Are all lithium 12v batteries created equally?

[OregonIan]

Hi all,

I'm thinking of upgrading from an old deep cycle battery to lithium. I just have a shell model, with a propane heater, so don't need a ton of power. I have the house battery charging off the alternator (or plugged into a charger when it's parked at home). May add solar at some point, if I decided to add a fridge, but don't see the need right now.

So my question is--Lithium batteries seem to be getting much cheaper on amazon, like $300 for a 100ah, and some have a lot of good reviews. I know nothing about batteries. I'm wondering what the difference is between these cheap lithium batteries, and why someone would pay $874 for a battleborn?

Thanks in advance for any wisdom.

Ian

 

[TacomaAustin]

#1 concern for me is that the LiFePO4 have a decent BMS with a cold weather shut off to prevent charging when the temp is below 32°F. So, don't go too inexpensive.

SOK's 100 Ah battery received a pretty good thumbs up from Will Proust - https://www.us.sokbattery.com/product-page/sok-12v100ah-lifepo4-battery

#2 The switch over from lead acid or AGM to LiFePO4 is not a plug and play upgrade. You'll need to upgrade the wiring to the front of the truck and look into decent DC to DC charger controller which has a charge profile for lithium.

With regards to add-ons, the least complicated way to make the migration from a traditional battery to lithium is to use a solar only charging set up. In other words, ditch the current alternator charging set up, if it is still the stock factory install.

 

[Vic Harder]

As TacomaAustin said, check out Will Proust’s reviews. Batteries are not created equal.

 

[kmcintyre]

You can build your own for a lot less. As Vic mentioned, check out Will's website/forum. I have a document on what I purchased a few years ago if you'd like it but it's a bit outdated now (I suspect).