Roamer Lithium LiFePO4 Seatbase battery

[RoamerBatteries]

Thanks for posting your install pics.... great to see people working out smart ways to use our batteries! The Redarc BCDC is really compact too so thats a neat way to get solar and DCDC charging in the space. I'm about to press go on the designs for the third generation version of the seatbase battery so would be very helpful to get some feedback.... is there anything you would change about the design?

We're going to use 230Ah CATL cells on next model, which are a lot more compact. This means we can increase the capacity by 15% and also make room for a bigger Bluetooth BMS (250A continuous discharge) and still reduce the overall size. Unfortunately we cant get it any smaller widthways which from your photos looks like a useful space. We have managed to trip 3cm from the length however.... so its now 305mm x 290mm x 180mm.

We've had to swap the recessed handles for surface mounted ones, hopefully there is still plenty of headroom above the battery at the midpoint? It would be possible to remove the handles after installing if it was an issue but this isn't ideal, I'd probably relocate them to another part of the battery if so.

We have stock of 2nd gen 200Ah batteries due at end of September by the way. These are £950 plus £50 delivery (£855 plus £50 with 10% preorder discount). The 3rd gen 230Ah batteries will arrive at end of November, and will be a bit more expensive at £1150 but will now include free delivery anywhere in mainland UK.

 

[andys]

Thanks for posting your install pics.... great to see people working out smart ways to use our batteries! The Redarc BCDC is really compact too so thats a neat way to get solar and DCDC charging in the space. I'm about to press go on the designs for the third generation version of the seatbase battery so would be very helpful to get some feedback.... is there anything you would change about the design?

We're going to use 230Ah CATL cells on next model, which are a lot more compact. This means we can increase the capacity by 15% and also make room for a bigger Bluetooth BMS (250A continuous discharge) and still reduce the overall size. Unfortunately we cant get it any smaller widthways which from your photos looks like a useful space. We have managed to trip 3cm from the length however.... so its now 305mm x 290mm x 180mm.

We've had to swap the recessed handles for surface mounted ones, hopefully there is still plenty of headroom above the battery at the midpoint? It would be possible to remove the handles after installing if it was an issue but this isn't ideal, I'd probably relocate them to another part of the battery if so.

We have stock of 2nd gen 200Ah batteries due at end of September by the way. These are £950 plus £50 delivery (£855 plus £50 with 10% preorder discount). The 3rd gen 230Ah batteries will arrive at end of November, and will be a bit more expensive at £1150 but will now include free delivery anywhere in mainland UK (£1035 with 10% preorder discount).

View attachment 129428

This sounds great, will likely be ordering one when they come out

 

[bobbybasic]

Thanks for posting your install pics.... great to see people working out smart ways to use our batteries! The Redarc BCDC is really compact too so thats a neat way to get solar and DCDC charging in the space. I'm about to press go on the designs for the third generation version of the seatbase battery so would be very helpful to get some feedback.... is there anything you would change about the design?

We're going to use 230Ah CATL cells on next model, which are a lot more compact. This means we can increase the capacity by 15% and also make room for a bigger Bluetooth BMS (250A continuous discharge) and still reduce the overall size. Unfortunately we cant get it any smaller widthways which from your photos looks like a useful space. We have managed to trip 3cm from the length however.... so its now 305mm x 290mm x 180mm.

We've had to swap the recessed handles for surface mounted ones, hopefully there is still plenty of headroom above the battery at the midpoint? It would be possible to remove the handles after installing if it was an issue but this isn't ideal, I'd probably relocate them to another part of the battery if so.

We have stock of 2nd gen 200Ah batteries due at end of September by the way. These are £950 plus £50 delivery (£855 plus £50 with 10% preorder discount). The 3rd gen 230Ah batteries will arrive at end of November, and will be a bit more expensive at £1150 but will now include free delivery anywhere in mainland UK (£1035 with 10% preorder discount).

View attachment 129428

I can't think of anything I would improve from a design perspective. Good work on 3cm reduction, I like the width as-is because of the snug fit, but really could've done with -30mm on the length when routing cables. Well played.

One thing I would mention to those looking to install is to get some kind of protection for the edges of the seat base, just to save your battery getting all scratched up as you pull it in/out 100+ times.

...something like this maybe

 

[RoamerBatteries]

...something like this maybe


View attachment 129607

Yep good shout... I scratched one just taking it in and out of the test seatbase! Thankfully there's a cheap DIY solution

 

[dav1d]

Thanks for posting your install pics.... great to see people working out smart ways to use our batteries! The Redarc BCDC is really compact too so thats a neat way to get solar and DCDC charging in the space. I'm about to press go on the designs for the third generation version of the seatbase battery so would be very helpful to get some feedback.... is there anything you would change about the design?

We're going to use 230Ah CATL cells on next model, which are a lot more compact. This means we can increase the capacity by 15% and also make room for a bigger Bluetooth BMS (250A continuous discharge) and still reduce the overall size. Unfortunately we cant get it any smaller widthways which from your photos looks like a useful space. We have managed to trip 3cm from the length however.... so its now 305mm x 290mm x 180mm.

We've had to swap the recessed handles for surface mounted ones, hopefully there is still plenty of headroom above the battery at the midpoint? It would be possible to remove the handles after installing if it was an issue but this isn't ideal, I'd probably relocate them to another part of the battery if so.

We have stock of 2nd gen 200Ah batteries due at end of September by the way. These are £950 plus £50 delivery (£855 plus £50 with 10% preorder discount). The 3rd gen 230Ah batteries will arrive at end of November, and will be a bit more expensive at £1150 but will now include free delivery anywhere in mainland UK (£1035 with 10% preorder discount).

View attachment 129428

Hi Steve, been eyeing these up as it’s a bit frustrating how standard sized leisure batteries don’t make the best use of the seat space.

Do you have any plans to have a wired communication port for the BMS as an external connection? Would be really useful to have BMS data available to communicate with my own monitoring electronics over something like a serial port or CAN bus. This is something other brands like Victron offer.

Do you have any details available about what BMS is used or more specs for it?

 

[RoamerBatteries]

Hi Steve, been eyeing these up as it’s a bit frustrating how standard sized leisure batteries don’t make the best use of the seat space.

Do you have any plans to have a wired communication port for the BMS as an external connection? Would be really useful to have BMS data available to communicate with my own monitoring electronics over something like a serial port or CAN bus. This is something other brands like Victron offer.

Do you have any details available about what BMS is used or more specs for it?

Yes we will be bringing out a canbus battery next year. It's a pretty niche requirement however so it will be targeted at very high power users with large battery banks, we don't have any plans to include in the seatbase model (Bluetooth BMS is enough for 99% of people). It will allow native integration with Victron GX software (it won't even need a shunt) and also with Wakespeed WS500 alternator regulators. The idea is the battery will control charging and discharging from Victron kit and also allow alternator charging at up to 3kW.

We're changing BMS providers from Jaibaida to VIP for the new seatbase model.... we've been testing it over the last few weeks and its a really solid bit of kit. It will allow 250A continuous charge/discharge (500A peak) and includes all the protection features including low temp charging. The Android app is a huge improvement too.

 

[Jean-Louis Bourdon]

hi Roamer,
install is in a few days (22 septembre)
thinking of installing as well a Victron smart battery monitor 712 on top. do you see any incompatibility/issues since the battery is already internally monitored? thanks

 

[RoamerBatteries]

hi Roamer,
install is in a few days (22 septembre)
thinking of installing as well a Victron smart battery monitor 712 on top. do you see any incompatibility/issues since the battery is already internally monitored? thanks

Hey Jean-Louis! Sorry for slow reply, I only just saw your comment.

No the Victron BMV-712 works perfectly with our battery, as does all other Victron kit except their BMS (which isn't needed). The BMV uses a shunt/coulomb meter... this simply counts everything flowing in and out of the battery so doesn't interfere with the battery at all. It is pretty accurate as long as you set it up correctly, you can also use the battery Bluetooth app to compare state of charge, and manually sync the BMV if required.

 

[Jean-Louis Bourdon]

installed with all victron gear attached to it

 

[Jean-Louis Bourdon]

bit worried of the red cell though. 96% voltage uniformity score. cannot toggle the charging switch, but i hope it's because it's full

forgot screenshot

 

[RoamerBatteries]

forgot screenshot

View attachment 130947

This is normal, I only ever use the iPhone app but from speaking to other customers, the red seems to indicate the highest voltage cell rather than acting as a warning. Looks like you've maybe triggered the single cell overvoltage however which is why protection mode is active… again, nothing to worry about. Cells will balance out and when the voltage drops a bit then the protection mode will release

 

[Jean-Louis Bourdon]

they did self balance on their own.
woke up 92% (Fridge was loaded with tepid drinks as i went to bed)
worked all day with laptop, stayed 90% until 11, then charged very quickly in 1/2 hour to 100% and stayed all day like that.

 

[Qnapper]

Just wish I could buy one here in Spain. God I hate Brexit..........

 

[RoamerBatteries]

Just wish I could buy one here in Spain. God I hate Brexit..........

We'll be offering European deliveries soon.... watch this space!

 

[Qnapper]

We'll be offering European deliveries soon.... watch this space!

That has made my weekend. Thank you Sir.

 

[Donk]

Dammit. Was going to order one of these yesterday but the initial discount has ended . To steep now, so rethink in order.

 

[Qnapper]

Call them you never know they might give you it.

 

[Jean-Louis Bourdon]

hey Roamer, do you have any input on the current app? i find reading the charge percentage very difficult (white on green, very small) any change of moving this on a side, larger, and more contrasty colours.

can you post screenshots of the next bms app?

also i saw a few discrepancy between the internal app, and the victron monitoring gear. which do you think i should trust more?

 

[RoamerBatteries]

No we currently just use the app made by the BMS manufacturer (Roamer app is on the roadmap for next year). The Android app isn’t as good as the iPhone one unfortunately, hopefully it will improve with a future update.

Both the BMS and Victron state of charge calculations rely on a shunt so neither will be 100% accurate, however my experience is the BMS tracks a lot more accurately. You need to give it a full discharge and charge cycle to calibrate too by the way

 

[bobbybasic]

No we currently just use the app made by the BMS manufacturer (Roamer app is on the roadmap for next year). The Android app isn’t as good as the iPhone one unfortunately, hopefully it will improve with a future update.

Both the BMS and Victron state of charge calculations rely on a shunt so neither will be 100% accurate, however my experience is the BMS tracks a lot more accurately. You need to give it a full discharge and charge cycle to calibrate too by the way

A full discharge down to zero % ?