Hello, Jay & All~ Anytime the battery mfr. has a solution that is pre-baked into their product--that's +1 for avoiding later warranty disputes, etc. I'm glad to learn that LifeBlue is doing a "divert the charge DC method" for cold lithiums, which seems quite logical to me.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ReLion brand lithium does the same "divert the charge until the battery warms" method in their LT (low temperature) products such as this: https://relionbattery.com/products/lithium/rb100-lt but their LT's are 12v only & no bigger than 100 ah so far. List readers who'd like to connect 12v lithium monoblocs in series for a higher voltage pack...should not try that without mfr. approval. Series connection is old hat for lead acid monoblocs but tried & true assumptions may no longer hold. ReLion has UL certification across the board, methinks--check to make sure. ReLion has a "minimum advertised price" policy which should help the skilled tradespeople on this List. Another "cold friendly" feature with ReLion is: So long as the charging amperage is below 10% of the battery's rated ampacity (slower than a ten hour rate of charge), ReLion doesn't care how cold their normal lithiums are during recharge. Please double check that point with ReLion technical before, um, banking on it but that was their official corporate position in 2018. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I know at least one other mfr that offers their own baked in heating option (although it's not a "divert charge energy until the battery warms" method). This mfr. is Lithionics based in FL. Here's a document about their heat setup: https://lithionicsbattery.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Lithionics-Battery-Heater-Kit-Option.pdf Note they can accommodate various pack voltages with this solution & they do a fair to good job of scaling bigger if that's needed. Lithionics architecture requires their BMS "battery management system" but it's also charger agnostic & doesn't require communication to the charger. If your capacity needs scale beyond one of their BMS units (and if I understood their explanation correctly) each BMS calculates its state of charge independent of the others even though the cells are ganged up as a bigger battery. Maybe that's a drawback, esp if one wants to view & use that data for user fuel gauge purposes. I hope this will be helpful info for the group. The Wrench List is the Bomb~ Mick Abraham, Proprietor www.abrahamsolar.com Landline: 970-731-4675 Cell phone or for text messaging: 970-946-6584 ᐧ
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