Battleborn LiFePo4 Batteries will just fit in my 1986 27/2

[BigSailor]

Good evening all,

I figured I would share this since I have not seen anyone install LiFePo4 batteries in a Compac 27, yet.

The old batteries were 2xpower AGM from batteries plus and ~67lbs per battery. The new battleborns are ~37lbs each, so a 60 lb weight savings.

The old batteries were 76AH (but as we all know, you shouldn't use but ~30% of the rated AH on lead acid or AGM), but these new ones are good for the full 100AH each, so the old AGM batteries were safe for <50AH and now I have a full 200AH usable. So, new battery bank is 150AH greater usable than the old bank.

Also, AGM batteries are good for maybe 300ish full discharge cyles before needing to be replaced (current price for the same batteries is $329.99 each) whereas the Battleborns are expected to be good for 3000 (testing by Battleborn has shown them good for over 5000) or more cycles. The price paid for the Battleborns are $1049 each including shipping. In the long haul they are cheaper than quality AGM batteries. They come with a 10 year repair or replacement warranty.

[wes]

That's pretty cool. Love to hear about your charger setup.

FYI, on Battery 1 you should reverse the order of the positive terminal wires. ABYC standard requires that the highest amperage wire be on the bottom of the stack.

Wes

[BigSailor]

Thanks, Wes. I don't have things set up permanently right now because the Battleborn batteries are sent with mild steel bolts. I didn't know that before I started the project and a trip to the store would have stopped work. I'll pick up some stainless today and switch the wires around.

As for charging, right now at the dock we are just using an onboard Promarine ProSport 12 dual battery charger. Short term we will be using the alternator with a Balmar MC-614 regulator to charge the batteries by running the engine every few days. These batteries will just let us go longer between run times a anchor. Near term we are looking at 250w of solar on the bimini to see how that works out, and adjust from there. We don't use a lot of power since replacing all the lighting with LEDs and only limited use of a small portable fridge.

The great thing about the Battleborns is that they have internal battery control and are drop in replacements for 12v deep cycles. The only caveats are that bulk charging should be under 14.6v and float is under 13.6.

I haven't tossed the old AGM batteries just in case these don't work out.