Lithium Charging in Cold Weather

[sande005]

Pretty clear that they you will have problems if you attempt to charge them in the freezing weather.

'The Safari UT lithium battery series performs better than lead acid batteries in most weather conditions. It can charge between temps of 32° and 113°F and can discharge between -4° and 131°F at 100% rate.'

and

'If you want to use some type of heating element to keep the battery above freezing, check out our our Lion Energy battery warmer!'

Don't forget this too

'The Safari UT and other lithium batteries can be placed in an insulated space, inside the RV or other climate controlled areas. Some users have suggested using a Battery Heating Pad that you can find online. We recommend using the battery in a climate controlled location.'

https://lionenergy.com/products/lion-safari-ut-1300

Of course, I would just contact them.

To be fair, the points made are common to ALL LiFe batteries. The question was whether the BMS has temp sensors to prevent damage. Or if the company cut corners and expects you to just not even try if the weather is marginal. High rated batteries have the safety features, very low ones do not. Lion is vague, and doesn't spec anything.

[Soundsailor]

To be fair, the points made are common to ALL LiFe batteries. The question was whether the BMS has temp sensors to prevent damage. Or if the company cut corners and expects you to just not even try if the weather is marginal. High rated batteries have the safety features, very low ones do not. Lion is vague, and doesn't spec anything.

A bit of caution is probably in order here, if they don't explicitly say they have low temp protection (which I haven't seen anywhere in their docs), assume they don't. That being said, a quick dip in external temperatures is unlikely to chill the battery if it is enclosed inside the coach. Exposure to sustained below 30-degree temps is another story.

[BobinICT]

I'm going to find out Friday night. We are spending the last night in the trailer in the drive after we winterize the house. Supposed to get down to 21 Friday night, for how long I don't know. I won't have the converter switched on, seldom do. I placed one of those plant starting heat pads under my two batteries and can plug it into the inverter but will plug it into the house outlet outside. I have the Victron temp sensor on top of the batteries in the battery box on the tongue and the charge controller set to stop charging at 32. Should be a good experiment. I plan to check battery temps as soon as I wake up. I'll try to post my findings before we leave or in the next couple of days afterwards. I'm pretty sure the plumbing will survive.

[RoJoSo]

If you shut down the solar/lithium system at the end of the season, can you then leave
the batteries in the 5th wheel front storage compartment where they are installed for the winter?

[BobinICT]

I'm going to find out Friday night. We are spending the last night in the trailer in the drive after we winterize the house. Supposed to get down to 21 Friday night, for how long I don't know. I won't have the converter switched on, seldom do. I placed one of those plant starting heat pads under my two batteries and can plug it into the inverter but will plug it into the house outlet outside. I have the Victron temp sensor on top of the batteries in the battery box on the tongue and the charge controller set to stop charging at 32. Should be a good experiment. I plan to check battery temps as soon as I wake up. I'll try to post my findings before we leave or in the next couple of days afterwards. I'm pretty sure the plumbing will survive.

Update on this post. Won't be spending Friday night in the drive. We're getting out of here a day early due to the cold heading our way. Overnight in the drive will be Thursday with a projected low of 30 so I may or may not get the batteries below 32 but I'll post if anything changes in that respect.

[Soundsailor]

If you shut down the solar/lithium system at the end of the season, can you then leave
the batteries in the 5th wheel front storage compartment where they are installed for the winter?

There's a range of opinions on what to do with batteries over the winter. It probably depends on the battery chemistry which is the best option. For lead-acid batteries, I've had good luck with removing the batteries and putting them on a battery tender in my garage. This is my first year with lithium. I'll probably disconnect them and leave them in the front compartment. I'd suggest reading up on the specific battery you have and what the manufacturer recommends.

[JKellerJr]

If you shut down the solar/lithium system at the end of the season, can you then leave
the batteries in the 5th wheel front storage compartment where they are installed for the winter?

We leave our battleborn's in the the unit all winter. They are installed behind the panel in the basement and removing them isn't easy. We installed a true 100% disconnect switch

[RickLight]

I've had my Lion Energy UT1300s for 3 years now. (It was the 1200s that were over rated)

They don't charge when frozen, which is only during storage for me. I mounted them 'inside' so normally it's not a problem. The users manual and web information was very clear about the BMS functions when I bought them. My water lines freeze up long before the batteries do. FYI they will discharge down to something silly like -20F.

I would not buy a non-BMS battery. It's too much money and function to risk.