Dead Battle Born batteries

[notlostatall]

I purchased a Solitude in which the previous owner had installed 2 Battle Born 100Ah's.
I don't know what he did. He said he never took it dry camping. The batteries won't last but 2 hours under a load of just about 150 watts.
So what I have are 2 very expensive 12.5 Ah batteries.
Battle Born claims to not require any special handling of their batteries. From my perspective, that appears to be untrue.

[boyscout]

I purchased a Solitude in which the previous owner had installed 2 Battle Born 100Ah's.
I don't know what he did. He said he never took it dry camping. The batteries won't last but 2 hours under a load of just about 150 watts. So what I have are 2 very expensive 12.5 Ah batteries. Battle Born claims to not require any special handling of their batteries. From my perspective, that appears to be untrue.

That's disappointing. However even lithium batteries with good battery management systems need SOME attention and care. Though they can be drained all the way down occasionally they should not be left in that condition for long - they should be recharged asap. It's also not great for them to be routinely drained to flat - better if they are considered in need of recharge at about 20% or so of charge (as compared to about 50% for lead-acid batteries).

If the previous owner stopped using his trailer and didn't charge or disconnect the batteries they may have discharged and stayed that way for too long... that'd be my guess. And/or he may have used a charger/converter not designed for lithium batteries - such as the OEM converter/charger - which would shorten their life; that's something for you to check before you install new ones.

Hope this is the worst of your problems with the new/old trailer. Good luck.

[bertschb]

The batteries won't last but 2 hours under a load of just about 150 watts.

Do you have a battery monitor or some way to determine if they are fully charged? If the original owner didn't replace the factory charger with a lithium compatible charger, the original charger will never fully charge the Battleborn batteries. If he did replace the charger but didn't set the charge mode to lithium, it also will not fully charge the batteries.

BTW, the Battleborn's have an excellent warranty if it turns out to be the batteries (which I doubt).

[offtohavasu]

I echo what Brian said. IF he added Battle Born batteries but did not change the converter to be lithium compatible, it takes a LOOOONG time to fully recharge them.

[JCR GD]

The Battle Born guys are very helpful. I would give them a CALL and see what they suggest, if you haven't already.

[notlostatall]

BTW, the Battleborn's have an excellent warranty if it turns out to be the batteries (which I doubt).

Unfortunately, BB's warranty is non-transferrable.

[Redapple63]

The Battle Born guys are very helpful. I would give them a CALL and see what they suggest, if you haven't already.

X2. Even if the warranty is not transferable, I am sure they will help diagnose your issue.

[A.Texas.Yankee]

How do you know the SOC (state of charge)? Have you done a capacity test? It's pretty hard to kill a BB since it has a really good BMS built in. It's killable, but harder to do so. Also, what charger are you using for the batteries?

Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk

[sande005]

Common things that will kill a LiFePO4 -
Discharging all the way to 0 *

Things that will shorten its life:
Charging when it is very cold *
Overcharging *
Not balance charging *

* BUT - BB has built in protection for all of these things. So they should not happen.

I'd call BB for their advice on things to look at. Possibly your converter just isn't up to the task of adequately charging them. You are getting some charging, after all.
They may even have a process for inspection/repair - even it it might cost you. Too expensive to just toss, until you've explored all the options.