batteries for a little over 2 years, they work flawlessly, and have full bluetooth. I have been please with them, but am also pleased to see prices coming down on batteries in general. While I have been happy with the Renogy batteries, I can't really say the same for their inverter/charger. Yes, it's far less expensive than Victron, but there are clear reasons for that. Future upgrades for us include a flybridge hard top with lots more solar, and more battery capacity. I'd like to run as much as possible without starting the generator.
 
I bought 2 Litime 300 ah batteries a few months ago. My only issue is winter storage. They do not recommend storing below 32 degrees, and I'm not up to removing them in winter. My shop is not heated, so I'm going to have to design a small heat system. Guess I should have got the self heat model.
 
Per their spec;
You can store down to 14F, you can discharge down to -4F. You just can't charge below 32F
 
REO said:
I bought 2 Litime 300 ah batteries a few months ago. My only issue is winter storage. They do not recommend storing below 32 degrees, and I'm not up to removing them in winter. My shop is not heated, so I'm going to have to design a small heat system. Guess I should have got the self heat model.
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Internal self heating only works when you apply a charge current.
 
The battery prices are PLUMMETING. There are 100ah batteries for $150 and 200ah batteries for around $300-$350 and 300ah batteries from $425-$525. I am tempted to buy a few of the low cost units to test.

But I just bought two of the Epoch 120AH dual purpose batteries to test as starting batteries. So that will keep me busy for a bit.
 
The price of Lithium Carbonate in China using their currency has fallen in the last 2 years about 85%. Production is up, demand is down, lots of people are about to get hurt. After all, it's a commodity.

No wonder things are on sale!
 
Ya gotta love it! Electronics / electrical is the only category counter inflationary.

Now you can get an 85" TV for 2 grand.
 
Or you could spend about $1600 plus all taxes and get the latest (if you can find it) iphone 16 Max Pro with about 25 square inches of screen area compared to 3090 inches squared for the 85" TV.

Such is the price of mobility!

Have we all gone mad?
 
tiltrider1 said:
It’s been a year since I bought my LFP batteries. They have only added more features and lowered the price since then. I am thinking of converting the crane and thruster banks to LFP.
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I’m interested in doing the same but also with the windlass. It is a big ask for LiFePO4 batteries. My thruster is 650amps. Not sure what the windlass is.
 
luna said:
Or you could spend about $1600 plus all taxes and get the latest (if you can find it) iphone 16 Max Pro with about 25 square inches of screen area compared to 3090 inches squared for the 85" TV.

Such is the price of mobility!

Have we all gone mad?
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Not I. I always use Android phones and keep them them for about 5 years. Back to that whole “cheap sailor” thing. Lol
 
dhays said:
I’m interested in doing the same but also with the windlass. It is a big ask for LiFePO4 batteries. My thruster is 650amps. Not sure what the windlass is.
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I've wondered if the LFP start batteries are an acceptable battery for hi-current / low-duration applications such as a thruster. This Antigravity battery advertises 880 CCA with a storage of 30ah. That would give almost three minutes of thruster usage at 650 amps (12v) which is a lot. It weighs 6-lbs and is the size of a couple paperback novels so it could be located very close to the thruster thereby eliminating cabling issues.


However, would be a leap of faith. When I called Antigravity about sizing a battery for my Tohatsu 20hp outboard, they could not really assist but deferred to the manufacturer (which is fair). I'm pretty sure the battery I purchased, while small, is much bigger than needed. Someday soon, I'm hoping the electric start/tilt battery will be OEM and carrier beneath the cowling.

Peter
 
I just purchased 4 ea, 12v, 100ah Li Time batteries for a golf cart. Converting from FLA Trojans. Cost to go LiFePO4 vs the original FLA was about $60.00 more, including purchasing a new LiFePO4 charger, new step down transformer, new battery charge monitor, new bus bar, new circuit breaker, new battery shut-off sw and new battery wiring . . . . It was a no brainer to go LiFePO4!

I just wish the batteries available today were available 3 years ago when I installed my 1,200ah LiFePO4 battery bank in the boat . . . :nonono:. I could have installed the same size bank, with more features, for less than 1/3 the cost.

I don't regret converting when we did, as we've had the use of that battery bank for the last 3 years of full time cruising to Alaska, then to Florida, but WOW! The cost has sure come down!
 
I am also trying to follow the LFP as starter battery issue. I have 4 Dyno 6V 260 Ah deep cycle as my house/start, so a 520 Ah system in theory. PO said that although there is a 1-2-both switch, he kept them all together and used them for both. We have a single 80hp Lehman, and in testing the amp draw at start, I saw less than a quick 200 amp draw. Using the "cold start" button, it usually fires up in about one revolution. I did once get air in the fuel line an ran the starter intermittently for 30-60 seconds getting fuel back into the system.

The battery bank is now at least 7 yo, so time to look at what's available. Cannot complain about the Dynos, but they are $250 each. 12V LFP is now available at $500 for 260 Ah with a 250 amp BMS (and bluetooth monitoring).  But with 2 LFP (and 500 amps available through the BMSs) will they start my Lehman even though not technically starter batteries?

The remaining issues would be that my Balmer external regulator doesn't have a special LFP profile. My older shorepower charger inverter also doesn't have a dedicated LFP profile. From what I've seen lately, that might not get me every last amperage benefit of LFP, but as long as I set the paramters to undercharge, there would be no need to spend the $2500 to upgrade the charging system (more than the actual batteries).
 
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I have 2 brand new Epoch 120ah dual purpose cranking batts in my shop. In about an hour I'm going to go start testing them. I am going to start with a power supply feeding the batteries. The specs on these batts say that you can charge them up to 15.4 volts and it was my impression that they don't disconnect like regular lfp but bleed excess power. They are intended to be a true " drop in" by emulating a lead acid. They are listed as 1100 cca but also 800a for 10 seconds. So a pair will double that. They also have comms for victron integration. I actually have no idea how all this shakes out in practice though.
 
Barking Sands said:
I have 2 brand new Epoch 120ah dual purpose cranking batts in my shop. In about an hour I'm going to go start testing them. I am going to start with a power supply feeding the batteries. The specs on these batts say that you can charge them up to 15.4 volts and it was my impression that they don't disconnect like regular lfp but bleed excess power. They are intended to be a true " drop in" by emulating a lead acid. They are listed as 1100 cca but also 800a for 10 seconds. So a pair will double that. They also have comms for victron integration. I actually have no idea how all this shakes out in practice though.
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I was looking at those yesterday. I think they would work great for a starting battery. I'm not sure about thruster or windlass. While they advertise the 800A/1100 CCA, the details are a bit different.
100A Recommended discharge current
150A Max allowed discharge current
200A for 30 secs Peak/Surge current
600A for 10 secs Peak/Surge current
800A for 10 secs Peak/Surge current provided batteries are greater than 60% SOC and they further qualify this by saying;
"This function is only tested under the condition of soc>60%@25℃. Even so, frequent high-rated discharge will still have an impact on the life of the battery. If this peak current is output frequently, damage may even occur."

My thruster says it draws 650amps. Not sure about the windlass. So if you double those numbers for 2 batteries in a bank, it might be acceptable for the thrusters as those only get a pulse of a few seconds most of the time. Not sure how well the batteries would like a 325amp draw. Likely would be find for 20 seconds.
 
dhays said:
My thruster says it draws 650amps. Not sure about the windlass. So if you double those numbers for 2 batteries in a bank, it might be acceptable for the thrusters as those only get a pulse of a few seconds most of the time. Not sure how well the batteries would like a 325amp draw. Likely would be find for 20 seconds.
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Is that thruster rating peak amps or continuous? Large thrusters are tough. It will be fine for my little windlass though.

In testing so far its a bit different. It will take a charge voltage up to 3.85 volts per cell or 15.4 pack volts before disconnecting the charge mosfet. I am not sure how this is accomplished. So some of the rumors I have heard are not quite true. It certainly will not emulate a lead acid since it still has a mosfet disconnect. So all precautions needed for direct alternator charging still apply.

I have a 500 amp carbon pile load tester along with an inverter. Ill get that carbon pile tester smoking and see how long it can take 500-600 amps.
 
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