first up is the
Poweroad LINC INFI 100Ah -
12V 100AH POWEROAD INFINITY SUBZERO LOW TEMPERATURE LITHIUM LIFEPO4 BATTERY WITH BLUETOOTH MONITORING - Alpha Batteries
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how does it work?
How does the hi-tech heating function work on the Infinity PRLC-100-LT ‘Sub Zero’?
The process of heating and charging is automatically controlled by the BMS and the heating element embedded within the battery and takes roughly 40 minutes to change the temperature from -20°C to +5°C. Once the battery temperature reaches +5°C the charging starts immediately and once the temperature rises to +10°C the heating element stops and continues with the charging.
See other benefits below **
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The spec sheet shows:
discharge allowed down to -20degc - recovery at -15degc.
and charge allowed down to 0degc, then blocked - recovery at +5degc.
View attachment 140945
further down we can see the heater mentioned . . .
BMS heater on <0degc and off >10degc (off above 10degc)
View attachment 140946
++++++++++++
we start the test with the BMS readout.
it shows 80% SOC and a temp of 0degc,
View attachment 140947View attachment 140948
the RED alert warning LED is lit warning that the battery is very cold . . .
but no alarm on the BMS panel . . .
View attachment 140949
the battery was allowing outgoing power and showed a good healthy 13.3v at the terminals . . . even at 0degC !!! (try getting that from an AGM!)
next up was to choose a charger . . .
i went for the Victron IP22 BSC12/30/1 a 30A charger with bluetooth built in -
Victron Energy Blue Smart IP22 Charger 12/30(1) 230V - BPC123042022 : Amazon.co.uk: Automotive
View attachment 140950
switching the charger on we get some interesting info . . . .
using the Victron smart shunt inside the battery box -
https://amzn.to/3f3TUeO
we can see that the charger is delivering 8A thats going into the battery . . . BUT the battery BMS is showing 0A going in.
View attachment 140951
this is confirmed by the charger app. . .
View attachment 140952
we can see that the battery is taking 8.0A from the charger and usinng it to power the internal heater - at this point it is NOT charging the battery.
15mins later thing change . . .
you can see that the battery internal temp has risen from 0degc to 5degc,
at this point the battery has started to draw 13A from the charger . . .
its still taking 8A for the heater.
and the rest . . 6A is now going into charging the battery . .
View attachment 140953
again confirmed from the charger showing 13A being drawn but the battery.
View attachment 140954
you can also see the RED warning LED has changed to GREEN showing temps are now in range.
View attachment 140955
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This process continues until the battery's internal temp reaches 10degC . . .
at which point the heater is switched off. . . you can see the change in current drawn by the smart-shunt.
its stop drawing the 8A for the heater . . . plus the 6A charge for the battery . . .
it moves over to allow the battery full charge current . .
here you can see it settles to around 10A - this is due to the battery being 80% SOC do has diminishing current draw as the battery voltage increases proportionately.
View attachment 140956
again confirmed on the charger . . .
View attachment 140957
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here we can see the thermals for the process . .
the battery shows a marked temp increase.
View attachment 140958
the box and surrounding area is still cold . .
View attachment 140959
the charger done a great job . . .
View attachment 140960
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The final result:
battery nice and healthy and above 10degC . . and charging at full rate.
View attachment 140961
the full heater and charge curve can be seen here . .
View attachment 140962
View attachment 140963
conclusion:
The battery does exactly what it says on the tin.
it discharges well in the cold.
it blocks incoming charge power when its to cold.
it will use 8A of incoming charge current to warm itself up - it wont use its own internal power to do this.
with the 8A it took about 30mins to warm.
when warmed up the heater is switched off.
+++
what i don't test was what happens when we have less that 8A available to run the heater . . . . say just 2A - 4A from a MPPT solar system?
id assume that it still work the same, just take much longer to warm up.
END.
next up is the Renogy