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Lightweight batteries


Croc

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Not sure if anyone saw this but a Boeing 787 dreamliner just had an explosion when one of its lithium phosphate batteries exploded and started a small fire. Fortunately the plane was on the ground and nobody was in the plane. I think I'll stick with the heavy Odyssey and leave the explosion to the demolition experts.:seeya:

 

Are you sure they were Lithium phosphate? All reports I've seen call them Li-Ion

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Oh, the fire from a couple of days back. I read "just had an explosion" and thought you were referring to a breaking news story.

 

No, there was no explosion in that case, only a small fire in a ground-use system, and as rnr indicated, a different type of battery. Or so I have read.

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Several other 787's are also having issues. United Air just re-inspected 7 or 8 of their planes and found wiring issues. Only one 787 had the battery explosion and a minor cabin fire while on the Tarmac, no passengers & nobody hurt. I would worry about the lithium phosphate batteries stability. Yes, lighter, but with a risk.

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Report on battery fire initially described it as Lithium Phosphate battery but I see the Boston Globe now identifies it as an overheated Li-Ion battery at Logan. For that matter, years ago I had a lead acid battery blow the hood off my 86 Silverado. Delco's can blow too. I stand corrected.

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After further reading, it seems the 787 fire was caused by a lithium ion battery (no explosion), and after it had been extinguished, a lithium ion battery did indeed explode, though it was not known if the same battery was involved in both of those events. So there was an explosion, and it was caused by a lithium ion battery, but it was after the fire. In any case, those weren't car batteries.

 

From what I have gathered, the lithium phosphate car batteries being discussed in this forum are no more likely to explode than any traditional car batteries. I believe Apple's iGadgets (phones, pads, etc.) use lithium phosphate batteries, and I have not heard of widespread problems from them.

 

I'm not the early adopter type myself, and have an Odyssey PC625 in my 7 now. But if that were to give out on me today, I would replace it with the Evo2 one discussed earlier in this thread. Please note that this opinion (mine) represents less than one six billionth of world opinion, or

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Hi RNR,

Next time you drive down park out at the curb, just in case you blow up. LOL.

I have an absorbed glass mat battery designed for use in a jet ski that cranks the 2.2L Honda just fine and is now several years (4-5) old. mounts down under the exhaust header and in the "splash zone" if driving in the wet and is hard to get to so zero maintenance and completely sealed makes for worry free use.

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Got my EVO2 battery today and I have to say that the size and weight differential is mind boggling - you really have to hold one yourself to feel the difference. It was especially large in my case as I went from the 25 lbs PC925 to the 3.5 lbs EVO2.

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8330/8393755404_0a4c4ef998.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8492/8393756634_9d84def88b.jpg

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That picture is pretty good in showing the massive difference in size and weight. I have the smaller Odyssey, I think its the 680 and is only about 4 " deep and the same in other dimensions as the one you have.

 

How long is the EVO2 supposed to last ? And, is it advisable to keep a trickle charger on it like we do on conventional batteries ?

 

At first I thought all this fuss about weight was nonsense...........now, I'm intrigued enough to consider it a sensible evolution. You guys are a bad influence.

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How long is the EVO2 supposed to last ? And, is it advisable to keep a trickle charger on it like we do on conventional batteries ?

 

They claim that it only loses 10% charge a year and comes with a 3 year warranty. They are best charged using a balance charger which you can buy on Amazon for $25.

 

From what I've read it sounds like the LiFe batteries do not like low loads like car alarms for extended periods and are best used in total cut-off systems (aka kill switched vehicles).

 

I did about 150 miles in the Se7en with the new battery this weekend and everything was fine

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 years later...

Can we bring this thread up to date?

Anything new and startling to report?

 

At this point I'm leaning toward a lawn tractor type battery.... DEKA have a 665 amp farm equipment battery at Lowes for $76.91

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Here is an offering for a small battery. I got this battery with my Ultralite kit in 2005, and I have replaced it once about 2 years ago. It is the KBX35XC from http://www.newportjetworks.com/products/?pID=14

 

It is 14 pounds, lies flat in my car, is 6 7/8 X 6 1/2 X 3. It is a sealed Gel Filler battery for jet skis. I figure if anything gets bounced and vibrated, a jet ski is the worse. The battery has never failed to start my car, I replaced it after many years when it got a little weak. I typically keep it on a battery tender during the winter, but not during the driving season.

 

It's $100, so, not too expensive.

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I used the Ballistic EVO2 for 3 years and ~6000 miles with zero issues. The car always started in 1-2 cranks even after sitting for a month plus with no battery tender. I have since sold the car so no further updates beyond that.

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I just bought an EVO2 so I can report once I start using the car. It is clear from looking around that many people don't understand batteries and charging at all and ruin lithiums by letting them discharge too far or just as bad, keeping them on a charger that is not made for lithium batteries.

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I've had an EVO2 for almost 2 years. I got the specific charger but haven't needed to use it yet. The battery is temperature sensitive, ie it needs to be warm or warmed up to have good CCA. When it is below 45 - 50F, it's output is low. You will get some internal heating by putting a load on it. Once you do that, you will get enough CCA to start.

Since I don't do cold weather driving, no problem.

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  • 1 month later...

I just replaced the malfunctioning Odessey PC925 in my SV with a Voltphreaks Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePo4). I put one in my GT2 a couple years ago and it's performed flawlessly. I have had three Odessey failures in various cars using their recommended chargers, I'm done with those heavy unreliable pieces of crap.

 

CCA, Ah, Weight

Odessey PC925: 330 CCA, 28Ah, 26 lbs

Voltphreaks VPH900; 550 CCA, 33Ah, 7 lbs

 

https://p10.secure.hostingprod.com/@www.voltphreaks.com/ssl/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=1_5&products_id=80

Edited by John B
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I have had a Ballistic Evo2 16 in my Birkin for over a year now. No Issues. I purchased the correct charger at the same time. Car always starts first crank. Car is running a 2.0 litre Duratec with mild tune. Evo replaces a Deka battery that worked well for 4 years. Incredible how light the Ballistic battery is. A quick way to get rid of 10lbs from your car.

Maurice

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