Carbon Foam AGM Batteries

[Glider]

https://www.emarineinc.com/Firefly-O...m_medium=email

Has anyone done any research on these batteries? They seem to have most of the benefits of lithium, and pretty much none of the drawbacks.

[daveb]

Interesting, I've never heard anything about them.

[boywonder]

Originally Posted by Glider

https://www.emarineinc.com/Firefly-O...m_medium=email

Has anyone done any research on these batteries? They seem to have most of the benefits of lithium, and pretty much none of the drawbacks.

Energy density isn't much different than lead-acid.....looks like more cycle life.....

80% depth of discharge significantly shortens battery life, just like lead acid.....of course you are starting out with more life.

[Scalf77]

For the sake of comparison, both batters being equal capacity,


Comparison Data
DOD to #Cycle_____________________ Cost per Cycle

DOD____ Firefly____ Lifeline ________Firefly_______Lifeline
30%____ 9000______1750 * ________$0.054 ______ $0.205
50%____3600 ______ 1000 *________ $0.135______ $0.359
80%____1000 ______ 550 * ________ $0.486 ______ $0.653

Cost $486.00 $359.00

-greg

[NWAvant]

Spinning this one back up. My house batt is toast and looking at the firefly. Why would I not want to get it? They state that you can drain to almost zero and not hamper the life of the batt!

Lithium could be an option to I'm already tired of a dead, quick draining batt, and living in the PNW I'm not sure if Solar would be that good of a bandaid.

[vandiesel]

Greg at Van Specialties convinced me to switch. The lithium have come down a bit but the charger has to change also. I too feel the anxiety of cloudy NW skies and low batteries. I tend to use mine much more in winter than summer. I’m getting swapped out next month.

[Klompen]

Changing from our 200Ah AGM to Lithium is something I've been considering for the future. The Battleborn Lithiums have a protection circuit that makes it possible that the lithiums could be mounted under the van in the same rack and not worry about temperature effects on charging so the greater power duration is a very attractive idea.

I've not seen anything before this on needing to change the charging unit so I'm wondering what you have. Our SMB is only a year old. We have the Magnum 2000 Converter/Inverter.

[Scalf77]

The Firefly Oasis brings with it improvement in two important areas. First is increased cycle life, with the standard DOD of 50% they spec 3600 cycles versus 1000 cycles for a standard AGM like lifeline. At 80% DOD the Firefly is spec 1000 cycles versus 550 cycles for standard AGM. So you get the same amount of cycles with the Firefly at 80% DOD as a standard AGM at 50%. That would be equivalent to 30% increased capacity with same lifespan. If you maintain 50% DOD your lifespan of the battery would more than triple.

The second is higher resistance to partial charge. Standard AGM batteries are expected to be brought back to full charge as fast as possible. This is probably one of the things that shortens battery life the most. The Firefly resistance to sulfation, make partial stage less of a problem. This assessment is from reading specifications , not by my own actual usage data.

As far as charging for Lithium, they do require a charger that is specified to work with Lithium. You are in luck that the Magnum 2000 does support Lithium, but you would need something that supports charging from your alternator , such as a battery to battery charger specified to work with Lithium. And if you have solar that also would need to support Lithium.

In general I am suspect with any manufacturer claiming that their Lithium is drop in compatible , I have not really reviewed the Battleborn data though.

-greg

[wish41]

Not sure who has the Firefly available right now, but according to eMarine website they are not available. Based on what I see from a cost perspective, I think the shipping and handling fees would kill the deal for me.

[Klompen]

Scalf77 - It was not my intention to imply that Battleborn is making claims that their Lithium batteries are a "drop-in" replacement. I only meant that Battleborn's protection circuitry means that I can mount their batteries in the same external rack where my 200Ah AGM battery is currently located. There is a lot more to consider before I would pull the trigger on such a system change.