Why 12V Lithium Auxiliary Batteries?

I live in an apartment on the second floor not far from a couple of caravan holiday parks and we get to see the rooftops of many vehicles including caravans too.   The amount of solar panels on top of vans, 4WD's and  RV's is quite high which means these vehicles all have auxiliary battery or dual battery power systems. Most would have lead acid based deep cycle or AGM batteries. Let me show you why 12V Lithium Batteries for 4WD Dual Battery Systems, camping and the outdoors stack up in a comparison of not only price but of ability.

Lead Acid Capacity Really 50% of It's Rating

 If like me you've had an auxiliary or dual battery set up 12v 100Ah of the lead acid or AGM variety you'll know how they are not exactly the best solution given you can really only use up to half of their stored energy without massively shortening their lives.  This is where 12V Lithium batteries for 4WD dual battery systems, camping and the outdoors come to the fore.

Our Lithium Auxiliary Batteries offer up to 89% Of Their Rating

12V Lithium batteries come in a range of AH capacity. Typically if you need to install one under the bonnet of your 4WD for a dual battery system it may be the 12V 80AH lithium that will fit in. Some have larger spaces for a 12v 120AH lithium dual battery like the Hilux.  I own a Pajero and has only enough space for a 12V 80Ah lithium dual battery unless you take out the rear two seats and place it in that space. No matter though because 80AH of lithium capacity is about 60 usable Amps compared to 80AH of lead acid which is really only 30amps for battery longevity or 40amps if you don't mind killing it faster. Checkout our iTECh120X up to 89% of useable capacity.

 

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No More Watching Over Your Battery Like a Possessed Zealot

You may be the kind of person who vigilantly watches the battery voltage to know when to disconnect whatever the load is however if you're like me although you keep an eye on it, you are not going to sit there all day watching it in which case chances are you've left a load connected which has grossly drained your battery to a state it's capacity is now severely reduced.

As the over-all capacity of your lead acid battery reduces so to then the amount you should use to try and extend the life of your dying battery as long as possible.  Eg. Say you've an 80AH Lead acid and it's capacity has dropped to say 60amps then 40% of that is 24amps which means your practical storage capacity is now that.  If your battery drops to 40 amps then your practical storage is now 16amps.   But from my experience, the lower the capacity of your battery, the quicker it will perish ...kind of like a nose dive in capacity.

What's a BMS?

Enter the Lithium battery.  If you now compare a 12V 80Ah Lithium battery, you practically have up to 64 usable amps AND you no longer need to worry about pulling too much power out of it.   Today there are some 12V 80AH, 100AH, 120AH and higher capacity batteries that have an in-built battery management system or known within the industry BMS. 

More Advantages To A Lithium Storage Battery

The BMS watches over the lithium storage battery to make sure it cuts off power when the batter drops to about 20% of capacity or in the case of the iTECH120X 11%. No more needing to watch over your battery like a madman! What's even better is that even if your lithium battery drops to 20% it will still charge right back up again without virtually any noticeable deterioration.  In fact your can do that between 2000 and 3000 times!

Another great feature of 12 Volt Lithium batteries is that they are more resilient to heat. Under the bonnet of the diesel Pajero it gets mighty hot and severely lessens the life of lead acid, AGM deep cycle batteries.  Lithium batteries are generally more robust but please check the manufacturers specifications. There's another advantage...it's the weight. Lithium 12V batteries of the same capacity as lead acid are around half the weight! But they cost more right?  Yes they do however they are still a better buy than lead acid batteries. Here are my calculations.

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Why iTECH 12V 120Ah Lithium Batteries are Better...Do you run an Inverter? 

Most Lithium Auxiliary batteries are rated for output of approximately the same as the storage capacity of the battery itself.

Let me explain.....  most 'normal' Lithium batteries of the same rating (12v 120AH) are rated for Maximum output of 100 amps. This means at any point in time you are not to draw more than 100 amps or else you may destroy the battery.  100 amps sounds like a fair bit doesn't it? But if you're running an inverter of 2400W or greater this will cover you for start up current draw for your normal everyday motor driven appliances like Magic Bullets etc.   If you intend to use serious 2400W type appliances then two batteries in parallel will be required to deliver power safely. 

Here are some calculations to show you what I mean.

• Say you have a 240V motor load totalling 1200Watts and you have a 12V 120Ah storage battery.
• Ohms Law states..... Power= Volts x Amps     Amps = Watts/ Amps
• 1200watts /12.5 Volts = 96amps (plus losses say 5% = 202amps)  

• iTECH12X 120AH can deliver up to a 380Amp 2 second surge!   That's more than 3 times others.

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Lithium Versus Lead Acid Cost Comparison*

*Do you own research do not rely on these figures

• Let's compare a 12V 120AH Lead Acid versus a 12Volt 120Ampere Hour Lithium.
• Using Ohms Law  Volts x Amps = Watts
• 12.5v x 120a = 1500W at 100%.  50% maximum for lead acid = 750W.  80% Lithium = 1200W, 89% for iTECH120X = 1335W
• Battery life: Lithium min 2000 maximum 3000 cycles so lets say 2500 full cycles.
• A cycle is charging and discharging to its maximum recommended capacity.
• Lead acid 500-1000 cycles so lets say 750 cycle life span.

1/ Lead acid 12V 120AH

• 750 cycles  x 750w = 562,500W
• Price of Lead Acid approx $250
• 562500 /  250 = 2.25Kw per dollar.

2/ Lithium 12V 120AH

• 2500 cycles x 1200w = 3,000,000W
• Price of Lithium approx $1500
• 3,000,000 /1500 = 2kw per dollar which is about a 10% better.   

• iTECH120X
• 2500 cycles x 1337w = 3,343,750W

• • Price of iTECH20X approx $1000 (Check current pricing)
  • 3,343,750 / 900 = 3.33Kw per dollar which is about a 50% better.  This translates to Lithium being about 50% cheaper than it's lead acid/AGM equivalent.

What if we said.... ok so what if we calculate using a lead acid battery that gives the same practical usage as the lithium which in this case is 1200w or 96 amps.   That would make the lead acid battery just over 200amp at around $400. Changing calculations from 1/ above.

• 12.5v x 120a = 1500W at 100%.    80% Lithium = 1200W
• 12.5 x 200a = 2500W at 100%  50% Lead acid = 1250W

3/ Lead acid 12V 200AH

• 750 cycles  x 1250w = 937,500W
• Price of Lead Acid approx $400
• 937,500/  400 = 2.343Kw per dollar.

Results:

• 1/ Lead acid 12v 120AH = 2.25Kw/dollar
• 2/ Lithium 12v 120AH = >3.33Kw/dollar
• 3/ Lead acid 12v 200AH = 2.43Kw/dollar

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Applications For Lithium Storage Batteries

I first took a Deep Cycle Battery with me camping about twelve years ago when i purchased my first portable fridge. Back then I would charge it at home on a 1.5Amp trickle charger.  For the first two days I would run the fridge off the car battery and check its voltage every few hours. When the car battery dropped to 12.5V I'd then run the fridge from the AGM battery until i got home.  That AGM battery lasted me around 7 years however having said that, I only went away three or four times a year and the battery lived in my garage on a shelf and charged every couple of weeks.  So practically the battery cost me around $300 and used it only 28 times!

Since that time 12 Volt auxiliary batteries have become very popular as to have solar panels on all sorts of vehicles to charge.

Lithium 12V Batteries can be used in a wide range of applications such as camping where you do not have the battery installed but carry it from the car to your campsite. You'll appreciate how the Lithium is less than half the weight of your old lead acid.  Caravans where you can add up to another three Lithiums of the exact same type to increase your energy storage capacity.  Camper trailer where it makes camping easier with power and lessens the weight too.   RV's and camper vans also.  Many people are looking to go off-grid and detach themselves from the power network powered by solar, wind and water turbine but they need large storage capacity which Lithium can provide cost  and space effectively.