THE PORTAL HUB - Pinzgauers, Haflingers, Volvo 303s and more!

https://youtu.be/ahyGOQlINs0 Video link.

https://www.offroadxtreme.com/features/ ... he-lineup/

So these are being marketed for power sports vehicles so far but then the Optima rep says they tested it in a Ford Raptor. How far is this from the requirements of a 4x4/car? The Ah is low on these. I also wonder about really cold weather and the possibility of the low shut-off feature causing issues.

Seems like the biggest issue for them marketing these for cars will be charging since alternator circuits have been designed for lead.

The biggest one weighs only 7lbs and has 800CCA!!! That's a big deal.

Interesting. Didn’t catch that announcement from optima.
These are LiFePO4 Chemistry and low temp certainly could be an issue.
The more practical issue is charging. If a 12V application, for optimal
charging there are converters you can connect to the alternator to then
charge the battery. But for 24V you rely can’t connect 2 12V LiFePO4’s
in series and get them to balance properly. You need a 24V Li battery
which Optima does not offer. They do exist though.

How big an issue is low temp in reality for these? Is it mainly the charging issue, or does it drop off quickly at, say, 20F and less or something?

Output voltage and effective capacity drops with temperature, it's certainly
noticeable at 32F but sufficient for most applications, but at Zero the output
and capacity take a nose dive. So it all deepens on where you live. Below is a
chart from Relion for their LiFeOP4 batteries which will be pretty much the
same for this chemistry for all manufacturers.

1C discharge voltage vs. temperature is interesting, but only relevant if the engine starting current is comparable to the 1C discharge rate in the graph. I've not measured a Pinz starter in cold conditions to know what current is representative. CCA is what we need to know.

Another issues is charging, which needs to be carefully controlled (or avoided) at cold temperatures to prevent lithium plating.

What I love most about lead-acid batteries is they are robust. The tend to forgive most injustices, and life in a vehicle and living with its float-charging system isn't particularly friendly.

That being said, this analysis says lithium wins: https://dragonflyenergy.com/wp-content/ ... d-Acid.pdf