View Single Post
  #13  
Old May 17th 14, 07:41 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
jfitch
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,134
Default LiFePO4 Batteries

On Saturday, May 17, 2014 7:09:38 AM UTC-7, Richard wrote:
On Monday, April 28, 2014 9:16:34 AM UTC-7, Andrew wrote:

I recently got the Starkpower 12V 9Ah battery from Knauff. I've put it through one test charge/discharge cycle so far. I found...








1. It took about 10Ah when I charged it from 9V resting to full voltage (14.4V while charging for a 4 cell LiFeSO4). I imagine the advertised 9Ah rating accounts for aging after many load cycles.








2. It supplies 13.0V to 13.2V for a very long time under a 0.5A load. I'd like to see how it does under a 2A to 4A load.








3. The built-in Battery Management System (BMS) does terminate any charging attempt past 14.6V








4. The BMS does not terminate discharging at 10.5V as Starkpower's website advertises. I only brought the pack down to 9V, but other sources indicate the BMS terminates discharge at 8.2V.








On Monday, April 28, 2014 10:55:16 AM UTC-4, vontresc wrote:




So I am in the market for a new battery for my Libelle. I was thinking it might be time to upgrade to a LiFePO4 battery.
















Any recommendations/reviews from the community? I've seen people using the K2 and Stark Power batteries. Any preference between the two?
















Thanks
















Peter




I did a discharge test on the Stark Power 12v 9Ah. 1.4 amp draw got me 280 minutes.



The lead acid 12v 9Ah at 1.4amp got me 150 to 180 minutes.



The other great advantage to the LiFePO4 is if you drop one on your foot it doesn't hurt.



Richard

www.craggyareo.com


Meaning: neither came anywhere close to their 9AH spec, at least at this discharge rate. Lead acid usually spec'd at the 20 hour discharge, not sure if there is a standard for LiFe. Peukert is alive and well?

So from that test we could conclude that they both sucked, but the LiFe sucked less.....


I just got a Stark Power 12AH, seems to hold the voltage up higher always, and last longer than the 12 AH AGM that it replaced.