Ionic Lithium 12V Group 31 3000 CA LiFePO4 Heavy Duty Battery

How do you charge LiPo batteries? Make sure you have at least 14.3 volts at the battery terminals for proper charging.

 

The BMS doesn't charge the batteries, it is there to manage the batteries to prevent a runaway situation which causes a fire or shuts it down to when it is too hot or cold (a good one does).

The point I was trying to make is that the LiFePo battery has a completly different charging profile and the life of the battery is shorten by not using that profile.

The marketing of the battery to this industry without explaining what changes are needed and what limitations are involved is wrong, it is obvious that the marketers are counting on the battery to never come back as a warantee return because we go through lead acid batteries in a short time. They are betting that the cycle life of the LiFePo battery will just be enough to get through the life of the truck, making a lucritive profit while allowing them to misrepresent the use of the battery.

Will it work?

Of course it will.

But BMS doesn't charge the battery, the alternator does and what I suggested does make the batteries a lot happier and last a lot longer.

 

My 2020 Cascadia has the HO alternator from Delco Remy, Model 40SI...Mine is the one rated at 275 AH, 180 at idle. They make bigger Alt's.

Most EPU equipped trucks are gonna have a similar alternator installed. I've measured mine and at excited idle it puts out 14.3 volts (700 RPMS). That's with a hard draw when my EPU bank was drawn down to 12.2 V after running the AC all night. I could see it hitting 14.6 at 1230 RPM, that's within the limit of most BMS charging parameters.

I "think" we're all right running these LIPO's, as long as we keep at least one AGM or Lead acid in the charging system to act as a buffer in case the BMS's shunt off for over-voltage when they get fully charged and the alternator has nowhere to park that current. That would result in a smoked alternator, and todays replacement price of the one currently on my rig is about $1100 dollars before core charge.

 

True...Something to check before anyone goes installing these as a replacement for AGM or Lead Acid off the shelf batteries. Plenty of youtube videos on this subject.

 

Just go learn about charging profiles, I am not bashing the batteries, I don’t want people to be stuck with a battery that is defective and won’t have the warranty honored because of abuse - not being properly charged is abuse.

and you seem to think I am clueless to LiFePo batteries or alternative power sources, I have tested a lot of batteries in trucks and for solar systems to find out which works and doesn’t work. I have also toasted a bunch of batteries in trucks testing them because of under voltage charging, many lose capacity in a short time because of it, and while the quality is improved and so has the dependability, the person using it thinks it is a direct replacement and the company who markets it sells it as one. Charging profiles are important, go learn about them and understand it is better to hear pushback to learn the pitfalls than to be stuck on the road with a problem.

 

Alternator doesn't care about load as long as load current doesn't exceed maximum.
The problem with mixing FLA or AGM batteries with LiPO is charging voltage. With voltage good for LiPO batteries FLA batteries will start boiling and don't expect them to serve long time. Plus all truck electronics not designed for such high voltage. It can survive short periods but not long time. Electrolytic capacitors used in ECU is 16 volt max. With voltage good for FLA battery LiPo will be undercharged and life expectancy going down as well.