Category Archives: Solar

BattleBorn Batteries LiFePO4 Settings on Epever MPPT Charge Controller

BattleBorn LiFePO4 Battery

I took the $1000 plunge and got a BattleBorn 100 amp hour battery.  I know it sounds crazy but there is literally NO COMPARISON between this battery and a Flooded Lead Acid battery (my first solar battery) or an AGM Deep Cycle Battery (my second solar battery).

The BattleBorn Battery wins in EVERY single metric except maybe for cost.

It charges like lightning, stays charged, and uses power way more efficiently and lasts longer than the other two batteries I mentioned above.

 

If you have a solar storage system of any kind you will benefit from this battery.  I guarantee it.  The biggest advantage is in depth of discharge (DOD).  That means you can use the battery near death and it won’t damage it.   Take a lead acid battery and use it below 50% of charge and you’ll damage it.

My charge controller is an Epever 20 amp Tracer BN 2215 MPPT.  It does NOT have a Lithium Iron Phosphate setting but it does have a configurable USER mode.   If you set the parameters manually you’ll have a perfect setup for maintaining your $1000 battery.

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Off Grid Solar – First Experiments

I am neither prepper nor survivalist but I do get a kick out of being somewhat self sustainable.  At the end of this I hope to achieve a working knowledge of solar systems and to possibly apply that knowledge to a larger scale application of a solar installation.

Make your own free electricity.  No taxes, no smart meter checking your consumption.  Yeah, well, we’re not making that much electricity here.?

My intent here is to make a 12vdc system with a Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) battery and create 1000 watts of AC power via a pure sine wave inverter.  1000 watts won’t carry you too far or too long but with the right component mix you could do some large essential tasks like maybe run the washing machine or watching TV for several hours.  Small current drawing appliances like LED lights and items like that will run for ages.

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